Book of Romans

(Intro)
(Feedback hums low. A church bell tolls once, buried under layers of distortion.)

(Verse)
The marble cracked in the heart of the empire
Dust of the law on a throat set on fire
I do the very thing I claim to hate
A prisoner of war at the city gate
From the depths of the clay to the potter’s hand
Who can survive in this desolate land?
The flesh is a tomb, the spirit a ghost
Wandering the ruins of the heavenly host.

(Verse)
Creation is groaning, a beast in the night
Waiting for morning, waiting for light
Neither height nor the depth, nor the blade of the sword
Can sever the chain of the breath of the Lord
The olive branch grafted to a wild, dying tree
A mystery locked in a blood-soaked decree
Mercy is hardened, then mercy is shown
On a throne made of grace, not a heart made of stone.

(Chorus)
The debt is paid in shadow, the life is bought in red
No condemnation echoes for the living among the dead
From the wrath to the glory, across the iron span
The clay has found its master, the Spirit finds the man.

(Verse)
Lay your bones on the altar, 
let the fire descend 
Where the world’s hollow fashion comes to an end 
Don't mirror the darkness or the shape of the age 
But rewrite the mind on a blood-spattered page 
It’s a reasonable service, a holy decay 
As the old man of sulfur is washed clean away 
Bless those who curse you, feed the hunger of foes
For the heat of the embers is the love that He chose.

(Bridge)
Oh, the depth...
The riches...
The wisdom…

(Chorus)
The debt is paid in shadow, the life is bought in red
No condemnation echoes for the living among the dead
From the wrath to the glory, across the iron span
The clay has found its master, the Spirit finds the man.

(Chorus)
The debt is paid in shadow, the life is bought in red
No condemnation echoes for the living among the dead
From the wrath to the glory, across the iron span
The clay has found its master, the Spirit finds the man.

(Outro)
TOTAL DEPRAVITY!
UNMERITED FAVOR!
WHO SHALL DELIVER ME?
To the only wise God.
To the only wise God.
Amen.
Amen.

A cinematic Gothic Metal with a deep baritone, gravelly male vocal with a harmonizing delivery and melodic chorus