SHRINE!
[Intro - A haunting, clean minor-key folk progression. a cold wind whistles. heavy, distorted guitar chug with a low, growl into a high-pitched scream] Born from a king's ancient sin, a cursed bloodline breaks the boundary between beast and man. Under the silver moon, the human soul withers as the predator stalks his prey again!
[Verse 1] In the halls of Arcadia, the table was spread With the flesh of the innocent, the banquet of dread. Zeus cats a long shadow, the judgment was sworn From the pride of a king, the first beast was born! A howl to the heavens, a pelt made of sin The boundary is broken 'tween spirit and skin! No longer a man in the eyes of the light Just a shadow that stalks in the belly of night!
[Chorus] Tear the veil, embrace the hide, Nowhere left for the man to hide! Under the eye of the silver moon, Nature hums a lethal tune. Spirit of wolf and the heart of a man, Bound by a curse since the world began! Bone turns to iron, blood turns to fire, dragged through the dirt of a primal desire! The flesh’s command, the heavy, the fanged law, the world is rewritten by tooth and claw!
[Verse 2] The full moon is rising, a pale, hungry eye As the scent of the wolfsbane drifts under the sky! Beware of the traveler with hair on his palm For the blood in his veins is a breaking of calm. The silver is forged in the fire of fear The only salvation as the clicking of claws draws near! A duality fractured, a soul torn in two The hunger is old, but the carnage is new!
[Chorus] Tear the veil, embrace the hide, Nowhere left for the man to hide! Under the eye of the silver moon, Nature hums a lethal tune. Spirit of wolf and the heart of a man, Bound by a curse since the world began! Bone turns to iron, blood turns to fire, dragged through the dirt of a primal desire! The flesh’s command, the heavy, the fanged law, the world is rewritten by tooth and claw!
[Bridge - The tempo drops, deathcore breakdown. Vocals shift to layered, guttural "tunnel" growls.] The bone-snap! The marrow-drain! I am the vessel of ancient pain! Wear the wolf-skin belt, sign the pact, There is no mercy, and no turning back! Discard the man! Embrace the hate! (BLEGH!)
[Verse 3] Through the Volsung forests where the ancient ones tread They wear the wolf-garb to honor the dead! From the Navajo sands to the European pine The skinwalker dances on the edge of the line! It’s a pact with the darkness, a belt made of hide With the fury of nature and nowhere to hide. The cycle is endless, the transformation complete As the heart of the human yields to the beast!
[Outro - a rhythmic, tribal drum beat. The distorted guitars fade out, melody from the intro. One final, distant howl echoes and trails off into silence] The ancient curse is complete, and the silence of the forest is all that remains. The beast stays while the man is blamed, leaving only a hollow echo in the pines and rain!