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Apocalyptic Hymns

by Headless Relatives

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

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  • Full Digital Discography Full Digital Discography

    Get all 29 Headless Relatives releases available on Bandcamp and save 40%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Live Headless, Vol. 3, The Owl (Live at the Rock Hill Bakehouse Café), Live Headless, Vol. 2, One Eye Open, Live Headless, Vol. 1, Solstice: Fragments, Nightmare Realm, Send You a Funeral, and 21 more. , and , .

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1.
The hunger is a beast Howling at the moon Its rage only increases We know that very soon Its jaws will come unhinged Its teeth will catch the light Of the cold unfeeling stars That watch us in the night What doesn't kill us makes us quiver It's bound to have another go We all just shake and shiver All along Starvation Row They tell us we'll be stronger If we face the beast and win Though its claws may scar our bodies It will eat away our sin And we try hard to believe them Even as we watch our friends drop like flies When truth's impossible to bear We seek refuge in the lies Our strength's been sapped away We have nowhere to go We'll all fall one of these days Here on Starvation Row
2.
Keep our heads up as the waters rise Stare unblinking at our own demise You seek to punish us for daring to open our minds Thinking to leave not a trace behind Lift our voices in defiant song Compel the wind and waves to sing along A mighty chorus daring you to bring the hammer down Our hymn will live on though we ourselves will drown We howl for Atlantis Let out a roar to shake Olympus We howl for the ones who will come after To bear witness Strike up the band as the waves bear down Take off all our clothes and dance around Though all we've built will soon be washed away We will make a mighty sound today We howl for Atlantis Let out a roar to shake Olympus We howl for the ones who will come after To bear witness We raise our voices In defiance of our damnation So in the days to come They'll still feel The reverberations We howl for Atlantis Let out a roar to shake Olympus We howl for the ones who will come after To bear witness
3.
I saw the world end In a fiery blaze But I kept on walking in a daze The grass was screaming The trees stretched out their limbs In silent recitation of apocalyptic hymns I think I saw a goldfinch Dive into the fire Flora and fauna melded on the funeral pyre I cast my eyes To the skies And I whispered your name But the heat made it Too hard to cry I saw the world end In a fiery blaze I know that I will see it for the rest of my days
4.
Wading through seven miles of blood The horizon's been swallowed by the flood And every time I take a step I know that it might be my last And everyone I've ever known Has been drowned in the morass Sometimes I wonder what I've done To warrant a punishment as harsh as this one But most times I remember My endless list of crimes I've recited it to myself At least a thousand times The setting sun burns shadows in my eyes There must be one for each of my many lies If this is what you call justice She must be mad as well as blind With every step I leave more of my humanity behind Wading through seven miles of blood My name has been swept off by the flood And every time I take a step I pray that it will be my last And I will finally be swallowed by this Sanguine morass
5.
Woke up shivering again Another night of interrupted sleep Dreamt I was propelled by slender elegant fins As I wandered with ease through the deep Check my extremities nothing's changed No webbed digits developed in the night My skin's still free of Shimmering scales Everything's familiar but nothing is right I bundle myself back into bed My rudimentary and desperate cocoon Every night just increases my dread Don't know what will happen if I don't transform soon If my extremities don't ever change No webbed digits to propel me into the night If I don't develop Shimmering scales That burn like fire when they catch the light
6.
High Noon 07:55
The sun has nearly hit its zenith My heart is ticking down I scuff the earth with my bootheel Dust blooms up from the ground I mop some sweat from my forehead With the back of my sleeve Would anybody notice If I just turn 'round and leave It's just wishful thinking There's nowhere to run Maybe all the gunsmoke Will shield me from the sun The main drag is empty As the confrontation draws close Echoes of nervous laughter Drift down from shuttered windows All at once you're before me Dry wind spreading your duster I try to shore up my fear With what paltry courage I can muster But I know how this ends You've already won But maybe all the gunsmoke Will shield me from the sun Somewhere a bell rings Even the shadows are gone No need to stay and watch When the conclusion's foregone Cold iron in my hand My face is going numb Maybe all the gunsmoke Will shield me from the sun
7.
Spike my hair Pierce my nose Scowl at my reflection for hours File my teeth Make them sharp Lay claim to infernal powers Cover myself with fresh warm blood Wear a rattling garland of bone If my fell figure fills them with fear that's fine Maybe then they'll leave me alone Trash my room Paint my face Hide all evidence of who I used to be Invent a new name Take my glasses off There's nothing around here that I want to see And cover myself with fresh warm blood Wear a rattling garland of bone If my fell figure fills them with fear that's fine Maybe then they'll leave me alone
8.
I still recite my incantations At least the parts that I remember I keep my instruments immaculate Watch for omens in the embers My robe is patched with care And scattered bits of curtain I think it once was white But I'll never again be certain No elements bend to my will No demons respond to my call I swear there's power in me still Assuming there ever was any at all I draw half-remembered sigils From scrolls too faded now to read My spirit's willing but uncertain My once-lean body gone to seed I meditate on hidden forces Until I snore myself awake It's getting harder to perform the ritual I don't know how much more these arthritic joints can take I no longer have the strength To stand between this world and doom But I'll persist until my body Is interred inside its tomb
9.
At these elevations It gets hard to breath But when you seek revelation You're going to have to expect to bleed Callouses form On the soles of your feet As you fight through the storms Of hail ice and sleet Every day Brings you closer to death And ever moment steals One of your precious breaths The thorns in the garden They rip at your robes Your skin starts to harden Nightmares come in droves But just because your flesh is weak Don't mean your mind is strong You've forgotten how to speak 'Cause it's been so long When your strength fails And you fall to the ground Will there be anyone near To hear the sound
10.
Fifty thousand dollars from the People's Bank and Trust Sunlight glinting off the frosted pines Live After Death playing on the stereo A mile from the Shelby County line It's the coldest day of the year so far The wind chill is twenty-nine below Catch a glimpse of blue light flashing in my rear view Let's see how fast this thing can go Put Shelbyville in the rear view mirror And watch the landscape blur as I speed by The future's getting a little clearer There's not a single cloud in the sky When I hit Assumption I get on fifty-one Point my nose north and hit the gas I can feel the shackles of my dull dead-end life Loosen with every marker that I pass I'm heading up through Radford when the tire blows I shrug it off 'cause there's nothing I can do Sparks shoot up like fireworks from the road below There's bound to be more damage by the time this day is through Put Shelbyville in the rear view mirror And watch the landscape blur as I speed by The future's getting a little clearer There's not a single cloud in the sky I'm nearly to Moweaqua when I finally lose control End up off the road half-buried in the snow And I know they're going to take me back to Shelbyville Back to the only place I guess I'll ever know
11.
The moon is hiding Bashful behind the clouds Almost as if She had my dark intentions figured out But no one can see into The caverns of my mind And no casual observer Could see through my disguise The world is my oyster At least these three square blocks No one can stop me On my triumphant midnight walk
12.
Lights over Exeter Bathing the room in red Outside the dogs were howling We both sat up in our bed Lights over Exeter Flashing in sequence one by one We watched silently through our window At these artificial suns Lights over Exeter Lit up the creases of your face I studied them discreetly Then wrapped you in a warm embrace Lights over Exeter Cast strange shadows on the wall But with your head on my shoulder I didn't mind at all Lights over Exeter Vanished as swiftly as they'd appeared We lay back down side by side In that moment everything was so simple and clear

about

This album is a product of change and upheaval: a move back to my childhood home area in Upstate New York after living in Raleigh, North Carolina for the better part of a decade; a major medical emergency in my family; and, of course, the COVID pandemic.

The individual songs that comprise this album aren't about these specific events, but there are threads of isolation and turmoil that wind their way through the album as a whole. Which isn't to say that the album is one-note, sonically or lyrically. All in all, this is the most diverse collection of songs I've ever released.

Although this was largely a one-man operation, I have to thank my family for their support (and patience) as I worked to get this album together, my brother and father, specifically, for contributing to two of the tracks, and, especially, my wife, for being my sounding board, for putting up with me every day, and for being my companion through all the ups and down of life.

credits

released March 5, 2021

All songs written, performed, and recorded by Headless Relatives

Album and track photography and design by Headless Relatives

Headless Relatives is...just one guy named Seth Biskind

Additional instrumentation by:

Terry Smith (electric guitar on High Noon)
Mike Smith (acoustic guitar on Starvation Row)

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Headless Relatives Troy, New York

Headless Relatives play songs. These songs feature desperate individuals, bittersweet memories, and ancient Egyptian gods. Some of these songs can be found here.

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