The Nile (, Eg. ''en-Nīl'', Std. ''an-Nīl''; , ''P(h)iaro''; Ancient Egyptian: ''Ḥ'pī'' and ''Iteru'') is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. The Nile is an "international" river as its water resources are shared by eleven countries, namely, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt. In particular, the Nile is the primary water source of Egypt and Sudan.
The Nile has two major tributaries, the White Nile and Blue Nile. The White Nile is considered to be the headwaters and primary stream of the Nile itself. The Blue Nile, however, is the source of most of the water and fertile soil. The White Nile is longer and rises in the Great Lakes region of central Africa, with the most distant source still undetermined but located in either Rwanda or Burundi. It flows north through Tanzania, Lake Victoria, Uganda and South Sudan. The Blue Nile (, ''ʿĀbay'') begins at Lake Tana in Ethiopia and flows into Sudan from the southeast. The two rivers meet near the Sudanese capital of Khartoum.
The northern section of the river flows northwards almost entirely through the Sudanese desert to Egypt then ends in a large delta that empties into the Mediterranean Sea. Egyptian civilization and Sudanese kingdoms have depended on the river since ancient times. Most of the population and cities of Egypt lie along those parts of the Nile valley north of Aswan, and nearly all the cultural and historical sites of Ancient Egypt are found along riverbanks.
In the ancient Egyptian language, the Nile is called ''Ḥ'pī'' or ''Iteru'', meaning "river", represented by the hieroglyphs shown on the left (literally ''itrw'', and 'waters' determinative). In Coptic, the words ''piaro'' (Sahidic) or ''phiaro'' (Bohairic) meaning "the river" (lit. p(h).iar-o "the.canal-great") come from the same ancient name.
The English name ''Nile'' and the Arabic names ''en-Nîl'' and ''an-Nîl'' both derive from the Latin '''' and the Ancient Greek . Beyond that, however, the etymology is disputed. One possible etymology derives it from a Semitic ''Nahal'', meaning "river". The standard English names "White Nile" and "Blue Nile" to refer to the river's headwaters derive from Arabic names formerly applied only to the Sudanese stretches which meet at Khartoum.
The drainage basin of the Nile covers , about 10% of the area of Africa. The Nile basin is complex, and because of this, the discharge at any given point along the mainstem depends on many factors including weather, diversions, evaporation and evapotranspiration, and groundwater flow.
In 2010, an exploration party went to a place described as the source of the Rukarara tributary, and by hacking a path up steep jungle-choked mountain slopes in the Nyungwe forest found (in the dry season) an appreciable incoming surface flow for many kilometres upstream, and found a new source, giving the Nile a length of
Gish Abay is reportedly the place where the "holy water" of the first drops of the Nile develop.Next on Egypt's to-do: Ethiopia and the Nile
The flow rate of the Bahr al Jabal at Mongalla, South Sudan is almost constant throughout the year and averages . After Mongalla, the Bahr Al Jabal enters the enormous swamps of the Sudd region of South Sudan. More than half of the Nile's water is lost in this swamp to evaporation and transpiration. The average flow rate of the White Nile at the tails of the swamps is about . From here it soon meets with the Sobat River at Malakal. On an annual basis, the White Nile upstream of Malakal contributes about fifteen percent of the total outflow of the Nile River.
The average flow of the White Nile at Malakal, just below the Sobat River, is ; the peak flow is approximately in October and minimum flow is about in April. This fluctuation is due the substantial variation in the flow of the Sobat, which has a minimum flow of about in March and a peak flow of over in October. During the dry season (January to June) the White Nile contributes between 70 percent and 90 percent of the total discharge from the Nile.
The course of the Nile in Sudan is distinctive. It flows over six groups of cataracts, from the first at Aswan to the sixth at Sabaloka (just north of Khartoum) and then turns to flow southward before again returning to flow north. One name for this is the "Great Bend".
In the north of Sudan the river enters Lake Nasser (known in Sudan as Lake Nubia), the larger part of which is in Egypt.
North of Cairo, the Nile splits into two branches (or distributaries) that feed the Mediterranean: the Rosetta Branch to the west and the Damietta to the east, forming the Nile Delta.
The flow of the Blue Nile varies considerably over its yearly cycle and is the main contribution to the large natural variation of the Nile flow. During the dry season the natural discharge of the Blue Nile can be as low as , although upstream dams regulate the flow of the river. During the wet season the peak flow of the Blue Nile often exceeds in late August (a difference of a factor of 50).
Before the placement of dams on the river the yearly discharge varied by a factor of 15 at Aswan. Peak flows of over occurred during late August and early September, and minimum flows of about occurred during late April and early May.
The Bahr al Ghazal's drainage basin is the largest of any of the Nile's sub-basins, measuring in size, but it contributes a relatively small amount of water, about annually, due to tremendous volumes of water being lost in the Sudd wetlands.
The Sobat River, which joins the Nile a short distance below Lake No, drains about half as much land, , but contributes annually to the Nile. When in flood the Sobat carries a large amount of sediment, adding greatly to the White Nile's color.
The Nile (''iteru'' in Ancient Egyptian) has been the lifeline of civilization in Egypt since the Stone Age, with most of the population and all of the cities of Egypt resting along those parts of the Nile valley lying north of Aswan. Climate change at the end of the most recent ice age led to the formation of the Sahara desert, possibly as long ago as 3400 BC.
During the late-Miocene Messinian salinity crisis, when the Mediterranean Sea was a closed basin and evaporated to the point of being empty or nearly so, the Nile cut its course down to the new base level until it was several hundred metres below world ocean level at Aswan and below Cairo. This created a very long and deep canyon which was filled with sediment when the Mediterranean was recreated. At some point the sediments raised the riverbed sufficiently for the river to overflow westward into a depression to create Lake Moeris.
Lake Tanganyika drained northwards into the Nile until the Virunga Volcanoes blocked its course in Rwanda. The Nile was much longer at that time, with its furthest headwaters in northern Zambia.
The other theory is that the drainage from Ethiopia via rivers equivalent to the Blue Nile and the Atbara and Takazze flowed to the Mediterranean via the Egyptian Nile since well back into Tertiary times.
Salama suggested that during the Paleogene and Neogene Periods (66 million to 2.588 million years ago) a series of separate closed continental basins each occupied one of the major parts of the Sudanese Rift System: Mellut rift, White Nile rift, Blue Nile rift, Atbara rift and Sag El Naam rift. The Mellut Rift Basin is nearly deep at its central part. This rift is possibly still active, with reported tectonic activity in its northern and southern boundaries. The Sudd swamps which form the central part of the basin may still be subsiding. The White Nile Rift System, although shallower than the Bahr el Arab rift, is about deep. Geophysical exploration of the Blue Nile Rift System estimated the depth of the sediments to be . These basins were not interconnected until their subsidence ceased, and the rate of sediment deposition was enough to fill and connect them. The Egyptian Nile connected to the Sudanese Nile, which captures the Ethiopian and Equatorial headwaters during the current stages of tectonic activity in the Eastern, Central and Sudanese Rift Systems. The connection of the different Niles occurred during cyclic wet periods. The River Atbara overflowed its closed basin during the wet periods that occurred about 100,000 to 120,000 years ago. The Blue Nile connected to the main Nile during the 70,000–80,000 years B.P. wet period. The White Nile system in Bahr El Arab and White Nile Rifts remained a closed lake until the connection of the Victoria Nile to the main system some 12,500 years ago.
Water buffalo were introduced from Asia, and Assyrians introduced camels in the 7th century BC. These animals were killed for meat, and were domesticated and used for ploughing—or in the camels' case, carriage. Water was vital to both people and livestock. The Nile was also a convenient and efficient means of transportation for people and goods. The Nile was an important part of ancient Egyptian spiritual life. Hapy was the god of the annual floods, and both he and the pharaoh were thought to control the flooding. The Nile was considered to be a causeway from life to death and the afterlife. The east was thought of as a place of birth and growth, and the west was considered the place of death, as the god Ra, the Sun, underwent birth, death, and resurrection each day as he crossed the sky. Thus, all tombs were west of the Nile, because the Egyptians believed that in order to enter the afterlife, they had to be buried on the side that symbolized death.
As the Nile was such an important factor in Egyptian life, the ancient calendar was even based on the 3 cycles of the Nile. These seasons, each consisting of four months of thirty days each, were called Akhet, Peret, and Shemu. Akhet, which means inundation, was the time of the year when the Nile flooded, leaving several layers of fertile soil behind, aiding in agricultural growth.
Peret was the growing season, and Shemu, the last season, was the harvest season when there were no rains.
The Tabula Rogeriana depicted the source as three lakes in 1154.
Europeans began to learn about the origins of the Nile in the 15th and 16th centuries, when travelers to Ethiopia visited Lake Tana and the source of the Blue Nile in the mountains south of the lake. Although James Bruce claimed to be the first European to have visited the headwaters, modern writers give the credit to the Jesuit Pedro Páez. Páez's account of the source of the Nile is a long and vivid account of Ethiopia. It was published in full only in the early 20th century, although it was featured in works of Páez's contemporaries, including Baltazar Téllez, Athanasius Kircher and by Johann Michael Vansleb.
Europeans had been resident in Ethiopia since the late 15th century, and one of them may have visited the headwaters even earlier without leaving a written trace. The Portuguese João Bermudes published the first description of the Tis Issat Falls in his 1565 memoirs, compared them to the Nile Falls alluded to in Cicero's ''De Republica''. Jerónimo Lobo describes the source of the Blue Nile, visiting shortly after Pedro Páez. Telles also used his account.
The White Nile was even less understood. The ancients mistakenly believed that the Niger River represented the upper reaches of the White Nile. For example, Pliny the Elder wrote that the Nile had its origins "in a mountain of lower Mauretania", flowed above ground for "many days" distance, then went underground, reappeared as a large lake in the territories of the Masaesyli, then sank again below the desert to flow underground "for a distance of 20 days' journey till it reaches the nearest Ethiopians." A merchant named Diogenes reported that the Nile's water attracted game such as water buffalo. Lake Victoria was first sighted by Europeans in 1858 when the British explorer John Hanning Speke reached its southern shore while traveling with Richard Francis Burton to explore central Africa and locate the great lakes. Believing he had found the source of the Nile on seeing this "vast expanse of open water" for the first time, Speke named the lake after the then Queen of the United Kingdom. Burton, recovering from illness and resting further south on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, was outraged that Speke claimed to have proved his discovery to be the true source of the Nile when Burton regarded this as still unsettled. A very public quarrel ensued, which sparked a great deal of intense debate within the scientific community and interest by other explorers keen to either confirm or refute Speke's discovery. British explorer and missionary David Livingstone pushed too far west and entered the Congo River system instead. It was ultimately Welsh-American explorer Henry Morton Stanley who confirmed Speke's discovery, circumnavigating Lake Victoria and reporting the great outflow at Ripon Falls on the Lake's northern shore.
European involvement in Egypt goes back to the time of Napoleon. Laird Shipyard of Liverpool sent an iron steamer to the Nile in the 1830s. With the completion of the Suez Canal and the British takeover of Egypt in the 1870s, more British river steamers followed.
The Nile is the area's natural navigation channel, giving access to Khartoum and Sudan by steamer. The Siege of Khartoum was broken with purpose-built sternwheelers shipped from England and steamed up the river to retake the city. After this came regular steam navigation of the river. With British Forces in Egypt in the First World War and the inter-war years, river steamers provided both security and sightseeing to the Pyramids and Thebes. Steam navigation remained integral to the two countries as late as 1962. Sudan steamer traffic was a lifeline as few railways or roads were built in that country. Most paddle steamers have been retired to shorefront service, but modern diesel tourist boats remain on the river.
Nile cities include Khartoum, Aswan, Luxor (Thebes), and the GizaCairo conurbation. The first cataract, the closest to the mouth of the river, is at Aswan, north of the Aswan Dam. This part of the river is a regular tourist route, with cruise ships and traditional wooden sailing boats known as feluccas. Many cruise ships ply the route between Luxor and Aswan, stopping at Edfu and Kom Ombo along the way. Security concerns have limited cruising on the northernmost portion for many years.
A computer simulation study to plan the economic development of the Nile was directed by H.A.W. Morrice and W.N. Allan, for the Ministry of Hydro-power of the Republic of the Sudan, during 1955–1957 Morrice was their Hydrological Adviser, and Allan his predecessor. M.P. Barnett directed the software development and computer operations. The calculations were enabled by accurate monthly inflow data collected for 50 years. The underlying principle was the use of over-year storage, to conserve water from rainy years for use in dry years. Irrigation, navigation and other needs were considered. Each computer run postulated a set of reservoirs and operating equations for the release of water as a function of the month and the levels upstream. The behavior that would have resulted given the inflow data was modeled. Over 600 models were run. Recommendations were made to the Sudanese authorities. The calculations were run on an IBM 650 computer. Simulation studies to design water resources are discussed further in the article on Hydrology transport models, that have been used since the 1980s to analyze water quality.
Despite the development of many reservoirs, drought during the 1980s led to widespread starvation in Ethiopia and Sudan, but Egypt was nourished by water impounded in Lake Nasser. Drought has proven to be a major cause of fatality in the Nile River basin. According to a report by the Strategic Foresight Group around 170 million people have been affected by droughts in the last century with half a million lives lost. From the 70 incidents of drought which took place between 1900 and 2012, 55 incidents took place in Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania.
Several attempts have been made to establish agreements between the countries sharing the Nile waters. It is very difficult to have all these countries agree with each other given the self-interest of each country and their political, strategic, and social differences. On 14 May 2010 at Entebbe, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda signed a new agreement on sharing the Nile water even though this agreement raised strong opposition from Egypt and Sudan. Ideally, such international agreements should promote equitable and efficient usage of the Nile basin's water resources. Without a better understanding about the availability of the future water resources of the Nile River, we could expect more conflicts between these countries relying on the Nile for their water supply, economic and social developments.
On April 28, 2004, geologist Pasquale Scaturro and his partner, kayaker and documentary filmmaker Gordon Brown became the first people to navigate the Blue Nile, from Lake Tana in Ethiopia to the beaches of Alexandria on the Mediterranean. Though their expedition included others, Brown and Scaturro were the only ones to complete the entire journey. The team used outboard motors for most of their journey. On January 29, 2005 Canadian Les Jickling and New Zealander Mark Tanner completed the first human powered transit.
A team led by South Africans Peter Meredith and Hendrik Coetzee on April 30, 2005, became the first to navigate the major remote source of the Nile, the Akagera river, which starts as the Ruvyironza in Bururi Province, Burundi.
The following bridges cross the White Nile and connect Khartoum to Omdurman:
the following bridges cross from Omdurman: to Khartoum North:
The following bridges cross to Tuti from Khartoum states three cities
Other bridges
;17th century
:A Jesuit missionary who was sent from Goa to Ethiopia in 1589 and remained in the area until his death in 1622. Credited with being the first European to view the source of the Blue Nile which he describes in this volume.
:One of the most important and earliest sources on Ethiopia and the Nile. Jerónimo Lobo (1595-1687), a Jesuit priest, stayed in Ethiopia, mostly in Tigre, for 9 years and travelled to Lake Tana and the Blue Nile, reaching the province of Damot. When the Jesuits were expelled from the country, he too had to leave and did so via Massaua and Suakin. "He was the best expert on Ethiopian matters. After Pais, Lobo is the second European to describe the sources of the Blue Nile and he did so more exactly than Bruce" (transl. from Henze).
18th century
:With time on his hands and at the urging of a friend, Bruce composed this account of his travels on the African continent, including comments on the history and religion of Egypt, an account of Indian trade, a history of Abyssinia, and other material. Although Bruce would not be confused with "a great scholar or a judicious critic, few books of equal compass are equally entertaining; and few such monuments exist of the energy and enterprise of a single traveller" (DNB). "The result of his travels was a very great enrichment of the knowledge of geography and ethnography" (Cox II, p. 389.) Bruce was one of the earliest westerners to search for the source of the Nile. In November 1770 he reached the source of the Blue Nile, and though he acknowledged that the White Nile was the larger stream, he claimed that the Blue Nile was the Nile of the ancients and that he was thus the discoverer of its source. The account of his travels was written twelve years after his journey and without reference to his journals, which gave critics grounds for disbelief, but the substantial accuracy of the book has since been amply demonstrated.
1800–1850
:St. John traveled extensively in Egypt and Nubia in 1832–33, mainly on foot. He gives a very interesting picture of Egyptian life and politics under Mohammed Ali, a large part of volume II deals with the Egyptian campaign in Syria.
:The first known English travelers guide to the Lower Nile Basin.
1850–1900
:Sir Richard Burton's presentation of his expedition with John Speke. Ultimately, Burton's view of the sources of the Nile failed and Speke's prevailed.
:Krapf went to East Africa in the service of the English Church Missionary Society, arriving at Mombasa, Kenya in 1844 and staying in East Africa until 1853. While stationed there he was the first to report the existence of Lake Baringo and a sighting of the snow-clad Kilimanjaro. Krapf, during his travels, collected information from the Arab traders operating inland from the coast. From the traders Krapf and his companions learned of great lakes and snow-capped mountains, which Krapf claimed to have seen for himself, much to the ridicule of English explorers who could not believe the idea of snow on the equator. However, Krapf was correct and had seen Mounts Kilimanjaro and Kenya, the first European to do so.
:Petherick was a well known Welsh traveler in East Central Africa where he had adopted the profession of mining engineer. This work describes sixteen years of his travel throughout Africa. In 1845, he entered the service of Mehemet Ali, and was employed in examining Upper Egypt, Nubia, the Red Sea coast and Kordofan in an unsuccessful search for coal. In 1848, he left the Egyptian service and established himself at El Obeid as a trader and was, at the same time made British Consul for the Sudan. In 1853, he removed to Khartoum and became an ivory trader. He traveled extensively in the Bahr-el-Ghazal region, then almost unknown, exploring the Jur, Yalo and other affluents of the Ghazal and in 1858 he penetrated the Niam-Niam country. Petherick's additions to the knowledge of natural history were considerable, being responsible for the discovery of a number of new species. In 1859, he returned to England where he became acquainted with John Speke, then arranging for an expedition to discover the source of the Nile. While in England, Petherick married and published this account of his travels. He got the idea to join Speke in his travels, and in this volume is an actual subscription and list of subscribers to raise money to send Petherick to join Speke. His subsequent adventures as a consul in Africa were published in a later work.
:Speke had previously made an expedition with Sir Richard Burton under the auspices of the Indian government, during which Speke was convinced that he had discovered the source of the Nile. Burton, however, disagreed and ridiculed Speke's account. Speke set off on another expedition, recounted here, in the company of Captain Grant. During the course of this expedition he not only produced further evidence for his discoveries but also met up with Sir Samuel Baker and provided him with essential information which helped Baker in his discovery of the Albert Nyanza. The importance of Speke's discoveries can hardly be overestimated. In discovering the source reservoir of the Nile he succeeded in solving the problem of all ages; he and Grant were the first Europeans to cross Equatorial Eastern Africa and gained for the world a knowledge of about of a portion of Eastern Africa previously totally unknown.
Category:International rivers of Africa * Category:Rivers of Egypt Category:Rivers of Sudan Category:Rivers of South Sudan Category:Rivers of Uganda Category:Geography of ancient Egypt Category:Hebrew Bible rivers Category:National parks of Egypt Category:Water transport in Egypt Category:Articles containing video clips
Nile Gregory Rodgers (born September 19, 1952, New York City) is an American musician, producer, composer, arranger, and guitarist.
Rodgers began his career as a session guitarist in New York, touring with the Sesame Street band in his teens, and then working in the house band at Harlem's world famous Apollo Theater, playing behind Screaming Jay Hawkins, Maxine Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ben E. King, Betty Wright, Earl Lewis and the Channels, Parliament Funkadelic, and many other legendary R&B artists.
Nile met bassist Bernard Edwards in 1970. Together they formed The Big Apple Band that backed R&B act New York City ("I’m Doing Fine Now"). The band’s one hit allowed them to tour extensively, even opening for The Jackson 5 on the American leg of their first world tour in 1973. The band dissolved after their second album failed to yield a hit, but Nile and Bernard joined forces with drummer Tony Thompson, and worked and recorded as a Funk Rock band called The Boys, which played numerous gigs up and down the East Coast. Despite major label interest in their demos, they could not get a record deal when the record companies discovered they were black, as they thought that black rock artists would be too hard to promote. The band continued playing mostly local bars.
Tamer Hosny (Arabic: تامر حسنى, IPA: [ˈtæːmeɾ ˈħosni]; born August 16, 1977) is an Egyptian singer, actor, composer, director, producer and songwriter. Hosny first came to attention when he appeared on mix tapes with other Egyptian artists. He launched his solo career with the 2004 album Hob, becoming a successful singer of romantic music and earning the nickname "King of Generation" from his fans.
Hosny's mother brought him up alongside his older brother Hossam in the absence of their father, Hosny Sherif Abbas. Tamer Hosny grew up with an interest in soccer and played the sport for 9 years. As a child, he was a fan of singer Abdel Halim Hafez. He graduated from October 6 University, with a Bachelor's degree in Media Studies.
He was introduced by Salma El Shamaa to the opera. Afterwards, he was recognized by Nasr Mahrous, the manager and owner of Free Music production company. Later on he signed a contract with Free Music in 2002. Tamer didn't debut with Sherine's first mix tape. Instead, he was featured in previous mix tapes, and one of them featured other artists like Khaled Agag and Mohamed Mounir. He released five successful albums with Free Music.
Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and stage actor. Born in Indianapolis but raised in San Diego, Lambert had dreamed of becoming a performer after appearing in numerous amateur productions in his childhood and adolescence. His passion overtook him when deciding to drop out of college, pursue his career, and perform in various professional theatrical productions across the world.
Lambert came to prominence following his appearance on the eighth season of American Idol. Although he was runner-up, Lambert launched a music career with the release of his debut studio album For Your Entertainment (2009) after signing with 19 in a joint venture with RCA. Debuting at number three on the Billboard 200, selling 198,000 copies in the U.S. in its first week, and reaching the top 10 in several countries worldwide, the album subsequently achieved international success with its singles "For Your Entertainment", "Whataya Want from Me" and "If I Had You". Soon after, he embarked on his first headlining worldwide concert tour, Glam Nation, making him the only American Idol contestant to do so in the year following his Idol season. The tour was followed by two live releases: an extended play entitled Acoustic Live! (2010), and a live CD/DVD Glam Nation Live (2011), which debuted at number one on the SoundScan Music Video chart. Lambert took executive producer credit and was a principal writer on his second studio album, Trespassing, which was released to critical acclaim on May 15, 2012.Trespassing made its debut in the number one spot on the Billboard 200 album chart, also topping the Billboard Digital Albums Chart and Canada's Digital Albums Chart.With this accomplishment, Lambert makes music history as the first openly gay artist to achieve the top charting position.
Ia Namtaru
Ia Lammia
Ia Asaku
Ia Pazuzu
Ia Zixul zi Azkak
Ia Gula zi Pazu
Alal uggae Utukku Xul
Ia Ia Pazuzu
Ia Ningursu Ia Ia Umduggu
Shemti Shebui Nehenkau
Addu Nergal Arrallu
Nergal dread God of War and Plague
Avenge the shades of our Fallen ones
Blacken the sun with Fierce Winds
Bring forth your Terrible Storms!
Yea! Burn the flesh of our Enemies
Gash their throats with Weapons of Iron
Destroy Them utterly
Impure am I
Impure I spill my seed
Upon barren earth
And spit in the face of the Goddess
Unclean am I
Unclean I copulate
with the hands of the God
and defile the Gates of Ishtar
Unblessed am I
Unrepentant
Defiant
Buh Luh Uh
Si il Inanna
As Gi Su Ak
Gis Tes
Gis Tes
Unwashed am I
Unwashed I lay violent hands
upon the Altar of the Goddess
In filth I lay
In filth I desecrate
and profane the Temple of Ishtar
And blaspheme in the presence of whores
Baad Angarru
Ninnghizzhidda
Open the Gate
That I may enter
Open
Lest I attack the Gate
Open
Lest I break down the walls
Open the Gate
Lest I cause the dead to outnumber the living
Open the Gate
Am the Uncreated GodBefore Me The Dwellers in Chaos are DogsTheir Masters Merely WolvesI Gather The PowerFrom Every PlaceFrom Every PersonFaster Than Light ItselfHail To He Who Is In The DuatWho Is StrongEven Before The Servants of SerpentsHe Gathers The PowerFrom Every Pit of TormentFrom They Who Hath Burnt in FlamesFrom Words of Power Uttered By theDarkness ItselfHail To He in The PitWho Is StrongEven Before the Terrors of The AbyssWho Gathers The PowerFrom The Wailing And LamentationsOf The Shades Chained ThereinFrom He Who Createth Gods FromThe 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.]
Eaters of Human Flesh
Hath eaten unlawful Flesh
Upon our Brethren
They Have Feasted
Seed of our Father
We must now Avenge
In secret conclave we Gather
To rain Destruction on those Whom
We have Cursed
With vile Black Arts
And Tempestuous Rage
We vent our Wrath
Red Blood stains my Hands
And damns my Soul
You will drink the Black Sperm
Of my Vengeance
The Mighty Voices
Of my Vengeance
Smash the Stillness of the Air
And stand as Monoliths of Wrath
Upon a plain of writhing Serpents
I call upon the messengers of Doom
To slash with Grim Delight
This Victim I have Chosen
Feed upon his Brain Pulp
Rend his Throat
Pierce his Lungs with the stings of Scorpions
Oh Kali
Oh Sekhmet
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.")]
Withdraw Thy Phallus Baboui
Open the Gates of the Duat
For I am Burning in Aataakhu
Chains Bind Me
Flames Encircle Me
And Burn My Flesh
Open
For Me the Gates Shall Open
Over the Fire of the Spirit
The Breath Drawn by the Gods
Arise Apophis Return
That I Might Return
Borne by the Flame
Drawn by the Gods Who Clear the Way
That I Might Pass
The Gods Which Sprang from the Drops of Blood
Which Dripped From
The Phallus of Set
That I might be Reborn
For I am Khetti Satha Shemsu
Seneh Nekai
And Will Become Set of a Million Years
Akhu Amenti Hekau
I Shed My Burnt Skin
Heralds of Pestilence
Blackest Plague Rusheth through the Land
Burning Evil Winds
Carry Sickness
Invoking the Bitter Venom of the Gods
Loathsome Sickening Stench of the Defiled
A Cesspool Breeding the Unclean
Hordes of Locusts
Fiends of the South Winds
Cleanse the Earth from the Impure
The Daemon That Siezeth the Body
The Daemon that Rendeth the Body
Ruthless and Profane
Lord of all Fevers and Plagues
Grinning Dark Angel of the four Wings
Spawn of Eng
Horned God with rotting Genitalia
Sep Au Hetep
Ab Au Makhar Gau t Metkh
Mekhar R Khhert Ua an Aqu
Mekri Sau t Athien Hapti
Tehem Er Sa Msa
I Call Upon Thee My Father Amun
For I am in the midst of A Multitude of Foes
Abandoned by the Legions of Amun and Ra
Engulfed by the Heat of the Fire
Blood of the Impure
Drips from my Weapons
Dismembered Armies Rot in the Sun
Mekhi Kherit Au Aqu
I split open your Eyes for you
I open your mouth for you
With the Adze of Iron
Which split open the mouths of the Gods
The Iron which issueth from Set
With the Adze of Iron
I did clean your Bones
With Iron Hook and Chisel
I did scrape your Flesh
And separate your Bones for you
Sebau Fiends work Evil
On the Body
Raise yourself Asari
Receive your Head
Collect your Bones
Gather your limbs Together
Throw off the Earth from your Flesh
Khnemet-Ur cometh to Thee
With the Iron of Set
I hath Violated Thee
With this Phallus of Iron
I hath committed Sodomy upon Thee
Nas Aakhu Khan She en Asbiu
Ua tehani,Ua temam,Ua khames Re Per Akhu
Ua khames em bah khan She en Amu
Ua khames em bah khan She en Seshet
Temam aakhu Thaui,Temam aakhu Shemsu Satha
Saakhu Nebu Tchaut,Saakhu Nebu Khebentiu
Snemeh em bah Akhu-Ager
Tata ab uk em She en Asbiu
Ta-ua Akh uk em She en Nesersert
Meh u She en Shemmet,Meh u She en Shamu
Ua uk,Ua uk,Ua uk Aat en Khet
Ua uk,Ua uk,Ua uk
[ 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
Nafs I Ammara
Fana Azif
I am the Infidel
Fiendish Insects encircle Me
Howling Winds Wraiths
Surrounding me disembodied Ka
Dulcarnon
Hideous Unseen
Speaking in Tongues
Heard only by the Mad
Shrieking Insects Swarm over Me
Suffocate Me
Suffocate my Soul
Majun I am Empty
Crawling Reptiles Devour my Soul
They utterly and completely Annihilate Me
I can hear the Howling of the Jinn
Atheos anarchas
No belief in any deity
No lies or false idols
No dogma shall enslave me
My words of truth
The tongue of fire
A cleansing of utter blasphemy
No law of man or god
No chains of servitude
Bind me to the unjust
Purify me in flames
I have no fear of retribution
Before no graven images
Shall I bend in acquiescence
Say not unto me
Thou shall not
The head of Ramses
Lies fallen to the ground
Broken-crumbled-destroyed
Left in ruins
Mut The Dangerous DeadTrouble me No LongerI Inscribe Thy NameI Threaten Thee With The Second DeathI Kill Thy NameAnd Thus I Kill Thee AgainIn The AfterlifeBau Terror of the LivingAngry Spirits of the Condemned DeadI Write thy NameI Burn Thy Name In FlamesI Kill Thy NameAnd Thus Thee Are AccursedEven Unto The UnderworldMut The Troublesome DeadPlague Me No LongerThou Art CursedThy Name Is CrushedThine Clay is Smashed And BrokenThy Vengeance Against The LivingShall 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.]
[Instrumental]
[Instrumental]
Aa-herit Nebu Huit-Ra
We come before Thee wearing serpent headed Masks
In sanguinary worship we offer the Tcheser-t Senfiu
The sacrificial drink of the Gods of Blood
in a goblet carved from a human skull
Aa-t-aru
Fiendish blood drinking reptile Lord of the Ankhit-Thekh
rites of bloodfeast
We propitiate Thee with our own fluid of life
and the freely offered flesh of these ritual prostitutes
that Thou mayest copulate with thine self
and spill Thy seed upon the Black Earth
Aui-f-em-kha-nef Netri nek khefa
We don the Abui ames Machta the ceremonial two horned phallus
to become as like unto the two horned serpent god Sekhui
We besmear ourselves with the bloodseed of
the living serpent goddess Arati
And with curved blades
Nanna Father of the Zonei
Eldest of the Wanderers
A Shadow out of Time
The Moon is calling Me
The Breath of the Old Ones
Whispers in my Ear
With inhuman Impatience
They Beckon to Me
I call to the Moon and Sin
I now possess the secrets of the Tides of Blood
I have traveled on the Spheres
And the spheres do not protect Me
I have Walked in the Pit
And the Pit does not protect Me
The Lords of the Wind rush about Me
The Lords of the Earth crawl about my Feet
And are Angered
A Wind has Risen The Dark Waters Stir
The lines of my life have been Obliterated
By my wanderings in the Waste
My fate is no longer Writ in the Stars
For I have broken the Covenant
Have the Gods forsaken Me
I cannot read the Omens
What sacrifice have I failed to Make
I call to the Gods
Do not cast thy servant Down
Tribal indeligible ageless
we celebrate our carnal nature
bloodsmeared and naked we dance under the horns
Idol of instinct, idol of lust
dark lord of claw and fang
Unclean we enshrine the beast
with sacrificial altars of flesh and bone
Rise in Splendor
Arms upheld unto the Sky
Blindly I Follow
Soon All will be Revealed
Searing Transcendant
Visions of Divine Intent
Worshipful Obediant
I Await the Burning
In Supplication
I turn my eyes toward the Sun
It Burns
I turn my eyes toward the Sun
Its Flames
Oh God it Burns
Refusing to look Away
In Agony
I become Divine
Obeisance I Make
Engulfed in Radiant Fury
Amon - Ra
The Hidden One
Takes my sight that I might See
Blinded I cry Out
In Gratitude
Tears Streaming
I Return unto the Sands
Burnt Charred
I behold no God
I drink the milk of ceres
dread elixir
crude nauseous willful poison
healing wounds unhealed
purge vomit convulse collapse
i gain the knowledge
separate mind from body
i break open the skull
Papaver somniferum
amrosia of the ancients
morpheus god of dreams grants me
entrance to the den of the wicked
anarchy of dreaming sleep summons
long dead harlots
i kiss the queen of hell
cleansed from the dishonours of the grave
Potent destroyer of grief
abyss of divine enslavement
thou hast the key to paradise
nepenthe
Every night i descend into chasms
and sunless abysses, depths below depths
Oasis dark sanctuary
night is born heavy with
Shaman dance
by the light of the moon
open your eyes to the song of the universe
Slowly we drag ourselves out of the primal slime
Slowly we arise to become mankind
Irrepressable we journey to Mecca
The heavens the gods are all within you
Listen as the voice of reason speaks
The ranting and raving will tear the world apart
Ancient alive seething with power
Enigma of a single human heart
Monumental, neolithic
Bare your soul and enter Mecca
Come arise from the primordial mud
Cloak thy nakedness
In the endless stuggle of the ages
la Numtaru
la Lammia
la Asaku
la Pazuzu
la Zixul zi Azkak
la Gula zi Pazu
Alal uggae Utukuku Xul
la la Pazuzu
la Ningursu la la Umduggu
Shemti Shebui Nehenkau
Addu Nergal Arrallu
Nergal dread the God of War and Plague
Avenge the shades of our Fallen ones
Blacken the sun with Fierce Winds
Bring forth your Terrible Storms!
Yea! Burn the flesh of our Enemies
Gash their throats with Weapons of Iron
Destroy Them utterly
I have come to you that you may Heal my Corpse
Permit me to go down into the earth Forever
Such as He who will Not be Ravaged
May I not become Corrupt
May my Ka Ascend aloft May it Descend Only after it has Perished
Such is he who is Decayed
All his Bones are Corrupt
His Flesh is Slain His Bones are Softened
His Body is made into Foul Water
His Degradation Stinks and he Turns into Many Worms
When he is sent to the Eye of Shu
Every Motal is thus
All those who Live will Die
All Who Die Shall Rot
Do not give me over to the Slayer who Lurks inside
Who Rots the Hidden One
Who Decomposes Corpses
Who does what has been Commanded
I have awakened in Perversion and Dream
I possess not my Body
I have become corrupt Decayed Putrid
Worms Gorge upon me
Maggots Infest my Organs
Versim Gnaw my Skull
My Eyes have Been Eaten My Ears are Deaf
Rotten Flesh Falls from my Bones
My Head has removed itself from my Neck
My Tongue Taken
My Hair has been cut off My Eyebrows Stripped
Poureth Down Water From the HeavensTremble the StarsQuake the Bones of AkerThose Beneath Take Flight When They SeeUnas RisingThe Akh of Unas Is Behind HimThe Conquerer Are Beneath His FeetHis Gods Are In HimHis Uraei Are on His BrowThe Words of Unas Protect HimUnas This Bull of The HeavensThatTrusteth With His WillLiving On Utterances of Fire FromThe Lake Of FlameUnas That Devoureth Men and Liveth on The GodsBehold Amkebu Hath Snared Them for UnasBehold Tecber Tep F Hath Known Them andDriven Them Unto UnasBehold Her Tbertu Hath Bound ThemBehold Khensu The Slaughterer of LordsHath Cut Their Throats for UnasBehold Shesemu Hath Cut Them Up For UnasUnas Hath Ingested Their SpiritsHath Feasted On Their ImmortalityHe Hath Consumed their ShadowsUnas The Slayer of the GodsUnas The Sekhem GreatThe Sekhem of the SekhemnUnas The Ashem GreatThe Ashem of the AshemnBehold OrionUnas RisethUnas Hath Taken Possessionof the Hearts of the GodsUnas Feedeth on their EntrailsHe Hath gorged on their Unuttered Sacred WordsHe Hath Assimilated the Wisdom of the GodsHis Existence is EverlastingBehold The Souls of the Gods are in UnasTheir Spirits are In UnasThe Flame of Unas in Their BonesTheir Shadows are With their FormsUnas is RisingHidden 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.]
I fear I may have Fallen out With the Regime
An Enemy of the State
My Name is Written Amongst the Disgraced
on a Clay Image of a Bound Human Captive
I Bring Incense To Appease The Forthy Two Assessors
The Tribunal of the Dead
I Bring Natron The Imbibing of Which Purifies
Thot Who Vindicated Osiris
Entrap Mine Enemies in the Presence of Every God and Godess
In the Presence of the Great Tribunal
In Heliopolis on that Night of Battle
Of the Slaughter of those who Rebelled
In the Presence of the Great Tribunal
In Abydos on the night of the Festival
of the Numbering of the Dead
In the Presence of the Great Tribunal
Which is on the Road of the Dead
In the Presence of He that is Nothing
On the Night of the Great Devastation
Lords of Justice Lords of the West
Who Pass Judgment upon the Dead
Who Instill Terror in those who have wrought Wickedness
I have come that you may drive out the Evil which is in me
All that I have done Before the Lords of Eternity
Since I Came Forth from the Womb
Let me Be Cleansed By Fire
Let no Evil Lay Talon or Claw Upon Me
Let my heart not be devoured
When my Patience is Finished
When the Mercy of Khufu is Exhausted
When my Subjects have Failed Me
And Continued Grace has become Futile
Then will wrath
seem the better part of Discretion
My Slaves Utter Words of Rebellion
They Curse my Name
They Bend not their Backs Unto me
Or Bow Before my Monuments
When Those who Incite Revolt are Crushed
When the Streets Run red
with the Blood of the Unfaithful
When the Hands of the Idle are Severed
And the Piles of the Skulls of the Rebellious
are as the Innumerable Stars
Then will my Wrath be Done
Desolate and Forsaken
Eerily Moaning Dark Winds
Murmur Incantations
Dusk Calls forth Shadows
Spirits of the Glorious Dead Lingering
Bound to this Place
They Whisper of Untold Sagas
of Long Dead Cities
the Seven Shining Cities Sacred to the Aphkhallu
of Ages Past when the World was Young
When Babylon was Blessed of Marduk
and the Sound of her Armies was the Blare
of Ominous War Horns
and the Clash of Immortal Cymbals
of Bronze Gates Arrayed in Splendour
and Magnificent Walls of Sunbaked Brick
of Temples of Marble
and Bloodstained Altars
Long Before the Jeweled Throne of Ur
Fell Silent and Turned to Dust
Beneath the Endless Shifting Sands
Abandon hope
And I shall become free
And with freedom acquire emptiness
With the mind cleansed and empty
There is the void known as despair
A gateway upon an emptiness endless and vast
In despair the language of the shadows is intelligible
In madness all sounds become articulate
Terror and despair they guide me
Into nightmares that follow one upon the other
Like windblown grains of sand
Lead 1 : Dallas Toler Wade
I have become as the wastelands
Of unending nothingness
Now shall the night things
Fill me with their whisperings
And the shadows reveal their wisdom
In my foolishness I had taken form of a mortal man
And entered time to live amongst humanity born of my tears
But now they have turned against me and my descendants
They overthrow the temples and curse my name
Now I return to the city of the sun
There enthroned gouge out my eye
Terrible is my pain, horrifying are my cries, dreadful is my towering rage
All my fierce passions cause my torn eye
to take shape as a fearsome lioness
with teeth and claws that ache to rend flesh
Heedless of the blood that courses down my cheek
Sekhmet the might I name nee and Nesert who is a burning flame
Then the terrible roar of Sekhmet sounds forth
Flee from me humanity though it availeth thee not
Hide in the deserts and the mountains
Let fear grow in your hearts
For I am vengeance and bloody death
With terrible wrath
shall I now go forth out into the two lands
To slay the gathered armies of man
Not one shall stand alive where I have been
As I rend the very flesh from their bones
I will wade in human blood and drink my fill
The Slayers of Geb
Reckon up the Immoral
After the Weighing of the Words in Amentet
Tem saith unto the reapers
Keep Ward over the Wicked
And Bind ye Fast Those who Are to be Smitten
The Neniu Profane Apostates
The Depraved who when on Earth Cursed Ra
Shameless were their lies in Words and Deeds
The Inquitous Cannot Escape
Condemnation according to the will of Ra
Ra hath Issued Decree for their Doom
Which Shall be wrought upon Them in the Great Hall
Drive Stakes to Fetter them
Weigh them down with Heavy Chains
Bind their Arms behind their Backs
Bow Them down and Make them Prostrate
Reduce them to Helplessness
In your Hands take Knives and Hack them
Make Gashes in them
Slit open their Heads
Hack Into Pieces their Chained and Helpless Bodies
Great Suffering shall you cause upon The Immortal
Eaters of Human Flesh
Hath eaten unlawful Flesh
Upon our Brethren
They have Feasted
Seed of our Father
We must now Avenge
In secret conclave we Gather
To rain Destruction on those Whom
We have Cursed
With vile Black Arts
And Tempestuous Rage
We vent our Wrath
Red Blood stains my Hands
And damns my Soul
You will drink the Black Sperm
Of my Vengeance
The Mighty Voices
Of my Vengeance
Smash the Stillness of the Air
And stand as Monoliths of Wrath
Upon a plain of writhing Serpents
I call upon the messengers of Doom
To slash with Grim Delight
This Victim I hath Chosen
Feed upon his Brain Pulp
Rend his Throat
Pierce his Lungs with the stings of Scorpions
Oh Kali
Oh Sekhmet
The great one has fallen on his side
Swarmed by the eight crocodiles
I know them by their name and lives
I save my father from them
Crocodiles of the west
Who lives on the unwearying stars
Detestation of you is in me
The nau snake is in my belly
Your flame will not be upon me
Crocodiles of the east
Who live on mutilation
Detestation of you is in me
The nau snake is in my bowels
Your flame will not be upon me
Crocodiles of the south
Living on feces
Smoke and want
Detestation of you is in me
My blood is not in your hand
I will erase you
Crocodiles of the north
Living on the waste between the stars
Detestation of you is in me
Your poison is in my head
A scorpion writhes within me
I am glad with the magick of Re
What exists is within my grasp
I am heard in the house of the Great One
Who destroys the living
I am Re
Who protects himself
Fogs sweep away my wishes, beyond their sinuous run
nothing is endless, I don't remember my tale.
Under the sky embroidered with stars that wou embrace every night,
I pick up your last dreams, and I hear the fleeting tune of your glooms.
I aim at the drawing of the run of your life, and your coldness, that runs
after the fogs and
penetrates into my bones.
Your soul seems to dance in front of me, dressed in white, with her slender
hands raising to
get to God, and every leaf under your feet stands for a year wasted to find
him.
Silvery wood rise, set up to the eternal night, to pull away the veil of
this blasphemous light.
Silvery wood cry, for the shades of the night, while the wind blows the
song of your eternal
sigh.
My soul is lost in your harmonious world.
The wood is showing its real face, the moon quivers in Silvara's
Who Dares DisturbMy Blissful SleepAgain in AngerMust I RiseHow Long UnknownI Lay EmtombedMy WorldSo Long ForgottenDid Disown MeUsurperI was ScornedAhThe Suffering They did InflictStained With Cosmic Black SinsThe 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?]
Nas Aakhu Khan She en Asbiu
Ua tehani, Ua Temam, Ua khames Re Per Akhu
Ua khames em bah khan She en Amu
Ua khames em bah She en Seshet
Temam aakhu Thaui, Temam aakhu Shemsu Satha
Saakhu Nebu Tchaut, Saakhu Nebu Khebentiu
Snemeh em bah Akhu-Aqer
Tata ab uk em She en Asbiu
Ta-ua Akh uk em She en Nesersert
Meh u She en Shemmet, Meh u She en Shamu
Ua uk, Ua uk, Ua uk Aat en Khet
Dark bogs draw my walk,
Dark bogs draw my walk,
My steps arrive at the sight of my lord.
Only the scepter of my king will understand
my thirst for revenge by now placated
gives birth in me... memories of death.
My armour doesn't bear anymore
the heavy weight of doom!
My sword doesn't rage anymore
in the battle!
Long nights of tears and mysteries
will be lit in front of the demons,
that play in my soul,
my body without blood.
Only death, only my death
will clean this memory.
Only the fire of my hatred
will burn these lost souls.
Rigor Mortis!
Deamonium!
In eternum!
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
Kafir!
There is no God but God
There is no God but God
There is no God but the one true God
There is no God but the hidden God
There is no God
There is no God
There is no God
There is no God
Allah Akhbar!
In the name of the unmerciful the unbenevolent
In the name of the lord of the worlds
Owner of the Day of Judgment
Show us the path of those who earn anger
And those who go astray
As for the disbelievers
Whether thou warn them or warn them not
Is all one for them
They believe not
And theirs is an awful doom
Kafir!
O Mankind
Worship the God whom thou hast created
Who hast created thee
And those who came before thee
O Mankind
Thou sons of simian ancestors
Guard yourself against the fire
Prepared for disbelievers
Whose fuel is of men and stones
There is no God but God
There is no God but God
There is no God but the one true God
There is no God but the hidden God
There is no God
There is no God
There is no God
There is no God
As for mine enemies
The sun shall impede the beating of their hearts
And blind their eyes
Let the shades of my fathers
Curse their faces
Let the eye of sekhmet
Send the violence of the sun
Down upon their heads
Let searing torrents of fire
Descend upon their brow
Let flames immolate their places of sleeping
Let the eye of sekhmet
Cause their hearts to burst into flames
Let carnivorous dogs consume their entrails
As for mine enemies
Let their charred ashes
Be as discarded refuse
Lying forgotten in the desert
Let their shades not rise again
Anoint my phallus with the blood of the fallen
Let my curses be heard
Let my will be as menthu the bull
Potent to create
And savage to slay those whom I hath cursed
Let my wrath be terrible
And my vengeance unmerciful
Fire be upon thee Apep
Ra maketh thee to burn
Thou who art hateful unto him
Ra pierceth thy head
He cutteth through thy face
Ra melteth thine countenance
Lo your skull is crushed in his hand
Thy bones are smashed in pieces
Burn thou fiend
Before the fire of the eye of Ra
The hidden one hath overthrown thy words
The gods have turned thy face backwards
Thy skull is ripped from thy spine
The lynx hath torn open thy breast
The scorpion hath cast fetters upon thee
Maat hath sent forth thy destruction
Thou shalt burn
Lead 1 : Karl Sanders
The god aker hath condemned thee to the flames
Fire be upon thee Apep
Thou enemy of Ra
Let flames gnaw into thee
And sear thy flesh
Fall down Apep
I hath set torch upon thee
Taste thou death Apep
The burning is upon you
Thou art consumed
I hath lain fire upon thee
I hath smeared thy remains with excrement
I hath spat on thin ashes
Get back crawl away get away from me, thou snake
Be drowned in the lake of the abyss
At the place where thy father hath commanded
that thine slaying shall be carried out
Be far removed from the abode of Re
Where in you trembled
For I am Re at whom men tremble
Get back thou rebel
at the knives of his light
They words have fallen because of Re
They face is turned back by the gods
Thy head is cut off, thy heart is cut out
Thou art put in chains
Crawl away Rerek snake enemy of ReThou who escaped massacre
in the east of the sky at the sound of the roaring storm
Thou shalt not become erect Apep
Thou shall not copulate Apep
Opposition is made against thee
Ye whom Re hates when he looks upon thee
O Cobra
I am the flame which shines on the brows of the chaos gods
I am the flame son of flame
Get back thou who shalt be decapitated
They face shall be away, thy head shall be removed
Thy bones shall be broken, thy tail shall be cut off
The earth god hath condemned thee
Let no evil opposition come forth from thy mouth against me
For I am Set who can raise a tumult of storm
in the horizon of the sky
like on whose will id destruction
You come to me
Because you believe I can cast off demons
To ward off the evil eye
To nullify some sick sorcery that is upon you
I mix the dung of a dog
Foul canine excrement
With barley flour
Smear it on your shoulders
Cast it from you
And feed it unto you
I have removed the demon Algalmati from you
I have pushed the demon Annamiluli from your skull
I have extinguished fire from your brow
And ignited it in the sorcerer's head
I have driven away the stench of the dog from you
But the dog's excrement
The dog's flesh
The dog's bones
You must utterly consume
Lest the dog's shade
Thinks it may yet return
And will not rest
Relentlessly tormenting you
Eat of the dead
Eat of the dead
The highest fulfillment of man
Is to become food for the crawling things
That burrow and slither in human flesh
Unceasing in mindless hunger
Remorseless undefiled by reason
The worms of the tomb they are pure
Their purity elevates them
Above the putrefying pride of our race
The destiny of man is
Merely to be
The nourishment of the worm
Yet their excrement bestows higher wisdom
From decay arises new life
Fill myself with that which rots
And I shall be reborn
By writhing upon my belly like a mindless worm
I shall rise up in awareness of truth
I gnaw upon my own decaying flesh
And my mind is forever purged
Of the corruption of faith
Believe in nothingness
There is no purpose in birth
No blessedness after death
Only oblivion
Eat of the dead
For I am like as one who is already dead
Eat of the dead
Lest I be consumed by the emptiness
Eat of the dead
Annf feth
Tema fentu
Invoked in stone
Of epic proportion
Was his temple of pillars
Magnificent colossal
Humbling all who entered its sacred halls
Yet now fallen to decay and ruin
Its past grandeur
Obscured by the cruelties of time
The priests of the temple
Dead all dead
And fallen to dust
Their undying whispers of despair
Echo amongst sand strewn
Broken paving stones
Desolation desolation
The end of days
The glory of the gods
Is put out
Like a reed torch
In the water
The roof of the house of Amun is fallen
Let not my Corpse Rot in the Necropolis
Let not my crimes be raised against me Whilein the Earth
Make my Flesh and Bones safe from Maggots
And Any False God who Trespasses my Tomb
You whose Heart has been Seized from thy Breast
Save me from the Ravages of Decay
The Crawlings Fiends Who Take away Limbs
Corpses who Deny the Inevitable Truth
The Lifetime of Osiris is the Sky And theirs is the Ground
Save Me from those Imprisoned in the Duat
Who Know not Yet they are already Dead
Save me from The Rotting dead
who sleep inside Their corpses
Whose Breath Becomes Fire inside Their Water
at whose Burning the Sea Rises at Dawn
Grant Me the Immolating Flame
Burn my Sarcophagus
In Opposition To the Lords of Eternity
I Beg You
Prevent my Corpse from Putrefying in the Realm of the Dead
Painted and inscribed on flat stones
Abhorrent to the deep ones
Abhorrent to their great father
Is the symbol to guard against Dagon
Created by the elder things
Long ages past
To guard against Dagon and his spawn
No deep one will cross a threshold
that has the symbol painted upon it
No deep one will follow a path
that has the symbol upon it
No deep one will emerge from a beach
that is strewn with stones
bearing the sacred symbol
By this sign those who dwell
near their submerged city of cyclopean stones
are not molested unless they venture into the waves
where the deep ones exact
a terrible vengeance upon them
Arra Arra Arra Dagon Dagon Dagon
At the seething and fiery center
He sits upon his ebon throne
Within his halls of darkness
Which no man has seen and survived the vision
Both blind and bereft of mind
He pipes unceasingly
And the notes that rise and fall in measured patterns are the foundations of all the worlds
Ever calculating in sound the structure of space and time
Were his flute ever to suddenly fall silent
All the spheres would shatter into one another
And the myraids of worlds
Would be unmade
As they were before creation
The flute of the blind idiot
Both makes and unmakes the worlds in ceaseless combinations
Spinning on the woven carpet of time
No creation without destruction
No destruction without creation
To unmake a thing is to make another
Each time a thing is made
Another is destroyed
Lead 1 : Dallas Toller Wade
The idiot god on his black throne
Does not choose
What shall rise into being
And what should pass away
He cares only to maintain
his mindless unholy music of random creation and destruction
No living creature can look upon his face
And endure its terrible heat
And black radiance
That is like the reverberating unseen rays of molten iron
Which strik and burn the skin of those who would dare
Gaze into the countenance of the idiot god
Never does he recieve supplicants
In his black halls of uncouth angles and stranges doors
Nor does he ever hear prayers or answer them
Endlessly he pipes
And endlessly he devours his own substance
For his hunger is insatiable
As he consumes his own wastes after the customm of idiots
As he creates
So he destroys
Whisper silence in my Ear
Uncover the truth of Insignificance
Paint the anguish of the Private Soul
Reveal pathetic Tragedy
As sleep I dream of Death
Seething with Rage
Exquisite Rage
Amplify the Vision
Does it Matter
Does it Matter
Paradise Lost
Dreaming of Extinction
We wander through the Walls of Sacrifice
Sick winds brush against my Skin
Power of Extinction
Growth Intelligence No More
Mud Rot Skeletal Earth
Drown thy spirit of Kings
Society's walls break Down
Humans Pound Down
Dig I must dig Out
Surviving puts all tools in Place
Only peace comes in Death
As I sleep I dream of Death
I am a Long Lived Snake
I Pass the Night and Am Reborn Every Day
I am the Snake which is in the Limits of the Earth
I Pass the Night and am Reborn
Renewed and Rejuvenated Every Day
I am a Crocodile immersed in Dread
I am the Crocodile who Takes by Robbery
I am the Great and Mighty Loathsome Reptile
Who is in the Bitter Waters
Ashu Give us PowerTo Oppose this Legion of ShrikesThey hath Defiled our Monuments and GravesFor their Greed of TreasureAshu Sehu Neferui SkhennWe Are the Breath of HornsHot as the Desert WindWe are Slayers and Reapers of MenBy the Arrow Shot from LanataYou will Fall to your Knees Deador Begging QuarterTorn to Shreds by Obese VulturesFossilized in the Desert SandWe are the Breath of HornsHot as the Desert WindWe are the Slayers and Reapears of MenYou will Never EscapeThis Valley GallalaLeft to DecomposeForbidden the UnderworldBemused by Battle LustI Gash your ThroatAnd Splatter your BloodUpon the Altar of BesWe Erect one hundred PyramidsWith your Severed HeadsAshu 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.]
Whisper in the Ear of the UnBlessed DeadAnd My Words of Power are Heard inthe UnderworldThe DeadThey are Compelled to Obey MeEven Unto the Worlds BelowYea I Whisper in the Ear of the UnBlessed DeadAn they Heed my Necromantic DemandsFor I have Bound ThemInexorablyCursed in this Life and the NextI Whisper in the Ear of the UnBlessed DeadAnd They Tell me Things No Living Man KnowethFor I Have Taken Possession of their ShadowsAnd They re Mine To Command inthe NetherworldI Dream of the DeadAnd Their Shades Showeth Me VisionsWhich No Living Man Can KnowI Whisper in the Ear of the DeadAnd Mine is the UnWritten KnowledgeThat Lieth Under The Black EarthTo Speak The Name of The DeadIs 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.]
Great Cthulhu
Ever the warrior God
Of all the Old Ones
He is the most terrible
For it is his delight
To slay and lay waste to everything that lies beneath his taloned feet
And the very lust to conquer
What was once free
Drives him onward across the heavens and through the spheres
It was he and his spawn
That defeated the elder things
Who had long possessed sovereignty of this world
Before he descended on his gray and leathern wings
Through the upper gate opened by Yog Sothoth
On the walls of lost cities
And in the carvings of madmen
Who have glimpsed him in their dreams
Is his image delineated
Within a tomb protected by great seals
He lies in death
Under the weight of the dark waters of the deep
Yet he dreams still
And in his dreams continues to rule this world
For his thoughts master the will of lesser creatures
Lead 1 : Dallas Toller Wade
When the stars in their endless turnings
Assume the angles of the same rays they shed down
In the primordial dawn of the world
Then does R'lyeh rise upward so the house of Cthulhu
Emerges from under his watery prison
The mind of the god waxes strong
And he sends forth his will to those men
Who are open to his influence
The command to release the seals that bind his tomb
Lead 2 : Karl Sanders
Always the stars
Never remain in alignment long enough
For the enslaved men to reach distant r'lyeh
Before r'yleh sinks once more under the sea
Severing the bond
Between the will of Cthulhu
And the flesh of those he has enthralled
Leaving them to wail in confusion and despair
Upon the bosom of the vacant sea
Nafs I Ammara
Fana Azif
I am the Infidel
Fiendish Insects encircle Me
Howling Wind Wraiths
Surround my disembodied Ka
Dulcarnon
Hideous Unseen
Speaking in Tongues
Heard only by the Mad
Shrieking Insects Swarm over Me
Suffocate Me
Suffocate my Soul
Majnun I am Empty
Crawling Reptiles Devour my Soul
They utterly and completely Annihilate Me
I can hear the Howling of the Djinn
The Great God cometh forth to the Gate
the gods who are therein acclaim Him
Guarded by sixteen UraeiStandeth the mummified form of Nemi
a Knife in his hands Swept by Flames of Fire
Come thou who art at the Horizon
Who Unveils the secret place And unfolds the Fathomless Depths of the Earth
Sethu the Hideous serpent stands on his tail
And guards the Way
Sayeth Sa
Rand thy Gate Tear open thy Portal Illuminate the darkness
The Gate Shuts behind ra
Uraei wail when the gate closes upon them
The Procession of Ra Incinerates the Sky
Until the God of the Hour a Star in each Hand
Horus the Hawk Headed
SereqAbeshi
Sekhet the Lioness
The winged serpent Semi
Besi Receives the flame
of a horned animal Transfixed by a knife
From the neck of The Serpent Ankhi
grows the Skulls of the undead
The cries Raise their Hands in adoration
Uraei rear their heads
unto Horus Set
Maketh thou a Rising up for Ra
In his hand is the fire from the head and upon the Horns
The weapon in the hand of the slayer is within the follower of the God
Those who cry unto Ra say
Enter in O Ra
Hail Come forth thou who art Born of the Underworld
The necromancers of Giza
A cult of reanimators
Concerned with interrogation of the long dead
Corpses who may be revived and made to talk
And describe the contents of rare books
And gold hidden in the earth
Although they are often reluctant to reveal their secrets
And must be encouraged with fire and blade
A corpse chosen for resurrection
Is cut into parts of convenient size
Boiled in clean water
Linen strips of mummification are removed
And the skull and bones liquefied
And boiled until all water is gone
What remains in the bottom
Is a white crystalline substance
That may be carried in the palms of two hands
This white powder contains the essential salts
Of the man whose corpse was boiled
It is from this powder that the living body may be reconstituted
And made to serve as a house for the soul
Which is called back into its former flesh by words of power
It is a great shock to the soul
To tear it back from its resting place and reanimate it
The resurrected are often insane and scream ceaselessly or dash themselves into walls
If the salts are contaminated with the essence of other living beings
When the mummy has been the breeding place of vermin
The revitalization of the salts produces something
That is part man and part whatever gnawed his corpse
These horrors lack the faculty of speech
Or their speech is crazed and bestial
And must be immediately slain
For though the memory of the man may remain intact
The verminous parts of his reanimated nature
Inhibit his human expression
Those who have served their purpose are killed
By strangulation with a cord around the neck
And their bodies burned
Their ashes gathered and cast into the Nile
Where the currents carry them to the sea
Lead 1 : Karl Sanders
Descendant world in a frenzy of evil
slowly stripped of life
raped of principles with a common reason
justice for which we fight
madmen stagger into power
pulling strings from ivory towers
vampire machines drain and devour
as screams strike the hour
Do you ever feel frightened in the dead of night
can you hear the children scream
lurking witches coming for you
every night and every day, some good, some evil
but they all know where you are
only thing to do is run away
or stay and be surrounded by fright
innocent provoked, guilty set free
i don't know which way to go
what will they think of me when i lose control
nightmare, reality or am i just in hell
think im on a one way ticket to being totally
surrounded by fright
Invisible parasite worming away at the brain
driving me insane, do this, do that
you live then you die, burn me at the stake
we are the martyrs of tomorrow and today
rise up from the fire and cry
I assert my Claim of Uncompromising Empowerment
I am Like as Unto Atum Lord of All
Whose Spontaneous Self Generation
Led to the Appearance of the Earliest Gods
and Thus the Material Universe
There is none Higher
I appear in Glory as that God
Who eats Men and Lives on the Gods
As Sun God I am Reborn
From the Womb of the Sky Goddess Nut
Her Arching Body is the Sky
Her Nakedness the Skin on Which the Stars Rest
I am AtumKhepri Who Come into Being of Himself
I am He who Opened a Door in the Sky
Who Rules from his Throne and Adjudgeth those who are Born
I am the Horned Bull who Rules the Sky
Lord of Celestial Appearings
The Great Illuminator who came forth from Fire
to Harness the Years
I am the Jackal of Jackals
I am Shu who Breathes Air Into the Limits of Sky and Earth
I Draw unto Myself All the Forces of the Universe
I become Not Merely a God but the Universe Itself
I am Alone in Making the Transformation from Man into God
I am Released from this World of Servile Obligation
Slaves Whipped to Death
In the Hot Sun
Drag the Stones of Sorrow
Vast Monolithic a Collossus of Stone
Greased with the Blood of Abraham
Of Human Bondage
and Suffering
We carve a monument to Megalomania
Bleak and Endless is my Sorrow
For the chain of Sut
Is around my Neck
Aperu Heseb Semedet!
It is I who lift up the arm of the Inert
I have gone out of Khemenu
and am no longer a living soul
I have been initiated into the hearts of the Baboons
And I claim Dominion over the legions
of Uninscribed Shabitiu
Khunumu Khufu!
The God Khnum is my Protector
Ushabti
Tekenu
Burning of the Defeated
Dragging The fettered Rebels
To the Block of Slaughter
Decapitated Headless
Naked and Bound
Captives Adorn my Shield
Arms Tied behind their Backs
Lying Bound in Agony
Fiends Hold them with Ropes
Awaiting Beheadment and Mutilation
With Contempt for the Vanquished
We Exterminate the
Dwellers of the Eastern Desert
Amenhiu!
They are Doomed to Slaughter
We stab their bodies with Daggers
We Smash their Skulls with Clubs
We Crush their Bones
And Gash their Faces
Their Necks are Broken and Severed
Their Bowels are Gored with Spears
Yeah ! We Hack off their Limbs
And Cast the Phalluses
Into Pits of Fire
Wretched Fallen ones of Khatti
Raise against the oppressing Sword
Encircled Abandoned Alone
I Smite the vile Hittite Foe
My Father Amon what carest Thee
For the Vile and Ignorant of God
My Father Amon what carest Thee
For these Effeminate ones
At millions of whom I groweth not Pale
Raging like Menthu like Baal in his Hour
Lo the mighty Sekhmet is with Me
I enter in among them even as a hawk striketh
I slay I hew to pieces and cast to the ground
The royal snake upon my brow
Spits forth Fire in the face of mine enemies
And Burneth their Limbs
My Chariot Wheels trample the Fallen
Cut to pieces before my Steeds
And laying
In their own Blood
I Crush the Skulls of the Dying
And Sever the Hands of the Slain
I Ramses
Builder of Temples
Usurper of Monuments Slayer of Hittites
Hail to ye who art in the sacred desert of the west
I know you and I know your names
Save me from these snakes which ar in Rosetjau
which live on the flesh of men and gulp down their blood
For I know you and I know your names
The first one Osiris, lord of all mysterious of body
gives command
He puts forth breath into those frightened ones
who art in the midst of the west
what has been decreed for me is lordship over those who exist
I know you and I know your names
May my place in the darkness be opened for me
May a spirit shape be given to me in Rosetjau
Even to the lord of the gloom
who dies at the devourer of serpents
His voice is heared but he is unseen
The great god within Busiris
Those amongst the languid ones fear him
Having gone forth unto the shambles of the god
I have gone forth
Even I the vindicated Osiris
The great ones on earth await me
The scribes on their mats magnify me
I am as Re the eldest of the gods
I have taken possession of the sky
I have inherited the earth
Who shall take away the sky and earth from me?
I know you and I know your names
I Bow down to the Glorious Transcent One
Vajra Kumara
Whose Face Frowns with Wrath
In Order that My Living Being
Be Released from the Extreme Suffering
And all The Unremitting And Bitter Sorrows of Death
Lifespan Threatened
By Imbalanced Elemental Forces And Malevolent Spirits
Flame of Life nearly Extinguished
The Signs of Impending Death Have Manifested
Red Wheel of the Fire Element Inscribed with the Five Rams
Yellow Wheel of the Earth Inscribed With the Five Lams
The White Wheel of Water Inscribed with the Five Khams
The Azure Wheel of Space With the Five E Syllables
I Bow down to the Mahakarunika
Who is a Sanctuary of Great Bliss
I Enter the Triangular Dark Pit
And utter the Syllables of Elemental Fire
Black demon Black Demon Black Demon
The Cornea of my Eyes has begun to Fade
The Hair on the back of my neck has grown upwards
My eyes stare Fixedly
My Limbs are subject to Spasms
Three Times I Place a Dog Tail Beneath me
Place his Excrement before me
Eat a Mouthful and Bark like a Dog
The Severing of the Bond Between Atmosphere and Earth is Nearly Complete
The Fall of the White Rider has Occurred
The Rupturing of the Great Tree has come to Pass
My Urine is Blackish and Putrid My Excrement has no Vapour
The Seed Symbols have appeared on the Skull of a Horse
The One Legged Yavati has Arisen as an Enemy of the Wish Granting Tree
I make the Ritual of Averting Death
A Means of Liberating Sentient Beings From their Sufferings
Evil sick flames cast uncertain shadows
in the dimly lit Temple of Anhur
as we count the dead and vanquished
by hacking off their phalluses and piling the severed hands
before the living stone image of the God
The shamed and humbled women of the subjugated
kneel in hopeless aquiescence
as we grasp them by the hair and force them to serve
our father Anhur
Yea we impale them on the massive stone member
of the Ithyphallic War God until
the backs of their throats are torn out
and their bowels are ripped apart
One by one we force the female captives the serve the Ahati
until the Gods legs are awash with blood
and his phallus drips with red and black gore
Un snem sheth tesher mekhsefu parthal m aba neth Anhur
We lay our Bloodstained weapons of Iron
on the Altar of Anhur
and His Seed blesses us with strength to slay our enemies
Like as unto Menthu we have become Ithyphallic
Khetti Satha Shemsu
Khetti Satha Shemsu
Khetti Satha Shemsu
Khetti Satha Seneh
Khetti Satha Tehen
Khetti Satha Tua
Khetti Satha Kesu
Khetti Satha Sethes
Khetti Satha Sekhu
Khetti Satha Senes
Khetti Satha Suti
Khetti Satha Sekhem
Khetti Satha Sekhem
Khetti Satha Sekhem
Iskander D'hul Karnon
Idolator pagan
Possessor of the horns of Ammon
Conqueror of both the rising and setting of the sun
A the ends of the earth
Where the sun rises from the treacherous fetid sea
Iskander built the gates
With blocks of stone and iron
Poured over with molten lead
Enclosing the nations of Gog and Magog
Iskander is Alexander
Son of Philip
The prophet himself had knowledge of him
Revealed in the cave at Mecca
They who deny him deceive themselves
They speak naught but lies
Dreadful is Muhammad's warning
Surely Hell awaits the unbelievers
On the day of judgments
At the end of time
The earth shall quake
And the gate which Iskander built will be torn open
The hosts of Gog and Magog
Hordes of the fiercest of creatures shall be unchained
And allowed to go forth and ravage the earth
At the hour of doom when the moon is buried in darkness
Evil will rain down upon the wicked
Hell will be unleashed upon the disbelievers
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.]
The scourge of Amalek is upon you
The seed of Amu hath oppressed you
They hath urinated upon you
And made you to eat feces
They know not Ra
They are the enemies of Asar
They hath defiled your tombs
Violated your women
And made victims of your little ones
They hath befouled the writings of Thoth
They hath burned sacred papyri
They hath cracked open your heads
Smashed your teeth and gouged out your eyes
They hacked off your limbs
And thrown your mutilated bodies
Towards the Heavens mocking Ra
Let not their seed multiply among you
Honour not their wretched little Gods
Crawl not on your bellies before them
War shall you make upon them
Plague and pestilence shall you call down upon them
You must destroy their seed utterly
You shall gash them with flints
You shall gore them with sticks
Hack off their testicles
And cut their phalluses to pieces
Suffer none of them to live
Dismemberment and slaughter shall you perform on them
The mighty Sekhmet will devour them
The chain of Sut is around their neck
Horus hammereth them
Nepthys hacketh them to bits
The eye of Ra eateth into their faces
Their carcasses will be consumed in the desert
The seed of Amu will perish utterly
Their filth shall never breed among you again
We shall blot out the rememberance of Amalek
In the cosmos
There is balm as well as bitterness
And that balm is Nepenthe.
Yet underneath endless oceans of sand
I have not forgotten
Those who had betrayed me.
Silent and unmovable,
I am not sorry
For I had hated the light.
Now I ride with the undead
Across the night-sky
And play by day
Amongst the catacombs of Nephren-Ka
In the sealed and unknown
Valley of Hadoth by the Nile.
I know that light is not for me
Save that of the moon over the rock tombs of Neb
Nor any debauchery save the unknown feasts of Nitokris
Beneath the great pyramid.
But in the loneliness of entombment,
Zi Anna Kanpa
Zi Kia Kanpa
Gallu Barra
Namtar Barra
Ashak Barra
Gigim Barra
Alal Barra
Telal Barra
Masquim Barra
Utukku Barra
Idpa Barra
Lalartu Barra
Lalassu Barra
Akhkharu Barra
Urukku Barra
Kielgalal Barra
Lilitu Barra
Utuq Xul Edinazzu
Alla Xul Edinazzu
Gigim Xul Edinazzu
Mulla Xul Edinazzu
Dinger Xul Edinazzu
Masquim Xul Edinazzu
Barra Edinazzu
Zi Anna Kanpa
Ia Namtaru
Ia Lammia
Ia Asaku
Ia Pazuzu
Ia Zixul zi Azkak
Ia Gula zi Pazu
Alal uggae Utukku Xul
Ia Ia Pazuzu
Ia Ningursu Ia Ia Umduggu
Shemti Shebui Nehenkau
Addu Nergal Arrallu
Nergal dread God of War and Plague
Avenge the shades of our Fallen ones
Blacken the sun with Fierce Winds
Bring forth your Terrible Storms!
Yea! Burn the flesh of our Enemies
Gash their throats with Weapons of Iron
Destroy Them utterly
Lurking Among Us Hidden in Obscurity,
Descended from the Dawn of the Ages,
The Children of Yig And Set,
Serpent Volk.
Whose Civilaztions were Ancient,
Long Dead And Forgotten
Before The Eldest Pyramids were Built.
Man Was Not the First
To Walk Upright Upon the Earth.
Cruel, Pitiless, of a Cunning Mind.
Unwilling to Relinguish Dominion of the Earth.
They Are Cold, Knowing No Remorse.
They hath Made UnWitted Slaves of a Blinded Humanity.
They walk amongst us Unseen,
Possessing Empty Human Shells.
Consumed by a Reptile Mind,
Reveling in Sodomy and Rape
And Unspeakable Horrors Exacted Nightly Through
Astral Dreamscape Manipulation.
They Feed on Human Suffering.
They crave the Despairing of Man.
They Prey upon Those who are weak,
The Young whose minds are Innocent,
And those grown Weary and Exhausted
In a Decadent Civilization.
Cruel, Pitiless, of a Cunning Mind.
Unwilling to Relinguish Dominion of the Earth.
They Are Cold, Knowing No Remorse.
They hath Made UnWitted Slaves of a Blinded Humanity.
Seemingly Lost in Meditation,
Their Cold Eyes
Stare Sightlessly into Nothingness.
But they are not there.
Nay, they hath Left their slithering forms,
Lurking, Skulking, Crawling on the Astral Plane,
Stealthily Defiling Forever the unwary minds
Of those who Sleep Unguarded.
Committing Perverse Acts of Torment,
Violent Sexual Atrocities
Of Which None Dare Speak,
Once they Have Been Awakened.
And thus they keep us Ever Subjugated,
Hopeless, Fearful
And despairing in the Deep Hidden Abysses of our Souls.
Helpless, Unable to Escape the Unending Quiet Desperation.
We have Been Broken down
Conditioned to Accept Unconscious Slavery.
[Guitar solo]
SSS Haa Set Yoth.
O Seti, Great One, My Father.
I Hath Finished for Thee Thy Temple at Abydos.
And Made Known the Lineage of the Blessed.
Those Who Came Before.
I Hath Exalted Mine Ancestors.
I Hath Honoured with the Blood and Sweat of Many.
The Legacy of Thy Conquests.
T Hath Glorified Thy Temple of Set in Avaris.
In Karnak, Hath I Raised the Great Hall.
In Thebes, Sublime Monuments, Grand Pylons, Obelisks
And Colossal Statues Are Inscribed With My Name.
By Divine Right I Hath Usurped the Monuments of My Predecessors.
I Hath Created Imposing Rock Hewn Temples.
Monumental Colossi in Mine Own Image.
Like as unto the Images of Amun, Re, Ptah.
I Hath Caused to Rise a Formidable Legacy Carved in Stone.
In the Mountain of Meha.
Intended to Endure a Million Years.
In the Violence of Sekhem.
I am Become Montu,
God of War in the Two Lands.
I Hath Suppressed the Rebellious.
I Hath Driven Back Chaos and Disorder.
The Conquered Chiefs of All Foreign Lands are Beneath My Sandals.
I Hath Emblazoned My Countless Victories in Immortality.
Carved in Rocks as Living Images of the Ritual Massacre of Mine Enemies.
I am User-Maat-Re Setepene-re,
Sovereign of Sovereigns,
Beloved of Amun,
Chosen of Re,
I Hath Made Manifest the Grandeur of My Empire.
To be Worthy of Thy Legacy.
O Seti, Great One.
User-Maat-Re, Thou Hast Done Nothing.
User-Maat-Re, Thou Hast Done Nothing.
(Guitar solo)
User-Maat-Re, Thou Hast Done Nothing.
User-Maat-Re, Thou Hast Done Nothing.
Nothing.
Demon who denies me
Who cuts off heads and severs necks
Who renders incoherent the words I speak
Sealing my mouth against the magic which resides in me
You who shall not see me
Kneel on your knees
Go with thy face behind thee
Wander without purpose
With your face averted
Looking back averted
Looking back in dread
Upon the tormentors belonging to Shu
Who relentlessly follow you
Crawling after you
To cut off your head and sever your neck
At the behest of one who has despoiled his lord
On account o your threats unto me
To reduce me to incoherence
To cut off my head
To sever my neck
To seal my mouth
On account of the magic which resides within my body
May your face be downcast at the sight of my countenance
May the flame of the eye or Horus go forth against you
For abhorrence of you is in Osiris
Thus abhorrence of you is in me
Go back to the tormentors belonging to Shu
Dead yet deathless
Who relentlessly follow you
Shambling tirelessly on rotting limbs
Crawling after you
I will not speak the spell for not dying against, nay
I will not speak the spell for not dying again
I am the murderous Seth
My hostility made manifest
in the rebellousness that is humanity
Entwined in coils of wrath
I disrupt the continuity of the sublime
and defy the words spoken from the mouth of Ra
We are they whom the gods detest
Unrepentant
I deny the secrecy of the texts
Impenitent
I blaspheme the sacred scrolls
Unwilling to submit
I embrace what Ra hath called profane
I shall not hail to he who rises and sets
I shall not bend to he who imprisons myriads at his will
He who would bathe in my blood
and drink my gore
Embraced within the coils of Set
I have no fear of the second death
Of being slashed with knives
Of being butchered on the slaughtering blocks
No god or demon will feed on my entrails or drink my blood
No blind servant of the throne of Ra
shall I willingly allow to devour me
No consuming flames of uttermost damnation shall I fear
My tongue speaking words of redemption shall ever penetrate my will
Darkly splendid I remain unconquered
Supreme and terrible Ra
Who maketh gods and men tremble before thee
I am counted amongst legions of the unrighteous
who dread not being immersed in pits of fire
I Hath Been Immersed Head Down.
In that, Which Floweth In Abundance from the Slaughtered Ones.
I Hath Been Made to Eat Feces and Drink Urine.
I Lay in Chains before the Undying Flames.
I am Helpless in the Presence of He Who is Master of the Pits of Fire.
I am Humbled and Broken in the Presence
of Those Who Shall Consume My Shade in the Pits of Burning.
(Guitar solo)
I Didst Bow in Homage to the Spawn of Set.
I Hath Kneeled in Homage to the Servants of Shesses.
In Rebellion, I Did Recite the Formulae of Rites in Glorification of the Lords of Filth.
I Hath Recited the Formulae of Rites in Glorification of the Lords of Wickedness.
He Who Hath Dominion of Khenti-Amenti Hath Uttered,
"Hack in Pieces and Cut Asunder the Bodies of Mine Enemies
and the Members of the Dead Who Hath been Turned Upside Down.
Scatter in Pieces Their Shades.
They Shall be Cast Down Headlong into the Pits of Fire.
They Shall not Escape nor be able to Flee From the Flames Which Art in the Serpent Set-Heh."
I burn.
(Guitar solo)
My Heart Desires to Burn in the Pit of Fire.
Allow My Ka to Blaze in Flames and be Utterly Consumed.
I Stand in Submission Before the Living Uraei of Flame
Who Hurls Forth Burning Heat Against The Tongues of Those Who Hath Spoken Evil.
Incinerate Me in the Pits of Burning.
Sear Me in the Pits of the Damned.
Immolate Me in the Pits of Torment.
I Seek only the Charnel Bliss and the Blackened Caress of the Burning Pits of the Duat.
(Guitar solo)
I Burn.
I Burn.
I Burn.
I Burn in this Tomb of Fire.
I Burn in this Tomb of Fire.
I Burn in this Tomb of Fire.
Asfetiu
Asfetiu
Fiends, criminals, slaves, blasphemers
The word of Ra is against ye
Ye are fettered and bound with leather straps
Helpless, doomed, wailing in unendurable torment
Lashed to the forked slave stick by the neck
Lashed to the slave stick
Abata ankh t khet
Neba t steb tcha
Lashed to the slave stick
Ra pronounceth the formulae against thee
The Eye of Horus is prepared to attack thee
Sekhmet uttereth words of flame
Against thee and pierceth thy breast
Your evil deeds have turned against you
Your plottings have come upon you
Your abominable acts
You shall be lashed to the slave stick
Abui, the god who burns the dead
Shall leave you smoldering in exile from the Netherworld
Abati, the gorer
Causes you to howl like a jackal in anguish
Your doom hath been decreed by Ra
Your unjust and perverse judgments are upon yourselves
The wickedness of your words of cursing are upon you
It is you who hath committed the unutterable and wrought iniquity in the Great Hall
Your corruptible bodies shall be cut to pieces
Your souls shall have no existence
Ye shall never again see Ra as he journeyeth in the Hidden Land
The doom of Ra is upon you
Lashed to the slave stick
Abata ankh t khet
Neba t steb tcha
Lashed to the slave stick
Abata ankh t khet
Neba t steb tcha
[Music and lyrics by Karl Sanders]
I Hath Dreamed Black and Grim, Desolate Visions
Of the Pre-Human Serpent Folk and Communed with Long-dead Reptiles.
Silently Watching Through the Ages in Cold, Curious Apathy.
The Unending Sorrows and Suffering of an Abysmal Humankind.
I Dare Not Again Surrender to the Deep Sleep Which Ever Beckons Me.
Lest I in Dread.
Shudder at the Nameless Things.
That May at this Very Moment.
Be Crawling and Lurking.
At the Slimy Edges of My Conciousness.
Slithering Forth from the Bowels of Their Infernal Pits.
Worshipping Their Ancient Stone Idols and Carving Their Own Detestable Likenesses On Subterranean Obelisks of Blood-soaked Granite.
[Guitar solo]
I Await the Day When the Claws of Doom Shall Rise.
To Drag Down in Their Reeking Talons the Weary and Hopeless Remnants of a Jaded, Decayed, War-despairing Mankind.
Of a Day When the Earth Shall Open Wide and the Black, Bottomless, Yawning Abyss Engulfs the Arrogant Civilizations of Man.
Chthonic Retribution Shall Ascend.
Amidst Universal Pandemonium and Those Who Slither and Crawl Shall Rise Again Once More to Inherit the Earth.
[H.P. Lovecraft was one of the most influential authors or horror stories of the last century. The last few decades have seen Lovecraft's rise from a forgotten author of phantasmagoric pulp magazine fiction to a subject of serious academic study. (A second major biography has recently appeared.)
Lovecraft's influence on other writers in the horror genre has been significant. His writing is considered to be seminal, and it still exerts a powerful influence on artists and film makers. A distinctive feature of Lovecraft's ficton that sets it apart from that of many writers in the genre is his construction, as he wrote, of a "background of consistent and elaborate pseudo-myth". Thus, his invention of the ultimate grimoire - the Necronomicon - was an important part of his fictional modus operandi.
Lovecraft first referred to the Necronomicon in 1922 in his short story "The Hound". ("The Hound" was later collected in the volume Dagon and Other Macabre Tales, which was published by Arkham House in 1965.) He would refer to the Necronomicon in several other stories. A circle of writers who were friends and correspondents with Lovecraft also started referring to the Necronomicon in their horror tales, which in turn solidified its "existence". The fact that they would refer to the Necronomicon along with actual books dealing with witchcraft and demonology helped to sell the illusion. Inspired by Lovecraft's lead, this literary "circle" also invented arcane and "forbidden" texts: Clark Ashton Smith's The Book of Eibon, Robert E. Howard's Unaussprechlichen Kulten and Robert Bloch's Cultes de Goules and De Vermis Mysteriis were all forbidden books invented to add further depth to their spine-tingling tales of horror. The "Lovecraft Circle's" practice of inventing "forbidden books" is very well documented. Not only did they "invent" such books, they even went to great lengths to create bogus histories, which only added to the illusion of their existence.
Robert E. Howard first introduced Nameless Cults through his story "The Children of the Night" (1931). In 1932, Lovecraft came up with a German title for it - Ungenennte Heidenthume. Several of Lovecraft's correspondents balked at this unwieldy title. August Derleth came up with the title Unaussprechlichen Kulten, which stuck, despite the fact that this more literally means "Unpronounceable Cults": "Die Unaussprechlichen Kulten" or "Unaussprechliche Kulten" would be more correct. The reason for this debate amongst the circle of authors is clear - the German is technically incorrect. The adjective would end in -e for the indefinite plural, not an -n, to with: Unaussprechliche Kulte... If we wish to accept "Nameless Cults" as being the correct wording for an English translation, we would have to accept "Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten" as being the realm German title of the work. The addition of the "Von" also allows us to keep the -n ending (perhaps even more appropriate would have been "Die Namenlosen Kulte"). In any case, although Lovecraft doesn't mention this forbidden text any more than he does others, but he does give its publication "history" in the story "Out of the Aeons":
"... a glance at the hieroglyphs by any reader of von Junzt's horrible Nameless Cults would have established a linkage of unmistakable significance. At this period, however, the readers of that monstrous blasphemy were exceedingly few; copies having been incredible scarce in the interval between the suppression of the original Düsseldorf edition (1839) and of the Bridewell translation (1845) and the publication of the expurgates reprint by the Golden Goblin Press in 1909."
According to surviving correspondence from Robert Howard to Lovecraft:
"1839: Unaussprechlichen Kulten was published in Düsseldorf. Written by Friedrich von Junzt [read Necronomicon in Greek translation]. Von Junzt dies six months after returning from trip to Mongolia while working on second book. Less than a dozen copies exist of this edition. Von Junzt relates many stories of the survivals of cults worshipping pre-human entities or prehistoric gods, such as Ghatanothoa, Bran, and others. The principle obscurity of this book is in Von Junzt's use of the term "keys" - phrase used many times by him, in various relations, such as descriptions of the infamous Black Stone in Hungary and the legendary Temple of the Toad in Honduras."
Now, where all this dusty old literary shenanigans takes a more Nile-relevant turn of events... As I was working on this song "Unaussprechlichen Kulten" and driving myself nuts trying to figure out whether to stick with the original Lovecraft variant of the title or the more correct linguistic one, I got a call from Orion Landau (Relapse's resident graphics genius).
Orion, at the time was working on the cover for my "Saurian Meditation" side project. He contacted me for a quote that he could use for the CD layout relating to the album's theme. I was compelled to reply, "Oh, yeah sure" (as if there was some book on my shelf ready-made with authentic quotes concerning reptilian meditative states), but on the other end of the phone sat stark silence. In that pregnant moment of silence, a thunderbolt struck me, as I had, of course, been working on the Nile song gathering as much information that I could find on the much-vaunted "Unaussprechlichen Kulten". I laughed, and said, "What the heck. Sure, I'll send a quote over. No problem." So, with Lovecraftian invention, I fashioned a fictitious quote (from the fictitious Von Junzt) from his fictitious Unaussprechlichen Kulten.
The Dominion of Seker.
Barren Desert of Eternal Night.
Shunned by Ra.
Behind the Gate Aha-Neteru.
The Wastelands of Seker.
Eldest Lord of Impenetrable Blackness.
Death God of Memphis.
He of the Darkness and Decay of the Tomb.
He of Rosetau.
The Mouth of the Passage to the Underworld.
Closely Guarded by Terrible Serpents.
Who Careth Not for His Own Cult of Worshippers.
Seker.
Ancient and Dead.
Primeval Master of the World Below.
Remaineth Unwitnessed, Unseen, Hidden in His Secret Chamber.
His Primitive Graven Image like as a Hawk-headed Man.
Shrouded and Swathed in Tomb Wrappings.
Standing Between a Pair of Wings which Issue Forth from the Back of a Monstrous Serpent.
Having Two Heads.
Having Two Necks and Whose Tail Terminates in a Human Skull.
In Thick Darkness.
Amid Violent Tempests of Unendurable Cacophony.
His Serpents Make Offerings unto His Image and Live upon Their Own Fire.
His Servants.
Hideous Reptiles of Terrifying Aspect.
Whose Work is Nothing Less than the Annihilation of the Wicked.
Consume the Bodies of the Damned by Flames of Liquid Fire They Emit from Their Mouths.
And the Goddess Quetet Tent which Liveth on the Blood of the Dead.
On Their Blocks.
They Cut into Pieces the Flesh of the Dead.
Singing Hymns of Torture and Mutilation to Their Master.
Accompanied by the Wailings and Anguish of the Damned.
They Wreak Destruction upon the Wicked.
Those Who Hath Not Recited the Formulae.
Nor Made the Sacrifices or Who Know Not the Words of Power.
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
Sebek, Sochet, Suchos.
Dread Lord of the Marsh.
He Who Crawleth Amongst the Sacred Waters.
And Devoureth the Flesh of That Which is Sacrificed unto Him.
Tua Ashemu. Tua Ashemu.
Rekhes Au Sebek. Rekhes Au Sebek.
Tua Ashemu. Tua Ashemu.
Sebek, Neter, Ashemu.
Whose Teeth Rendeth and Teareth With Terrible Violence.
Restore the Eyes of the Dead.
Collect Their Skulls.
Join Their Bones Together Again.
Lord of the Temple of the Mount of Sunrise.
Open the Way unto the Underworld.
Cause the Dead to Rise to New Life.
Bring the Child Horus upon the Throne of Osiris.
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 into the underworld
Mut the troublesome dead
Plague me no longer
Thou art cursed
Thy name is crushed
Thine clay is smashed and broken
Thy vegeance against the living
Blasphemer, heretic, defiler of the sacred ones
Thou art deprived of your limbs
Thy nose shall be split
Thou art cast down and overthrown
Ra-Harmakhis destroyeth thee
He damneth thee and driveth hooks into thy body
Isis sayeth in mighty voice
"The number of they days are cut short
Thy bones are broken to splinters, thy vertebrae are severed."
Horus hammereth thy head
The sons of Heru smash you with their blows
Thou art decimated by their violence
Thou fallest backwards as thou retreateth like unto Apep
The great company of gods gather in retribution
They hath passed judgment upon thee
They cast down your heresy
They spit up on thee and thy rebellion
And turn their back upon thee
Horus repulseth thy crocodile
Sut defileth thy tomb
Nephthys hacketh thee in pieces
The sons of Horus speareth thee
The gods repulse thee
The flame of their fire is against thee
Cursed art thou, impaled thou art, flayed art thou
Heretic, thou art cast down
Blows are rained upon thee
Dismemberment and slaughter are on thee
Thy crocodile is trampled underfoot
Thy soul is wrenched from its shade
Thy name is erased
Thy spells are impotent
Nevermore shalt thou emerge from thy den
Thy city Armana lays in ruin
Damned art thy accursed soul and shadow
Die O one, which art consumed
Thy name is buried in oblivion
Silence covereth thee and thy false one
Down upon thy belly
Be drowned, be drowned, be vomited upon
The gods have pronounced thy doom
They scorn thee and thy false Aten
The ancient ones turn their backs upon thee
Thou art cast down, overthrown
Thy reign of heresy is ended
Those thou hast driven out have risen against thee
Cast down the heretic
Cast down the heretic
Cast down the heretic
Khnemu draggeth thy spawn to the block of slaughter
Sick shalt thou be at the mention of thine own name
Sekhmet teareth out thy bowels and casteth them into flames
She filleth thine orifices with fire
Uadjit shutteth thee in the pits of burning
Nevermore shall you breathe or procreate
Neither thy house or tomb exist
Thou shalt drive thy teeth into thine own body
Heretic, thou art cast down
Overthrown, ended, hacked in pieces, slaughtered, butchered