The end of the “road before me” is finally in sight for the protagonist. At long last he has arrived at the object of all of his determination and struggle for the past several years: the Castle in the Clouds. But to his dismay, just as he rides up to the gates of the castle the walls begin to crack and crumble down (“It falls around, the fortress walls they crack like brittle bone”).
“Brittle bone” hints at the fact that the Castle is really allegorical for the mortal body. The knight becomes horrified and then confused by what he is seeing. He looks at the debris from the Castle cascading around him and wonders if it indicates the “end of my life or a new start?”
In the first verse, there is allusion to him travelling “far beyond the moonlight’s reach” (track 3), “Led by Stone, away from Sea” (references to tracks 2 and 7 respectively), and now having found “meaning to my quest that has always been inside of me.” This is really important because ever since the start, there was no secret knowledge or insight that the knight could gain by finding the Castle at all.
“But the fortress walls crack like brittle bone, the reveal the Secret of the Stone.”
Again, this is a reference to track 2 saying that the destruction of the castle reveals the answer to the question that has haunted the knight for all these years: “Live for Life without the fear of Death; Glory fades and the Grave takes the rest” (recall with me the first verse of track 2 in which God’s character tells us “the secret of the Stone is Grave.” This is why that one line kind of spoils the whole album plot from the beginning if you read it literally, e.g. the secret of the Stone is THE Grave. The Stone is a gravestone).
That is to say, every man dies eventually; the answer to life is death (sounds morbid I know, just hang on). This message infuriates and terrifies the knight. How can he be expected to live a fulfilled life if the only end is death? Why did he waste so much of the precious little time he has been given just to find out that there was nothing to discover that he didn’t already know?
He is more than disappointed; he is irate. He cries out his grievances to the sky: “Through forests and plains I have wasted away. Over mountains and glaciers my skin turned to gray. I gave up my home to travel alone into the world leaving all I had known.” He feels cheated that he spent so much of his life traveling through harsh conditions and encountering difficult trials just to be disappointed by his findings.
Enter God’s character in the form of the cloaked man with many eyes.
After the knight complains about the time he has wasted and the hardships he has endured, the cloaked man stops him (“LISTEN TO ME”) to tell him that there is more to the story than his limited perspective was able to see. He tells the knight that “In every trial from far away I have been there with you each step of the way.”
From this message we get the second half of the chorus: “Go live your life outside of the shadows. Be a voice, not an echo.”
The knight learns that while the time he has on earth is limited and that he will eventually die, he can still have a unique voice and make a real, lasting impact on others. In THAT sense, he will live on forever through the legacy of his love and influence on the lives of others.
lyrics
Years spent roaming
Through countless nights
This road before me
The end in sight
It Falls Around
The fortress walls they crack like brittle bone
Hear the sound
Magnificent and full of horror
Go live your life outside of the shadows
Be a voice, not an echo
I stand on battered feet
From the ground beneath
I can’t help but think it’s the end
My path ends here
Stained glass falling everywhere
I see it passing through the air
And past the broken shroud I found:
An end to my life on the ground
Stained glass falling everywhere
I see it passing through the air
And past the broken shroud I found:
An end to my life on the ground
Look around at desolation
See the fall of the creation
A fear was born of insurrection:
End of my life or a new start?
Far beyond the moonlight’s reach
I have traveled looking for the fortress in the air that I was brought to seek
Led by the Stone, away from Sea
Finally I have found meaning to my quest that has always been inside of me
But the fortress walls crack like brittle bone
They reveal the Secret of the Stone
Live for Life without the fear of Death
Glory fades and the Grave takes the rest
It Falls Around
The fortress walls they crack like brittle bone
Hear the sound
Magnificent and full of horror
Go live your life outside of the shadows
Be a voice, not an echo
I stand on battered feet
from the ground beneath
I can’t help but think it’s the end
I’ve faced my fears, I’ve fought my doubts
What I found was a Castle in the Clouds
I see the walls of the great Castle, so strong against the attacks
Crumble before their own dead weight, and spread a web of cracks
There’s more to life than death
And seeing is only believing for the blind
But Death and I are the best of friends
We’ve been close so many times
Through forests and plains I have wasted away
Over mountains and glaciers my skin turned to gray
I gave up my home to travel alone
Into the world, leaving all I had known
LISTEN TO ME
In every trial from far away
I have been here with you each step of the way
It Falls Around
The fortress walls they crack like brittle bone
Hear the sound
Magnificent and full of horror
Go live your life outside of the shadows
Be a voice, not an echo
I stand on battered feet
from the ground beneath
I can’t help but think it’s the end
supported by 30 fans who also own “Castle in the Clouds”
I was quickly overwhelmed the moment I listened to "Interlude." Oriental atmosphere reminiscent of Egypt is very intertwined through all. Supreme Truth has something in common with Linkin Park's Meteora. Catsfist
Scalding metalcore from Spain, “Where the Waves Are Born” swings from clean to growled vocals over blindingly intricate fretwork. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 19, 2023
Sharptooth fight bigotry with melodic hardcore, their breakdowns an ideal vehicle for singer Lauren Kashan's incendiary insights. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 15, 2020
supported by 22 fans who also own “Castle in the Clouds”
At first I wasn't so sure about getting this one, it was part of a long list of music I had to listen to, and I knew that at the time I liked it and kept it in my list to buy for a reason but couldn't remember why, but I do remember now, this is way too intense to be forgotten,you made a new fan to this day and will follow you closely from now on! SlashedSucubus
