Here's a track by track rundown:
I Am - Epic and beautiful. With lines like "I am the one who spoke no words with a thousand angels waiting for my call" (referring to his time spent being tortured and executed by the Romans) clashing with lines like "I am the joy of angels dancing in the streets of Heaven" and "I am the quenching of the thirst you never thought you'd be without," this song shows the multifaceted God. The music is powerful and moving.
The Master Storyteller - Fast and catchy. The song tells of how easy it is to find evidence of God just by looking around. "Even in the dark, it's so obvious He's there"
Nailed - Wonderfully brutal. Rivals Laying the Demon to Rest as the heaviest Theocracy song. The song is from reformer Martin Luther's perspective about corruption in the church "...religous schools, indulgences, laws, and rules - it all led to nothing and darkness and death, vanity heartache and emptiness, efforts are fading away...."
Hide in the Fairytale - Similar style as Master Storyteller, but less guitar-driven. The song's about Original Sin. "Behold the loving family man who tries to do the best he can and loves his wife and children even more than his own life. But just like that a wandering eye leads to a suffocating lie...."
The Gift of Music - wins my award for best surprise. I was honestly expecting to write this one off, but I was proven very, very wrong. It's one of my favorite tracks now, about the power of music to speak volumes. It builds from a ballad to a full-band, orchestrated onslaught (similar to Endless Sacrifice by Dream Theater, but this song gets heavier).
30 Pieces of Silver - Similar style to Master Storyteller, but more progressive, and more aggressive music in the verses than the melody of the aforementioned song. It's about the massive things people trade for temporary gains. "What's the price you've named? Is it money, power, acceptance, or fame?"
Drown - Possibly the most progressive song on the album. It's from Peter's point of view when Christ calls him out of the boat to walk on the water with Him.
Altar to the Unknown God - fantastic heavy song about Paul's visit to Greece (from the point of view of the Greeks in the first verse and the point of view of Paul in the second). Eschews a tradition V-C-V-C-B-V format for a C-V-C-V-B-V-C. "A stranger came to town one day and fiercly proclaimed: 'the unknown God you worship on this altar has a name! This God is not an image or a statue of the dead. We live and have His being, as your own poets have said'"
Light of the World - biggest disappointment for me, personally. It's a great song, but I guess since it's one of the ones we've heard the most of (recording the vocals), and how good that section was, I was expecting it to be better than it is. But it's still a good song questioning how effectively we're carrying out the great commission. "Arisen, forbidden, we keep our candles hidden" and "to stand like a wall and resist the temptation to sell ourselves out for hollow acclimation."
As the World Bleeds - Oh, man. Just....oh man. A beautiful, powerful song. I can't even choose a line or two to describe the song, so here's the first minute or so, in all its grandeur.
Why do we only call Your name when there’s no one else to call
And we only really seek You when our mighty towers fall
Why do we say You’ve failed us and You’ve turned Your eyes away
When we’re only sleeping in the bed we’ve made
Why do we call for free will
But reject all consequence?
Why’s the path we’ve made to Heaven
Stained with the blood of innocence
Why do we ignore the warnings
That we’ve read and always known
And get angry when we reap the things we sow
So we blame You, ‘cause our world’s not come out right
While the devil’s masquerading as an Angel of the Light
