Released September 1975 Length 12:30 | Recorded June–July 1975 | |
Genre Progressive rock, hard rock Label Anthem Records (Canada)
Mercury Records Writer(s) Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson
Lyrics by Neil Peart | ||
The Necromancer is a song by Rush from their 1975 album Caress of Steel subtitled "A Short Story by Rush." It was one of Rush's first attempts at writing an epic progressive rock piece, along with "The Fountain of Lamneth." The two songs are often blamed for the commercial failure of Caress of Steel. Part III, titled "Return of the Prince", was released as a single in some countries. No official live recordings of the song have been released, but it appears on a bootleg entitled "Rush: Caught In The Act," which was recorded with an 8mm video recorder on May 15, 1975 in Rochester, New York by an audience member.
Contents
The song is heavily inspired by the high fantasy legendarium of author J.R.R. Tolkien. Many parallels can be drawn between the song's tale and the stories of Tolkien, and several references are made to characters and locations in Tolkien's stories. In particular, the title and antagonist of this song were inspired by a character in Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings: the Necromancer (a pseudonym for Sauron).
In the third part of the song, titled "Return of the Prince", a character from their previous album, Fly by Night, named By-Tor, returns. In By-Tor and the Snow Dog, By-Tor is a villain, and attempts to take over the overworld. However, By-Tor is a hero in The Necromancer, supposedly having freed the prisoners from the necromancer's lair. This has not been explained by Rush.
Parts
The song consists of three parts: