The Necromancer
Encyclopedia
"The Necromancer" is an epic progressive rock
song by Rush
from their 1975 album Caress of Steel
and is currently their fourth longest song, behind 2112
, The Fountain of Lamneth
, and Cygnus X-1, Book II. This was Rush's first attempt at writing an epic piece and, along with its partner "The Fountain of Lamneth", was blamed for the commercial failure of the album.
This is the second Rush song to feature the character Prince By-Tor, the first being "By-Tor & The Snow Dog" on the band's second album, Fly by Night. This song also contains a reference to the town of the band's formation, Willowdale, Toronto
. The song also appears on a Bootleg DVD entitled "Rush, Caught In The Act" Which was recorded live by a 8mm film video recorder on May 15, 1975 at Rochester, New York by an avid fan, and produced on DVD. Progressive metal band Dream Theater
covered this song during their "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" tour.
The song is subtitled "A Short Story by Rush". The title may have been inspired by Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings
in which the Necromancer (more commonly called Sauron
), an evil entity who either summons the dead or reduces the living into specter form, is confronted by "three travelers": Sam, Frodo, and Gollum. However the parallel with Tolkien is inexact, as in The Lord of the Rings Sauron is unaware of the trio's approach until it is too late for him to stop them. In the old quests stories, travelers were generally restless and searching for a goal; so were Rush, always on tour. The reference to Willowdale is the name of the suburb in Toronto that the three members of Rush called home.
The song has three parts:
"Into Darkness" "Fording a river" was used by ancients in stories to show a decisive stage in a journey. That was the actual lyric Neil wrote, omitting "dawn" altogether.
"Under the Shadow" "O'er" is an old Gaelic term. Another "bow" reference as in "Bastille Day" with the travelers becoming specters and locked in dungeons.
"Return of the Prince" The incarnation of oppression is later confronted by Prince By-Tor (title comes from Tolkien's The Return of the King). Neil is the voice in the intro. The labyrinth classically represented the quest to find the center (the start, the spirit, the center of time and space in the microcosm of a maze). By-Tor is not evil here and he battles for freedom. By-Tor slays the Necromancer. The Necromancer then becomes a wraith seeking another land to rule with his "evil prism eye". The men are freed from the labyrinth after his departure. The evil prism eye is another Tolkien reference to the eye of Sauron. The song ends with Lifeson playing a triumphant guitar solo in celebration of the victory over evil.
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
song by Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
from their 1975 album Caress of Steel
Caress of Steel
Caress of Steel is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1975. The album shows more of Rush's adherence to hard progressive rock, as opposed to the blues-based heavy metal and hard rock style of the band's first two albums. Long pieces broken up into various sections and...
and is currently their fourth longest song, behind 2112
2112 (song)
2112 is the sidelong title track of Canadian progressive rock band Rush's album of the same name, released in 1976. The overture and the first section, Temples of Syrinx, were released as a single and are still popular among Rush's setlists today. The "sci-fi" sounds in the beginning of the song...
, The Fountain of Lamneth
The Fountain of Lamneth
The Fountain of Lamneth is the fifth song from Rush's third album Caress of Steel. The music was written by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson and the lyrics were written by Neil Peart. It chronicles a man's journey to find the Fountain of Lamneth. It consists of six parts:#* "I. In the Valley" – 4:18#*...
, and Cygnus X-1, Book II. This was Rush's first attempt at writing an epic piece and, along with its partner "The Fountain of Lamneth", was blamed for the commercial failure of the album.
This is the second Rush song to feature the character Prince By-Tor, the first being "By-Tor & The Snow Dog" on the band's second album, Fly by Night. This song also contains a reference to the town of the band's formation, Willowdale, Toronto
Willowdale, Toronto
Willowdale is an established, affluent community in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in the district of North York. It was originally called Lansing, which is now the name of a nearby neighbourhood....
. The song also appears on a Bootleg DVD entitled "Rush, Caught In The Act" Which was recorded live by a 8mm film video recorder on May 15, 1975 at Rochester, New York by an avid fan, and produced on DVD. Progressive metal band Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
covered this song during their "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" tour.
The song is subtitled "A Short Story by Rush". The title may have been inspired by Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
in which the Necromancer (more commonly called Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
), an evil entity who either summons the dead or reduces the living into specter form, is confronted by "three travelers": Sam, Frodo, and Gollum. However the parallel with Tolkien is inexact, as in The Lord of the Rings Sauron is unaware of the trio's approach until it is too late for him to stop them. In the old quests stories, travelers were generally restless and searching for a goal; so were Rush, always on tour. The reference to Willowdale is the name of the suburb in Toronto that the three members of Rush called home.
The song has three parts:
"Into Darkness" "Fording a river" was used by ancients in stories to show a decisive stage in a journey. That was the actual lyric Neil wrote, omitting "dawn" altogether.
"Under the Shadow" "O'er" is an old Gaelic term. Another "bow" reference as in "Bastille Day" with the travelers becoming specters and locked in dungeons.
"Return of the Prince" The incarnation of oppression is later confronted by Prince By-Tor (title comes from Tolkien's The Return of the King). Neil is the voice in the intro. The labyrinth classically represented the quest to find the center (the start, the spirit, the center of time and space in the microcosm of a maze). By-Tor is not evil here and he battles for freedom. By-Tor slays the Necromancer. The Necromancer then becomes a wraith seeking another land to rule with his "evil prism eye". The men are freed from the labyrinth after his departure. The evil prism eye is another Tolkien reference to the eye of Sauron. The song ends with Lifeson playing a triumphant guitar solo in celebration of the victory over evil.