2004년 발표된 Iced Earth의 근작. 그들의 디스코그래피를 통틀어 가장 뛰어난 작품 중 하나로 당당히 이름을 올릴만한 음반으로 평가받고 있다. 남북전쟁을 모티브로 하여 스래쉬의 진정한 힘을 보여주는 30분여의 대곡 'Gettysburg'를 비롯한 킬링 트랙이 다수 포진해 있다.
A desperate situation Forced to retaliation The task ahead a burden Men will suffer, that's for certain We'll charge into the fire The cause, we must inspire We raise our fists to tyranny A high price, freedom is not free
The odds are stacked against us But with our resolve relentless And arrogance their weakness Our cause is just, we won't be beaten Upon this declaration Will come a brand new nation Where men are seen as equal Governed by and for the people
Chorus: So we make our stand and pray On this declaration day For independence I will fight With liberty I will defy So we make our stand and pray On this declaration day Give me liberty or give me death I'll fight 'till my last breath
With virtue as our beacon Our cause is charged as treason Battle worn and starving Through the hell of war we'll keep marching The birth of our new nation An act of desperation We'll force King George down to his knees Capitulation
Another day just like any other Out of the blue it turned to horror How could they? Why would they? The innocent suffered hell's inferno A senseless act that goes unforgotten How could they? They will pay
When the eagle cries Blood will flow When the eagle cries For freedom's fight When the eagle cries We love her so When the eagle cries We will sacrifice
Out of the ashes came a tempting vengeance But we are focused, we seek redemption We are free We'll stay free All they've done is make us stronger The sleeping giant is asleep no longer If need be We'll die free
When the eagle cries Blood will flow When the eagle cries For freedom's fight When the eagle cries We love her so When the eagle cries We will sacrifice
Destiny's called us It's the reckoning This time it's for blood Don't tread on me Revenge is not justice It's the reckoning This time it's for blood Don't tread on me
You went too far this time For this heinous crime You will know defeat Begging on your knees
One by one you'll fall Your back's against the wall Nowhere to turn You're sure to burn
Destiny's called us It's the reckoning This time it's for blood Don't tread on me
The hour's close at hand We'll make our final stand Justice shall be done Nowhere to run
True evil broods in you You're just a brainwashed fool The coward kills then hides Spewing forth his lies
Revenge is not justice It's the reckoning This time it's for blood Don't tread on me
Born of destruction, bred in agony Is this my salvation? From these ashes, I am your devastation
If it was up to me Eye for an eye I'd seek But the high road we will take Lady Justice is a stake
The judgment has been made In blood it shall be paid Death knows what to do The horseman comes from you
Destiny's called us It's the reckoning This time it's for blood Don't tread on me Revenge is not justice It's the reckoning This time it's for blood Don't tread on me
He's ruled them for 20 years And ravaged as their king Conquest burns in his eyes And ice shoots through his veins Their leader's new ambitions lie Farther to the west The empire that he seeks The father to the rest Attila wants to take his place Like the impetuous son To make the entire world bow To the kingdom of the Huns
Alliance has been made With many other clans Frank and Vandal forces Held within his hand And by Attila's hand it's said His brother met with death To make his rule his legacy He did his awful best Ethel and Etzel By many names he's known But "Scourge Of God" is the one That rings the darkest tone
Chorus: Hell awaits behind Gaul's Gates The Roman's stand only to fall They will die by his sword The Barbarian Lord Attila hears victory call
Bridge: (Huns) Path of fire and plunder Cities burn and crumble Attila's fate beckons He will come to conquer
(Romans) Archers stand at ready Centurions all together Keep to your lines And the Mongol's sure to falter
(Huns) We will surely break them We will overtake them Fight 'till our deaths Or the Christians devastation
(Romans) They won't overthrow us God will stand before us Show us the path to the Huns destruction
Sing to the sky, the battle cries To propagate their fear As terror is the weapon drawn When battle has drawn near And so the conflict is at hand The gauntlet has been thrown Contempt for the Christian reign This poison seed now sewn And if by chance all is lost Cut down by Roman steel We'll suffer not as others have Broken mind nor broken will
The son of a major, Prussian nobleman His name bestowed by a holy Roman The war broke out, and looked to the air 24 hours of training he was there
100 miles an hour Top speed his plane would fly And if he flew behind you You know you're sure to die 80 kills and all confirmed While other pilots had so much More to learn
Chorus: Red baron, blue max The albatross flies high Red baron, blue max He's got you in his sights
Bridge: The red battle flyer, red like fire He sees no faces, the ace of aces
His British quarry flew a reckless flight A shot from the ground took the red baron's life He flew with honor, he flew with pride In 1918 the battle flyer died
Emptiness, consuming me Head in hands, I can hardly speak Looking for solitude Lost in humanity True knowledge leads to a suffering A constant quest, an endless dream Searching for inner peace Hidden so deep in me
Chorus: Don't wanna be a hollow man Ain't gonna be the hollow man Don't wanna be a hollow man Ain't gonna be the hollow man
Sadness comes knocking constantly Filling up my eyes for all to see Peace will come some day I pray that it finds a way Darkness caressing my mind and soul My spirit's rejecting, I'm feeling whole Emptiness goes away Fills with the light of day
Chorus
Bridge: I rise up like the Phoenix Form the ashes of an older way With wisdom gained, I turn away I turn away Hollow man find yourself some other prey
Usher in the rally cries Revolution's here again The emperor's bonds are broken As free he shall remain
Escape, through narrow, was demand While his reign remained in view This fight for France, 'till bitter end He must see it through
Coalition forms of many lands Against Napoleon, west to east Dogs of war will take to arms And soon will be unleashed
Prussian, Russian and Austrian All follow British lead At allies' helm is Wellington Who must make his foe concede?
Chorus: Foreshadowed man of destiny Soon you will be forced to see Nations aligning against you Marking the time your reign is through ...And you will see your hundred days Come to an end Foreshadowed man of destiny Soon you will be forced to see Nations aligning against you Marking the time your reign is through ...It lies before you, fate shall befall you
Quickly, the allies gather force Near the Franco-Belgian line While 124,000 French March there in double time
As the battle begins Napoleon springs his audacious plan He'll attack them in two fronts Splitting up his warring band
As the Prussians sound retreat Behind they leave 12,000 slain Most of their force is still in tact And will live to fight again
Wellington, who felt the loss Of 5,000 men Would feel more under cannon fire Bombardment from the French
Chorus
Bridge: Of all the wars I have waged To propel my nations might For this I'll be remembered From now 'till the end of time If to the victor go the spoils I may die an impoverished man For in the end, irony Has dealt the cruelest hand
The French force was swift and sure But their attack would be repelled And though their center battered The Anglo-Dutch line would be held
As fate or skill would have it An army moves from the east The Prussians who slipped through his hands Would soon spell his defeat
French lines now all broken And being open to attack The emperor has no choice And the old guard pulls him back
45,000 wounded or dead When the fight was finally through On a three mile square of battlefield Near a town named Waterloo
Close your eyes and imagine The soldier, at Valley Forge The suffering that he endured was real Starvation, total war Yet in his eyes, the iron will to win And for the cause he won't relent
Chorus: Would he look upon us now in anger and disgust? His providence, our birthright and our creed Will we let ignorance and laziness bring our demise? Complacency, we're blinded by our greed
Standing barefoot, frozen bloody hands His musket clutched in iron grip But for the cause he has but one regret He's only got one life to give
Chorus
It's time for us to open up our eyes And cherish the lives we all can have And to the ones who kept our freedom free Words can't express all that you've done