[Instrumental]

With defiance and resistance
I burn the bridges and their names
Will I ever comprehend
My own spells and games?

Let me keep my world
Let me have my slaves
They all do wonders for me
So I can leave things be
Let me keep my world
As I'm too blind to see

When I lay in bed at night - wishing well
When I pray for recovery - feeling hell
Suffocating in my own filth
With no fresh air to inhale

Born treacherous!

Insanity keeps me away and free
From the core of responsibility
But once the pace quickens
I'll be derived from myself
In total mind captivity

The core principle of freedom
Is the only notion to obey
The formulae of evolution and sin
Leading the way

The rebirth is near completion
As we slowly awaken from slumber

The malpractice of the spirit ends
Gateways!
When the gift is once again attained
Gateways!
No rules or restraints are longer valid
Gateways!
When the ancient future is reclaimed
Gateways!

It's all there for the eyes that can see
The blind ones will always suffer in secrecy
For it is the omen
Of what lies submerged - breeding
Untouched within us - bleeding

To receive the light that shines in darkness
The light that shines forevermore

Be the broken or the breaker
Be the giver or the undertaker
Unlock and open the door
Be the healer or the faker
The keys are in your hands
Realize you are your own sole creator
Of your own master plan
Be the broken or the breaker
Be the giver or the undertaker
Unlock and open the door
Be the healer or the faker
The keys are in your hands
Realize you are your own sole creator
Of your own masterplan

Old dreams return
Disillusioned I yearn
Am I buried beneath sand and clay?
The caress of cold soil
With limbs crippled to the coil
Locked inside a nightmare womb

Tarnished and grief stricken
Emptiness within a void
Longing for the sun to shine
To discourage the demonoid

Salvation!
Darkness reborn!

We seem to keep fading away
Holding on to that last final sway
A doctrine of self salvation
Darkness reborn on resurrection day?

Stagnating in dead waters
While circling above the surface
Of the deep pale desert sea
Cutting that other life of lines

Salvation!
Wish we'd never met
Salvation!
And rather gone our separate ways
Salvation!
All times spent together
Salvation!
Are the darkest of days
Salvation!
Darkness reborn!

Forces of the northern light - assemble
Forces of the northern night - call to arms
Summoned by the secrets of sacrifice

Meeting destiny on the road we took to avoid it
As we only compete with ourselves
Left is that of a confident union

What bridge to cross and what bridge to burn
Deceit is everywhere you turn
We weed out the weak and their weep

Evolving - compulsively
Behaving - inconsistently
Yet the pulse is pounding
Restoration is the name
For those who are left in the game
Invocation in the name of our flame

Dimmu Borgir!
The deviants seek but one place
Dimmu Borgir!
Forward onward march!

Forgive we shall not
Forget we shall not
With trickery and treat
Enemies will face defeat

No place for dreamers
As our formation is lava
Fire is with or against you
And so it burns

Constant retribution calling
From the shadows of three consecutive sixes
Merging with the cold dark vacuum
Talent is worthless unless exercised

"When the world is turning
You'll find your true nature
When the first is last and the last is first
You'll be where you choose to be"

Forgive we shall not
Forget we shall not
Fire is with or against you
And so it burns

Shedding the old skin
Procreating new sin
Incubation and isolation
A new storm is brewing

Ritualist!
Shedding the old skin
Ritualist!
Procreating new sin
Ritualist!
Incubation and isolation
Ritualist!
A new storm is brewing

Away with obstacles to progress
Those deficient in ambition to prosperity
Yearning but what already is gone
The remains digress
And start anew

Ritualist!
Aligned with the continuum
Ritualist!
Expanding the source at hand

Aligned with the continuum
Expanding the source at hand
Altering the past and the present
The future changes the chain of command

Transfusion of new blood
Congregation of the true blood
With no chains attached
We're letting the past rest
And things will never quite be the same

Transfusion of new blood
Mobilization of true blood
What's leaving is already left behind
What's leaving is already left behind

With no chains attached
We're letting the past rest
Things will never quite be the same
When we are in charge of the game

Dispatching the chained ones
While being watched by the eyes of time
Everything is clearer now
The search is on for the next horizon

Ritualist!
Moving forward with silence and rapid pace
Ritualist!
Since the horror dawned upon our immediate race
Ritualist!
The veil has once again been extracted
Ritualist!
From the mist that dimmed our eyes

Synthetic residue touched upon
Scars and wounds frown upon
While other wounds are closing
Stars and losers reassemble
Within thy own abyss

Sought through internal pyre and wind
Not ready to remember where to begin
For another day is yet to come
Before the night takes us home

What will remain
What will leave trace
While travelling through
Time and space

Arcane perfection
Arcane illumination

Arcane perfection
Sweeps away darkness of the old ways
Arcane illumination
Welcomes the birth of another

Haunting visions dawn upon me
While time is standing still
Lost far beyond the imaginary
Out of reach for the soul

Through moors and mists of deception
The uninitiated are conjoined
Illusive bliss feeds obsession
A feeble orientation is provoked

Inflammatory bonds will be broken
Being the shepherd no more
Yearning for that ever glowing token
In ongoing lore

Images appear before my eyes
At any given time
Burdened bearing all their lies
Leaping laughter and secret smiles

Inflammatory bonds will be broken
Being the shepherd no more
Yearning for that ever glowing token
In ongoing lore

The treasure lies not in regression
But in reaching the levels of becoming
That harboured within us for centuries
Centuries of long lost knowing

Spirit and matter defined
Spirit and matter refined

The upper planes accessed
Insight and co-alliance addressed
Spirit and matter defined
Spirit and matter refined

Dare not to inflict upon my wishes
Dare not to obstruct upon my path
Dare not to pretend to lick my wounds
When all it means is opening another

Purity comes with birth
Reassigned through the slit
Spawned out of the shadows
The light is once again lit

False regrets
Deepest of despair
False visions
Reservoir of grief
False regrets
Whatever presence
False visions
That graced my spirit

Whiffs of clarity
And universal understanding
Come and go

I'm too young and too old
To continue this worthless fight
I've seen through the darkness
To understand the value of light

Though I seek validity
From the Ides of March
I watch darkness
Open its jaws
Whatever presence
That graced my spirit
Is for whomever
I choose to inherit

Ages of the past
Abrahadabra!
Forever to last

Enter the supreme unknown

From within the chambers
Comes expansion of thy own free will
From the outer rooms
Comes extension of thy own free will

Through the confines of tomorrow
We reappear still
Timeless and elemental

From the ancient future
Comes the seamless and the endless
Ages of the past
Energies eternal
Forever to last

Seeing - evolving
Willing - achieving
Beyond the next worlds

Flee the cage of insecurity
Enter the supreme unknown
Expand the inner and outer horizon
For it is as obvious as it is shown

[Instrumental]