Þrøngva - When the Ravens Lied Suno custom mode: paste TITLE, STYLE, EXCLUDE STYLES and LYRICS into the matching fields. Save each song as 'NNN. Title.mp3' (e.g. 002. Who Fired First.mp3). ==================== 001. Huginn Brings the Word ==================== TITLE: Huginn Brings the Word STYLE: Nordic Viking metal fused with hip-hop, drop-D down-tuned heavy guitars, pounding war drums, tagelharpa and bone flute, deep throat-singing drones, cinematic strings, male baritone half-rap lead, female contralto lead, massive mixed choir, gang shouts, anthemic, epic, modern heavy production, clear intelligible English vocals, 84 BPM, slow ominous build, D minor, raven calls, storm wind EXCLUDE STYLES: autotune, EDM drop, lo-fi, comedy, spoken-word only, children's choir, country, reggae LYRICS: [Intro - wind and raven calls, lone tagelharpa, female contralto a cappella, distant and cold] At the grey edge of morning Two black wings come home. One carries what we think. One carries what we know. [Build - war drums enter one by one, throat-singing drone, low choir hum, instrumental] [Verse 1 - male baritone half-rap, restrained and heavy, drop-D riff with pockets of silence] Huginn on the high seat, feathers wet with ash, Whispers in the old man's ear before the thunder crash. Says the eastern hall has sharpened every blade, Says they lit the beacon first, says the price is paid. The old man never saw it, but the raven never lies, That is what we told ourselves while smoke filled up the skies. Every jarl is listening, every horn is on the wall, One bird and one sentence is enough to wake them all. [Pre-Chorus - female contralto, rising, strings swell] Who taught the bird to speak? Who put the words in its beak? Hold the horn, hold your breath, A lie flies faster than death. [Chorus - full band, huge mixed choir, slow and anthemic, title held long] Huginn brings the word, Black wing over fire. Every hall has heard, Every tongue a liar. Huginn brings the word, And the word is war. Ask who fed the bird Before you bar the door. [Verse 2 - male baritone half-rap, more rhythmic, double-kick under the riff] Morning after morning, and the story grows, Now it has a witness, now it has a nose, Now it has a footprint pressed into the snow, Made by boots that no one in the valley seems to know. Fathers oil the axes that their grandfathers retired, Sons who never met the east are certain they were fired. Fear is a good harvest if you own the only mill, Somebody is grinding while we climb the killing hill. [Chorus - full band, choir, gang shouts HEY on the downbeats] Huginn brings the word, Black wing over fire. Every hall has heard, Every tongue a liar. Huginn brings the word, And the word is war. Ask who fed the bird Before you bar the door. [Outro - music drops to tagelharpa and wind, female contralto whispered, single raven call] Ask who fed the bird. Ask who fed the bird. ==================== 002. Who Fired First ==================== TITLE: Who Fired First STYLE: Nordic Viking metal fused with hip-hop, drop-D down-tuned heavy guitars, pounding war drums, tagelharpa and bone flute, deep throat-singing drones, cinematic strings, male baritone half-rap lead, female contralto lead, massive mixed choir, gang shouts, anthemic, epic, modern heavy production, clear intelligible English vocals, 96 BPM, hard hip-hop metal banger, swung syncopated drop-D groove, trap hi-hats under metal riffs, call and response EXCLUDE STYLES: autotune, EDM drop, lo-fi, comedy, spoken-word only, children's choir, country, reggae LYRICS: [Cold Open - four syncopated drop-D hits with gang shouts, then silence] WHO! FIRED! FIRST! [Main Riff - swung low-D pedal riff, kick doubles guitar, sliding power chords, instrumental] [Verse 1 - male baritone rap, fast and percussive, confident flow] Smoke on the fjord and a horn in the dark, Two longhouses burning from a single spark. Your side says theirs and their side says yours, Both sides counting bodies on the frozen shores. Show me the arrow, show me the bow, Show me the archer, show me the snow, Show me the tracks and the hand that drew, Every proof they sold me was a copy of the truth. Signal on the ridge in a voice I know, Sounds like my captain but my captain's below. Sounds like a brother but my brother's in chains, Somebody is wearing all our voices like a mask again. [Pre-Chorus - female contralto, four-bar ascent, drums thin out] Stone by stone, The story's moving. Flame by flame, The proof dissolves. [Stop - all instruments stop, one whispered word] Hold. [Chorus - full impact, male and female trading lines, choir shouts, gang vocals] Who fired first? Nobody saw! Who fired first? Written in law! Who fired first? Ask who got paid! Two halls burning for a lie that was made! [Verse 2 - female contralto rapping, sharp and cold, then male joins] They drew the map in a warm dry room, Priced every harbor, priced every tomb, Sold the shields to the north and the spears to the south, Put the same forged word into every mouth. I will not swing on a merchant's cue, I will not bleed for a rumor that he grew, I want the arrow and I want the name, I want the hand behind the fire and the flame. [Chorus - full band, bigger choir, drop-D hits on each question] Who fired first? Nobody saw! Who fired first? Written in law! Who fired first? Ask who got paid! Two halls burning for a lie that was made! [Breakdown - half-time, male call and choir response, huge drums] Who lit the beacon? Nobody here! Who wrote the order? Nobody clear! Who sells the iron? Now we know! Put down the arrow and let the liar show! [Outro - final riff, four hits and gang shout] WHO! FIRED! FIRST! ==================== 003. Loki's Mirror ==================== TITLE: Loki's Mirror STYLE: Nordic Viking metal fused with hip-hop, drop-D down-tuned heavy guitars, pounding war drums, tagelharpa and bone flute, deep throat-singing drones, cinematic strings, male baritone half-rap lead, female contralto lead, massive mixed choir, gang shouts, anthemic, epic, modern heavy production, clear intelligible English vocals, 90 BPM, sinister and syncopated, dissonant guitar harmonies, stuttering tagelharpa, sly swagger EXCLUDE STYLES: autotune, EDM drop, lo-fi, comedy, spoken-word only, children's choir, country, reggae LYRICS: [Intro - detuned tagelharpa with stuttering echoes, female voice whispered] Look into the glass. Who looks back? [Verse 1 - male baritone half-rap, sly and menacing, riff stabs] Loki in the rafters with a mirror in his hand, Shows the jarl a warship that was never on the sand. Shows the widow's husband with a torch in either fist, Shows a thousand faces and not one of them exists. He can wear your mother's voice, he can wear your king, He can make a dead man sing the orders that you bring. He does not need to beat you, he just needs you to believe, He only needs your neighbor to be sure that you deceive. [Pre-Chorus - female contralto, eerie, strings rising] Glass on glass, Face on face, Every truth Has a stolen place. [Chorus - full band, choir in minor key, heavy and wide, gang shouts on BREAK] Break Loki's mirror! Every shard a lie. Break Loki's mirror! Look me in the eye. Not the glass, not the smoke, Not the voice that the trickster spoke. Break Loki's mirror, Let the real face shine. [Verse 2 - male and female alternating lines, tension building] He painted all the evidence in colors we would trust, He hung it in the longhall and he let it gather dust. Then came the proof, and the proof was fine, Every rune was perfect and it matched on every line. But the ice does not remember what the mirror said, And the river does not carry the imaginary dead. Walk out to the border where the story says they fell, Find no blood and find no bodies, find a merchant and his bell. [Chorus - full band, choir, bigger] Break Loki's mirror! Every shard a lie. Break Loki's mirror! Look me in the eye. Not the glass, not the smoke, Not the voice that the trickster spoke. Break Loki's mirror, Let the real face shine. [Bridge - music drops, female contralto nearly a cappella, then a shattering-glass hit] If I cannot trust my eyes, I will trust your open hand. Come and stand where I can see you. Come and tell me where you stand. [Outro - full band slam, final shout] Break it! Break it! Let the real face shine! ==================== 004. Merchant of the Long Knife ==================== TITLE: Merchant of the Long Knife STYLE: Nordic Viking metal fused with hip-hop, drop-D down-tuned heavy guitars, pounding war drums, tagelharpa and bone flute, deep throat-singing drones, cinematic strings, male baritone half-rap lead, female contralto lead, massive mixed choir, gang shouts, anthemic, epic, modern heavy production, clear intelligible English vocals, 78 BPM, crushing slow doom groove, sludgy drop-D, deep war drums, menacing EXCLUDE STYLES: autotune, EDM drop, lo-fi, comedy, spoken-word only, children's choir, country, reggae LYRICS: [Intro - slow tolling bell, coins dropping, low throat-singing drone, instrumental] [Verse 1 - male baritone, low half-rap, cold and measured, sparse riff] He never lifts a sword, he only weighs the hilt, Counts the ships in harbor by the hour they were built. He sells the northern shield and then the southern spear, And either side that wins, he is richer by the year. To him a war's a river and the dead are only freight, He charts it and he dams it and he opens up the gate. He smiles at both the councils and he shakes the widows' hands, Then he writes the next invoice in the ashes of the lands. [Pre-Chorus - female contralto, haunting, strings] Who profits from the fire? Who sells the wood? Who needs the wound to stay open Longer than it should? [Chorus - full band, choir, massive slow riff, chanted title] Merchant of the long knife, Your ledger's written red. You price the living by the pound And profit from the dead. Merchant of the long knife, We see you in the smoke. No hall will bleed for your gold again. Your spell is broke. [Verse 2 - male baritone half-rap, faster, rising anger, double-kick] Emergency, emergency, the word is on his lips, Every crisis is a contract, every coffin is a ship. He burns the proof at midnight and he bills us for the flame, He buys the silence after and he bills us for the shame. He is not from the east and he is not from the west, He is from the countinghouse that profits from unrest. No flag upon his shoulder and no country in his eyes, Just a warehouse full of fear that he can sell at any size. [Chorus - full band, choir, heavier] Merchant of the long knife, Your ledger's written red. You price the living by the pound And profit from the dead. Merchant of the long knife, We see you in the smoke. No hall will bleed for your gold again. Your spell is broke. [Outro - riff slows to a stop, bell tolls, female whisper] Your spell is broke. ==================== 005. Ledger of Ash ==================== TITLE: Ledger of Ash STYLE: Nordic Viking metal fused with hip-hop, drop-D down-tuned heavy guitars, pounding war drums, tagelharpa and bone flute, deep throat-singing drones, cinematic strings, male baritone half-rap lead, female contralto lead, massive mixed choir, gang shouts, anthemic, epic, modern heavy production, clear intelligible English vocals, 92 BPM, tight hip-hop metal groove, boom-bap drums layered with war toms, staccato riff EXCLUDE STYLES: autotune, EDM drop, lo-fi, comedy, spoken-word only, children's choir, country, reggae LYRICS: [Intro - pages turning, pen scratching, a single war drum, instrumental] [Verse 1 - male baritone rap, precise and punchy, head-nod groove] Line one, a harbor, burned to the stone, Line two, a village, now owned on a loan. Line three, a bridge that they sold us to fix, Line four, the same bridge, they are breaking it twice. Every column balanced, every total clean, The profit on the funeral is the prettiest thing I've seen. They keep a book for battles like a farmer keeps for grain, And every season's harvest is a harvest made of pain. [Pre-Chorus - female contralto, cool and precise, pizzicato strings] Read it back. Read it slow. Every number Had a name to know. [Chorus - full band, choir, gang vocals, stomping] Ledger of ash! Open the book! Ledger of ash! Look what they took! Every coin a candle that a family never lit. Ledger of ash, we are done with it! [Verse 2 - female contralto rap, then male and female trading bars] I read the fine print by a broken lantern light, Found the contract signed a month before the fight. The order for the coffins came before the dead, The medals were already cast, the speeches all were read. Show it to the council, show it to the square, Show it to the soldier, let him see what's written there. A war that's paid in advance is not a war at all, It's a purchase and a pantry and we're stacked along the wall. [Chorus - full band, choir, bigger] Ledger of ash! Open the book! Ledger of ash! Look what they took! Every coin a candle that a family never lit. Ledger of ash, we are done with it! [Breakdown - half-time, crushing riff, gang shouts on each word] Close! The! Book! Close the book on the merchant's war! [Outro - tagelharpa and drum, female voice] Every number had a name. ==================== 006. Heimdall Does Not Sleep ==================== TITLE: Heimdall Does Not Sleep STYLE: Nordic Viking metal fused with hip-hop, drop-D down-tuned heavy guitars, pounding war drums, tagelharpa and bone flute, deep throat-singing drones, cinematic strings, male baritone half-rap lead, female contralto lead, massive mixed choir, gang shouts, anthemic, epic, modern heavy production, clear intelligible English vocals, 88 BPM, epic cinematic Viking metal, soaring, horns and strings, galloping drums EXCLUDE STYLES: autotune, EDM drop, lo-fi, comedy, spoken-word only, children's choir, country, reggae LYRICS: [Intro - distant horn, wind over a mountain, choir swelling slowly, instrumental] [Verse 1 - male baritone, half-sung half-rapped, steady and noble] On the rainbow bridge there's a watchman with a horn, Hears the grass grow in the valley, hears the wool upon the shorn. He was set there by the treaty when the fighting had an end, Not to guard a single kingdom, but to see and to defend. He is small beside the armies, and he carries no great blade, Just the eyes that count the ships and just the book in which they're weighed. If the watchman sees it clearly, then the lie cannot be told, So the merchant sent the ravens with a sack of silver gold. [Pre-Chorus - female contralto, soaring and hopeful] Keep your eyes Upon the bridge. Keep the lantern On the ridge. [Chorus - full band, huge choir, soaring melody, horns] Heimdall does not sleep, He hears the grass that grows. Heimdall does not sleep, He sees what no one knows. Hold the bridge, keep the watch, Let no lie cross over. Heimdall does not sleep Until the night is over. [Verse 2 - male baritone half-rap, urgency rising] They would burn the watchman first, because he's standing in the way, Tell the world the watchman fell to raiders from the bay. Then there's no one left to say the ships were never there, Then the forged word is the only word and fire's everywhere. So we stand beside the watchman with our shields turned to the dark, Not to start a single fire, but to keep a single spark. If they want to buy the silence, they will need to buy us all, And we are not for sale, we are the bridge, we are the wall. [Chorus - full band, choir, key lift] Heimdall does not sleep, He hears the grass that grows. Heimdall does not sleep, He sees what no one knows. Hold the bridge, keep the watch, Let no lie cross over. Heimdall does not sleep Until the night is over. [Outro - horn call, drums fade, choir hum, instrumental] ==================== 007. Same Rain on Both Shields ==================== TITLE: Same Rain on Both Shields STYLE: Nordic Viking metal fused with hip-hop, drop-D down-tuned heavy guitars, pounding war drums, tagelharpa and bone flute, deep throat-singing drones, cinematic strings, male baritone half-rap lead, female contralto lead, massive mixed choir, gang shouts, anthemic, epic, modern heavy production, clear intelligible English vocals, 80 BPM, opens as a dark folk ballad then turns heavy, male and female duet, emotional EXCLUDE STYLES: autotune, EDM drop, lo-fi, comedy, spoken-word only, children's choir, country, reggae LYRICS: [Intro - nyckelharpa and rain, soft frame drum, instrumental] [Verse 1 - female contralto, intimate, sparse folk accompaniment] I stood on the eastern ridge in the grey before the dawn, And the rain fell on my shield like it fell upon your own. You were told I lit the fire, I was told the same of you, But the rain did not believe it and the rain was falling true. [Verse 2 - male baritone, soft half-rap over building drums] My father taught me hate like it was handed down as land, But I never saw your face, I never held your hand. Your daughter's in the doorway, she has eyes just like my son, And the merchant's in the harbor counting how the war was won. [Pre-Chorus - both voices in harmony, strings rise, band enters] Same cold sky, Same black wing, Same old liar Pulling the string. [Chorus - full band, heavy and emotional, choir, duet] Same rain on both shields, Same blood in the snow. Same field, same grief, Same lie told us so. Lay your spear by my spear, Let the rain wash them clean. Same rain on both shields, And no one in between. [Bridge - female contralto alone, then male answers, then both together] If I had fired first, I would tell you to your face. If you had fired first, you would tell me in this place. Neither of us did it, and we both have lost a friend. So let the ones who did it be the ones we hunt instead. [Chorus - full band, choir, biggest] Same rain on both shields, Same blood in the snow. Same field, same grief, Same lie told us so. Lay your spear by my spear, Let the rain wash them clean. Same rain on both shields, And no one in between. [Outro - band drops out, rain and nyckelharpa, duet whisper] No one in between. ==================== 008. Lower the Spear ==================== TITLE: Lower the Spear STYLE: Nordic Viking metal fused with hip-hop, drop-D down-tuned heavy guitars, pounding war drums, tagelharpa and bone flute, deep throat-singing drones, cinematic strings, male baritone half-rap lead, female contralto lead, massive mixed choir, gang shouts, anthemic, epic, modern heavy production, clear intelligible English vocals, 94 BPM, stomping refusal anthem, gang chants, war drums, drop-D chug, arena energy EXCLUDE STYLES: autotune, EDM drop, lo-fi, comedy, spoken-word only, children's choir, country, reggae LYRICS: [Cold Open - gang chant a cappella with stomps and claps] Lower the spear! Lower the spear! [Main Riff - chugging drop-D riff with stomp-clap rhythm, instrumental] [Verse 1 - male baritone rap, defiant and rhythmic] The horn blew at midnight and the orders came down, March before the sunrise to the far side of town. Sign here, stand here, sharpen what you hold, Fight a man you've never met for a story you've been told. But I've seen the forged rune and I've heard the stolen voice, And a soldier with his eyes open has only got one choice. I'm not a coward and I'm not a traitor to my own, I'm just the one who will not kill for a merchant's throne. [Pre-Chorus - female contralto, fierce, drums thin] One by one The line goes still. Man by man Against their will. [Chorus - full band, massive gang vocals, choir, stomps] Lower the spear! There's nobody here Worth dying for a lie. Lower the spear! Let the liar appear And look us in the eye. Lower the spear! Lower the spear! [Verse 2 - female contralto rap, then male joins, rising] On the other ridge a woman lowers hers as well, And the silence in the valley is a louder sound than hell. Captain's shouting orders but the orders have no teeth, Because nobody believes them now, not even underneath. The merchant's in his tower and he's watching through the glass, And he sees an army standing there that will not let him pass. Two ranks facing each other and not one arrow flies, That's the day the ravens learned they could not sell their lies. [Chorus - full band, bigger gang vocals] Lower the spear! There's nobody here Worth dying for a lie. Lower the spear! Let the liar appear And look us in the eye. Lower the spear! Lower the spear! [Outro - stomps and claps with chant, fading] Lower the spear! Lower the spear! ==================== 009. Muninn Remembers ==================== TITLE: Muninn Remembers STYLE: Nordic Viking metal fused with hip-hop, drop-D down-tuned heavy guitars, pounding war drums, tagelharpa and bone flute, deep throat-singing drones, cinematic strings, male baritone half-rap lead, female contralto lead, massive mixed choir, gang shouts, anthemic, epic, modern heavy production, clear intelligible English vocals, 72 BPM, slow and haunting, female-led, builds from ambient to crushing, emotional climax EXCLUDE STYLES: autotune, EDM drop, lo-fi, comedy, spoken-word only, children's choir, country, reggae LYRICS: [Intro - ambient drones, raven calls, soft choir hum, instrumental] [Verse 1 - female contralto lead, soft and haunting, sparse] Huginn flew the lie out, but the other bird stayed true, Muninn keeps the memory of everything we knew. She remembers where the treaty stones were set into the ground, She remembers every name before the drumming made a sound. [Verse 2 - male baritone, low and quiet half-rap, heartbeat drums] She remembers the old watchman and the book that he kept, She remembers the messenger who warned us as he slept. She remembers every order and the voice that it was in, And the voice was not the captain, it was stitched from someone's skin. [Pre-Chorus - female contralto rising, strings swell] Memory is a blade They cannot melt. Memory is a wound That we have felt. [Chorus - full band enters, crushing and slow, huge choir, soaring female melody] Muninn remembers, Muninn remembers, Every name, every face, Every ember. You can forge the morning, You can forge the war, But Muninn remembers What it was for. [Bridge - music drops to female voice and drone, then builds] Bring back what they buried. Bring back what they burned. Bring back every signal And the lesson that we learned. [Chorus - full band, key lift, full choir, climactic] Muninn remembers, Muninn remembers, Every name, every face, Every ember. You can forge the morning, You can forge the war, But Muninn remembers What it was for. [Outro - fades to raven call and drone, female whisper] She remembers. ==================== 010. Longship Bounce ==================== TITLE: Longship Bounce STYLE: Nordic Viking metal fused with hip-hop, drop-D down-tuned heavy guitars, pounding war drums, tagelharpa and bone flute, deep throat-singing drones, cinematic strings, male baritone half-rap lead, female contralto lead, massive mixed choir, gang shouts, anthemic, epic, modern heavy production, clear intelligible English vocals, 100 BPM, bouncy war-chant party banger, heavy 808 bass under metal guitars, hand drums, gang chants, fun and confident EXCLUDE STYLES: autotune, EDM drop, lo-fi, comedy, spoken-word only, children's choir, country, reggae LYRICS: [Intro - chant with claps, oar-stroke rhythm] Row! Row! Bounce! Row! Row! Bounce! [Verse 1 - male baritone rap, playful swagger, bouncing flow] Longship on the water and the drums on one, We ain't here to fight, we are here for the sun. Merchant tried to sell us on a war that's fake, Now the whole crew dancing on the frozen lake. Horns up, oars up, feel the hull go deep, Every beat a heartbeat that the ravens couldn't keep. Shield wall, dance floor, same old square, Now the only thing we're swinging is our hair. [Pre-Chorus - female contralto, sly, groove drops out] Pull it back, Let it drop, When the drum says go We don't stop. [Chorus - full band, bounce groove, choir chants and gang shouts, 808 hits] Longship bounce! Row! Row! Longship bounce! Let it go! From the fjord to the floor, Every hall wants more. Longship bounce! Row! Row! [Verse 2 - female contralto rap, confident and fun] Braids swinging, axes hanging on the wall tonight, The only thing we're raiding is the mead hall's light. Brother from the east and a sister from the west, Same beat, same boat, now tell me who's the best. Nobody's a stranger when the rhythm's in the wood, Merchant's in his tower wishing that he could. Throw the silver overboard, we don't need his gold, Longship full of friends is worth a thousand years untold. [Chorus - full band, bigger chants] Longship bounce! Row! Row! Longship bounce! Let it go! From the fjord to the floor, Every hall wants more. Longship bounce! Row! Row! [Outro - chant with claps, drum hits] Row! Row! Bounce! ==================== 011. Not Our Ragnarök ==================== TITLE: Not Our Ragnarök STYLE: Nordic Viking metal fused with hip-hop, drop-D down-tuned heavy guitars, pounding war drums, tagelharpa and bone flute, deep throat-singing drones, cinematic strings, male baritone half-rap lead, female contralto lead, massive mixed choir, gang shouts, anthemic, epic, modern heavy production, clear intelligible English vocals, 92 BPM, the heaviest and most epic track, thundering war drums, full orchestra, massive choir, apocalyptic yet defiant EXCLUDE STYLES: autotune, EDM drop, lo-fi, comedy, spoken-word only, children's choir, country, reggae LYRICS: [Intro - great horn blast, thunder, orchestra swell, choir, instrumental] [Verse 1 - male baritone half-rap, commanding and huge, pounding riff] They wrote the end of the world on a merchant's scroll, Sold the wolf and the serpent and they took their toll. Wrote the day the sun goes dark and the rivers turn, Sold the tickets for the front row where the gods will burn. But the prophecy was forged by a hand we know, And the stars are all still standing and the rivers flow. There's no Fenrir at the gate, there's a man with a pen, And we will not end the world for his profit again. [Pre-Chorus - female contralto, powerful, rising strings] Put down the horn, Let it stay quiet. The end they sold Was only a riot. [Chorus - full band, apocalyptic choir, slow heavy anthem, gang shouts] Not our Ragnarök! Not our final fire! Not our Ragnarök! Not our funeral pyre! Let the wolf stay chained, Let the serpent sleep. Not our Ragnarök! This world is ours to keep! [Verse 2 - female contralto and male baritone trading bars, aggressive] They built the end in a counting room and priced it for a sale, Every shield a subscription and every grave a bale. They wanted twilight of the gods to be a quarterly gain, They wanted all our children as the kindling for the flame. But the watchman kept his lantern and the raven kept the truth, And the soldiers lowered spears from the old men to the youth. There is no fated ending that a merchant gets to write, We are the ones who choose if we will fight or hold the light. [Chorus - full band, bigger, key lift] Not our Ragnarök! Not our final fire! Not our Ragnarök! Not our funeral pyre! Let the wolf stay chained, Let the serpent sleep. Not our Ragnarök! This world is ours to keep! [Outro - final orchestral hit, thunder, silence, then one gang shout] Ours to keep! ==================== 012. True Dawn ==================== TITLE: True Dawn STYLE: Nordic Viking metal fused with hip-hop, drop-D down-tuned heavy guitars, pounding war drums, tagelharpa and bone flute, deep throat-singing drones, cinematic strings, male baritone half-rap lead, female contralto lead, massive mixed choir, gang shouts, anthemic, epic, modern heavy production, clear intelligible English vocals, 84 BPM, closing anthem, opens hushed then climbs to triumphant, warm major-key lift EXCLUDE STYLES: autotune, EDM drop, lo-fi, comedy, spoken-word only, children's choir, country, reggae LYRICS: [Intro - wind dying down, first birdsong, soft tagelharpa and female hum, instrumental] [Verse 1 - female contralto, warm and tender] The night was long and the dawn was false, We nearly marched for a merchant's cause. But the ravens are home and the mirror is glass, And the fire we feared has been let to pass. [Verse 2 - male baritone half-rap, calm, gathering strength] Remember the winter we starved the wolf called Want? Every table full and not a hollow haunt. Now we starve the other one, the wolf that lives on fear, The one that fed on rumors, and we won't feed it here. The halls are standing open and the spears are on the wall, The watchman on the bridge is sounding no alarm at all. The merchant packs his ledger and he rows away at night, And no one bothers chasing him, the morning is too bright. [Pre-Chorus - both voices in harmony, drums build, strings rise] Open the door, Let the light in. This is the dawn Where the true things begin. [Chorus - full band, triumphant, massive choir, major-key lift] This is the true dawn, Not the one they sold. This is the true dawn, Warm after the cold. Every hall, every shore, Every hand we held, This is the true dawn, And the lie is felled. [Bridge - female contralto and choir, soaring] No more ravens that we cannot trust. No more mirrors made of dust. Only faces, only names, Only morning, only warming flames. [Final Chorus - full band, biggest choir, key lift, joyous and heavy] This is the true dawn, Not the one they sold. This is the true dawn, Warm after the cold. Every hall, every shore, Every hand we held, This is the true dawn, And the lie is felled. [Outro - music thins to tagelharpa and birdsong, female a cappella] The ravens are home. The morning is ours.