What's all this fuss about?

Latin lyrics in Heavy Metal music are a common phenomenon. The darker the music, the more evil the band wanna be. What's better than using an old, mysterious, hardly understandable, cryptic, medieval and therefore almost satanic language? Unfortunately bands seldom know how to use this language properly. So, instead of evoking the demons of the realm of evil, they just evoke a hop-frog. Clatu verata nicto! - The most of you know what happened after this wrongly spoken spell.

Normally, two questions are the result of the fact that you've just read a latin phrase:
- What does it mean? (almost everybody)
- Is it correct? (just a few latin aficionados)

This page doesn't want to make fun of mistakes in latin lyrics. I wanna answer the first question to everybody who is interested. The second question is just for myself or for the two or three weird guys out there or for bands which are thinking about using a latin phrase as well. You can contact me if you want.

Freitag, 8. März 2013

Rotting Christ - Grandis Spiritus Diavolos

Rotting Christ - Kata ton Daimona eautou (2013)
 
 
Demons of the world, unite! In 2013, Rotting Christ sings about a lot of aspects of occultism: Mesopotamian, ancient Greece, Viking, Rumanian and Russian and - of course - Christian demons. For every demon they use elements of it's proper language. Here is the catholic one:
  
Ave pater tenebrae grandis - Hail, great father of the darkness
Gloriossissime pater - most glorious father
Gloria - gloria - glory - glory
Salve domine inferum pater - Hail Lord, father of the demons
Sanctum est nomen tuum - holy is your name
Gloria - gloria - glory - glory

Magna patris - gloria grandis - great glory of the great father
De profundis - nostris patris - out of the depths of our father

Grandis spiritus diavolos - great spirit demon

Pater nostrum qui es in caelis - Our father who art in heaven
Sanctifacatus sit nomen tuum - hallowed be thy name
Victoria - victoria - victory - victory
Pater grandis et liberalis - great and kind father
Sed libera nos a bono - but deliver us from good
Victoria - victoria - victory - victory

Magni patris - gloria grandis - great glory of the great father
De profundis - nostris patris - out of the depths of our father

Grandis spiritus diavolos - great spirit demon

In nomine penebrae patris - in the name of the father's darkness (? > tenebrae)
In domine libertatis - in the name of liberty
In nomine gloriae grandis - in the name of the great glory
In nomine satana - in the name of Satan.
 
Finally, Rotting Christ put together some fragments of Roman liturgy, especially from the Lord's prayer. Not all the latin forms, genders and endings are correct, but the devil will understand them all right.

One last comment concerning the album's title. Some say that it's a phrase said by Aleister Crowley and means "Do what you will!" If Crowley said it, I don't know. Anyhow, the title is written in Ancient Greek and means "in accordance with the inner demon itself". In Ancient times, men believed that every man had his personal "demon" or - better - "inner voice". The word "daimonion" haven't had a negative connotation then. It was also a little bit similar to our idea of the guardian angel.

Maybe you know Socrates, the famous philosopher and persistent inquisitor of morale aspects. He was contemned to death because of corrupting the youth and of denying the Gods of the city of Athene. In court, he also refered to his daimonion and said that he just puts into practice what his inner voice says to him. 



Freitag, 9. November 2012

Rhapsody of Fire - Reign of Terror

 Rhapsody of Fire - The Frozen Tears of Angels (2010)

These latin lines are from the Gregorian hymn "Dies Irae". It talkes about a book which is called "The book of Life". In this book, God records the names of every person who is destined for Heaven or the World to Come.

liber scriptus
liber proferetur
in quo totum continetur


the well-written book
the book shall be brought
in which all is contained

liber scriptus
liber proferetur
unde mundus judicetur

the well-written book
the book shall be brought
whereby the world shall be judged.
 
lacrimosa dies illa
qua resurget ex favilla
Ah! that day of tears and mourning 
From the dust of earth returning

cum resurget 
pater lacrimarum
when the father of tears
resurrects

cum resurget
pater tenebrarum
when the father of darkness
resurrects

libera nos
relieve us


Rhapsody of Fire - Ira Tenax

Rhapsody (of Fire) - Legendary Tales (1997)

I'm back again. And today I gonna present you NO black metal, NO satanic rites and NO evil messages. Read and enjoy the light:

Male sit tibi tenebrarum rex
ab initio ad finem sacra ultio
cruenta pugna et epicus furor
contra mali discipulos
Ad perpetuam gloriam lucis
furor ira tenax
contra iniuriam et ruinam
rabies ira tenax

Male sit tibi tenebrarum rex

cruentus rex 


That's how the first Rhapsody of Fire album starts. Grammatically, everything is correct, which makes me happy. This is the meaning of these lines:

May you fare badly, king of darkness,
from the beginning to the end holy revenge,
bloody fight an epic rage
against the students/ followers of evil.
For eternal glory of the light
rage and tenacious wrath
against injustice and destruction
fury and tenacious wrath.

May you fare badly, king of darkness,
bloodstained king.