Emissaries of Beyond
Written by Bron James
Artwork by Matilda Dawes
As featured in Frisson Comics' Knock Knock: Dethrock Anthology
Renowned for their theatrical concerts and extravagant light shows, the Emissaries of Beyond were pioneers of Eighties prog-rock. Their unique and self-described transcendent presence earned them a cult following, with fans flocking to witness their live shows. Some had described the experience as an awakening, others as if they had been transported to other worlds. Truly, they were giants of the genre.
The strange thing is, no one seems to remember them.
This is for two reasons. Firstly, it was the Eighties. A lot of people’s memories of the music scene in that era are hazy, and often hallucinogenic. Secondly, on the 13th August 1988, the band mysteriously vanished, and with them all trace that they had ever existed.
Seemingly overnight, their complete discography disappeared from record stores. Their name was erased from the charts. Posters for their then-upcoming tour, Ragnarok ‘n’ Roll, were nowhere to be found. In East London, where once there had been a high-end recording studio, there was only an abandoned and dilapidated building, its rooms filled with thousands of pages of erased text and recordings of silence.
Now, decades after the band’s disappearance, and as mysteriously as they were first lost to time, new songs by the Emissaries of Beyond have started to surface. For the first time since they vanished from the face of the Earth, we can release the lyric sheet for the last - and currently only - known song by the Emissaries of Beyond.
The Dark Between the Stars.
The Dark Between the Stars
I gazed into the Void, and the Void whispered unto me:
Before the dawn, there was only Darkness,
And when the last light of the final star is extinguished
Only Darkness will remain.
In the Shadows we can hear them stirring.
Horrors from Dimensions yet Unknown.
The Lines between Realities are blurring,
Sanity’s Reign soon to be Dethroned.
We are the Heralds of Light
Piercing through the Veil of Night.
Emissaries of Star-born Avatars.
The Songs we Sing with our Voices raised,
Across the Cosmos our Words have blazed,
Shining into the Dark between the Stars.
Ever the Light cuts through the Dark.
In deepest Night, reach for the Spark.
Eldritch terrors from ancient Slumber rise.
Shrouded in Darkness, they are scheming.
Lurking in the depths, their vile tendrils writhe,
Nightmares far beyond the Dreaming.
Ravenous eyes through the Veil are Leering,
Upon lost souls they hunger to prey.
Blood-soaked talons through the skein appearing,
Ripping through their heinous Gateway.
We are the Champions of Light,
Warding off Horrors of Night.
Metal forged in the Warrior Heart of Mars.
Our Music’s Power will Resonate,
Bombarding their Forces at the Gate.
We stand and face the Dark between the Stars.
Upon our lighted stage
The curtains are unfurled
For the war we shall wage
Against the Netherworld.
Unearthly tendrils lash,
Sharpened claws are unsheathed,
Through blackened smoke and ash,
Reality is cleaved.
Foul fiends of endless nights
Descend upon the Earth.
Swarming, devouring blights,
From hellish aeons birthed.
Behold! The Harbinger of all your woes,
A Beast whom we dare not speak its name.
Our Resonance repels our Manxome Foes
Back into the Void from which they came.
We wage this Timeless War, our righteous fight,
Fending off their Unholy Forces.
Striving ever onwards into the Light,
From the Darkness charting new courses.
We are Warriors of Light,
Battling the Hordes of Night.
Waging war with the Sound of these Guitars.
Guided by ancient Cosmic Power,
Elder Gods honour this wretched hour.
We fight against the Dark between the Stars.
Beneath a Dark Moon on the rise,
When the sky with starfire is decorated,
Look inwards with three opened eyes.
Within, the true path is illuminated.
Ever the Light cuts through the Dark.
In deepest Night, reach for the Spark.