Nile
In Their Darkened Shrines
1. The Blessed Dead
Looked Down Upong With Scorn
We Work the Fields of the Masters
And Share Not the Bounty of the Black Earth
Destitute Servile Cast Out
Affording No Tomb
We Shall Be Buried
Unprepared in the Sand
We Shall Never Be The Blessed Dead
Scorned By Asar
Condemned at the Weighing of the Heart
We are Exiled from the Netherworld
Serpents fall Upon us Dragging us Away
Ammitt Who Teareth the Wicked to Pieces
Pale Shades of the UnBlessed Dead
None Shall Enter Without the Knowledge
Of the Magickal Formulas
Which is Given to Few to Possess
Not for Us to Sekhet Aaru
Our Souls Will be Cut to Pieces with Sharp Knives
Tortured Devoured
Consumed in Everlasting Flames
We Shall Never Be The Blessed Dead
[The phrase, "The Blessed Dead," is a reference to those who obtain the "blessed" condition in the afterlife: the beautified condition of eternal lifein the presence of Osiris in the Sekbet-Aaru, or "Field of Reeds." Those who had lived a moral life, observed the proper burial rites and procedures, and possessed all the correct magickal spells to navigate the treacherous and horrific Egyptian underworld, who could recite the 42 negative confessions, and whose hearts were found to be pure at the "Weighing of the Heart," were then allowed to be "Osirified" - to become a person like as unto Osiris - and enjoy a pleasant afterlife as ne of the blessed dead.]
[Proper burial, though, was an expensive undertaking. It was usually afforded only by pharaohs, priests, and the wealthy class. What of those who could not afford the extravagant tombs, mummification, magickal amulets, and costly papurys texts on which were written the necessary spells for successfully navigating the underworld? Even linen, which was used to wrap the mummies, was so expensive in ancient Egypt that people had to save what little scraps of it they could for years to have enough to have themselves wrapped. Also of mention would be the cost of professional mourners, embalmers, and priests for the "Opening of the Mouth" ceremony. This was all extremely expensive. Even a wealthy person in ancient Egypt would spend a lifetime saving and preparing for his or her burial and afterlife. I suppose it is no small coincidence that the religious priests were directly involved in the embalming industry.]
[But what of the middle and lover classes of people - the common working man? What then of the slaves and servant classes? if all these costly preparations and arcane knowledege were essential to achieving a state of blessedness in the afterlife, would a person of limited financial means be condemned beforehand to burn in torment in the afterlife, so only the wealthy became the Blessed Dead? While most of the populate certainly accepted this fatalistic concept - and by all that we know of ancient Egypt, embraced life and the hope of an eternal afterlife - most ancient Egyptians probably were resigned to do whatever funereal preparations were within their means It stands to reason, however, that certainly some small number of lower income / slave / working class people (predestined, of course, to certain financial / spiritual doom, as upward caste mobility was very limited in ancient times) would be less than inclined to accept at face value the idea that, no matter what, by the end of their lives they would not be able to afford to be buried as one of the blessed dead. Would they be resigned to their eternal fate, or live their lives with subversive viewpoints - perhaps rebelling against the established religious order, or perhaps choosing to worship amongst the pletbora of "other gods" of the Egyptian pantheon? (Budge refers to them as, "Wretched little gods.")]
[Certainly the existence of the ancient cult worship of the god, Set, is not without some sort of seditious causality. Perhaps these, then, are the countless legions of souls damned to fiery pits of torment in the underworld: the "Hated of Ra" or "Enemies of Osiris." This probably would also liken these wretched and lost souls to be followers of Set and his Seban fiends, who were the original enemies of Osiris and precursor role models on which later religious based their ideas of "Hell" and "Satan" and his "infernal legions." I am reminded of John Milton, who, in Paradise Lost, wrote of Lucifer, after he had been cast down and came to realization of his unrepentant autonomy, "It is better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven." And thus, that brings us full circle to the chorus refrain of "The Blessed Dead." complete with infernal choirs of the underworld defiantly proclaiming, "We Shall Never Be The Blessed Dead."]
2. Execration Text
Mut The Dangerous Dead
Trouble me No Longer
I Inscribe Thy Name
I Threaten Thee With The Second Death
I Kill Thy Name
And Thus I Kill Thee Again
In The Afterlife
Bau Terror of the Living
Angry Spirits of the Condemned Dead
I Write thy Name
I Burn Thy Name In Flames
I Kill Thy Name
And Thus Thee Are Accursed
Even Unto The Underworld
Mut The Troublesome Dead
Plague Me No Longer
Thou Art Cursed
Thy Name Is Crushed
Thine Clay is Smashed And Broken
Thy Vengeance Against The Living
Shall Come to Naught
[Among the most sinister objects from the ancient world are the figurines in human shape which were used to cast spells on the persons they depicted. Such objects survive to this day usually only when they are buried as a part of a rite, and usually in the vicinity of a tomb or necropolis. Archeologist have found the remains of such rites at the royal cemetaries of Giza, Saqqarra, Lisht, and at several forts in Nubia. Stone, wax, or mud figures, or broken clay tablets or clay pots, are inscribed with lists of the enemies of Egypt. The body of the figure is usually flattened to make room for the text, or sometimes a papyrus is inserted inside the body cavity. On the back, the arms, or the arms and legs, are bound together. The inscriptions found on them are called "execration texts." These texts threaten death to specific people. Often, they include the name, parentage, and title of war. The execration texts were mainly aimed at enemy rulers, hostile nations, and tribes in Nubia, Libya, and Syria-Palestine. Magickal incantations and rites were used to cause death and suffering, and to prevent the angry spirits of the executed from taking vengeance on those who had condemned them. Usually included in these texts are long-standing enemies of those involved in the cursing rites. There is also often a catchball phrase against any man, woman, or eunuch who might be plotting rebellion. Amongst the common people, the execration rituals were carried out after the killing of a personal enemy or the execution of criminals. By killing the enemy's name, which was an integral part of the personality, this rite would extend the punishment into the afterlife. The spirits of defeated enemies or executed traitors were regarded as a continued supernatural threat, which needed to be met with magic. The wording of the texts is similar to that of contemporary spells on papyrus, which promise to protect against the malice of demons and ghosts. Those named in the execration texts are referred to as "mut" - the dangerous dead. It is also the word used to describe the troublesome dead in protective spells for private persons. The stone figures and red clay pots on which the execration texts were written were ritually broken as part of the cursing ceremony in order to smash the enemy's power. A pit near the Egyptian fort of Mirgissa in Nubia contained hundreds of such pot shards, as well as over 350 figures. Deposite of figures have been found outside fortresses, tombs, and funerary temples. The clay figures were burned and then buried with iron spikes driven through them, or nailed to the outer walls, as the bodies of executed traitors and foreign enemies sometimes were. The more eloborate enemy figures were sometimes trussed up like animals about to be sacrificed. Some are shown with their throats cut, the method used to kill sacrificial animals. The dismembered body of a Nubian and a flint sacrificial knife were found nar the Mirgissa pit. Some Egyptologists believe that human sacrifices routinely accompanied execration rituals, while others have argued that the figures were normally a substitute for such sacrifices.]
3. Sarcophagus
Who Dares Disturb
My Blissful Sleep
Again in Anger
Must I Rise
How Long Unknown
I Lay Emtombed
My World
So Long Forgotten
Did Disown Me
Usurper
I was Scorned
Ah
The Suffering They did Inflict
Stained With Cosmic Black Sins
The Sun No Longer Sets Me Free
[The song, "Sacrophagus", could be thought of as a continuation of the Nephren-ka saga - perhaps a revisitation of the Lovecraftian mythos that this band has been exploring since our earlier work. In this latest chapter, whilst naively excavating in the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka, we have unwittingly awakened our protagonist from his long, restful interment. After wreaking his underworld vengeance upon us for disturbing him from his oblivion, he is tormented by memories of the unholy transgressions that had caused him his anguished eternal entombment... in all seriousness, though, I sometimes get the uneasy feeling that perhaps it would be best to leave Lovecraft's characters sleeping, undisturbed in an eternal dormant state - dead, as it were, but dreaming. Who knows what we might awaken?]
4. Kheftiu Asar Butchiu
Kheftin Asar Butbiu
Enemies of Osiris Who Are To Be Burned
Let There Be Fetters on Your Arms
Let There Be Shackles on Your Necks
Let There Be Chains Upon You
Ye Shall Be Hacked to Pieces For
What Ye Have Done To Osiris
You Have Put His Mysteries Behind Your Backs
You Hath Dragged the Statue of the God
From The Secret Place
You Hath Desecrated The Hidden Things of the
Great One
You Are Doomed To Stand And Receive in
Your Faces
The Fire Which Serpent Khetti Is About To
Spit At You
Khetti
Great Serpent Who Lieth In Undulations
Before the Damned
Khetti
Open Thy Mouth Distend Thy Jaws
Belch Forth Thy Flames Against My
Fathers Enemies
Burn Up Their Bodies
Consume their Souls
By the Fire Which Issueth From Thy Mouth
And By The Flames Which Art In Thy Body
The Fire Which Is in the Serpent Khetti
Shall Come Forth
And Blaze Against The Enemies of Osiris
Whosoever Knoweth How to Use
These Words of Power
Against the Serpent Shall Be As One
Who Doth Not Enter Upon His Fiery Path
[In the Book of Gates, another text describing the Egyptian underworld, within the Eighth Division of Night is the Gate of Set-Hra. The scenes depicted in this chapter describe some of the tortures which are inflicted upon the original enemies of Osiris. It is impossible for Osiris to slay all of his enemies at once, even though they are in his power. While various batches of them are awaiting their turn at the Block of Slaughter, they are kept tightly fettered and bound. One of the forms of the torture depicted described the "Kheftin Asar Butchiu," i.e., the enemies of Osiris who are to be burned. Their arms are tied behind their backs in positions which cause intense pain, and they are doomed to stand and receive in their faces the fire which the serpent Khetti is about to spit at them, and then be hacked to pieaces and burnt. Horus commands the serpent Khetti, saying "Open thy mouth! Distend thy jaws and belch forth thy flames against my father's enemies! Consume their souls by the fire which issueth from thy mouth and by the flames which art in thy body."]
5. Unas Slayer Of The Gods
Poureth Down Water From the Heavens
Tremble the Stars
Quake the Bones of Aker
Those Beneath Take Flight When They See
Unas Rising
The Akh of Unas Is Behind Him
The Conquerer Are Beneath His Feet
His Gods Are In Him
His Uraei Are on His Brow
The Words of Unas Protect Him
Unas This Bull of The Heavens
ThatTrusteth With His Will
Living On Utterances of Fire From
The Lake Of Flame
Unas That Devoureth Men and Liveth on The Gods
Behold Amkebu Hath Snared Them for Unas
Behold Tecber Tep F Hath Known Them and
Driven Them Unto Unas
Behold Her Tbertu Hath Bound Them
Behold Khensu The Slaughterer of Lords
Hath Cut Their Throats for Unas
Behold Shesemu Hath Cut Them Up For Unas
Unas Hath Ingested Their Spirits
Hath Feasted On Their Immortality
He Hath Consumed their Shadows
Unas The Slayer of the Gods
Unas The Sekhem Great
The Sekhem of the Sekhemn
Unas The Ashem Great
The Ashem of the Ashemn
Behold Orion
Unas Riseth
Unas Hath Taken Possession
of the Hearts of the Gods
Unas Feedeth on their Entrails
He Hath gorged on their Unuttered Sacred Words
He Hath Assimilated the Wisdom of the Gods
His Existence is Everlasting
Behold The Souls of the Gods are in Unas
Their Spirits are In Unas
The Flame of Unas in Their Bones
Their Shadows are With their Forms
Unas is Rising
Hidden Hidden
[Unas was the ninth and last Pharaoh of the 5th Dynasty. He is said to have lived from 2375 to 2345 B.C., but some Egyptologists date him as far back as 5330 B.C. The internal structure of his pyramid is known for incorporating several innovative features, but is most recognized for the inclusion of vertical lines of hieroglyphs on the walls of the vestibule and burial chamber. When Maspero opened the Unas pyramid in 1881, he found texts covering these stone walls to be extremely difficult to decipher, because of their archais characters, forms, and spellings. These were magickal/religious texts, designed to ensure the safe passage of the Pharaoh into the next world. They are known today as the "Pyramid Texts." According to these texts, Unas became great by eating the flesh of his mortal enemies and then slaying and devouring the gods themselves. Those gods that were old and worn out (Egyptian gods aged and died) were used as fuel for Unas's fire. After devouring the gods and absorbing their spirits and powers, Unas journeys through the day and night sky to become the star Sabu, or Orion. While this is certainly not the first reference to cannibalism in Old Kingdom texts, what is notable is the method by which the Pharaoh Unas achieves deification and immortality; by turning on the gods, slaying and then devouring them, and thus ascending to the heavens to become the star Orion. The concept was remarkable to Maspero, who found the idea to be of "absolute savagery." Maspero seemed to be reeling from a confrontation with a symbolic revival of pre-dynastic cannibalistic rites - which are suggested, according to Maspero, by the gnamed and disconnected bones found in certain early graves. Professor Petrie suggests that at the original Sed festival, the tribal king appears to have been sacrificed and devoured, so that his people might derive from his flesh and blood the power and virtues which made him great. This practise was based on a belief in contagious magick. Bulls and boars were eaten to give men strength and courage, deer to give fleetness of foot, and serpents to give cunning. The blood of slain and wounded warriors was drunk so that their skill and bravery might be imparted t the drinkers. Similarly, Unas feasts after death on the spirits of the gods, and on the bodies of men and gods. He swallows their spirits, souls, and names, which are contained in their hearts, livers, and entrails, thus, Unas becomes allpowerful. In attempting to bring this epic-length text to song from, it was necessary to make some minor concessions, firstly, that every version I have at home of the text is translated somewhat differently, and thus there is not any singularly definitive versions; and secondly, that it would just not be possible to include every last line from the original text. That would probably necessitate a song inconceivable in length. As it is, in concise song lyric form, "Unas Slayer of the Gods" weighs in at about 12 minutes plus - and that is using what would be considered only the bare minimum essential lines for the development and presentation of the main aspects of the text. For those interested in reading the entire work, there are several versions readily available online or by ordering from a local bookstore. I typed in "Unas Slayer of the Gods" in a couple of search engines and was astounded at the number of results that came back.]
6. Churning The Maelstrom
Am the Uncreated God
Before Me The Dwellers in Chaos are Dogs
Their Masters Merely Wolves
I Gather The Power
From Every Place
From Every Person
Faster Than Light Itself
Hail To He Who Is In The Duat
Who Is Strong
Even Before The Servants of Serpents
He Gathers The Power
From Every Pit of Torment
From They Who Hath Burnt in Flames
From Words of Power Uttered By the
Darkness Itself
Hail To He in The Pit
Who Is Strong
Even Before the Terrors of The Abyss
Who Gathers The Power
From The Wailing And Lamentations
Of The Shades Chained Therein
From He Who Createth Gods From
The Silence Alone
[Last year, after the release of Black Seeds of Vengeance, I received e-mails containing the text of a work whose origins had until then been completely unknown to me. Entitled, "The Chapter for Bringing Heka to those who Burn," the author claimed it was part of a larger collection of works known as "The Book of Resurrection Apophis." In Egyptian methology, Apophis is also known as Apep, the terrible monster serpent who, in dynastic times, was a personification of the darkness of the darkest hour of night. Apeop is the dreaded embodiment of utter evil in the form of a giant snake that arises anew each night to struggle against the Sun god, Ra. Against Apep, Ra must not only fight, but must succesfully conquer morning sun, lest darkness and chaos engulf the entire earth during the day as well. Apep was both crafty and evil doing, and, like Ra, possessed many names, to destroy him it was necessary to curse him by each and every name by which he as known. In Egyptian papyri, Apep is also represented in the form of an enormous serpent, into each undulation of which a knife is stuck. In the Book of Gates, we see him fastened by the neck with a chain (along which is fastened the Goddess, Serqet), the end of which is in the hands of a god, and also chained to the ground with five chains. Coincidentally (or perhaps not), Apophis is also the name the Hyskos king Aussere adopted during his reign over the conquered and subjugated Egypt of 1570 B.C. The Hyskos had invaded Egypt and established their new political and religious capical city, Avaris, in the delta region of Egypt. Avaris is also the site of the original Temple of Set. Set (or Sutekh, to the Hyskos) wa the chief god of the Hyskos at that time, but in Egyptian mythology since pre-dynastic times, Set was the murderous brother of Osiris, and the original ultimate embodiment of the forces of darkness, chaos and evil, at whose command was te monster serpent, Apep. During the early period of the Hyskos occupation, the Hyskos faced little significant opposition. But during the reign of Apophis I, the Theban princes of Egypt rose up to drive the Hyskos back out of Egypt, a feat that is recounted on two large stelae set up by Kamose in the Temple of Amun at Karnak. The text which I received was in three languages - Egyptian, Greek and modern English, along with rubric instructions for the proper recitation of the chants, which are to be memorized and repeated as a sort of mantra, and as such should be spoken in Egyptian rather than English. The translations were given only to throw light upon the meanings of the spell. Upon closer examination of the text, it seems to bear superficial resemblance to Chapter 24 of the Papyrus of Ani, "The Chapter for Bringing Magick to Ani," (which is also known in some Books of the Dead as "The Chapter for Gaining Power," and in modern ritualmagick as "The Gathering of Heka.") But the similarities go immediately astray, for "The Chapter for Bringing Heka to those who Burn" seems as though it is, in this incarnation, a blasphemous underworld perversion of the chapters contained in the Theban Recension of the Book of the Dead. Perhaps it was intended for use by ancient cultists who would be intent upon using the darker forces of Chaos and the spiritual energy of those souls burning in the fiery pits of torment in the underworld for their own cultist ambitions of the upsetting the orderer structure of the ancient Egyptian world. More likely, their goal was probably to alter the political balance of rival religious factions in the turmoil of those tumultuous intermediate times. By the end of the 14th Dynasty, Egypt's once considerable might as a nation had eroded due to internal political struggles, so that it was unable to defent itself against invaders. The Hyskos overwhelmed the Dynasty, remaining in power until being expelled during the 17th Dynasty ina great war, which lasted, according to Manetbo, about a quarter of a century.]
7. Whisper In The Ear Of The Dead
Whisper in the Ear of the UnBlessed Dead
And My Words of Power are Heard in
the Underworld
The Dead
They are Compelled to Obey Me
Even Unto the Worlds Below
Yea I Whisper in the Ear of the UnBlessed Dead
An they Heed my Necromantic Demands
For I have Bound Them
Inexorably
Cursed in this Life and the Next
I Whisper in the Ear of the UnBlessed Dead
And They Tell me Things No Living Man Knoweth
For I Have Taken Possession of their Shadows
And They re Mine To Command in
the Netherworld
I Dream of the Dead
And Their Shades Showeth Me Visions
Which No Living Man Can Know
I Whisper in the Ear of the Dead
And Mine is the UnWritten Knowledge
That Lieth Under The Black Earth
To Speak The Name of The Dead
Is To Cause Them to Live Again
[The inspiration for this song comes from the exploits of Nectanabus, the last native Pharaoh of Egypt. His reign was during the 4th century B.C. and he was historically rumored to be a great sorcerer and necromancer. It is believed that Nectanabus ruled Egypt, overcame his enemies and even kept his political rivals in check by means of the exercise of magickal and necromantic arts. He is credited with possessing the power to restore amputated limbs and the capacity to replace the heads of the slain and decapitated without injury. Nectanabus was said to have been deeply learned in the wisdom of the oldest of the ancient Egyptians. He "knew what was in the stars of the Heavens." He was skilled in reading the stars, foretelling the future of the unborn, and a master of communion with the dead. He is also called "The Lord of the Earth" and is said to have "secretly ruled all earthly kings by magickal means." It is said that he whispered whis commands in the ears of the dead, so that they should carry out his designs in the spirit world. According to early historians, Nectanabus exercised control of many of his enemies by enslaving the souls of the newly dead, commanding them to learn the secrets of the enemies via the spirits of the underworld, and using this knowledge against his enemies. Nectanabus continued is necromanticambitions, even using means of sorcery to achieve military ends until the day the gods decreed his rule should end and Nectanabus was forced to flee to Macedonia.]
8. Wind Of Horus
Ashu Give us Power
To Oppose this Legion of Shrikes
They hath Defiled our Monuments and Graves
For their Greed of Treasure
Ashu Sehu Neferui Skhenn
We Are the Breath of Horns
Hot as the Desert Wind
We are Slayers and Reapers of Men
By the Arrow Shot from Lanata
You will Fall to your Knees Dead
or Begging Quarter
Torn to Shreds by Obese Vultures
Fossilized in the Desert Sand
We are the Breath of Horns
Hot as the Desert Wind
We are the Slayers and Reapears of Men
You will Never Escape
This Valley Gallala
Left to Decompose
Forbidden the Underworld
Bemused by Battle Lust
I Gash your Throat
And Splatter your Blood
Upon the Altar of Bes
We Erect one hundred Pyramids
With your Severed Heads
Ashu Sehu Neferui Skhenn
[This song was inspired by a battle from a book caled River God by Wilbur Smith. The story takes place in the latter half of the 14th Dynasty, and is about a struggle to restore the majesty of the Pharaoh of Pharaohs. Tanus, leader of the mighties army of Egypt, the Blue Crocodile Regiment, hunted down and destroyed the Shrikes, a horrid nomadic tribe of thieves, rapists, and murderers that played the Egyptians. The title of the song, "Wind of Horus," refers to the name of the boat of the Blue Crocodile Regiment. It is an enchantment of the god Horus to cause the wind to blow the Egyptians' sails in time of need. The repeated chant in the song is to invoke the god Ashu, who robs the enemies of the Egyptians of their virtues, weakening and destroying them. The word Lanata is mentioned in the song. Lanata was a bow made for Tanus by Taita the slave and was made of wood, ebony, rhinocerus horn, and ivory tusks. The bowstring was made out of the guts of a lion that Tanus had killed with his bronze-bladed war spear. Tanus was probably the only one in his army strong enough to use the Lanata bow. It had so much tension that he had to use a different technique just to pull the bowsting back. Tanus practised until he could shoot three arrows at a time piercing the heaviest of armor.]
9. In Their Darkened Shrines
[ Part I - Hall Of Saurian Entombment ]
Through Subterranean Labyrinths of Catacombs
We Hath Crawled To Gather in this Dimly Lit
Hall Of Colossal Proportion
Which Few Ever See
Along Black Walls
Rise Tier after Tier of Carven Painted Sacrophagi
Each Standing in a Niche in the Stone
The Mounted Tiers Rising Up
To Be Lost in the Gloom Above
Thousands of Carven Masks
Stare Down Upon Us
We Who are Rendered Futile and Insignificant
By This Vast Array of the Dead
[ Part II - Invocation To Seditious Heresy ]
And Here I Stand
I who would be master of the Black Earth
Have summoned you here secretly
You who are faithful to me
To share in the Black Kingdom that shall nr
Tonight we shall witness
The breaking of the chains which Enslave us
And the birth of a Dark Empire
Who am I to know what powers lurk and and Dream
in these murky Tombs
They hold secrets forgotten for three thousand years
But I shall Learn They shall teach me
See how they sleep staring through their
Carven Masks
Priests Monks Acolytes Kheri Heb Rekbi Khet
The Mummified Remains of the Sacrificial Whores
of The Cannibalistic Serpent Cult s of Thirty
Centuries With Black Incantation and Foul
Necromantic Art
Propitiated with the Blood of the Living
We will waken them from their long Slumber
The Ancients knew Nay Commanded the
Words of Power
And shall teach them to Me
I shall restore them to Life
To Labour for my own Dark Imperial Desires
I will Waken Them Will Rouse Them
Will learn their forgotten Wisdom
The knowledge locked in those withered Skulls
By the Lore of The Dead
We shall Enslave the Living
Pharaohs and Priests long Forgotten
Shall be our Warriors and Slaves
Who will Dare to Oppose Us
Out of the Dust shall Avaris Rise
[ Part III - Destruction Of The Temple Of The Enemies Of Ra ]
Foul Enemies of Ra who have Rebelled
Malicious Fiends
Spawn of Inertness Impotent Rebels
Nameless Filth
For whom Blazing Pits of Fire have been prepared
By the Command of Ra
Down Upon your Faces
You are overthrown
Your Skulls are Crushed in
You are Destroyed Annihilated
Gashed with Flints Your Windpipes Cut
The Joints of your Backs are Rent Apart
The Fire of the Eye of Horus is Upon You
Searching You Consuming You
Setting you on Fire Burning you To Ashes
Unemi The Devouring Flame Consumes You
Sekhmet The Blasting Immolation of the Desert
Maketh an End of You
Xul ur
Adjugeth you to Destruction
Flame Fire Conflagration Pulverize You
Your Souls Shades Bodies and Lives
Shall Never Rise Up Again
Your Heads Shall Never Rejoin your Bodies
Even The Words of Power
Of The God Thoth
The Lord of Spells
Shall Never Enable you to Rise Again
[ Part IV - Ruins ]
I knew they were Accursed
so remote were these nameless desert ruins
Crumbling and inarticulate the debris of
its collapsed walls was
Nearly hidden by the sands of the uncounted ages
It must have been thus before the first stones of
Memphis were laid
And the bricks of Babylon unbaked
Fear spoke from the age worn stones
This desolate survivor of the Deluge
This crumbling antidiluvial ancestor
Of the Eldest Pyramid
Only the grim brooding desert Gods
Knew what really took place here
What indescribable struggles and bloodshed
Awoke some distant throng of condemned spirits
And broke the tomblike silence of these crumbled
Time ravaged remains these night black ruins
Of some vanguished and buried Temple of Belial
But as the Night wind diad away
Above the desert rim rose the
Blazing edge of the morning sun
Which in my fevered state
I swore that from some remote depth there came a
Great crash of metal
Like a great Bronze gate
Clanging shut whose reverberations swelled out
To hail the rising Sun as Memnon hails in
From the banks of the Nile
[This four-part epic is a tale very much inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, and to a lesser degree, Robert E. Howard. It tills the story of a rebellions Serpent cult who are plotting to overthrow Pharonic rule. They are attempting to raise the spirits of the ancient dead, to barness thei arcane knowledge and build an army of undead legions. The story takes place within the subterranean main ch.mber of the crypts of mummified reptiles (true enough, archaeologists have indeed unearthed entire necropolises containing thousand of mummified crocodiles, serpents, ancient Nile monitor lizards, and various other animals that were worshiped as personifications of the gods they represented). Within these dark and bloodstained halls are not only the remains of three millenia of generations of priests and worshippers, but also the mummified corpses of all manner of glorified reptilian deities. The leader of these rebels is standing in the midst of this vast array of Saurian entombment, inciting insurrection and preparing for some sort of violent revolution. Their ill-fated sedition comes to naught, however, when their temple is destroyed and they are all slain in a catastrophic violent climax. Whether this is perhaps divine intervention and retribution by the Sun god, Ra, or perhaps military action by the armies of the Pharaoh (who is a worshipper of Ra) putting down a violent rebellion, or merely the indiscriminate vengeance of the undead that the conspirators were seeking to enslave, is unclear. The passage that tells of the descruction and demise of the rebel fiends is reminiscent of the magickal/religious ceremony in The Book of Overthrowing Apep, in which the terrible monster serpent Apep is forever crushed by the Sun god, Ra, nver to rise up again. In the aftermath, all that is left of the Temple, the Serpent Cult and their subterranean catacombs of the tombs is a mass of rubble and forgotten ruins which are eventually covered over by the sands of time, explainined in a passage that borrows quite literally from The Nameless City by H.P. Lovecraft.]
Lyrics in plain text format
