Marduk Memento Mori 1. Memento Mori Come and revel Jubilate Come, rejoice in the wedding of decay In the gospel of the worm And the promise of the grave Come and rejoice, come and sing To the one rightful king Come and lay bare your breath For his name is Death Memento mori Blood from the nose From the cross From the mound Celebrating That your one birth-right is a hole in the ground Memento mori Memento mori Memento mori Seize the pale Carpe mortem Dead hue! Carpe diem Seize the grave And now Carpe fuck you Mori Mori Come, behold Both hands point to old Every minute is a viper Every second is a toad Every cross, every stone Is a sure horoscope Every coffin, every urn A beacon of hope Memento mori 2. Heart of the Funeral Through forests of crosses And through gardens of stone Over beds of granite And forgotten bones Through a wonderland of Coffins, big and small In search of the heart Of the funeral The funeral The funeral The funeral Under skies of false rain Upon clouds of ash Carried by the scent of Death and fresh-cut grass Around the greed of Rudolf Into sweet-smelling fog In search for meaning And the grave of God The grave of God The grave of God The grave of God A smouldering seance On wings of tar A fork in the road Of the morning star Under leaves of sacrifice And the Gotlander's spell In search for reason And the gate to hell The gate to hell The gate to hell The gate to hell 3. Blood of the Funeral High on the flesh Of the knell and the psalm Drunk on the blood Of the funeral Ridden by lust And sepulchral thirst I come dressed in hunger And the trauma of birth Sun of maggots Decay is my light My breaths are all anthems To the moth and the mite The whore is dead I fall down to pray And to celebrate death As the god of our faith There it is again That putrid smell Could Belinda have been right? But then again, so is hell Rotting bosom Her stench is my church Her shell shall serve as pulpit Until reclaimed by the earth Lifeless altar A fresh cross of bones Her cold flesh shall be my voice Until the worms bring her home High on the breath Of the slip and the fall Fuelled by the yolk Of the burial Black and blue creed On a hymnal of skin To re-school the clergy That to breathe is to sin A song through the holes Where the eyes have been To convince the council That to die is to win High on the flesh Of the knell and the psalm Drunk on the blood Of the funeral On wings of ash And wild pallbearer mirth Soaring on the cool breeze Of yet another stillbirth There it is again That livid hue The wind is growing stiffer But then again, so are you 4. Shovel Beats Sceptre Has it dawned on you yet? Have you begun to grasp That life is not a clock But an hourglass? Are you prepared? Is your rat-nest in order? Will your mind be at ease When the shadows grow taller? Hopeless odds The game is fixed See death teardown the playground A knife in the throat Just to see if it fits See life sneak out through the Devil's hatch Blazing scythe - book of lies Scissors beats paper Orb of flies - throne of mice Shovel beats sceptre Hopeless buds The soil is sick See reason reach for the tinderbox A modest flame And a bundle of sticks All flesh is grass when the ashes call Mouths of dirt - angel birth Tombstone beats feather Wall of urns - crown of worms Shovel beats sceptre Has it dawned on you yet? Have you begun to grasp That life is not a clock But an hourglass? Are you prepared? Is your rat-nest in order? Will your mind be at ease When the shadows grow taller? Your days are numbered No matter what you've been told So, stop now and consider That you've never been this old That you've never been this old That you've never been this old That you've never been this old... Pope-less odds The throat is slit See leafed hands raise the loving cup A pale vowel From the deaconess' lips All flesh is cash when the gavel falls Oblong box - gilded cross Coffin beats saviour Velvet knots - maggot pox Shovel beats sceptre 5. Charlatan Charlatan! Thou false light and fraud among frauds Oh, holy trilemma We have come here to bask in thy fall We have come here to revel in thy withdrawal Charlatan! Thou weaver of spells from afar No foul trick can save you now No cursed prayer, hymn, or psalm No enchanted cross, no bewitched moon or star Charlatan! Poison root of Abraham! Charlatan! Poison god of dust Father Abraham had many sons Many sons had arch-snake Abraham I am not one of them, and neither are you So, let us his song refute Father Abraham had many sons Many sons had desert-demon Abraham I am not one of them, and neither are you So, let's just cut him loose Abraham! Masked shepherd of the slithering lamb Behold your flock scattering As we banish you back to the sand As we banish you back to the holy land Abraham! Your new name is Charlatan! Charlatan! Cursed root of the- 6. Coffin Carol Funeral hunger meets funeral thirst The fruit of the grave is aglow Tomb-flower honey, sap from a blooming hearse Sweet nectar of death in me flows The church bell is swollen And ready to give birth Sweet nectar of death from below Jingle shovels bring Exult and a joyous carol sing Grave words of darkness in grave-lantern light Your death is a sun among stars A torch turned upside-down in order to ignite The grave lantern in my heart Your death is a green field Your coffin a blue sky Your funeral is a warm hug On each eye, a coin Extol and our coffin carol join Milk from a fresh casket churned into mirth Grapes of decay stomped into wine Salvation is a puddle of hallowed dirt In which we now must wallow like swine Your death is a true friend Your grave a caring nurse Within whom we now must wallow like swine 7. Marching Bones March! March! March! Swift hooves of rigor mortis Funeral sky over funeral steed The graves are open Bottomless quiver of plagues The bow is drawn, and the arrow is nocked The graves are open The bow is bent, and the arrow is shot We sing thy glory Thou wild tide of death We kneel before thee Oh, pale deluge of marching bones Marching bones The big hand is on dying The little on death The seal is broken By an avalanche of marching bones Marching bones Skull wagon, wall of coffins Fields lush with gallows and Catherine wheels The graves are open And keen to show us the meaning of greed Enchanted forest Of Falun, red spears We kneel before thee Oh, rattling wave of marching bones Marching bones 8. Year of the Maggot Beyond the funeral, floating Cold bed far from the grey chain of haze A caul wrapped in the jagged lamentations Of seven 15th-century saints Three crowns reforged into coffins A triad of lead, cypress, and oak The mouth of silver soon shall blacken Just like blue blood will, when cold The king is dead Long live the queen of fools From sweet to bitter In the year of the maggot, 1632 Sacral geometry, cardinal lust A pale voyage on sepulchral waves A black ship of spiritual convulsion On a raging sea of royal decay Beyond the funeral risen Behind the silver-mask, a foul smile From the high urn, a stench of confusion And blessed 17th-century bile The queen is dead Long live the king of flies From sick to sicker In the year of the maggot, 1689 9. Red Tree of Blood Worms upon your young Within your lungs Around the gospel of your death Oh, glorious death Oh, fading breath We are your humble servants Come, mercy to none The pity is gone The axe already earned its wings Bring forth your kings Off with their limbs So, one less slug In the Red tree Of blood Gone, your branch is gone Your line undone Handful of dead seeds in dead soil Now greet the void That cursed void In which no memory can dwell Could this be hell? Must break the spell Before we're swept off by the flood Of tainted blood And barren mud So, carve your runes Into The book Of wombs Your names Into The tree Of veins Snakes dwell in your wine Around your spine Along the pillars of your faith It is too late You took the bait And now you'll take it to the grave Beyond the pale No longer slave No longer shackled to the cross The moon is lost The star is tossed So, one less god In the Red tree Of blood 10. As We Are White rose of death Black box of bones This coffin is my song A lifeless wreath On a mossy bed of cold This tomb is now a tongue Ruthless mirror of stone Living monument of decay A bitter truth And a foreshadow Of what you shall become This rotten fruit For some, a dinner and a show But for most, just a lesson The language may have changed But the message is the same As you are, we once were As we are, so shall you be As you are, we once were As we are, so shall you be White rose of death Black birch of blood Three psalms on wings of mould A lecture on rebirth From a clergy of decay Each worm is a sermon Echoes too old to hear But the message is loud and clear As you are, we once were As we are, so shall you be As you are, we once were As we are, so shall you be As you are, we once were As we are, so shall you be As you are, we once were As we are, so shall you be As you are, we once were As we are, so shall you be As you are, we once were As we are, so shall you be