Five Magics

(Music, lyrics: Mustaine)

Bestow upon me knowledge
Wizard, all-knowing, all-wise
I want to rule this kingdom
Make sweet the breeze, now defiled
Dethrone the evil prince's
Iron fists in velvet gloves of sin
Parade the grey-robed monks,
The vestal virgins
And wheel the wyvern's in

Let the ceremony consecrate the marriage
Let me be the protege of five magics

Give me alchemy!
Wizardry!
Sorcery!
Thermatology!
Electricity!
Magic if you please
Master all of these
Bring him to his knees
I master five magics

Possessed with hellish torment
I master magics "5"
Hunting the abyss lord
Only one will stay alive
He who lives by the sword will surely also die
He who lives in sin will surely live the lie


"I'm quite pleased with the main solo in the middle of this tune. The rhythm underneath the solo is in some crazy time signature and I managed to do something with the solo that makes the whole section sound a little less progressive and a little more eerily aggressive. I was having a hard time nailing the fast thrashy pedaling rhythm part towards the end, so Clink gave me one of Slash's guitar picks that was lying around and then I nailed the part in one take. Magic!" (Friedman, 2002)

The meaning of this song can be summarized by the line, "He who lives by the sword will surely also die," which is an adaptation of Matthew 26:52, "He who lives by the sword will die by the sword."

The speaker in the song lives under an evil, oppressive ruler and wants to overthrow him and become king. To do this, he masters five magics but in doing so, he becomes power-hungry and evil, just like the Abyss Lord that he opposes. Furthermore, the Abyss Lord already knows the five magics so he has the advantage and wins the fight. This is the only Megadeth song that's real fantasy-adventure oriented.

References:

Alchemy is a medieval chemical philosophy aimed at changing base metals into gold, the discovery of the panacea (the mythical cure for all diseases), and the preparation of the elixir of longevity.

Wizardry is the art, skill, or practice of a wizard.

Sorcery is the use of supernatural powers over others through the assistance of evil spirits.

Thermatology is the control of heat and heat-associated phenomena.

A wyvern is a mythical two-legged dragon having wings and a barbed and knotted tail.