Album: Caress Of Steel (1976)

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• As grey traces of dawn tinge the eastern sky,|the three travelers, men of Willowdale,|emerge from the forest shadow.|Fording the River Dawn, they turn south, journeying|into the dark and forbidding lands of the Necromancer|Even now the intensity of his dread power can be felt,|weakening the body and saddening the heart|Ultimately they will become empty, mindless spectres...|stripped of will and soul, only|their thirst for freedom gives them hunger for vengeance...'||Silence shrouds the forest|As the birds announce the dawn|Three trav'llers ford the river|And southward journey on|The road is lined with peril|The air is charged with fear|The shadow of his nearness|Weighs like iron tears||[II. Under the Shadow]||'Shreds of black cloud loom in overcast skies.|The Necromancer keeps watch with his magic prism eyes.|He views all his lands and is already aware of the three helpless invaders|trapped in his lair...'||Brooding in the tower|Watching o'er his land|Holding ev'ry creature|Helplessly they stand|Gaze into his prisms|Knowing they are near|Lead them to the dungeons|Spectres numb with fear|They bow defeated||[III. Return Of the Prince]||'Enter the Champion|Prince By-Tor appears to battle for freedom from chains of long years|The spell has been broken...the Dark Lands are bright.|The Wraith of the Necromancer soars|away in the night.'||Stealthily attacking|By-Tor slays his foe|The men are free to run now|From labyrinths below|The Wraith of Necromancer|Shadows through the sky|Another land to darken|With evil prism eye| Writer/s: ALEX ZIVOJINOVICH, GARY LEE WEINRIB, NEIL ELWOOD PEART
  Publisher: Anthem Entertainment
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 15

• Archie from MarsThe spoken words in The Necromancer by Rush are done by Neil Peart.
• Steveh from County DurhamJust listening to some Lou Reed and all of a sudden it dawns that Alex's solo sounds heavily inspired if not a actually an extended quote from Sweet Jane on Rock n Roll Animal
• Steven from Houston, TxEddie, Syosset, NY Nailed it! The Necromancer IS the music industry. Evil and pervasive. Nothing but crap being recorded now. Pretty faces and empty music. RUSH was, is and always will be brilliant. Which is why the machine that is the Hall of Fame (shame) took so long to induct them. RUSH played their music on their terms in their time. God bless them. They deserve everyone's ultimate respect, even if you aren't a fan.
• Giantess_dee from Leicester, United KingdomTolkien was probably the inspiration for this song, but it's stretching a point to say it's "based on Lord of the Rings". For one thing, Sauron is only referred to as "The Necromancer" once in the whole of LOTR (though that name is used for him throughout The Hobbit). For another, Sauron was never aware of Frodo and Sam's approach until after they had reached Mt. Doom.
• Claude from Kingston, MaWillowdale is Geddy Lee's hometown.
• Allison from A Little Ol' Town In, MiThis song definatly showcases Geddy's voice and Alex's guitar!
  
  Probably one of Rush's best unknown songs of all time
  
  
• Wavy from Tucson , Az"BROODING IN THE TOWER WATCHING OVER HIS LAND"--Geddy just NAILS that.
• Jeff from Chicago, IlNot every fantasy song is based on the Lord of the Rings.
  
  "The Necromancer" is just about the members of Rush (THREE travelers, from Willowdale, where the band originated from) fighting an evil wizard. Nothing more.
  
  It's badass, but it's not a literary reference.
• Kent Lyle from Cincinnati, OhThe second movement seems to borrow at least some riffage from Yes's "Heart of the Sunrise" (which itself borrows from King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man").
• Kent Lyle from Cincinnati, OhConflicting reports claim that either Peart or Terry Brown performed the spoken word sections. They probably like to blame each other for it.
• Eddie from Syosset, NyIn this song the three travelers could symbolise the three members of Rush going into the music industry which could be the layer of the Necromancer. The Necromancer could also be a human part of the industry and By-Tor could by a lot of things but i think that it is symbolic of Rush's music saving them from the music buissiness steeling their souls or changing their music like a Necromancer.
• Peter from Newark, NyI also found it interesting that By Tor is the villain in By Tor and Snowdog, but he is the saviour of sorts in the Necromancer.
• David from Port Hawkesbury, CanadaI don't understand why Caress of steel wasn't that succesful of an album, I'd buy it...If I could keep my money long enough...With this and The Fountain of Lamneth, I think I will buy it.
  Great song. One of my Rush favourites.
• Paul from Rothesay, Nb, CanadaFor those of you who still have the vynyl version of the "Caress of Steel" album, play the Storyteller's parts of "The Necromancer" at .45
  speed. It's Geddy Lee.
• Charlie from Thomaston, Dci love rush there one of the greatest band sof all time. a agree that moving pictures was a great album, but i have to say that the necromancer is my favorite song-sorry tom sawyer

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