Conquest of Bosporus
Song info: this song was a major pain to record due to some of the odd timing bits. Bass was easy enough to record, but I wanted to chuck my guitar out the window by the time I was done with it. This was largely due to constantly falling out of time in the song. Its lyrics are about the conquest of Constantinople, which was located next to the Bosporus strait. Following the conquest of Constantinople, it was renamed Istanbul and made the capital of the Ottoman empire (and remains the capital of modern day Turkey). The intro at the start was made by recording a slap to various surfaces (desk, guitar string, wrist pad, and a few others) and then altering the sound. There was another higher pitched noise that would have imitated the sound of a gun firing, but that was cut after I couldn't get it to sound right.
This is one of the few songs where the music was written without any idea for the lyrics. There were a couple of different sets of lyrics written, and at one point I considered using Offer No Quarter's lyrics for this song instead since that song wasn't quite done yet. One of the lyrics was a song about anarchy, but seemed to lack substance. I got the idea for these lyrics while talking with a friend about the Byzantine empire (said friend is a history major who is a big fan of Roman history in particular).
This is one of the few songs where the music was written without any idea for the lyrics. There were a couple of different sets of lyrics written, and at one point I considered using Offer No Quarter's lyrics for this song instead since that song wasn't quite done yet. One of the lyrics was a song about anarchy, but seemed to lack substance. I got the idea for these lyrics while talking with a friend about the Byzantine empire (said friend is a history major who is a big fan of Roman history in particular).
Lyrics
The fall of the final jewel Of an empire's dying rule The last shred of Roman state Will burn at Bosporus strait Build your walls to the sky And pray in vain you won't die The gunpowder breaks the stone Makes passage for our new throne For the great conqueror The crumbling of the walls Signifies the fall The city laid to waste Janissaries make haste Cannons roar outside To victory we ride The Ottomans take pride The last of Rome has died The key to our next conquest As we march into the west Europe is ours to take Death follows in our wake Upon bones our throne is built We slaughter without guilt The faith of our enemies wilts We will drive our swords to the hilt |