Track By Tracks: An Evening With Knives - End Of Time (2025)

1. Pride of Lions:

This song revolves around the idea of breaking free from oppression and reclaiming power. The imagery of a caged lion symbolizes strength restrained, while the lyrics tell the story of the underdog rising up against their oppressors. Once forced to submit and serve, the pride of lions ultimately revolts, turning their rage into action. It’s an anthem of resistance and taking back control. Within the album artwork, three lions with broken chains are visible, symbolizing the three band members and their own journey of breaking free and pushing forward. To get a feel for the song’s energy and message, check out the video for Pride of Lions, which visually captures the intensity and rebellious spirit of the track.

 

2. All They Need:

This song reflects on witnessing an acquaintance raising his children in a negative and harmful way. The lyrics capture the unsettling experience of seeing how pride and control shape young minds. The album artwork reinforces this theme, depicting a Grim Reaper handing a knife to a child—symbolizing how darkness and hatred can be passed down.

3. Death:

This song deals with the inevitability of death and the relentless way it claims those around us. In recent years, many people—both young and old—have passed away in my surroundings, making this song feel very personal. The repetition of “Death is the crown of all” reinforces the idea that death is the ultimate fate, the final equalizer. No matter how hard we fight it, in the end, death always wins. This track serves as an ode to those who have been lost, capturing the feeling of being hunted by time. For this, the artwork represents the Grim Reaper appearing in every corner, symbolizing death’s omnipresence and its inevitable claim on us all.

4. Old Man:

Old Man explores the deep sense of isolation and despair that can come with aging. The lyrics depict an elderly man reflecting on his life, feeling disconnected and lost as he faces the inevitable decline of his physical and mental state.

This track is especially personal, as it was originally written alongside our former drummer. It reflects the experience of his father, who eventually passed away through euthanasia. He was becoming a stranger in his own world, disconnected from the life he once knew. In the album artwork, an old man is depicted reaching toward a black hole, longing for death.

5. End of Time:

End of Time reflects on the unsettling experience of witnessing someone’s deepening belief in apocalyptic visions. The song is inspired by the father of a close friend who became consumed by thoughts of the end of the world. Over the years, his delusions grew stronger, and he truly believed that the Son of Man would come, signaling the end of time.

One day I received a letter from him in which he urgently emphasized that I needed to believe in god, or I would end up in hell. He even gave a specific date within a few months when the world would end. Unfortunately, he passed away last year. In the artwork, there is a man praying at an inverted cross.  

6. Voices:

Voices reflects my tendency to focus on the negative, even when there’s no real reason to complain. Despite having everything I could possibly need, I sometimes struggle with a mindset that leans toward pessimism.

The chorus, “Slow me down when voices get loud. Pull me out when I’m spinning round,” is a cry for help, wanting to break free from the spiral of negative thinking. It’s about seeking relief from the overwhelming barrage of thoughts that prevent me from finding peace and perspective. The howling dog in the artwork perfectly ties in with the line "I like the sound of howling hounds."

7. The Mistake:

This song critiques the arrogance and superiority some groups feel over others, reflecting on the state of the world today. The Mistake highlights how people convince themselves they are enlightened and above the struggles of others. The artwork for The Mistake features a world engulfed in flames, symbolizing the current state of the world we live in.

8. S21:

The artwork for S21 includes the frame of children's swings, a haunting reminder that this former schoolyard in Cambodia was repurposed as a site of torture under the Khmer Rouge regime. Named S21, this prison became a symbol of paranoia and systematic brutality. The song’s structure mirrors the slow descent into cruelty, reflecting how radicalization happens in small, incremental steps. As the lyrics grow darker, they illustrate the terrifying transformation of ordinary individuals into instruments of oppression, reinforcing the grim reality that history has a way of repeating itself.