Line #9 Music/FoodForTheGods


1	[[quoteright:288:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/35484_6404.JPG]]
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3	'''Food for the Gods''' is the fourth album by band Music/{{Fireaxe}}, released in 2003. And it is epic. Not epic in the sense that it's really cool, but epic in the [[TheEpic proper sense of the word]]. The full album is 4 hours long, [[DistinctDoubleAlbum comes on 3 discs]], and spans ancient Assyria and their war with Babylon, Ancient Egyptian pharaoh Ankhenaten's brutally enforced switch to monotheism, and Israel's conquest of Canaan under Joshua. And that's just disc 1.
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5	The first two thirds of the album explores the role of religion in human history and the wars we have fought in the name of our gods all the way up to the modern era, including a few story arcs that take place {{twenty minutes into the future}} which continue with this theme. These culminate with all life on earth being exterminated by some unnamed superweapon at the end of the second act. The third act follows the devil himself leading an army of damned souls to heaven [[RageAgainstTheHeavens storming the pearly gates]], laying waste to the angelic host, and trying to ''[[KillTheGod kill God himself]]''.
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7	The album is available online for free by the creator, who [[InformationWantsToBeFree encourages you to pirate it]]. It can be found [[http://www.box.com/fireaxe-foodforthegods here]].
8
9	'''Tracklist'''
10
11	CD 1
12
13	# "Gods of War I - The Wrath of Silence" (11:57)
14	# "Gods of War II - Written in Blood" (06:00)
15	# "Gods of War III - Praise to Isthar" (04:37)
16	# "Gods of War IV - Chariot" (09:32)
17	# "The Heretic Pharaoh I - Tribute" (01:24)
18	# "The Heretic Pharaoh II - Heresy" (02:58)
19	# "The Heretic Pharaoh III - Hymn to Aten" (02:31)
20	# "The Heretic Pharaoh IV - Nefertiti" (03:43)
21	# "The Heretic Pharaoh V - Stricken" (01:26)
22	# "Woe Is Israel I - Covenant" (04:16)
23	# "Woe Is Israel II - My Name Is Joshua" (03:38)
24	# "Woe Is Israel III - Divine Punishment" (04:05)
25	# "The Servant of Pain I - Food for the Gods" 03:04)
26	# "The Servant of Pain II - Malediction" 02:42)
27	# "The Servant of Pain III - The Citadel Must Fall" (05:08)
28	# "The Servant of Pain IV - Cut or Be Cut" (04:11)
29	# "The Servant of Pain V - Atrocity" (08:14)
30
31	CD 2
32
33	# "The Prophet I - In the Desert" (02:55)
34	# "The Prophet II - The Tower of Pain" (05:13)
35	# "The Prophet III - The Lesson Learned" (04:59)
36	# "Them I - The Great Crusade" (05:22)
37	# "Them II - The Purge" (05:21)
38	# "Them III - Evil Is Everywhere" (05:31)
39	# "Guardian of the Realm I - Where Eagles Fly" (05:27)
40	# "Guardian of the Realm II - The Insatiable Dream" (05:37)
41	# "Guardian of the Realm III - The Siren's Song" (02:12)
42	# "Raise the Black Flag I - Betrayed" (03:16)
43	# "Raise the Black Flag II - Revolution" (02:36)
44	# "Raise the Black Flag III - A New World Order" (06:43)
45	# "Raise the Black Flag IV - The Cycle Continues" (03:00)
46	# "River of Madness" (10:48)
47	# "The Soul Doctors I - Lay Thee Down" (02:30)
48	# "The Soul Doctors II - A Single Voice" (04:16)
49	# "The Soul Doctors III - Fear the Priest" (03:44)
50
51	Disc 3
52	# "Black Knight I - I Live in Silence" (05:07)
53	# "Black Knight II - Catastrophe" (02:24)
54	# "Black Knight III - Tapestry of Pain" (06:14)
55	# "Black Knight IV - Hatred Revenge and Death" (05:26)
56	# "Black Knight V - I Am Not a Killer" (02:34)
57	# "Waiting for Tomorrow" (15:05)
58	# "On Earth as It Is in Hell I - Failure of the Fathers" (04:17)
59	# "On Earth as It Is in Hell II - Living Death" (06:06)
60	# "On Earth as It Is in Hell III - The Last Man" (05:39)
61	# "The Flame Extinguished I - Welcome to My Realm" (04:03)
62	# "The Flame Extinguished II - Storm the Walls" (04:46)
63	# "The Flame Extinguished III - Aflame" (03:17)
64	# "The Flame Extinguished IV - The Sum of All Fears" (04:02)
65	# "The Flame Extinguished V - The Rape of Heaven" (04:10)
66	# "The Flame Extinguished VI - Cold and Dark Infinity" (05:05)
67
68	'''Personnel'''
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70
71	!! ''The Troper of Pain''
72	* AlliterativeTitle: "'''C'''ut Or Be '''C'''ut", "'''E'''vil Is '''E'''verywhere", "The '''C'''ycle '''C'''ontinues", and "'''F'''ailure of the '''F'''athers".
73	* TheAloner / AloneInACrowd: "I Live in Silence" conveys this masterfully.
74	--> ''I live in silence, where no one knows my name''
75	--> ''I live in silence, where no one speaks my name''
76	--> ''I love my silence, I love my peace within the void''
77	--> ''I love my silence, far away from every voice''
78	* AngryMobSong: "Raise the Black Flag".
79	--> ''We have been betrayed.''
80	--> ''The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.''
81	--> ''The king feasts while his soldiers keep order.''
82	--> ''The priests pacify and build great churches.''
83	--> ''And tell the rest of us it’s good to suffer.''
84	* AsTheGoodBookSays: The album draws a lot of inspiration from Holy Scriptures.
85	* TheBerserker: Several characters fit this explanation, including the Black Knight.
86	* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: Ultimately [[spoiler:God is defeated by the devil's army]]. This has the unfortunate side effect of [[spoiler:the complete and utter destruction of all of creation]].
87	* CorruptChurch: A major theme all throughout the album.
88	* CrapsackWorld: Life--all life--is portrayed as a never-ending brutal struggle. Humanity's fate is to careen from one brutal god or ideology to the next, murdering each other en masse. Ultimately, humanity destroys itself to put an end to it all. After a life in this world, your reward is likely to be eternal torment in hell. The best outcome is [[spoiler:for God to destroy the universe and fail to make another one]].
89	* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: "The Soul Doctors".
90	--> ''Lay thee down thy weary soul.''
91	--> ''Give to us complete control.''
92	--> ''Upon the alter thy heart and mind.''
93	--> ''A sacrifice of the truest kind.''
94	--> ''Empty vessel you shall be filled.''
95	--> ''With sterile thoughts and happy pills.''
96	--> ''Enter now the veil of sleep.''
97	--> ''Join the flock of human sheep.''
98	* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: "Food For The Gods"
99	--> ''This life, this life I'm leading, where does it go, where does it go?''
100	* DistinctDoubleAlbum: This is even a triple album!
101	* DoNotGoGentle: It turns out the the revolutionary leader from "The Servant of Pain" never actually expected to survive the coup. But he [[SoleSurvivor left behind]] [[ForcedToWatch one hell]] [[RevengeThroughCorruption of a]] [[SinsOfOurFathers legacy]].
102	* DoomsdayDevice: In "On Earth as it is in Hell", this finally kills all of humanity. Then it gets worse.
103	* DownerEnding: The final act ends with [[spoiler:the ''entire universe'' being [[ApocalypseHow/ClassZ destroyed]].]]
104	* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: Happens [[SerialEscalation twice]]. The first time around it's a [[ApocalypseHow class 3a, 4, 5, 6, X, or X-2]] (it's not explicitly stated) at the end of ''On Earth as it is in Hell''. Then in ''Cold and Dark Infinity'', [[spoiler:God [[VillainousBreakdown completely loses it]], and obliterates all of creation in an angry rage, [[ApocalypseHow resulting in a Class Z]].]]
105	* TheEpic: A history of religion spanning three albums.
106	* EpicRocking: Spans three discs, and is just a few minutes under 4 hours long.
107	* EtherealChoir: "Welcome To My Realm" is sung by the devil, and uses an ethereal choir provided ''by the screams of the damned''.
108	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: "Atrocity"
109	--> ''No atrocity is complete without a witness to my crime.''
110	* UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution: Parts of "Raise the Black Flag".
111	* GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul: "The Soul Doctors" does this to a tee.
112	--> ''Empty vessel you shall be filled.''
113	--> ''With sterile thoughts and happy pills.''
114	--> ''Enter now the veil of sleep.''
115	--> ''Join the flock of human sheep.''
116	* GladiatorGames: "Guardian of the Realm".
117	--> ''Two Kings. Two rivals. Fighting for supremacy.''
118	--> ''Each sends into the arena their finest champion.''
119	--> ''Their champion strides towards me, a grizzled veteran, winner of a hundred duels and I only one.''
120	--> ''“Hey kid let’s stop this madness. Are we just high priced slaves?''
121	--> ''Both kings are tyrants. They should fight in our place.”''
122	--> ''“Only your king is a tyrant.”, I answer filled with pride.''
123	--> ''“That is why he will lose. That is why you shall die.”''
124	* GoMadFromTheIsolation: It's implied that this is why [[TheBerserker the black knight]] went on a rampage.
125	* GodIsEvil: He is not a pleasant character on this album. His influence on the world creates numerous wars and atrocities which culminates with Satan leading the demons of hell (and humans who were condemned there) to storming and destroying heaven. There Satan puts it best when Jesus proclaims how he suffered for Humanity's sins.
126	-->''You may have suffered for the sins of man, but I have suffered for the sins of God.''
127	* GriefSong: "Nefertiti"
128	--> ''My queen, Nefertiti, please don’t leave me now.''
129	--> ''I pray to Aten to give you life anew.''
130	--> ''My queen, Nefertiti, you’re all I’m living for.''
131	--> ''Aten, why did you take her from me?''
132	* TheGrimReaper: A bit of a late arrival, but he shows up about of a third of the way through "Cold and Dark Infinity"
133	* IAmBecomingSong: "The Insatiable Dream (The Guardian of the Realm II)" follows one soldiers progression from a young wide-eyed idealist to a cynical, embittered man.
134	* IAmSong: "My Name is Joshua" and "Tapestry of Pain".
135	* IAmTheBand: All the instruments and vocals were done by one guy (and a computer doing the drums). This is most impressive when you have [[LetsDuet multiple characters]] being sung simultaneously.
136	* KillTheGod: The third act centers around {{Satan}} leading an army of demons and damned in a full-on assault of Heaven with this goal. [[spoiler:And it works! [[PyrrhicVictory Sort of]].]]
137	* KnightTemplar: Much of the album is an examination of this mindset throughout history.
138	* TheLegionsOfHell: Featuring both demons and damned.
139	* MeaningfulName: "Food for the Gods" refers to how humanity is ultimately just, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin food for the gods.]]
140	* TheNothingAfterDeath: "Cold and Dark Infinity", which is actually sung by {{the nothing after death}}.
141	--> ''Take my hand, walk with me,''
142	--> ''(Cold and dark infinity)''
143	--> ''through the place we’ll forever be.''
144	--> ''(Cold and dark infinity)''
145	--> ''In my arms rest peacefully.''
146	--> ''(Cold and dark infinity)''
147	--> ''Breath your last breath into me.''
148	--> ''(Cold and dark infinity)''
149	%%* OmnicidalManiac: The narrator of "The Last Man (On Earth as it is in Hell Part III)".
150	* OneManArmy: "The Black Knight" in which the black knight tries to go off to fight by himself.
151	* PyrrhicVictory: God [[spoiler:goes nuts and destroys the army invading Heaven, devil and all. Unfortunately this leaves him in a desolate void of nothingness without the strength left to rebuild.]]
152	* RageAgainstTheHeavens: The entire third act. It culminates in Satan leading an army of the demons and damned alike into a war on heaven in which they storm the pearly gates and lay waste to paradise in an attempt to kill God himself. [[spoiler:And it works. [[PyrrhicVictory Sort of]].]]
153	* RageQuit: [[spoiler:God destroys ''the entire universe'' when he realizes he's gonna lose to Satan's army.]]
154	* RapePillageAndBurn: "My Name Is Joshua" and "The Servant of Pain" features such atrocities.
155	* ReligionRantSong: More like Religion Rant ''Album''.
156	* RevengeThroughCorruption: [[spoiler: The end of "The Servant of Pain" is the revolutionary leader promising this.]]
157	* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: In "The Servant of Pain", [[LaResistance the revolutionaries]] at first seems to be [[WellIntentionedExtremist well-intentioned extremists]] fighting against {{The Empire}}. But when they breach the Citadel, things get ugly in short order, culminating in a [[MoralEventHorizon horrific atrocity]] when they reach the royal family.
158	%%* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Too many to count.
159	* RockMeAsmodeus: While the devil sings several tracks, you can't beat "Welcome to my Realm", in which he sings about his motivations to the new arrivals in Hell, using ''the screams of the damned'' as his [[EtherealChoir not-so-ethereal choir]].
160	* RockOpera: Every track tells a chapter in the history of humanity and the way our beliefs in various gods shape it. As deities come and go people fight and battle eachother, pay tribute and devote their lives to their glory. The whole thing culminates with a RageAgainstTheHeavens of such epic porportions that no other form of media has ever matched it.
161	* SanitySlippageSong: "Tapestry of Pain", ''[[ThePowerOfHate Hatred]] [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Revenge]] [[BestServedCold and Death]]'', and above all "River of Madness".
162	* SelfDestructiveCharge: In "The Citadel Must Fall", one soldier scales the wall, and manages to open the gate while [[AnnoyingArrows an increasing number of arrows]] are sticking through him. Eventually he goes down, but [[LaResistance the revolutionaries]] capture the city.
163	* TheSongBeforeTheStorm: "Welcome to my Realm" Sung by the Devil, right before he and his army of demons and damned souls [[RageAgainstTheHeavens storm the walls of Heaven]].
164	* SoulsavingCrusader: The Emperor:
165	--> ''And in the end the lesson was learned,''
166	--> ''The Emperor knew you must suffer to be saved,''
167	--> ''And he set out to save the world.''
168	* StrawNihilist: "The Last Man". The narrator laments the nature of man and how all we ever do is suffer. He then uses an unnamed DoomsdayDevice to destroy the entire human race and all life on Earth. [[SerialEscalation Then things start going bad]].
169	* SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum: The album revolves around one of these being thrown by literally every being in creation that didn't get into heaven.
170	* TheNothingAfterDeath: Initially subverted, then played straight in the very end with "Cold and Dark Infinity".
171	* VillainRecruitmentSong: "Welcome to my Realm", depending on whether you consider the devil a villain.
172	* TheVillainSucksSong: "Welcome to my Realm'", depending on whether you consider God a villain.
173	* WelcomeToHell: "Welcome To My Realm". Interesting in that it is actually sung by the devil as he is literally welcoming people into Hell. And using the screams of the damned as backup vocals.
174	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: The Black Knight, the unnamed narrator of "The Last Man" and, by the end of the album, every single being ever sent to Hell.
175	* WorldWreckingWave: Occurs in "The Sum Of All Fears" killing [[spoiler:Archangels [[ArchangelMichael Micheal]] and [[ArchangelGabriel Gabriel]]]]

Context Music / FoodForTheGods