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.

Samstag, 22. November 2014

Epica - The Quantum Enigma

Epica - The Quantum Enigma (2014)

I have to confess that I have a bias against female-fronted power metal bands. I know Epica, which means that I know that this is a metal band. Up to the present I'haven't heard any single note of them. Just wait a second... Now I know the title track. Not that bad, but FFSM (female-fronted symphonic metal). If you love steaks, of course you "can" also eat vegan food, but...

Nevertheless, this is an objective blog and I gonna return to the point of interest. "Epica" sounds latin and they use plenty of it. I found a post in the internet where someone says that the band asked a Latin teacher to translate the phrases. Quite possible, because the grammar is almost correct and because Epica's lyrics are the only source where I can find the phrases. Normally, (black) metal bands consult the bible to find (un)holy sayings.

On Epica's newest record - I'll start there and plunge into their history - you can find three songs with latin fragments:

~ Originem ~
originem is the accusative case of origo - origin.

Nos sumus conjuncti - We are connected
Fontem nostram quaerentes -
searching our source
Originem sciendi - 
the origin of knowledge

Nos pleni vigoris - 
We're full of vitality
Quo colendo res fiunt - things happen by cultivating/ fostering it
Sic naturam fingimus - So we form nature

Aenigma solventes -
Solving enigmas
E(g)rediamur - we shall move forward
Nil, certum est - nothing is certain



~ The Second Stone ~

O, ne moriar bis - Oh, for not dying twice
Oro supplex -
I pray humbly

O, ne discedam bis - Oh, for not passing away twice
Oro supplex - I pray humbly


~ The Quantum Enigma ~

Visum commutamus - We change the view
Nihil certum -
Nothing (is) certain
Qui observat, visi -
He, who watches, is
pars est -
part of the view
 

Omne est vigor - everything is vitality
Sentimus eum -
we feel it
Sic(u)t concretum -
like the concrete (the real)
Vigor concrescit - Vitality compacts
Observatione -
by observation
Vita est mare -
Life is a sea
Infinitarum facultatum -
of infinite possibilities
Si quae emergant opperiens -
If it covers what emerges
Quod inspicimus -
this, what we recognize
Adipiscemur -
we will achieve