album: "Systematic Chaos" (2007)

album: "Systematic Chaos" (2007)

1. In The Presence Of Enemies, Pt. 1

[Music: Dream Theater / Lyrics: John Petrucci]

[I Prelude]

[Instrumental]

[II Resurrection]

I saw a white light
Shining there before me
And walking to it
I waited for the end
A final vision
Promising salvation
A resurrection
For a fallen man

Do you still wait for your God
And the symbol of your faith?

I can free you from this Hell and misery
You should never be ashamed my son
I can give you power beyond anything
Trust me you will be the chosen one

I was forgotten
A body scorned and broken
My soul rejected
Tainted by his blood

Beyond redemption
A sinner not worth saving
Forever taken
From the one I loved

Do I still wait for my God
And a symbol of my faith?

I can lead you down the path and back to life
All I ask is that you worship me
I can help you seek revenge and save yourself
Give you life for all eternity

Servants of the fallen
Fight to pave the way
For their saviour's calling
Of this wicked day

Through a veil of madness
With a vicious blade
One man rises up
Standing in their way

Redemption
Redemption for humanity

2. Forsaken

[Music: Dream Theater / Lyrics: John Petrucci]

For a while I thought I fell asleep
Lying motionless inside a dream

Then rising suddenly
I felt a chilling breath upon me
She softly whispered in my ear
(Forsaken)

Forsaken
I have come for you tonight
Awaken
Look in my eyes and take my hand
Give yourself up to me

I waited painfully
For night to fall again
Trying to silence the fear within me

Out of an ivory mist
I felt a stinging kiss
And saw a crimson stain on her lips

I have to know your name
Where have I seen your face before?
My dear one don't you be afraid

Forsaken
I have come for you tonight
Awaken
Look in my eyes and take my hand
Give yourself up to me

Take me far away
Close your eyes
And hold your breath
To the ends of the earth

Forsaken
I have come for you tonight
Awaken
Look in my eyes and take my hand

Forsaken
Fly away with me tonight
Awaken
Renew my life
Now you are mine
Give yourself up to me

3. Constant Motion

[Music: Dream Theater / Lyrics: Mike Portnoy]

Tunnel vision at blinding speed
Controlling my thoughts, obsessing me
Void of any uncertainty
Throughout my very soul

Lost illusions of mind control
Resisting all hope of letting go
Racing impulse of dark desire
Drives me through the night

I try to shut it down
It leaves me in the dust
No matter what I've found
I can never get enough

Frantic actions of insanity
Impulsive laced profanity
Long for elusive serenity
Way out of my control

Traveling through both space and time
(Out of body, out of mind)
Out of control
My wheels in constant motion

Spinning round and round it goes
(I can't let up, I can't let go)
Can't stop this flame from burning
Forever more
Into the night
Blistering

Focus here, focus there
Cannot see the light
(Falling down through the night)
Sprawling everywhere

Searching left, searching right
(Panic setting in, I can no longer fight)
When will this end?

Accelerate, dislocate
(Set to crash and burn, haven't got time to waste)
Not planning to return

Aggravate, agitate
(When will I ever learn?)
There's no way out of here
Nowhere to turn

Obsessive yearning
Compulsive burning
Still never learning
Insane random thoughts
Of neat disorder

Scattered wasteland surrounding me
Tattered memories of what used to be
Apocalyptic mind debris
Until we meet again

Traveling through both space and time
(Out of body, out of mind)
Out of control
My wheels in constant motion

Spinning round and round it goes
(I can't let up, I can't let go)
Can't stop this flame from burning
Forever more
Into the night
Blistering

Traveling through both space and time
(Out of body, out of mind)
Out of control
My wheels in constant motion

Spinning round and round it goes
(I can't let up, I can't let go)
Can't stop this flame from burning
Can't stop the wheels from turning

Traveling through both space and time
(You get yours, and I got mine)
Out of control
My wheels in constant motion

Spinning round and round it goes
(I can't let up, I can't let go)
Can't stop this flame from burning
Forever more
Into the night
Blistering

4. The Dark Eternal Night

[Music: Dream Theater, Lyrics: John Petrucci]

No one dared to
Speak of the terrible danger
The hideous ancient warnings
Forged in the void of night

He has risen up
Out of the blackness chaos
The last of the prophets sinister
A sickening monstrous sight

Through the stifling heat
Underneath the pale green moon

I burned with a thirst
To seek things not yet seen

Climbing endless stairs
Leading to the choking room

Eager to explore
His most shocking mysteries

Drifting beyond all time
Out of a churning sky
Drawn to the beckoning light
Of the dark eternal night

Black forces
Rage in the vortex,
Fighting
Waves of destruction
Swallowing
The echo of the universe

I am the last
Born of the blood of the pharaohs
The ultimate god of a rotting creation
Sent to unleash this curse

Restless crowds draw near
Nameless hooded forms appear

Amidst fallen ruins
Grotesque creatures battle

Shadowed on a screen
Yellow evil faces leer

Vacant monuments
Corpses of dead worlds left behind

Drifting beyond all time
Out of a churning sky
Drawn to the beckoning light
Of the dark eternal night

Trapped in a hellish dream
Spinning past worlds unseen
And frightfully vanishing
Into the dark eternal night

[Solos]

Drifting beyond all time
Out of a churning sky
Drawn to the beckoning light
Of the dark eternal night

Trapped in a hellish dream
Spinning past worlds unseen
And frightfully vanishing
Into the dark eternal night

5. Repentance

[Music: Dream Theater / Lyrics: Mike Portnoy]

[VIII Regret]
Hello, mirror, so glad to see you my friend
It's been a while...

Staring at the empty page before me
All the years of wreckage running through my head
Patterns of my life I thought adorned me
Revealing hurtful shame and deep lament

Overwhelming sorrow now absorbs me
As the pen begins to trace my darkest past
Signs throughout my life
that should have warned me
Of all the wrongs I've done for which I must repent

I once thought it better to regret
Things that I have done than haven't
Sometimes you've got to be wrong
And learn the hard way
And sometimes you've got to be strong
When you think it's too late

Staring at the finished page before me
All the damage now so clear and evident
Thinking about the dreaded task in store for me
A pit of fear at the thought of my amends

Hoping that this step will help restore me
To face my past and ask for forgiveness
Cleaning up my dirty side of this unswept street
Could this be the beginning of the end?

I once thought it better to regret
Things that I have done than haven't
Sometimes you've got to be wrong
And learn the hard way
And just when you're through hanging on
You're saved

[IX Restitution]

"Until that moment, I'd never felt like I'd failed at anything...And I felt like I failed her...And I failed myself, and I failed my children...It's still really hard to deal with."

"I want to thank you for helping me to see my own selfishness and to tell you how regretful I am it has hurt you."

"I'm sorry I didn't visit you in the hospital, Grandpa when you were on your deathbed. I'm sorry I didn't come to your funeral...I don't know if I was selfish or just too scared to face it. It's one of the biggest regrets of my life."

"I'm here to confess with you that what I did, was wrong... And I'm asking for your forgiveness..."

"The only unforgivable thing hauls itself out of bed, looks over my shoulder at the bloody English weather..."

"I really regret not being able to see my friend Andy..."

"One of my best friends who's the godfather of my daughter, he asked me to sing or play something at his wedding, and I turned it down because I was busy and too much of a chicken shit to do it...And I feel sorry for that, because it was a very very close friend of mine..."

"So, I wanted to apologize to anyone that I've upset or offended.. they're just words, it's just an opinion, but unfortunately, I tend to express it as a fact, and that's kind of arrogant. Isn't it?"

"I think it's the betrayal...it still haunts me."

"I'm sorry for what I did back then... I was a different person. I really was and I'm so sorry. I wish it wouldn't have happened, but it did, and I'm sorry. Forgive me. I'm sorry..."

"I guess I'm simply sorry for being me and not you. I so often wish you could be here with me to show me the way..."

If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through.
We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.
We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.
We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace.
No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others.
That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear.
We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows.
Self seeking will slip away.
Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.
Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us.
We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.
We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.

Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.

"You're only as sick as your secrets, but the truth shall set you free..."

"The truth is the truth and the only thing you can do is to live with it."

6. Prophets Of War

[Music: Dream Theater / Lyrics: James LaBrie]

It burns deep down inside of me,
We have ourselves to blame.
Not questioning, accepted as the truth.

Debate this fight it's just cause
The facts do not support theirs
To liberate a people
And rid them of tyrant rule

Is it time to make a change?
Are we closer than before?
Can we help them break away?
Are we profiting from war?

It's time to make a change.

Intrigued
Got your attention - deceived
Since the inception - our brave
Fight for what reason

Compelled
Can we clean up this mess?
The loss of loved ones
A perverse request
They continue the same rhetoric
These derelicts that profit
Win or lose

Is it time to make a change?
Are we closer than before?
Can we help them break away?
Are we profiting from war?
It's time to make a change

Time for change
Fight the fear
Find the truth
Time for change

The only thing
That I believe
Will help us see this through is faith.
Pray they will forgive,
Forgive our arrogance,
So we can make it right,
Right what they have wronged.

See you sweat
Unexpected, controversial
Get used to it
Things are gonna get personal
Your sympathy
A pitiful display you stutter
Your empathy
Means nothing if there is no honor
Responsible
Of this you are incapable
We implicate
Incriminate - Exacerbate - Too much at stake

Our Fathers, Mothers
Sisters, Brothers
Sons and Daughters
Forced
Perpetuating their ideals
A mindless act
To stay the course

Is it time to make a change?
Are we closer than before?
Can we help them break away?
Are we profiting from war?

Is it time to make a change?
Are we closer than before?
Can we help them break away?
Are we profiting from war?
Is it time to make a change?
A change from what it's been
Can we help them break away?
Is our patience wearing thin?
It's time to make a change

Time for change
Fight the fear
Find the truth
Time for change

7. The Ministry Of Lost Souls

[Music: Dream Theater / Lyrics: John Petrucci]

The water's edge
Is where she waits
Lost soul still wandering
Meant to die
But she's stuck not crossing over

The other side
Is where he waits
His spirit reaching out
Meant to save
But she's too scared
to take his hand

Living in a world without you
(drowning in the past)
Is living in no world at all
So now I call on you

Remember me?
I gave you life
You would not take it
Your suffering
was all in vain
It's almost over now
Don't turn your back on paradise

Feeling scared, she's prepared
To give up everything
She can't stand
to feel like half of her is fading

He will choose
the only way
To rid her of her pain
Take her soul now
The decision has been made

Living in a world without love
(a burden to my soul)
Is living in a worthless world
So I will call on you...

Remember me?
I gave you life
You would not take it
Your suffering
was all in vain
It's almost over
Remember me?
You were so young
How could I tell you?
Remember me?
I am the one
Who saved your life that night

I was the one
who would not abandon you
Even in death
I was the one
who would not leave you
I used my freedom to protect you
And all the while direct you
Do you remember me this time?
Even in death I gave you life
I gave you life

I wanted to deserve a place
A place beside you
This time when I reached out my hand
It reached all the way to heaven

Remember me?
I gave you life
You would not take it
Your suffering
was all in vain
It's almost over now
Goodbye
It's almost over now
Goodbye

It's time
I release you from this life
Don't turn your back on paradise

8. In The Presence Of Enemies, Pt. 2

[Music: Dream Theater / Lyrics: John Petrucci]

[III. Heretic]

Welcome tired pilgrim
Into the circle
We have been waiting

Everyone's gathered
for your arrival
All the believers

Angels fall
all for you
heretic
Demon heart
bleed for us

I've been waiting for you,
Weary preacher man
You have been expected
Now we can begin
Let this hallowed Day of Judgment reign

I have known you father
And your sacred quest
Blessed soldier fighting
You shall never rest
I have known you but do you know me?

Angels fall
all for you
heretic
Demon heart
bleed for us

(My soul is yours Dark Master, I will fight for you)

Dark Master within, I will fight for you
Dark Master of sin, now my soul is yours
Dark Master, my guide, I will die for you
Dark Master inside�

I cannot see his face
But I could feel his spite
A presence from the dead
Abandoned by the light
This shadow will consume him
from within

This power that I sense
The rage behind those eyes
Is just a shrouded ghost
A spirit sealed inside
The body and the soul both threats
For they are one

Angels fall
all for you
heretic
Demon heart
bleed for us

(My soul is yours Dark Master, I will fight for you)

Dark Master within, I will fight for you
Dark Master of sin, now my soul is yours
Dark Master, my guide, I will die for you
Dark Master inside�
Dark Master, amen, I belong to you
Dark Master within�

Heil! Heil! Heil! Heil!
Heil! Heil! Heil! Heil!

[IV. The Slaughter of The Damned]

Don't
Bother trying to find them
They will be coming to you
Fight,
Fight and destroy until you can't take anymore

Slay
Spill the blood of the rebels
They are the children of hell
Flesh,
Of the undead
Stopping at nothing to kill

Sin,
Caught in a moment of weakness
Committed the greatest of all
Sold,
Half of my soul
And now it's too late for you

I judge us
my eyes see
I judge and I am just
For I speak of the beast
That lives in all of us

Unwelcome ones
your time has come

Lord,
You are my god and my shepherd
Nothing more shall I want
Walk,
Through the abyss
Into the shadow of death

Fear,
There is no evil to fear now
For I know you are with me
My,
Cup overflows
With my enemy's blood

I,
Decay in the house of the lord
Forever, amen
Death,
Will follow me
All the days of my life

I judge us
my eyes see
I judge and I am just
For I speak of the beast
That lives in all of us
Unwelcome ones
your time has come

Servants of the fallen
Fight to pave the way
For their savior's calling
On this wicked day

Through a veil of madness
With a vicious play
One man rises up
Standing in their way

It's time for your reckoning

[V. The Reckoning ]

[Instrumental]

[VI. Salvation]

My soul grows weaker
He knows and he waits
He watches over me
Standing at the infernal gates
In the hour of darkness
The moment I feared has passed
The moment I lost my faith
Promising salvation
My soul is my own now
I do not fight for you
Dark Master


Produced By John Petrucci & Mike Portnoy
All Songs Published By Ytse Jams. All Rights Reserved.

JAMES LaBRIE Lead Vocals
JOHN PETRUCCI Lead & Rhythm Guitars, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals
JORDAN RUDESS Keyboards, Piano, Synthesizer, Roland VP-550 (vocal processing keyboard)
JOHN MYUNG Bass
MIKE PORTNOY Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals



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