Well, the bulk of the lyrical content comes from a Korean comic (manhwa) called "Priest." Part 1 is mostly the first half of volume one, where we learn of Ivan Isaacs, a priest who falls in love with a woman. The two of them are sentenced to execution by the Church (which is being misled by a fallen angel.) In the final moments of his life, he strikes a deal with another Demon who seeks revenge on the Church. If you doubt this, take a stop into your local Borders, Barnes and Noble, or better yet, Independently Owned Comic Shop with a decent selection of Manga and Manhwa. Find Priest, Volume 1 and read the back cover and the first few pages. It's right there. Plus, I read somewhere that Petrucci admitted to it, which is pretty cool of him, as opposed to other songwriters who might act dodgy about such things.
Some snobbish types out there might call it plagiarism, but I just call it awesome :D I like it when musicians take inspiration from fiction (a la Rime of the Ancient Mariner.) If a prog metal or power metal group did a song based on Berserk! (a Japanese series,) I think my head would explode (and happily so.)
Well, the bulk of the lyrical content comes from a Korean comic (manhwa) called "Priest." Part 1 is mostly the first half of volume one, where we learn of Ivan Isaacs, a priest who falls in love with a woman. The two of them are sentenced to execution by the Church (which is being misled by a fallen angel.) In the final moments of his life, he strikes a deal with another Demon who seeks revenge on the Church. If you doubt this, take a stop into your local Borders, Barnes and Noble, or better yet, Independently Owned Comic Shop with a decent selection of Manga and Manhwa. Find Priest, Volume 1 and read the back cover and the first few pages. It's right there. Plus, I read somewhere that Petrucci admitted to it, which is pretty cool of him, as opposed to other songwriters who might act dodgy about such things.
Some snobbish types out there might call it plagiarism, but I just call it awesome :D I like it when musicians take inspiration from fiction (a la Rime of the Ancient Mariner.) If a prog metal or power metal group did a song based on Berserk! (a Japanese series,) I think my head would explode (and happily so.)