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Lyrics

(Verse 1)
The sun sets red o’er the Legation walls
In the heart of the city, the darkness falls
The Boxers are howling, the fire is bright
We’ve held back the storm through the heat of the night
My rifle is hot, my fingers are worn
Since the first break of light in the early morn
I reach for a clip, but the pouch is bare
Just the smell of the smoke in the humid air.
​(Pre-Chorus)
The clicking of metal, a hollow sound
The last of my brass hits the dusty ground
The line is breaking, the end is near
But a heart of bushido knows no fear.
​(Chorus)
Draw the blade from the scabbard of old
The steel is silver, the spirit is gold!
At the gates of Peking, I take my place
With the light of the rising sun on my face
No more lead, just the flash of the steel
To the will of the heavens, I finally kneel
In the roar of the rock, in the heat of the fray
The katana will lead the way!
​(Verse 2)
The dust clouds swirl as the enemy nears
I hear the chanting, I drown out the fears
The ancestors watch from the peaks of the past
This moment of glory, the one and the last
My brothers are falling, the wall is a grave
But history remembers the path of the brave
I loosen the hilt, I feel the grip
A silent prayer on a bloodied lip.
​(Pre-Chorus)
The clicking of metal, a hollow sound
The last of my brass hits the dusty ground
The line is breaking, the end is near
But a heart of bushido knows no fear.
​(Chorus)
Draw the blade from the scabbard of old
The steel is silver, the spirit is gold!
At the gates of Peking, I take my place
With the light of the rising sun on my face
No more lead, just the flash of the steel
To the will of the heavens, I finally kneel
In the roar of the rock, in the heat of the fray
The katana will lead the way!
​(Bridge)
(Guitar Solo - Fast and Shredding)
One step forward, a thousand years back
Into the shadow, into the black!
Not for the medal, not for the fame
But to burn like a star in a dying flame!
The edge is a whisper, the strike is a cry
Under the watch of a northern sky!
​(Guitar Solo continues - Epic and Soaring)
​(Chorus)
Draw the blade from the scabbard of old
The steel is silver, the spirit is gold!
At the gates of Peking, I take my place
With the light of the rising sun on my face
No more lead, just the flash of the steel
To the will of the heavens, I finally kneel
In the roar of the rock, in the heat of the fray
The katana will lead the way!
​(Outro)
RIFURU WA KARA! (The rifle is empty!)
My duty is clear!
For the Emperor, I banish all fear!
Honor demands this final attack!
There is no glory in turning back!
My soul, my katana, my final stand...
My final stand...
In the dust of a foreign land.
(Fades out with a heavy drum crash and feedback)