ANCIENT RITES LYRICS

1. Avondland

2. Mother Europe

Oh remember the proud Hellenic civilisation
The cradle of Europe where it all began
Or the Portuguese and Spanish Armada
Overwhelming Thy power, a tribute to the south

Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent forever in my heart
Representing medieval Flemish pride
Brave Teutonic, French and English knights
Thy shining armour now long vanished
Thy glory, however, forever remains
Praised be the Scandinavian hordes
Once the nightmare of the Christian world

I talk of not of mercy
I talk not of fear
The hopeless warriors of a Willing Doom

Children of Italia
In ancient times "Roma Caput Mundi"
De Verenigde Nederlanden, parel van het noorden
Belgium and The Netherlands stood as one

Mother Europe born from your womb
Mother Europe on Your soil shall be my tomb

I talk of not of mercy
I talk not of fear
The hopeless warriors of a Willing Doom
Oh what that gallant spirit shall resume
Leap from Europe's bank and call Thee from the tomb

(Hail to the sons of eastern Europe
the Slavonian soul never fades)
Blessed are Scotland, Ireland and Bretagne
Where the Celtic dream still lives on

Shall be my tomb!

3. Aris

Hear me, ancient forefather (Ambiorix)
Honoured be Thy deeds
Leading our tribes against the aggressor
Outnumbered, a campaign that could not be won
(But forever Thy blood in my veins)

Gracious Spartan civilisation
Eternally blessed Thy war spirit
Surrounded by thousands of Persians
"Molon lave" a final proud statement
(None of thee survived
but Thy Hellenic glory is everlasting)

Noble was your cause, brave Vercingetorix
Sad the day of your sacrifice
An example to your Celt tribe
Dying in solitude
(But Thy soul) forever in my heart

Remember the moment Jerusalem fell
The shrieks of the conquered, the conqueror's yell
The roofs that we fired, and the plunder we shared
The wealthy we slaughtered, the lovely we spared

Aris! And Aris shone!
Mars! And Mars rose!

Geuzen der Lage Landen
Van Antwerpen, Amsterdam tot Den Briel
Helden der Calvinistische droom
Nachtmerrie der Spaans/Roomse overheerser
Voor eeuwig Uw bloed in onze aderen
Noble was your cause, brave Vercingetorix
Sad the day of your sacrifice

Hear me, ancient forefather Ambiorix
Honoured be Thy deeds
Leading our tribes against the aggressor
Outnumbered, a campaign that could not be won
Forever Thy blood in my veins
Noble was your cause
Sad the day of your sacrifice
An example to our tribe

4. Fatherland

When the restless North Sea is
trying to gain more land
And a merciless west wind
steals my breath
When the fierce waves are pounding on the beaches
Plain as an endless desert

Or uttermost vile storms are
Teaching my people humbleness
Then one can see my land resist
There one can see my land fight
As gloomy grey skies
Cast away the northern sun

I turn home.... Always turn home
I turn home.... Always turn home

And our cities and villages
Representing centuries and centuries
Seem to drown due to eternal rainfall
Or the rivers turn into Gold

I turn home.... Always turn home
I turn home.... Always turn home

Fatherland! I always turn to my Fatherland!
Fatherland! Keep on turning to my Fatherland!
Fatherland! Always turn to my Fatherland!
Fatherland! I always turn to my Fatherland!

Our cities seem to drown
Due to eternal rainfall
I watch the rivers
Turn into Gold
Under a genial sun
When snow capped forests
Create visions larger than life
Then I realise where I belong
My eyes have seen the continents
The beauty of foreign civilisations

An uncontrollable desire forces me to wander
Yet echoes of melancholy and remembering
The splendour being mine (make me turn home)
Where castles and towers are the sole mountains
And father time seems to have less grip
Where castles and towers are the sole mountains
There my land can be found

I turn home.... Always turn home
I turn home.... Always turn home

Fatherland! I always turn to my Fatherland!
Fatherland! Keep on coming to my Fatherland!
Fatherland! Always turn to my Fatherland!
Fatherland! Always turn to my Fatherland!

5. Season's Change (Solstice)

Torches to guide the way
To walk the misty paths
The forest seems like a shelter
On this cold winter night

A huge fire is reflecting shadows
Of youth and old age
As the open place is reached
And the elderly take their seats

This is the night of the season's change
And a new fire shall be lit
A silent moment to remember the deceased
(The way our ancestors did)

Season's change
Season's change

Traditional music containing the soul of a people
On this cold winter night
Again a circle completed and rituals more ancient
As if the son of God never arrived

Memories subconsciously always present
Vague visions of past centuries

This is the night! When season's change
This is the night! When season's change

The trees seem to whisper their names
The wind is full of a thousand voices
As if summoned from the past
Though no words are needed
A tribe will never die!

Memories subconsciously always present
Vague visions of past centuries
Appearing in the mind
Images of times we may have never lived
Yet oh so present, so divine!

This is the night when season's change

6. 13th Of October 1307

The cause of the Templar's order
Was beyond religion
So brilliant their splendour
So wealthy their order

Channeling all esoteric knowledge
Into one universal thought
Innovating rituals behind closed doors
Occult traditions as well hidden secrets
Intelligence the reason of their rise
(Intelligence the reason of their fall)

13th of October

Grandmaster Jacques De Molay
Burned at the stake at "Ile de la Cité"
A curse accompanying his last breath
Within the year his enemies dead!
Cultivating ideals so serene
Created by minds far supreme

7. Dying In A Moment Of Splendour (Echoes Of Melancholy)

Ich umarme die Finsternis
Seit dem Tag an dem meine Reise began
Always embraced the Dark
Since the day my journey began

With length of time
We gain a step in knowledge
With length of time
A step closer to Death

(However)

J'ai plus de souveniers que si j'avais mille ans
I have gathered as many memories
As if I have lived a thousand years

Only choice left
Is to die in a moment of splendour
Ultimate this experience shall be
Echoes of melancholy
Are haunting my dreams

Dying in a moment of splendour

Echoes of melancholy
Are haunting my dreams
Waiting this inevitable event
Of ultimate splendour
The time when Death shall arrive
As a welcome companion

Although immortality it is I always craved
But so tragic yet divine it must be
When ending in beauty
As there is nothing grander left
To reach out for
While a larger than life experience
Is achieved

Ich umarme die Finsternis
Seit dem Tag an dem meine Reise began
Always embraced the Dark
Since the day my journey began
With length of time
We gain a step in knowledge
With length of time
A step closer to Death

J'ai plus de souveniers que si j'avais mille ans

8. Rise And Fall (Anno Satana)

Noble Caesar, forgive me
But I was the knife ending Thy ambition
Yet I held Thy standard proudly
As Thy legions burned the world

Oh gorgeous Minoan empire
Blessed were Thy art and culture
Earthquakes undermined Thy glory
Then I led hostile forces into Thy land

[Chorus:]
I am the desires most profane
The pestilence cursing thousands
I am the burned village
Decimating diseases without a name

Anno Satana!
Anno Satana!

Rise, rise, rise and fall!
Rise, rise, rise and fall!

Dear Robbespierre, hail to Thy revolution
Which turned into an endless execution
(So sweet Thy blood must have tasted
in the hour of Thy own execution)

Rise, rise, rise and fall!
Rise, rise, rise and fall!

Anno Satana!
Anno Satana!

Clever, mad Rasputin
No intrigue too grand
A pleasure it was watching you rise
But the delight so overwhelming
As I witnessed your fall

Throughout history my misanthropy
Always has been grander than thine

9. The Seducer (Fallen Angel)

Hail to the Seducer

[M:] Tired of obeying a God who rules like a tyrant
[G:] You create your own kingdom
[M:] Surrounded by creatures who pledge their allegiance
[G:] Satan's legions none will ever see them fall

Hail to you... Death!
Hail to you... Kuolema!

[M:] Tired of obeying a God who rules like a tyrant
[G:] You create your own kingdom
[M:] Surrounded by creatures who pledge their allegiance
[G:] Lord Lucifer Your kingdom will come

Hail to you... Death!
Hail to you... Kuolema!

Fallen Angel, Fallen Angel!!!

[G:] Legions march to storm the gates of Heaven
Legions march to storm the gates of Heaven
Our kingdom will come

Fallen Angel!

Your kingdom will come!

10. Cain

I live to die
How can my father turn to a God
Who creates everything to die?
I feel deceived, rejected...
How can one pray?
All so useless, senseless, cruel...
Then I prefer to turn away
Then I prefer to turn away
From your God who can't be mine
Who can't be mine...







ANCIENT RITES LYRICS