Old Music Tuesdays Christmas: Wolves at the Gate “The King”

My Christmas playlist continues on Digital Tyrants! This week, I’m sharing another excellent original Christmas melody from another Solid State Records artist.

Wolves at the Gate is a Christian post-hardcore/metal band from Ohio. Their song The King was released in 2012 as a digital single, but it was pressed onto CD/vinyl for Solid State Records’ Christmas compilation in 2014 (which you can purchase for $7 by clicking my Amazon link). The King‘s lyrics definitely betray it as a Christmas song, but the melody isn’t really super “Christmas-y”… There are no jingle bells, for example. For this reason, I think the song works year-round, not just at Christmas time. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Lyrics

I saw heaven standing open there
And there before was the One who is faithful and true
Born this day the Christ of our age
His life bringing death to sin

Death to sin

This war on sin and death
Has seen its final breath
Our King has come to bring us life

Born in secret and not to fame
The greatest gift was hearing Your name
Born of this day the Christ of our age
The Word becoming flesh and blood
The one Messiah of grace and truth
The angels singing glory and praise

This war on sin and death
Has seen its final breath
Our King has come to bring us life

The angels of heaven were singing His praise
For the Messiah had come and in a manger He lays

You left Your throne on high to live with this fallen race
To answer this age old cry “We need Your grace! We need Your grace!
Of the wicked redeemed, a need for a King
To seek and save the lost
Humbly You came to serve (humbly You came to serve)
This grace we do not deserve (this grace that we just could not afford)
To take on our sin, Ye righteous and pure
You came knowing the full cost

The wise and meek had traveled with gifts of offering
But what could they give to the King of Kings?

Death meeting defeat with a love that will not cease
Glory to the King who has bought our peace!

The Light of life brings death to sin and offers up His grace
With meager cries exalt His name be heard by every race
All hail the King! All praise the Son!
The Prince of Peace, the Chosen One
The King above all Kings!

All hail the King! All praise the Son!
The Prince of Peace, the Chosen One
The King above all Kings!

Bonus! They also do an excellent cover of one of my favorite Christmas songs, an old Methodist hymn by Charles Wesley.
I’ve embedded it below for your enjoyment.

Lyrics

1. Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.

2. Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.

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More Music on This Site

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Old Music Tuesdays

Click here for my past Old Music Tuesdays posts. There are too many to list!

Concert Reviews

2013

• Tomahawk (feat. Retox)
• Coheed and Cambria (feat. BTBAM & Russian Circles)
• Palms
• Black Sabbath (feat. Andrew WK)
• Vampire Weekend (feat. Beirut)

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2014

• Fit for a King & For Today
• ††† (Crosses) (feat. Omniflux & Spirit in the Room)
• Soundgarden & NIN 2014

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2015

• Dr. Octagon (feat. Avalon, Gap Dream & No Parents)
• Faith No More (feat. The Urinals)
• Mastodon & Clutch (feat. Graveyard)
• Coheed and Cambria (feat. Seahaven)
• The Appleseed Cast (feat. Adjy & Coaster)
• The Smashing Pumpkins & Marilyn Manson
• Danzig (feat. Cancer Bats & Saviours)
• Imagine Dragons (feat. Halsey & Metric)
• Between the Buried and Me & Animals As Leaders (feat. The Contortionist)
• Deftones & Incubus (feat. Death from Above 1979)
• 2015 Summer Rankings
• Blindside (feat. Hearts Like Lions)
• Puscifer (feat. Luchafer)

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2016

• The Black Queen (feat. Drab Majesty)
• Joe Satriani
• Coheed and Cambria (feat. Glassjaw, I the Mighty, Silver Snakes)
• Killswitch Engage (feat. Memphis May Fire, 36 Crazyfists, and Toothgrinder)
• Andrew Bird (feat. John Grant)
• Lamb of God (feat. Clutch and Corrosion of Conformity)
• At the Drive-In (feat. Le Butcherettes)
• The Dillinger Escape Plan (feat. Author & Punisher)
• Guns N’ Roses (feat. The Cult)
• Animal Collective (feat. Stuart Copeland)
• Alice in Chains (feat. The New Regime)
• Temple of the Dog (feat. Fantastic Negrito)
• Giraffe Tongue Orchestra (cancelled)
• Metallica
• 2016 Concert Rankings

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2017

• August Burns Red (feat. Protest the Hero, In Hearts Wake, ’68)
• Norma Jean (feat. He Is Legend, Capsize, Comrades)
• Red (feat. Wolves at the Gate, Message from Sylvia, Death Therapy) (coming soon)
• Mastodon (feat. Eagles of Death Metal, Russian Circles) (coming soon)
• Pixies (coming soon)
• Tool (feat. Clutch, Fantomas, Primus, Melvins, Crystal Method) (coming soon)
• Rise Against (feat. Deftones, Thrice) (coming soon)
• Green Day
• Dead Cross (feat. Neil Hamburger, Ho99o9) (coming soon)
• Banks (coming soon)
• Between the Buried and Me (feat. The Contortionist, Poluphia, Toothgrinder) (coming soon)
• The Offspring (feat. Well Hung Heart) (coming soon)
• Russian Circles (feat. MGR) (coming soon)
• Our Lady Peace (feat. Smashing Hearts) (coming soon)
• Animals As Leaders (feat. Periphery and Astronoid) (coming soon)

Mike Patton stuff on this website

• Mike Patton’s Guest Spots
• Faith No More concert review
• Old Music Tuesdays: Faith No More
• Faith No More Stripsearch
• Old Music Tuesdays: Mr. Bungle
• Tomahawk concert review
• Tomahawk Red Fox

Chino Moreno stuff on this website

• Chino’s Harder Guest Spots
• Chino’s Softer Guest Spots
• Chino’s Mainstream Work
• Palms concert
• (†††) Crosses concert
• Old Music Tuesday: (†††) Crosses
• Deftones & Incubus (feat. Death from Above 1979)

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