They Became the Falling Ash, by Ethereal Shroud (2024)

1.

Broken limbs bound to funeral pyres, torches lit, skywardCeremonious light for the damned, the lord is now upon youIn chains they dread the coming day, cast away from homeCondemned with sins too great to atone, look now upon the lightBlood-red hatred and fear light the nightBroken limbs bound to funeral pyres, torches lit, skywardCeremonious light for the damned, the lord is now upon youUnited in fear they cast them to the dark, the unknown beyond ourselvesYou are a warning to those who dare to transgress against their willAs fear feeds greed they contemplate the worth of lifeA price paid in blood and fire to those with eyes to see them burnBoundless scornful hatred are the fires that blaze a storm of smokeBreathe me in and sing of justice as the innocents unfurlI can't escape the wrath of deities, I beheld his flames to watch my world burnDetestable, scorned, unbowedUnworthy of your perishing worldI cannot live for want of dyingI cannot see for embers block my view"My god is in your headHis fire is in your bloodThis world is in his handsYou are beyond repent"Look now upon your final season, the grey canvas of snow and frostLook now upon the light, your vessel into the darkDare I seek guidance as I pass throughDare I seek reprieve, dare I liveAnd the stars will fall, burned grey, floating downDistant lights begin to fade from viewThe incense of flesh is the scent of the church

2.

Kingdom never comes, your will is never doneMay sulphur blacken your wicked lungs, breath deeplyI'll drown your earth in brimstoneSpread wide the engulfing abyss wreathed in embersDesperation means little if I've nothing to bereaveI fearlessly stand in the wrath of majestyCome the flood of fire, break the skin asunderBreak me free of earthly chains, cast no judgement of virtueWithout guilt or remorse, bring me purity, bring me resolveCome the flood of fire, break the skin asunderDim the light of day, come the flood of fireBurn the sins away, bring the end of allStrip me bare of all I love and bring me painKnow what life means when all is lostThe wind sings a solemn dirge for me aloneUnsung in tongues, forgotten through the agesThere's no salvation to be found in death's embrace, when the embers dieI fade for nothing, burn for no one, burn for no one Bring the wind that carries me with the snow, onto hallowed groundBehold the stones that cradle the ashes cold, ashes cold, dead trees thy altar...

3.

Oh lord, my botched and broken being knows no sanctity, I hasten my fall with every further descentMy agony means nothing to you, yet I squander and crawl in your world, desperately clutching to light that isn't thereLost to this world is the vast primordial spirit, its icons shattered with time and replaced with the shadow of crosses and spiresYou laugh at my rejection of faith, you've no time to pity the damned, the destitute feel no longer your grace, unceremonious passing for those who cannot be grievedA lifeless husk that seeps through the cracks like the tears of the fallenMay I re-join the damned who left this world as smolders at your stakesThese bones are ashes enravled in flesh unfurled in the cleansingA shroud of silent grief cloaks the pyres, the screams of those beloved stoke the firesI'm not of this world, I'm the grey that surrounds theeI am the silence, an unrelenting stillness, freeAll is lost but these ashes remain, gracing the ground with their memoryAll is one but this world is a carcass, dressed with the dead and their woesThe ash coats the world in its silenceBeneath the ice lies its soul Its hatred never dies nor forgives themMisfortuned are those who are condemnedThey live again but as ghosts in the mist, watching the world as it burnsCondemned to die and cast to the skies to then watch their homes wreathed in flameBlinded by splendor, seared by heatWait no longer, march now in to the lightThey became the falling ash and snow Return to dust and embers in the soilUntold names in the snowLifeless, bitter autumn leaves Sorrows echo on for many an ageA silent hymn for the dead none can hearMarch now into the light...

Digital and physical copies now available from Northern Silence Productions: etherealshroud-northernsilence.bandcamp.com/album/they-became-the-falling-ash

Written over the last 8 years. Recorded over 3 months in the winter of 2014/2015.

Released on Grimoire Cassette Cvlture records in spring 2015 on high quality cassette.

Released on CD in June 2015 by Northern Silence Productions.

Soon to be released on vinyl by Throne Records.

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"It’s the emotional highs and lows that often feel forced for other artists that Ethereal Shroud conveys so brilliantly ... Ethereal Shroud has surpassed last year’s release in a way that is truly hard to put into proper words."
www.blackmetalandbrews.com

"Absolution | Emptiness was a classic case of laying the foundation of a band’s career and They Became the Falling Ash is the f*cking mansion built on that blackened brick and mortar."
www.angrymetalguy.com

"They Became the Falling Ash is simply one of the best black metal albums of the last few years and should be listened to by anyone who loves the genre."
www.thesonicsensory.com

"this release is absolutely majestic. They Became the Falling Ash is a near-perfect example of depressive black/doom metal, and certainly one of the best releases to grace my ears this year."
www.sputnikmusic.com

released February 21, 2015

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