I had a dream, which was not all a dream.
The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the stars
Did wander darkling in the eternal space,
Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth
Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air;
Morn came and went—and came, and brought no day,
And men forgot their passions in the dread
Of this their desolation; and all hearts
Were chill'd into a selfish prayer for light:
And they did live by watchfires—and the thrones,
The palaces of crowned kings—the huts,
The habitations of all things which dwell,
Were burnt for beacons; cities were consum'd,
And men were gather'd round their blazing homes
To look once more into each other's face;
Happy were those who dwelt within the eye
Of the volcanos, and their mountain-torch:
A fearful hope was all the world contain'd;
Forests were set on fire—but hour by hour
They fell and faded—and the crackling trunks
Extinguish'd with a crash—and all was black.
The brows of men by the despairing light
Wore an unearthly aspect, as by fits
The flashes fell upon them; some lay down
And hid their eyes and wept; and some did rest
Their chins upon their clenched hands, and smil'd;
And others hurried to and fro, and fed
Their funeral piles with fuel, and look'd up
With mad disquietude on the dull sky,
The pall of a past world; and then again
With curses cast them down upon the dust,
And gnash'd their teeth and howl'd: the wild birds shriek'd
And, terrified, did flutter on the ground,
And flap their useless wings; the wildest brutes
Came tame and tremulous; and vipers crawl'd
And twin'd themselves among the multitude,
Hissing, but stingless—they were slain for food.
And War, which for a moment was no more,
Did glut himself again: a meal was bought
With blood, and each sate sullenly apart
Gorging himself in gloom: no love was left;
All earth was but one thought—and that was death
Immediate and inglorious; and the pang
Of famine fed upon all entrails—men
Died, and their bones were tombless as their flesh;
The meagre by the meagre were devour'd,
Even dogs assail'd their masters, all save one,
And he was faithful to a corse, and kept
The birds and beasts and famish'd men at bay,
Till hunger clung them, or the dropping dead
Lur'd their lank jaws; himself sought out no food,
But with a piteous and perpetual moan,
And a quick desolate cry, licking the hand
Which answer'd not with a caress—he died.
The crowd was famish'd by degrees; but two
Of an enormous city did survive,
And they were enemies: they met beside
The dying embers of an altar-place
Where had been heap'd a mass of holy things
For an unholy usage; they rak'd up,
And shivering scrap'd with their cold skeleton hands
The feeble ashes, and their feeble breath
Blew for a little life, and made a flame
Which was a mockery; then they lifted up
Their eyes as it grew lighter, and beheld
Each other's aspects—saw, and shriek'd, and died—
Even of their mutual hideousness they died,
Unknowing who he was upon whose brow
Famine had written Fiend. The world was void,
The populous and the powerful was a lump,
Seasonless, herbless, treeless, manless, lifeless—
A lump of death—a chaos of hard clay.
The rivers, lakes and ocean all stood still,
And nothing stirr'd within their silent depths;
Ships sailorless lay rotting on the sea,
And their masts fell down piecemeal: as they dropp'd
They slept on the abyss without a surge—
The waves were dead; the tides were in their grave,
The moon, their mistress, had expir'd before;
The winds were wither'd in the stagnant air,
And the clouds perish'd; Darkness had no need
Of aid from them—She was the Universe.
lyrics
I had a dream
Which was no dream.
The sun was extinguish’d,
Stars did wander darkling
Icy earth swung blind
And blackening
In the eternal space,
rayless and pathless, in the moonless air
Morning came and went and brought no day / in dread, men forgot their passion
In this their desolation, and all hearts / prayers for light were chill’d and selfish
To look once more into each other’s eyes / fearful hope was all the world contain’d
Forests were set fire, but hour by hour / extinguish’d with a crash and All. Was. Black.
They fell and faded, and all was dark
They lay down and hid their eyes and wept.
But in the blackness none could find rest
A meal was bought with blood
Gorging himself in the restless gloom:
No love was left
All earth was but one thought
And that was death!
The pang of famine fed upon their entrails
Men died, their bones were tombless as their flesh;
The meagre by the meagre, were devour’d,
Till hunger clung them, or the dropping dead
Morning came and went and brought no day
Prayers for light were chill’d and selfish
Fearful hope was all the world contain’d
Extinguish’d with a crash and all was black.
Famine had written “Fiend”
The world was void
A lump of death
A chaos of hard clay.
Seasonless,
Herbless,
Treeless,
Manless,
Lifeless–
Ceaseless
I See! (Icy)
DARKNESS
credits
from A Voice and Nothing More,
released October 30, 2018
Music by WitchHands
Lyrics by Byron, Flint
WitchHands is a Colorado based Goth Rock / Deathrock band
D-beat rhythms, melodic synths, grinding guitars, and lyrics ranging from sad poetry to nihilistic rage.
This is the kind of gothic rock I absolutely love. Oldschool, guitar-heavy music in the vein of Love Like Blood. I'm really hoping for a full-length LP. WotanAK
It's so hard to pick just one favourite track. The whole album is just so magical, so special!
It's like a warm shroud of enveloping, nourishing darkness. Onyx Tomb
An epic dark rock record that will make fans of Sisters of Mercy swoon—massive chords and choruses, plus gothic grandeur. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 16, 2020
The Tacks, from Christchurch, New Zealand, channel goth rock's glory days across four, dark, deeply-infectious cuts. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 22, 2020
Living For Nothing finds Horror Vacui in their best form. Songwriting and production here is even better than the excellent New Wave of Fear album and the intricate guitar work makes this their darkest offering so far. Top notch Post-Punk/Deathrock!
My blessings. Elis Alex