Music
Swiss Melodic Dark Metal band ASKARA is musically active since 2013 and is going to release after the 2016 debut „Horizon of Hope“ their second album „Lights of Night“ via Fastball Music.
As already presented on their debut album the band offers a powerful, sometimes gloomy and continuously melodic metal sound that convinces throughout from production to songwriting.
ASKARA succeeds in developing a distinct type of melodic dark metal and presenting new approaches that are refreshingly down-to-earth, yet transcend the familiar and are far from generic clichés. Especially the perfect symbiosis of the lead vocals provided by singer & pianist Miril and the death metal growls from bassist & singer Elia lead to a harmonious intenseness of the melancholic yet driving metal sound. In addition drummer Raphael and guitarist Benjamin ensure this capturing mix of groove, hardness, atmosphere and melodies which so characteristically describe the melodic dark metal from ASKARA.
Veröffentlichungen
Lights of Night
(2022, Fastball Music)
1. The Birth of a Star
2. Nocturne of Cold Mystery Destiny you look at me so strange As I've never felt before Your eyes seem to hide something from me Where once the rails of my heart led me away Your hands have mounted unbreachable rocks Destiny you break the light and colours that my eyes used to see A wall of crystals mirroring my life One thousand pieces of my past you realign anew this forest of foreign fate I cannot pass Oh at night my dreams call your name With the voices of swans and feathers all pale Soar to the moon and escape earthen fate Let the shadows of yore turn to light Destiny cold mystery My dreams don't want to see The flash of your reality In life disguised mortality Weaving Whispering Pouring Veiling texebatque susurrabat manabatque velabat
3. Through Fire From cold embers danger is coming this way Fear a potential heed my warning Death irrelevant you would escape If you are small lies they are too And never ever have you seen the flames Those talking of red still are unheard Like prophets of a false god afoul and confused Cast the maniacs aside as they preach Fire under water flames beneath the sea Ignoring them attaches lumbers to your soul A spark in the dark A glow hidden ‘ waits Reveal thy might Come forth and break the silence of those so careless Flame arise breath the air Search for wood it’s all there Cleanse the core slice through bark Separate the wheat from the chaff Rise oh rise, fire, higher Burn and burn, pieces, ashes This is the day when forms lose their way Flames reveal the spirit the motion behind the veil I, I am all I see Egoistic purification determined not to crackle No heat no smoke no fire will ever touch my mind I will live my own life no god shall be my guide I will bring salvation if fire comes in sight You have been misguided the fire starts inside Explosion caused by your hands is burning down your soul Flame arise breath the air Search for wood it’s all there Cleanse the core slice through bark Separate the wheat from the chaff Flames are charring and flames are growing Flames are spreading and flames are cleansing Darkness shrinking foulness drying out Light in liberation freedom through fire
4. By God I see you die Wither in time I see you suffer and cry Don't try to deny That every movement you do Is finally killing you By God, I want you to live By God, I want you to breathe By God, I want you to break free Redeemed from sorrow Redeemed from pain Free to give Free to gain Love (Life?) I see you falter inside Crumble and hide The wreckage from outside Your eyes never smile And all that you are remains A dead lie of misery Stop lying to yourself It only brings you down Start to face the agony It lifts away the pain
5. To Ailsa Rock (John Keats) Hearken, thou craggy ocean-pyramid, Give answer by thy voice—the sea-fowls' screams! When were thy shoulders mantled in huge streams? When from the sun was thy broad forehead hid? How long is't since the mighty Power bid Thee heave to airy sleep from fathom dreams— Sleep in the lap of thunder or sunbeams— Or when grey clouds are thy cold coverlid! Thou answer'st not; for thou art dead asleep. Thy life is but two dead eternities, The last in air, the former in the deep! First with the whales, last with the eagle-skies! Drowned wast thou till an earthquake made thee steep, Another cannot wake thy giant-size!
6. Reprise: Harbour Lights
7. Hibernation River, river, carry my thoughts Wind sing your darkest tune Hurry, hurry, only you know the Truth, weaving under my skin Chorus My streams don't reach your shore One day they'll sing no more When the moon doth wane you'll find them still The stars that once burned bright Bereft now of their light Cold as ice frozen words Fall to the ground Hollow, hollow echoes in my mind Far, far away from you Mirror, mirror blinding your sight Frail sails sailing from my core And oh I wanted to show you My seventh and eight sense When at nine your scorn broke through my defense Sensations are slipping through my fingers like sand The tale of arcane tides coming to an end, coming to an end
8. Dark Night of the Soul Pt. I Wondering all night long how to change my life Knowing there's nothing that I can do but only to survive These long and lonely endless hours Of fighting the dark that all light devours These dreary days of broken dreams When hope is lost and gone it seems I choose to live though I'm not sure why Won't give up yet I still cling to life The loneliness That has emptied my heart That has silenced my soul That has tired my feet That has taken control I won't let it control Waking up to another bleak morning of sorrow This face in the mirror nothing more than a hollow Mask of what the world wants me to be Illusions of a lost life is all I can see Madness - the price we all must pay The bitter sentence for a fate betrayed I choose to live though I'm not sure why Won't give up yet I still cling to life The bitterness That has emptied my heart That has silenced my soul That has tired my feet That has taken control I won't let it control
9. Seven Years (Eriogaster Lanestris) Wandering all alone through starless nights Wandering on my own under darkened skies Driven by restlessness into the hollow hands of isolation Seven years of darkness, seven years of pain Seven years – will I ever see the sun again? I know the time has come to finally stand my ground Left to face my greatest fear – but when I turn around I stare into my own dead eyes prey of my own mortality Hope deferred has made my heart sick, but right then when it died I learned that I am being reborn
10. Viator In the rivers of time we’re just one drop water spilled on dry land Do we ever change? How could we ever be more than what we were born to be? And I sometimes wonder where my dreams were born And I often wonder why my heart is torn Can you tell me why I can’t stay here, torn away by the longing inside? A wanderer on everlasting shores, ancient waves washing over my feet no home, no home Many times I’ve tried to find the key to this door Many times found myself further away than before I feel it in the wind and waves and in the sea What will it mean to know the truth inside of me Whispers - whispers in the distance Comfort - comfort in the endless lights of night songs of old Covered in the velvet dark of the night sky, my spirit soaring heavenwards Guided by the light of innumerable stars, luminescence alluring me Ever I hear strong winds calling me back home Ever featherless can’t fly with bones of stone I feel you in the wind and waves I hear you calling out my name
11. The King’s Song This is the king’s song Meant to go out and herald To announce the name and coming Of the king, of the king This is the melody When foes will tremble And kinsfolk harken A melody of excitement and atonement Of a king, of a king Voices of cheer Is all you can hear Do you join them Can you join them Voices to shout Glory to a king Seem out of place today But natural tomorrow Voices to sing The song of a king This is the king’s song This is the king’s song Hear what it has to say Fear what it might reveal To declare your defeat there’s no retreat From this king, from this king This is the melody Strong and swinging Marching forward Ever going With the king, with the king This king of old Will reign again This king today Is hardly known This king tomorrow Withdraws your sorrow This king eternal Brings light eventual
Horizon of Hope
(2016, Independent)
1. Beyond the horizon of hope The nameless rise Darkness in disguise Slowly trying to cloud your mind You don’t take care Then won’t be aware Of how they burden all mankind They keep you involved Problems never to be solved To distract you from your life Fraud after fraud Your mind is caught Only undone cut through by a knife In such dark times I only find these glimpses of hope Short, only brief they show me peace and light It is these visions where I see you and am free to be with you If only my heart could have been Free to fly away If only my will would uphold Strength to carry on I would rise up beyond The horizon of hope And share this life with you It seems unreal Not able to feel Whether you are an existing reality They blind my eyes Ears crammed by lies To cut down any sound vitality I can see you beckon me I unfold my wings to be with you
2. Identity I reach out my hand I give you my everything The door’s wide open You enter my soul I seek to build you up You grow to destroy me When the abyss opens up You already snuck behind me Now suddenly I recall this moment You pushed me down and you made me be Something, anything, everything, just not me Who do you think you are, telling me how I should be Destroying my identity, your dark wings rule over me Who do you think you are, telling me all these lies I say back off, knock it off, I’ll hear you no more Consider my enemy for he hates me O keep my soul and deliver me Let honesty preserve me for I wait on thee In these darkest times My hope is in thee Now suddenly I recall this moment This voice in me, screaming silently Something, anything, everything, it’s just not true I discovered reality, the truth that really sets me free Gives back my identity, my true nature is what I see I discovered reality, saw behind these scheming lies I say cheer up, shout it out, give honor to his name When I look back and think about those days How blind I was not to see That you have used my trust Used my kindness to work against me You took everything away from me And turned me into a stranger It took way too long for me to know That I won’t ever be what you tell me Now I’m glad that I know the truth I know who I am and you should know Now I’m glad that I know the truth I know who I am and you should know it too
3. My Name Afraid of the day when you forget my name Who will remember me if not you? Cursing the day when your path crossed my way Everything my life was worth, I gave it all away Your tenderness The sweet caress Your awful selfish selflessness The smile on your face Makes me hate this place Don’t you remember me of happier days And how can you stand there and watch me drown Drown in the love that I have to shut down Dig and bury me six thousand feet underground You will always hear this echo in your heart resound Can’t make undone What we’ve become We have waited too long Can only go on Leave behind what was wrong Remembering only with this song
4. The Artefact of Want A lonely rider hides his face in the shadows he’s deserting all of his fellows on the battlefield Barely any strength left, careworn and trembling under his burden He’s carrying mankind’s fate The servant of life or death? Time is slipping through his hands, the enemy closes in on him Oh no, what have you done?! Oh no, what have I done? Where came this mad thought from? I deserted all my friends and foes Brought death upon them, all hell’s loose I’m no hero, I’m a thief Bring no rescue, only grief I should put an end to all And cross the abyss, speed up my fall This is the artefact of want A treasure of wealth known beyond Men slaughters men to own its power But is crushed, and devoured By the curse upon the item Its radiance of destruction affects them all This is the artefact of want With thoughts battling in his head the rider has not yet harmed himself But a furious rage of doubts ever weighs him down More and more he’s short of breath feeling his life force being dried out by his heavy lurking load I thought I could take away The casus belli, the only prey So I stole this thing by myself Thus inherit all future wealth But what of it I still do wonder Can I justify my plunder? I fled like a weakling Shoddy and cheating By taking the artefact of want The rider’s soul was caught in bond By bringing down the curse He suffered forever worse Every strike of destruction Is degrading his conduction So by smashing the item He killed himself too As the rider passed away The artefact has come undone His last act of desperation Ended the war, the hatred and his life too
5. Rigor Mortis Animi I will not bow I will not break Turn me to stone I will not shake I can be strong I stand my ground I will not fear, war all around You hit me once I break you twice I take the chance to slap your face And all the hurt I will pay back More strength I gain my heart can’t crack all alone on my own die inside to stay alive lose myself just to survive sacrifice all that I feel turn my heart into steel the void – all that’s left inside a soul – to myself I deny There is no weak spot to be shown An iron armour I have grown To keep man’s weakness from my heart numb all emotion right from the start Kill or be killed is my way out Bare power overcomes the crowd I’m in too deep there’s no return I’d rather see the whole world burn! all alone, on my own heart of stone, all alone die inside… stay alive… lose myself – just to survive the void – all that’s left inside a soul – to myself I deny
6. The Shame A happy little girl plays in the yard All her dreams soon shall fall apart When the wicked of this world bedrabble her skin She dreamed of love holistic and pure Never to leak – forever to endure But such dreams are crushed by insidious kin The shame is to be ignored The shame still is overcast The shame but you cannot walk away It will eat you alive destroy your life This is the shame forced on you through pain Run into the rain no freedom you shall gain Oh no, no the shame Oh no, no the shame Perverted and corrupted by society The girl won’t anticipate cruelty When the world strips her naked and sells her soul She is taught to fill her heart with hate Then believes slavery to be her fate Thus is trapped in this helix never gaining control Naked and bleeding – this world has left its mark Flame of cataclysm – the shame destroys her heart When all comes to the light The girl feels exploited, defiled and abused
7. Broken Wing A broken wing can never fly An aching heart can only try To figure out the reason why What once was truth has now become A lie, a lie And while you were asleep last night I was alone facing the fright That was revealed in dazzling light You left me there amidst the close Fight, the fight It’s just a thought that cannot be And still I am a daughter of Eve Still I want what I can’t have I walk alone on this cursed path But I won’t crawl, I won’t bleed, I won’t beg, I won’t cry Just do what I always do - lock my heart away And except on a rainy day I will keep this pain at bay Petrified down to the core There were no feelings anymore Strength was gone, hope forlorn, And while you slept my dreams crashed on the Floor, the floor A broken wing can never fly An aching heart can only try To figure out the reason why What once was real has now become Undone
8. Reprise: The Flight
