EPILEPSY WARNING - THIS VIDEO CONTAINS FLASHING IMAGES
Video by Drain Hope GFX @drainhope4480
Featuring 'Empires Must Fall' artwork by Claudia Caranfa
Album produced by Bob Cooper and mastered by Grant Berry
Prepare yourself! This Empire must fall!
Powered by an insistent organ riff and a thunderous beat, 'Panopticon' is the second song and the first epic-length track to be released ahead of UK progressive rock band Ghost Of The Machine’s second album 'Empires Must Fall'.
At this point in the tale, the Empress's domain is discovered to be a paranoia-inducing, all-seeing prison called the Panopticon, in which our protagonist finds himself under the looming gaze of the sinister Watchman and his tower. Can the Prisoner escape the Panopticon, reveal the truth, and bring down an Empire built on false foundations?
'Panopticon' is available on Bandcamp now and all other streaming platforms from 1st February 2025. Ghost Of The Machine's new album 'Empires Must Fall' is out 7th March through ProgRock.com's Essentials label.
Pre-order Empires Must Fall
Shipping from UK: www.gotm.band
Shipping from US/EU: essentials.progrock.com
Bandcamp: ghostofthemachine.bandcamp.com
I) REAL EYES
Instrumental
II) THE WATCHMAN
Captivated by a chain of thought
I’m surrounded by the eyes in the walls
Silent judgment echoes in the chamber
As I look at myself and I see a stranger
Confess until I fall apart
Fill the room with a piece of my heart
Reflecting on the sins of the farther
Reaches of my mind as I dream in darkness
Prisoners of our own design
Paranoid and terrified
Pointing our fingers to place the blame
Pouring our souls into the Panopticon
Am I the watched or am I the watchman?
There’s a loneliness we have in common
Prisoners of our own creation
Built on broken promises and false foundations
He sits at the top of the tower
A monument made fit for a coward
Looming over all the pointless choices
Acted out by people long deprived of voices
Prisoners of our own design
Paranoid and terrified
Pointing our fingers to place the blame
Pouring our souls into the Panopticon
III) CHRYSALIS
Close my eyes, shut myself out from the room
The sound of blood fills my ears like I’m back inside the womb
Two thin red blinds will hide me from the watchman’s gaze
As I listen to the cries for help conveyed along my veins
It’s only in the dark where we truly see ourselves
We are vessels for the future, not just empty shells
I would rather face what waits than lock myself away
We’d be fools to fight against a fate that can’t be changed
I must end the reign of she who shone so bright
Reveal the evil that grew within her chrysalis of light
Escape the Panopticon and march on her golden halls
I’ll reveal the truth and watch her Empire fall
IV) THE LIE OF THE LAND
I’m pulling down the prison walls
I’ll rip them down with my own hands
I’m taking back the sky from you
Now I’ve seen the lie of the land
She said that we’d be safe in here
She said that we’d be loved
I’m tearing down the mountain range
Drawing lines across the sand
I got a whole new point of view
Since I saw the lie of the land
You said that I’d be safe in here
You said you’d love me too
Now I’ve seen through your disguise
I’m breaking out, just watch me fly
V) REPRISAL
Prisoners of our own design
Powerless till we realised
Pointing our fingers to guide the way
Pulling ourselves out from the Panopticon
Pounding the drum as we go to war!
Prepare yourself! It’s time for war!
Prepare yourself! Prepare yourself!
It’s time for war!
Prepare yourself! Prepare yourself!
This Empire must fall!
Empires must fall!
It’s only in the dark where we truly see ourselves
We are vessels for the future, not just empty shells
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