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here come thevultures

I once had an understanding that everything would go my way / But now we’ve come too far along for me to hold on to my own beliefs / I’m not in it for the fun of it but for the

pain / I’m not at all interested in your temporary fame I just want to see you stare / As I lay my soul bare for you

to crush upon with heavy feet / I’m in it for the beat //

stranger the faces / stranger the places / They’re becoming us / here come the vultures / here come the vultures /

heading over us //

It’s just a black murder of crows / Across the sky / The moon announces that it will soon be night / The light dies down / The spot goes on / As loveless lips / Break into

song //

I once had an understanding that everything would go my way / But now we’ve come too far along for me to hold on to my own beliefs / I’m not in it for the fun of it but for the

pain / I’m not at all interested in your temporary fame / And the same old song we sing //

here’s to the ghost / We still seem to host / how he’s becoming us / here come the vultures / here come the

vultures / screaming down at us //

They said you can not sing the blues / When you’re pretty and young / let me show you a face that fits to neither one / This heart is black / like blood that has dried / This song is

blue / like bruises bright //

I once had an understanding that everything would go my way / But now we’ve come too far along for me to hold on to my own beliefs / I’m not in it for the fun of it but for the

pain / I’m not at all interested in your temporary fame / And the same old song we sing //

murder of crows across the sky / The moon announces that it will soon be night / Fog closes in / And all I see

All empty eyes / Through silent screams //

I once had an understanding that everything would go my way / But now we’ve come to far along for me to hold on to

my own beliefs / I’m in it for the beat //

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stArdustdreamscape in a blanket silver-gray / homesick for a memory washed away / All light in our hollow eyes is

stardust, stardust / once you learn there is no return to lies heaven cried as we left the earth to die / homesick for a

memory / In silent sleep / eternally //

Bring me to life / Bring me the starlight / Bring me the sun and moon / release the stars tonight //

Far away in a distant memory / There is lush, there is green there’s you and me / Now all blood in our hollow hearts is stardust, stardust / Washed away like a face drawn in the

sand / At the edge of the sea is how we end / Painful is the memory / We did it to ourselves //

Awaken me / Bring back my heartbeat / Bring back the warmth of skin / The world we were living in //

Bring me to life [dreamscape, in silver-gray] / Bring me the starlight [homesick, all washed away] / Bring me the sun

and moon / release the stars tonight //

your Body Is ABAttlegrouNd

Any infection [Imperfection!] / Any affliction [Imperfection!] / each imperfection [don’t you settle!] / spread the addiction! [take some action!] / Any disorder [Imperfection] / Bi-or tri-polar [Imperfection!] / For your

protection [don’t you settle!] / Just an injection! [take some action!] //

one bitter pill / hard to take / And one more each day just to feel the same / And kill the pain

Any disorder? / No concentration? / too hard to handle? No hesitation! / For your protection / Just an injection

We’ll write you a letter / The younger the better! //

one for your heart / For your head / one for the monsters under your bed //

your body is a battleground / And chemicals are scattered around / your body is a battleground / But don’t think you

can do without / your body is an industry / your pain nothing but gain to me / your body is an industry

you can’t break free //

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my mAsquerAdeyour face, my face / you breathe, I breathe / you fail, I fake / I pray, I pray... / you lose, I lose, / you bruise, I bruise / I

hunt, you stay / my prey, my prey //

my masquerade / If you’re not afraid / to take a step into my world //

A ball, tonight / cover your eyes / By touch and taste / We’ll find our way / your secrets deep / yes I will keep / I

hunt, you stay / my prey, my prey //

my masquerade / If you’re not afraid / to take a step into my world //

take of your mask / And you will see / The freak in you / The freak in me / tonight we hide / From judging eyes /

We’ll dance until the sunrise //

tell me, mechANIsttell me, mechanist, is it true? / does none of it bother you?

//

once upon a time / upon a time behind us / The mechanist inclined / clockworks of time define us / Who you are, who you are; / merely springs that tick / The time

of things away //

The cry from the beast is just the noise / of a spring that you have touched / Not a human: not a voice //

If only we could go back to the start [tell me, mechanist, is it true?] / We would see we’re not that far apart [does none of it bother you?] / realize the likeness of our hearts / If we

could go back to the start //

one and the same / likely to one another / But the mechanist inclined / merely our kind can suffer / Who you

are, who you are / does it justify / Pleasing your palate / With the other’s blood? //

tell me why, have the writings on the wall / Nor the dawn of dNA, / changed a single thing at all? //

If only we could go back to the start [tell me, mechanist, is it true?] / We would see we’re not that far apart [does none of it bother you?] / realize the likeness of our hearts / If we

could go back to the start //

closing collision: / The end of our divide / savor the flavor of our ancestry rites / closing collision: / We’ll realize in

time / No opposition / We’re genetically entwined //

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Army oF dollshow do you look into the mirror / When you’re too tired

to fake a smile / your misery won’t make you look thinner / reality is bitter / It’s your hand and yours alone that has opened / the door to let their voices in / Into your head, under your skin / Fix your face or you will never fit in //

do you want me, do you want me / to burst your bubble now? / do you want me, I will break it / make it loud / do

you want me, do you want me / to break the paradigm / These rules were made by us / They break you up inside //

Army of dolls stole your reflection / Army of dolls stole all your perfect imperfections / Just shut them out, don’t let them in / Into our head / do you really think / misery tastes so much sweeter / served with a perfect smile //

do you want me, do you want me / to burst your bubble now? / do you want me, I will break it / make it loud / do

you want me, do you want me / to break the paradigm / These rules were made by us / They break you up inside //

don’t you look into the mirror / Army of dolls made you so bitter / make-up magpul follow the leader / Never have

seen a face much sweeter //

sINg to mehappy tears fade fast / sad tears tend to last / you’ve got

your blood-stained heart / In your nicotine-stained hands / And your twenty-nine years / did not help you pass / oh,

the roadkill, cheap thrill / obstacle filled path //

White lies, black dress / Brightest of darkness / you close your tearstained eyes / to your silver lined madness / After twenty-nine years / you might want to confess / That we have made / A fucked-up place / That I can not erase //

sing to me //

White lies, black heart / tearing us apart / you breathe the frost-filled air / From my lungs to your lungs / After

twenty-nine years / how much more to come? / Now, we have made / A fucked-up place / That I can not erase //

sing to me //

happy tears fade fast / sad tears tend to last / you’ve got a sad, sad song / And it’s stuck in your aching head / And

your twenty-nine years / did not teach you that / changing melodies / will change your destiny at last / Now, we have made / A fucked-up place / We’re trying to erase /

erase //

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lullAByWe are sinking this ship now / By midnight hour / how

long can you hold your breath? / to the sirens who sing to / the broken hearts / We are humming the same tune //

goodbye my lullaby //

under water reflected / flashes of life / Floating up from your lungs, your lips / When you decided to sail to / The

other side / you decided to sink too //

goodbye my lullaby //

I will miss you //

We are one, and one is all / Through self-destruction we fall / close your eyes, to darkened skies / our ignorant

demise //

to another obsession / over another possession / Another deal well made / Well I raise my glass / And to the blissful

ignoring / That the unclaimable objects / decide our pitfall or prospect //

I know at least I thought, at least I fight / At least I know at least I tried / I know I thought, I know I’ll fight / tonight I

kiss the world goodbye //

We are one, as one we fall / our self-destruction of all / close your eyes, to darkened skies / our ignorance in

demise //

This will lead to personal gain / But I won’t feel any personal pain / All the global implications in vain / yes the price is high but so are the stakes / This belongs to all of us so / really this belongs to no one at all / When it comes to owning up to our fall / Better brace yourself for the end of

it all //

the trAgedy oF the commoNs

to another commotion / to another disruption / to another explosion / I raise my glass / to another investment

/ Into the future of wasteland / Well here’s to pulling the waistband //

But I know at least I thought, at least I fight / At least I know at least I tried / I know I thought, I know I’ll fight /

tonight I kiss the world goodbye //

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guests: AlIssA WhIte-gluz / mArco hIetAlA / george oosthoek

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credItsvocals: charlotte Wessels guitars: timo somers Bass guitars: otto schimmelpenninck van der oije keys: martijn Westerholt drums: sander zoer

marco hietala: vocals on “your Body Is A Battleground” and “sing to me” Alissa White-gluz: grunts and backing vocals on “The tragedy of The commons” george oosthoek: grunts on “tell me, mechanist” choirs on “The tragedy of The commons” by charlotte Wessels, georg Neuhauser, oliver Philipps, shouts on “here come The vultures” by pop choir Peppersweet, male vocals on “my masquerade” by oliver Philipps Additional guitars: guus eikens, oliver Philipps Additional drums: mike coolen, ruben Israel //

Produced by martijn Westerholt / mixed at studio Fredman by Fredrik Nordström and henrik udd / mastered at sterling sound by ted Jensen / drums recorded at Wisseloord studios and graveland studio by Arno krabman / rhythm guitars recorded by Ad sluijter, christian moos at spacelab, guus eikens headquarters / vocal recordings by oliver Philipps / key arrangements by martijn Westerholt and oliver Philipps / orchestra by mikko P. mustonen //

All music written by guus eikens, charlotte Wessels and martijn Westerholt / All lyrics written by charlotte Wessels //

Bonus tracks:

vocals: charlotte Wessels guitars: timo somers Bass guitars: otto schimmelpenninck van der oije keys: martijn Westerholt drums: sander zoer

mixed at spacelab studio by christian moos / mastered at eroc mastering ranch / “scarlet” and “don’t let go”: music by guus eikens, charlotte Wessels and martijnWesterholt. lyrics by charlotte Wessels. / live recordings performed by delain at the “my masquerade” concert, 2013, recorded by André zoer. / live Intro “my masquerade” by oliver Philipps / orchestra by mikko P. mustonen //

Photos by sandra ludewig / Artwork design by das Buro //

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delain thanks: Thomas caser & max riedler at Napalm records, henrik & Fredrik atstudio Fredman, oliver Philipps, mikko mustonen, Arno krabman at graveland studio, moschus at spacelab studio, Ad sluijter, mike coolen, ruben Israel, georg Neuhauser, the enitre eikens family. our guests on this album: Alissa White-gluz, marco hietala & george oosthoek. leon & dennis at dasBuro, sandra ludewig. robert, Willem, Ans korstanje & Fortarock. octavia e. Butler, michiel steenhuis, tibor kuijs. our entire live crew of the past two years: rik, laurens, Nick, evert, Freek, maarten, Joyce, matthijs, Britt, Pim. robert Westerholt, Barend courbois & Florentijn Bruning, Aristides crew, Nico & AudioBizz Benelux, kenny & merchandise For life, elisa Flehmer, Philip & kemper Profiler, roos & hair today, Pupa milano, Wendy van den Bogert-elberse, dwars Producties, eckhard doll & steinberg, John Finnberg and Fooking entertainment, Thomas kreidner at Ics. Thomas youngblood, Andre zoer. //

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charlotte thanks: Thijs, my parents and my family for their unconditional love and support. The entire delain family for sharing these adventures. The eikens family for welcoming the tuesday/Thursday night writers their regular invasions. The gender studies department at utrecht university for challenging and inspiring me. oli, sandra, all people who have contributed to “The human contradiction”, physically, or in spirit; most notably octavia e. Butler. And finally, you, for picking up this record and making it possible for us to do what we do. //

timo thanks: Jan somers, karin somers, roos de laat. somers & zwaans family. timo, Willem & Alex. Barend courbois & Florentijn Bruning. Pascal langenaar, Aristides Poort & the Aristides crew. everyone at curt mangan, Palmer germany, spectraflex, taurus, Box of doom and latchlake. hennie lathouwers. ruben Israel, Ad sluijter, guus eikens, evert matthijsen. vengeance, Arrow haze, Atma Anur, Jan van geerenstein, guido Aalbers. delain family. tonnie the bulldog. //

otto thanks: sandra (love of my life!), my parents & family for their love and support, mike, koen, matthieu & detonation, martijn kalksma, sander van de ven, evert, laurens, Nick, maasje, ruben, george, guus, rik, maarten, ernst & Janneke and the rest of the tub crew, s.I.t. strings, IntunegP, radial eng., Annemieke & Feedback rotterdam, and the whole delain family! //

martijn thanks: everybody who supported me. my family, my sponsors/endorsers, and last but not least my bandmates. Thnx everybody! //

sander thanks: Nathan zoer, daniël zoer, linda Aarts, my family and friends, my band mates and the crew. christian Wenzel & Paiste cymbals, Thomas Barth & sonor drums, Promark drumsticks, Papen & Bongaerts, Johan hartman, Arie Bokkema, all my friends and all fans! //

guus thanks: rosan, Jorg, luuk & merijn: for putting up with “the spandex man” pursuing his musical dreams. martijn & charlotte: for the struggle, all the hard work and the continuously rising learning curve. delain: for the chances, ambitions and eternal Fame & glory. It&s Application management; Bouke and all my other colleagues: for the blessing of having a job that not only takes, but also gives energy. //

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