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Carach Angren’s Where The Corpses Sink Forever:

Tragedy and Catharsis.

An analysis of songwriting and performance.

By Clara Westenra.

Table of contents

1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1

2. Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 4

2.1. An Ominous Recording .................................................................................................... 5

2.2. Lingering in an Imprint Haunting ..................................................................................... 5

2.3. Bitte Tötet Mich ............................................................................................................... 8

2.4. The Funerary Dirge Of A Violinist .................................................................................. 11

2.5. Sir John ........................................................................................................................... 13

2.6. Spectral Infantry Battalions ........................................................................................... 16

2.7. General Nightmare ........................................................................................................ 16

2.8. Little Hector What Have You Done? .............................................................................. 18

2.9. These Fields Are Lurking (Seven Pairs Of Demon Eyes) ................................................ 20

3. Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 22

1. Introduction

Where The Corpses Sink Forever, Carach Angren’s third full-length studio album, was

released on May 18th, 2012, through the French record label Seasons of Mist, with whom the

trio signed in late 2011. Based in Limburg, these Dutchmen produce a unique brand of music

which they would rather not classify as any specific existing genre, but which, in order to

give listeners a basic idea of their sound, they prefer to describe as “Haunting theatrical

black metal”. Indeed, whoever listens to their songs will immediately realize that the band

has a strong flair for the dramatic, and, most obviously, a penchant for horror, particularly

ghost stories. The complex and progressive compositions consist of, on the one hand, the

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usual black metal ingredients (heavily distorted guitars, blastbeats and screamed vocals),

but on the other hand, also heavily rely on synthesizers and piano; and often, classical

instruments such as the violin and cello are additionally included. The result of this fusion is

a distinctive atmosphere of mystery and horror, mildly tinged with subtle romance. This

combination of contrasts makes for an intense aural experience, as this form of musical

expression manages to equally represent both ‘beast’ and ‘beauty’ combined. This is

accomplished in such a manner that it seems as though these (apparently) opposing

elements were naturally meant to complement one another.

“Symphonic black metal” is a subgenre that has existed since the mid-1990s and is

characterized by its incorporation of orchestral elements into black metal music. Among the

pioneers of this style are bands such as Emperor, Limbonic Art, Cradle of Filth and Dimmu

Borgir. Undeniably, these acts have to some extent influenced newer bands who play a

similar style of symphonic/melodic metal; Carach Angren, for example, take keyboards-

based metal music to a higher level. Fortunately, the synthesizers the band uses are of

stellar quality and can at times fool listeners into believing they are hearing a real orchestra.

Furthermore, the base of the band’s music is formed by keyboard compositions, since guitar-

lines and drums are more often than not written subsequently. Thus, it can be said that

Carach Angren is at the core greatly influenced by classical music; indeed, their main

composer, Ardek (Clemens Wijers) has been classically trained for many years and also

studied composition. His appreciation for orchestral film scores becomes evident in his

composing style for Carach Angren, since the music tends to adapt to and underline the

lyrical content. Therefore, the songs contain several variations of melody, tempo and,

occasionally, time signature, though they always each have a recognizable prevailing main

theme and never sound unorganized – on the contrary, after a careful listen, one will be able

to discern a certain logic inherent in their compositional structure.

This kind of ‘film score’ approach perfectly suits the band’s intention, which is to tell horrific

stories through concept albums and to bring these tales to life through music. The result is a

‘cinematic’ sort of sound, which, combined with story-telling lyrics, creates an effect similar

to watching a film, except that the visuals must be created by the listeners’ imagination. The

lyrics tend to be very concrete and descriptive, and can paint vivid pictures in the listeners’

mind’s-eye. Emotionality is central, since the band wishes to take the listener on a thrill ride

of feelings, primarily fear. What makes the lyrics compelling is the fact that it is never just

one emotion that they cause listeners to feel, but several, as when reading a book or

watching a film. Sometimes, they allow for a brief moment of hope or relief, only to surprise

listeners with more tragedy and dread shortly thereafter. Occasionally, despite their

macabre subject matter, certain lyrical passages may be even perceived as slightly

humorous, due to their exorbitant descriptions – as if to distract from the gruesomeness and

to take away some of its gravity, if only for a short while. However, despite these few

interventions, the lyrics as a whole – although they may be deemed slightly over-the-top at

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times – cannot truly be regarded as even remotely ‘comical’, especially not on Where The

Corpses Sink Forever – since a tone of seriousness marks them overall.

Perhaps this impression is influenced by the way the vocalist Seregor (Dennis Droomers)

narrates the words that are, for the most part, written by himself. Enunciating exceptionally

clearly, and with appropriately varying intonation, his lyrics can be easily understood

despite his very distinctive and ferocious black metal screams (which rarely exceed the

middle range, and occasionally, for special effects, dive into the lower extreme vocals

spectrum more typical of death metal). The theatricality of Carach Angren’s sound is not

only created by the dramatic music alone, but also by vocal expression. As would a primo

uomo in an opera, Seregor as vocalist and actor-narrator effectively modulates his voice in

order to bring the tales he wants to tell, as well as the many characters involved, to life, and

he does so with audible fervor. While not physically present in a pure audio recording, he

attempts to put as much of his passion for role-playing as possible into his vocal

performance, and indeed, his voice is just as important an instrument as are the keyboards,

guitars and drums. Though the music alone could perhaps speak for itself, the vocals greatly

contribute to the theatrical and unsettling effect of Carach Angren’s songs. Not only does

Seregor scream and grunt, but also occasionally whispers, laughs, and even uses his normal

‘clean’ voice in order to convey what he wants to tell the listeners, and what he wants them

to feel, in the best possible way. These distinctive features (that are more often found in

(musical) theatre and film rather than in popular music, including metal) are in part

responsible for Carach Angren’s unique identity, and cause this band to stand out from the

vast majority of other symphonic metal acts. Moreover, another unique trait is that the lyrics

contain some brief passages in languages other than English (on Where The Corpses Sink

Forever, German and French; on their previous albums, also Dutch), with the purpose of

realizing the narrated context as accurately as possible.

Music, lyrics and vocals are equally responsible for the effect Carach Angren has on the

listener. Especially on Where The Corpses Sink Forever, the band is able to evoke sensations

of terror (arguably) far greater than on their previous two releases, Death Came Through A

Phantom Ship (2010) and Lammendam (2008), which is probably due to the fact that the

concept of this album is war. Since the stories center on the individual torment of several

characters in different war situations, and the paranormal plays a less obvious role

compared to the previous albums, this release is characterized by pronounced realism. Since

traumatizing war experiences are indisputably more real, and more likely to have been truly

suffered, than spectral entities haunting the woods or the sea, the listeners will find

themselves empathizing with the war-torn characters and thus be, themselves, caused to

feel the horror – the fear, agony, depression, and abhorrence – of the fictional protagonists.

Another difference to their previous records is that the story for Where The Corpses Sink

Forever is entirely original, created by the band members, whereas their other releases

dealt with already existing legends.

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This essay attempts to find out what kinds of devices the band as both songwriters and

performers relies on in order to create an album that succeeds at having a profound

emotional impact on the listener. The focus will be primarily on the lyrics, and to a lesser

extent, the music accompanying them. Album lyrics will be directly quoted. Literary devices

will be marked in various ways in order to demonstrate examples of rhyme (underlined),

assonance (repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds: light blue marking), alliteration

(repetition of the same sounds at the beginning of words: green marking), metaphor (figure

of speech: red writing) and simile (figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are

compared: red writing), and anaphora (repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of

several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs: pink, purple, dark blue, dark green

marking).

Note: Naturally, not every listener will have the same reactions, and the way the music is

perceived will depend on his/her personality as well as experience. At this point, I can only

use my own subjective response as a reference, though other people have mentioned having

very similar reactions.

Songwriting credits:

Lyrics by Seregor:

“Lingering in an Imprint Haunting”

“Bitte Tötet Mich”

“The Funerary Dirge of a Violinist”

“Spectral Infantry Battalions”

“Little Hector What Have You

Done?”

Lyrics by Ardek:

“Sir John”

“General Nightmare”

Lyrics by Ardek and Erik Wijnands:

“An Ominous Recording”

“These Fields Are Lurking (Seven

Pairs of Demon Eyes)”

Music written by Carach Angren.

Keyboards, Piano, Orchestration: Ardek

Guitars, vocals: Seregor

Drums: Namtar (Ivo Wijers)

2. Analysis

Content summary

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Where The Corpses Sink Forever can be considered a (fictional) frame narrative, i.e., a story

within a story; or more precisely, several separate stories which are all connected to the

main storyline: an executioner is ordered to shoot seven prisoners (who are actually undead)

and each had a particularly tragic war experience. Following a short introductory track,

which is narrated by the executioner, are seven songs that each tell the individual prisoners’

story. The final ninth track reverts to the beginning sequence of the tale and focuses on the

executioner, who has died and finds himself haunted by the seven prisoners’ ghosts and is

tortured by images of their war traumas, forced to re-live them as if they were his own, over

and over again, for eternity, as his damnation. The prisoners’ stories are not all from the

same war, which means that they have died in different times. It is not explained how and

why the executioner happened to be ordered to shoot them, so listeners will need to use

their imaginative capacity in order to come up with a plausible answer.

2.1. An Ominous Recording

This two-minute intro sets the appropriately bleak and portentous mood for what the

listener is to expect in the coming 43 minutes. It quietly begins with the sound of rain and an

unobtrusive but eerie piano melody, which continues as the disquieting sound of a shotgun

being loaded can be heard, instantly followed the menacing sound of double bass strings

and the disconsolate voice of a man saying:

"Sunday, October third. 6 p.m. Rain.. . I was ordered to execute seven prisoners. L ined up, blindfolded and chained to a stake in a f ield.”

Lamenting violins set in, additionally to the piano and bass viols. Soon after, further loading

of a gun, and finally, shot is heard, and the man continues his narrative, now backed up only

by the ominous string bass as the piano discontinues:

“It seemed as if my bullets couldn't reach them. Instead the seven grinned and seven horrible visions of war, one by one, captured my soul. .."

Another six shots follow – seven overall. The violins re-appear and one can hear strange

screams, as if of demons, uttering repeated words in an incomprehensible language. More

strings and deep, dark piano tunes follow, the tempo quickens and the demonic noises

gradually increase in volume, and the listener begs for a resolution of the recently built

musical tension.

2.2. Lingering in an Imprint Haunting

This is, however, not given immediately. Frantic violins and an echoing demonic scream

connects the intro with the second track, which begins just as suspenseful as the previous

one ended, with hectic strings introducing the song’s predominant melody used during the

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verses that will follow. Only after 42 seconds of the second track does the ‘metal’ set in:

rapid drumming, dissonant guitars and low piano notes accompany the first word screamed

by the vocalist, as if an order:

“Kil l!”

The first verse begins and the familiar melody heard in the introduction of this track

reappears on synthetic brass, alongside guitars, drums and bass:

Here I wa lk down th is god less t ren ch wh ere th e corp ses s in k f orever int o sh al low marsh y grou nd s . I can 't rememb er conf ront in g t hese ext reme forms of v io len ce . Kn ee-d eep in mud , wh ere sk ies weep leaden tears and b lood . I t ' s h ard to b reat he w i th in t h i s th ick c loak of su lph urou s m ist , con ju r in g s l au gh ter in g sold iers int o s i cken in g s i lhouettes . F rom th is f orsaken b at t le f ie ld n o so u l can b e d i smissed . As i f th e dev i l i s in ch arge , g iv ing orders f rom t he d ept h s o f th e ab yss .

The speaker is evidently a soldier having a kind of soliloquy, describing his experiences whilst

in a battlefield in real time. His first sentence contains the album title, pointing out that the

military excavation is the horrible place ‘where the corpses sink forever’. He metaphorically

describes the trench as “godless” – that is, lacking moral, and, due to all the murder,

constantly violating the biblical sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill”. The field is

“forsaken”, a place where the narrator is confronted with violence more extreme than he

has ever experienced before. The listener can immediately visualize the scene: mud, blood,

tears – filth, injuries, desperation. The vocalist simulates the character’s gasp for air during

the line “It’s hard to breathe”, enabling the listener to envision a heavily smoke-filled

environment in which the “sulphurous mist” is personified as a kind of necromancer who

“conjur[es] slaughtering soldiers into sickening silhouettes”, as if summoning their spirits

into the mortal realm, but in which death is ironically more present than life. Indeed, the

battlefield can be regarded as a gruesome limbo located between life and death. The “skies

weep leaden tears and blood” – this could refer to both rain, and bullets being fired. Not

only is the trench “godless”, but it seems “as if the devil is in charge”, giving orders from Hell

itself. It should be noted that while “sulphurous” can refer to gunpowder, the word also

means ‘hellish’.

There are some rhyming words and numerous assonances and alliterations, most obviously

in the section

It's hard to breathe within this thick cloak of sulphurous mist, conjuring slaughtering soldiers into sickening silhouettes. From this forsaken battlefield no soul can be dismissed. As if the devil is in charge, giving orders from the depths of the abyss.

The prominent “s”-sounds bring to mind something threatening like a hissing snake ready to

assault its prey, thus on a level of sound reflecting the soldiers’ attacks.

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The second verse begins, like the first (“Kill!”), with another exclamation:

“Goddamn!”

The character, a private (soldier of the lowest rank), then describes the weapons’

devastating effects and his fight for survival:

“ I t ' s comin g hard . F i re f ight and waves o f bomb ard -men t s b l o win g so i l , bone and f lesh apart . Ru nn in g t o su r v ive maybe t he last p r ivat e st i l l a l i ve . Su dd en ly i t st op s! I tu rn arou nd and see n o en emy. There 's n oth ing b eh in d me .”

Following the soldier’s surprise, a new melody ‘surprises’ the listener, which turns out to be

the chorus. Indeed, it is sung (with ‘clean’ male vocals) in a manner reminiscent of Gregorian

chants, as if intended for a Requiem mass in remembrance of the dead. The melody is in

minor, and the vocals are backed up by weeping violins and wailing harmonic guitars:

I can ' t be l ieve my eyes . I can ' t be l ieve what I see . A t ime less , f rozen scenery where nat ure st ands st i l l ! Except f or me !

The soldier looks in disbelief at the “frozen scenery”, namely other fallen soldiers, and feels

as if he is unable to escape the horror of the moment – as if time, and nature, “stand still”

and there is no future. He seems to be the only survivor.

So st ran ge t o see a s t i l l image of th i s in fern a l rea l i t y . St ar in g at sh rap ne l an d bu l le ts on an in comp let e journey. Wh en su ic id e b urden s my min d , I 'm st art led b y a horr ib le screamin g f rom beh ind . Lu r in g me to a sp ot wh ere a f r iend of my p latoon walked int o an ambu sh, h e screamed : "P lease k i l l me! Ch ar l ie ’ s comin g soon! "

The desolate solider contemplates suicide, but then is surprised by the horrible screams of a

friend of his who demands that he kill him before the enemy does. The line “Please kill me!

Charlie’s coming soon!” is uttered as an authentic cry and can be heard far back in the mix,

reflecting where the narrator’s friend is located (namely, behind him). Since the enemy is

referred to as “Charlie”, the listener might figure out that the war the character experiences

is the Vietnam War, and that he is an American soldier opposed to the communist Viet Cong

army. The Viet Cong was referred to as “Charlie”, which is the third letter in the NATO

phonetic alphabet. When American Units would engage the Viet Cong, they would call over

the radio that they were fighting Victor (phonetic of V) Charlie (phonetic of C). This

eventually evolved into simply ‘Charlie’ and became a commonly used slang expression.

However, the narrator wants to avoid the risk of being heard, which is why he refuses to kill

his friend with his 1911 handgun. The line

M y 1911 i s t oo lou d, th at ' s wh y I reach f or t he kn i fe .

is uttered by the vocalist quietly muttering the words under his breath, as the character

would so as not to be heard by anyone.

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But, as the soldier reaches for the alternative, a knife, he hesitates and realizes that he does

not have the heart to commit the terrible deed, and in desperation cries out,

Th en , again , h es it at ion! I can not t ake h i s l i f e!

The listener will be probably empathize with the fictional soldier who is caught in this

terrible position, and possibly imagine his/her own reaction in a hypothetical situation of

being asked to kill his/her friend. This may evoke the listener’s compassion.

The final verse is again introduced by an exclamation – “Goddamned f uck ing gooks!”

– gooks being a derogatory term used by American soldiers for Asians at the time of the

Vietnam War – as the soldier curses at the Viet Cong army that has captured his friend,

causing him to die in a way he wished to avoid:

He 's cap tu red b y t he en e my. D ragged away f or d ays of t or tu re, screamin g th ese last word s at me: "You son of a wh ore shou ld b e t err i f ied ! In t h i s h e l l I ' l l wa it f or y ou!" And r ight before I st ep on t hat m in e I ask myse l f : "D id h e ju st sp eak th e t r uth ?"

The protagonist is emotionally tormented by the fact that his inability to kill his friend results

in a fate far worse than an instant death for him. The captive abuses the soldier as a “son of

a whore” and tells him that he will wait for him in hell, as if foreshadowing the soldier’s

demise that occurs instantly thereafter, as he steps on a mine, prepared to be blown to

smithereens. The chorus melody returns and the narrator realizes what is happening:

Br ie f ly I compreh end, a l l t h i s t ime I was d amned. H is grudge keeps me in he l l f or et ern it y . Every t ime I d ie he wai t s f or m e . Th is i s my dest in y . . .

He seems to be damned to re-live the infernal situation repeatedly in a paranormal context,

unable to escape the hell he finds himself in. His friend will forever hold a grudge against him

for not having spared him from his torturous fate in time.

The song ends with the mournful chorus melody and finally, the same harsh dissonant chord

with which it originally began, as if to symbolize the infinite chain of damnation.

2.3. Bitte Tötet Mich

The title is German, which leads to the assumption that this story is set during World War II,

and is translated as “Please Kill Me”, a familiar phrase already heard in the previous song.

This time, the story is mainly told from a third-person narrator who is not himself a character

involved. The lyrics curiously shift between past and present tense; the use of past tense

gives the story a kind of fairy-tale flavor, whereas the sequences in the present tense make

the listener feel as if he/she is a present witness of what is happening.

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In contrast to “Lingering in an Imprint Haunting”, this song immediately starts off with

aggressive blastbeats, guitars and staccato strings, and an introductory scream, before the

first verse is heard which introduces a suicidal soldier as the protagonist and ‘reflector’

character (i.e., the narrator focuses on his thoughts and feelings):

An oth er t a le of t rage d y. He made th e ch o ice t o en d h is l i fe . So i t i s wr i t t en , p ass ion ate ly . Th is so ld ier ' s f ervent wish f or su ic ide . H is sou l t orn asund er by th e horro rs of war . One carry in g so mu ch d eath wi l l soon care f or l i f e n o more .

The strings modulate to a minor key and thereby foreshadow a very tragic sequence of

events:

On t he f i r s t day t he so ld ier wou ld qu iet ly ret r eat t o sh oot h imse l f t hrou gh t he h ead not far f rom h is inf an tr y .

Suddenly, the point of view shifts into the first-person perspective of the soldier saying to himself:

" I can hear f oot s teps . Someone 's coming near . Fuck! Should I s t ay? D isap pear ? … Es i st me in best er F reund. D ieser So ldat i s t immer f ür mich da. Quick ly I put my Luger aw ay . I t hought t h i s was my last day but I f a i led!" "Bi t te t öt et mich! Bi t t e t öt et mich!"

The German line “Es ist mein bester Freund. Dieser Soldat ist immer für mich da“ translates

as “It is my best friend. This soldier is always there for me”. It is important that the listener

understands this, since the person whom the soldier heard “coming near” is his friend. The

protagonist puts his Luger aside and refrains from shooting himself because he does not

want his friend to see him committing suicide – much to his displeasure, however, since he

wished for this to be his “last day”. He repeatedly cries out, as if to an audience who is not

present, “Bitte tötet mich!”, begging for his own death. While this plea is twice uttered, the

delicate sound of a celesta can be heard for a brief moment. This has the effect of lending

the gruesome utterance a kind of ‘celestial’ attribute, as if portraying the soldier’s death

wish as a release from the hell he is experiencing and his fantasy of subsequent ascension

into a ‘heavenly’ place.

The second verse mirrors the first by beginning with a description of what the solider goes

through on the following day:

On t he secon d d ay h e op en ed h is eye s . Con su med b y sadness h e t hou ght : "Tod ay i s th e d ay I d ie . I wi l l take my l i f e wi th th e rop e, a b u l let or mayb e th e kn i f e! "

Harmonic guitars duel in somber minor scale, reflecting the soldier’s depressive state of

mind – though still alive, he already feels dead inside:

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So d ep ressed . So empt y . Wand er in g , hop eless , searchin g for d eath . H is sou l fee ls so o ld and so co ld . The on ly d esi re l ef t i s h i s yearn in g f or d eath .

At this point comes a musical bridge in which only despairing screamed vocals are

accompanied by a prominent orchestral arrangement, with wailing strings and clanging bells

that seem to symbolize what the soldier hopes is the striking of his final hour. The narrator

describes the soldier’s next attempt on ending his life by hanging himself in an apparently

deserted farmstead, but which is unexpectedly interrupted by someone entering who tries

to dissuade him from doing away with himself:

He st u mb led across an o ld farmst ead an d en tered th i s wood en sh ack . Th ere he f oun d a rop e an d t he gu t s t o jump an d h ang wi th a b roken neck . Th e second h e t ight en ed th e s l ip kn ot , t he b arn d oor f lew op en . Th is t ime h e was cau gh t b y a farmer wh o grabb ed h is legs t o l i f t and h old h im h igh . The so ld ier k ick in g and screamin g: "You b ast ard ! Let me h ang and d ie! "

Dissonant guitars kick in and aggressive blastbeats assault the listener at this point

additionally to the symphonic base, which perfectly musically captures the soldier’s frantic

and violent struggle to get rid of the uninvited intruder who only has the best, but absolutely

undesirable intentions; in the end, the hopelessly suicidal soldier ironically becomes the

murderer of an innocent man:

In t h i s st ru gg le th e so ld ier went m ad . Af ter th e rope sn ap ped , he p u l led a k n i fe and , n ine t imes in t he stomach, th e f armer was s t ab bed .

Again, he cries:

"Bitte tötet mich!"

The narrator then continues with the third verse, and the third day:

On t he th i rd d ay there was a f i re f igh t . Th is b lood y assaul t wou ld last unt i l mid n ight . An oth er opp ortu n ity for our so ld ier who craves f or su i c id e . With open arms into t he l ine o f f i re h e asked f or d eath . Bu t t hen he wat ched h is f r iend , wh o is t ry in g to p revent h im f rom k i l l ing h imse l f aga in , d ie for h i s own d et ermin ed su i c id e .

Now the solider, who initially did not want his friend to witness his suicide, must face that

the latter died sacrificing his life for the protagonist’s. The soldier believes he is finally able

to shoot himself without anyone’s interference, yet again, as if cursed, he is unsuccessful:

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Here comes t he p art wh ere h e s t i cks t he Lu ger int o h i s mou th . He i s sh ot t wice in t he sp in e f rom b eh ind , t hen b lows h a l f h i s f ace a l l over th e ground .

Back in the mix, a terrifying laugh of apparent triumph can be heard, as if he at last

succeeded at killing himself. However, this is not the case, for he is

[n]ot d ead yet , bu t comp lete ly fu ck in g p ara lyzed , kep t a l i ve in h i s h e l l f or t wo lon g years b ef ore he f in a l ly d ies .

Before the vocalist screams “dies”, protracting he vowel sound as much as possible as if to

convey the character’s dragging-on dying process, the listener is overwhelmed by blastbeats

which ultimately cease as the song’s last word is uttered, accompanied by double bass

strings sustaining a final note and eventually dying away as does the soldier.

2.4. The Funerary Dirge Of A Violinist

This song commences with slow and mournful strings; the melody is later used throughout

the verses, which have a faster tempo and to which rapid drumming and guitars that play

the same melody as the strings, are added. The lyrics are written in the present tense, with

the effect that the listener feels as if he/she is witnessing the events narrated on site. The

first verse begins with the narrator’s appeal to the audience,

L i s t en! D on 't you hear th ese mad symph on ies of gr ievan ce and f ear ? M elan ch o ly an d desp a i r can b e sen sed wh en we d raw n ear . Some h ear a v io l in soun d, oth ers h ear a man moan in g in tears .

Thus, the narrator implies that individual people who “draw near” the setting he is about to

describe, hear different things, which suggests that he speaks of an uncanny sound that

cannot be exactly defined as either one thing or another.

Th ese f ie ld s are hau nt ed b y n atu re 's most sombre melo die s .

Su ic id a l wh it e n o ise ab sorb in g th e essen ce f rom l igh t , mirth and v i t a l i t y . Th ese groun d s are h aun ted b y re f lect ion s f rom Wor ld War Two . . .

As with “Lingering in an Imprint Haunting”, the listener can picture a battlefield as the

setting. Since the narrator twice mentions that the place is ‘haunted’ by events that

occurred during World War II, the listener expects to hear of something paranormal. After

some brief pizzicato picking, the second verse comes in, which introduces this story’s main

character, a violinist (presumably a Russian) fighting on the East Front.

Ar i se! 1941, '42 . The id en t i t y of war fare on th e East F ront i s lu gu b r iou s . There's on e so ld ier in capable o f commit t in g s in . Kep t a l i ve b y h i s comrades t han ks to h i s heaven ly g i f t wi th a v io l in .

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The fast drumming subsides and instead, next to harmonic guitar-lines, a prominent, somber

violin melody can be heard, symbolizing the violinist’s grief. This character abhors violence

and would most probably be dead were it not for his comrades who protect him from harm,

due to his “heavenly gift with a violin”, since

[h] i s b r i l l i ant m u s ic [ i s ] so beau t i fu l and p ure . . . Sh in in g warmth u pon every so ld ier . I t h e lp s th em t o end ure . Breat h-t ak ing melod ies con su min g a l l h ate , sorrow and f ear . Th ese magni f i cent tun es are l i ke s i l k for th ei r ears . An d f or a momen t t he i r p ain d i sap pear s .

The violinist’s beautiful music is the only thing that can solace the aggrieved soldiers.

However, something terrible is about to happen; this is foreshadowed by the discontinuation

of the bittersweet violin playing, which is replaced by low staccato strings and then guitars,

which intend to musically imitate the sound of gunshots that the narrator subsequently tells

about; the result is a change in mood, namely from sadness to dread:

Bu t th i s momen t wi l l n ot las t when t hey are b af f led b y an ot her b last . The enemy i s n ear . Ra in of b ul lets k i l l in g so ld iers there an d h ere . And so th e inst ru ment o f peace is be ing s i len ced b y t he one of war . I t p lays t he mu s ic of th e dead; mu s ic mad e of lead .

The soldiers protecting the violinist are gradually all killed, and he can no longer play his

“instrument of peace”, which is inevitably “silenced by the [instrument] of war”, namely the

weapons.

An apparently ‘hopeful’, ‘innocent’-sounding piano interlude in major follows. The narrative

shifts into first-person perspective, and the vocalist assumes the role of the unhappy

sensitive musician:

" I ' ve had enough of t h i s s ickening war and i t s murder ing puppet s !” ,

he bellows in audible desperation, and then, with a soft voice, claims that

“They don' t understand t he lang uage o f mus ic cann ot be spoken in deat h.”

Again, he shouts,

“ I never t ook a l i fe ! M aybe now i s t he t ime t o t ake mine . In t he name of mus ic .”

Contemplating suicide, he quietly wonders,

“Shal l I cut my wr i st s or hang mysel f h igh by a v io l in s t r ing?” ,

and finally, determinedly screams,

“A symphonic su ic ide i s what I sha l l br ing! "

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Guitars and drums, as well as a solo violin that plays the same melody as the piano, appear again, emphasizing the violinist’s determination to end his life, told by the third-person narrator.

Th e en emy l ie s on th e ot her s ide o f t he f ie ld . He d ec id es to wa lk s t ra ight int o t he f i re f igh t , p lay in g th i s d reaml ike mast erp iece . Every so ld ier st op s , ho ld s h i s b reat h . Not a s in gle shot i s be in g h eard du r in g an intro f or h i s own d eath .

As the narrative foreshadows the protagonist’s tragic demise, the key shifts back into minor

and the mournful violin melody, supported by melodic guitar lines, returns, which was

previously heard during the sequence in which the violinist’s “beautiful and pure” music was

described. The vocalist utters a cold and cruel laugh, which only exasperates the sad

situation, since it seems to come from an unknown evil entity reveling in schadenfreude at

the forthcoming death of an innocent soul – as if rejoicing in the fact that the passionate

musician has now performed his swan song and shall never play again.

The narrator then plainly describes the dreaded but expected death of the violinist within

two sentences:

And when t he v io l in b o w i s be in g lo wered at t he end , bo th s id es s imu lt an eou sly open f i re . There 's t he corp se o f t he v io l in is t l y in g in mud and b arb ed wire .

At this point, the melody of the first verse sets in again, which seems more ominous than

mournful. The haunting of the battlefield is pointed out again, as at the beginning:

Th ese f ie ld s are hau nt ed b y th e fun erary d i rge of a v io l in is t . The f un erary d irge of a v io l in i st .

And once more, the narrator addresses the listener, and the words heard at the very

beginning of the song are repeated:

Can ' t you hear h i s ca l l o f deat h ? L i st en! D on 't you hear these mad symp hon ies of gr ievan ce an d fear ? Melan cho ly and despa i r can be sen sed wh en we d raw near . Some h ear a v io l in sou nd . . . Oth ers h ear a man moan in g in tears .

Erratic violin-playing can be heard as the vocalist repeatedly cries “The funerary dirge of a violinist...”, each time increasing in volume, until a manic scream of the same phrase finally closes the song.

2.5. Sir John

The very strange title of this song will undoubtedly puzzle the listener, but he/she will

probably notice that “Sir John” is actually wordplay on “surgeon”, since this story centers on

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a character of this profession. Not only does the title seem rather odd, but the song itself

can be considered an ‘odd one out’ on the album, since it is very death metal influenced.

This is not at all coincidental, however, for the subject matter of this track is arguably the

goriest of all; and excessively violent, repulsive themes are often explored particularly in

death metal, since the ‘monstrous’ low guttural vocals, low-tuned guitars and fast drumming

create an appropriately ‘brutal’ sound that musically underlines such topics well. The story is

told from both the first-person point of view of several characters and an omniscient third-

person voice. It is not specified which war this song is about, but this information is not

necessary to the storyline.

The song begins with double bass drumming, menacing low tuba playing, and then high

strings, before the tempo increases and a penetrative death metal guitar riff mimicking the

melody played on the tuba sets in, and the vocalist’s beastly, deep death growls start

narrating from the perspective of an almost starved character that, together with other

people, resorts to cannibalism in order to avoid death:

"Sca lpe l , C lamps . Pu l l h im t o t he gr ound. No innocent hands! Every second c ount s! Cut! Through h i s sk in t hick b lood f lows . No anaest hes ia as I d ig in! " Sp leen un covered, b ru ta l ly removed . So wast ef u l , t ast efu l , eaten f rom wit h in . "St i t ch h im back up so he surv ive s . Eat ing intest ines t o keep ourse lves a l i ve ."

The characters do not wish to commit homicide on one of their comrades, however; so they

are in need of an army doctor who is used to handling his patients with scalpel and clamps,

to keep the man whose intestines they feed on alive, as themselves.

The drumming grows faster at this point and the vocals change into the familiar higher-

pitched shrieks, very quickly saying:

"Th ir teen d ays s tarv in g to d eath s in ce t hey b ombed th i s p l ace . A l l

t he road s b locked th e forest s tocked fu l l of mines . No t here is n o escape!" Ha l f th e v i l lage d ied , an imals f l ed . P lagu e lu rk in g l i ke a t i ck in g t ime b omb . Th e st en ch of d eath. " I won' t regre t , doct or! Use your c raft ! Now amput at e my hand so I can eat!"

High strings, flute, and very brief strokes on a harp set in and play a melody that seems

hopeful and paradoxically beautiful concerning the content:

Forced b eyond sanit y t hey kept th emselves a l i ve . Lost a l l th e ir d ign i t y .

The initial death metal riff returns, as do the growled vocals, which repeat the first lines

(‘scalpel’ is replaced by ‘forceps’):

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"Forc eps . C lamps . Pu l l h im t o t he ground. No innocent hands! Every second c ount s! Cut! Through h i s sk in t hick b lood f lows . No anaest hes ia as I d ig in! " M ore o f t hem d ied, p ut ref ied , bu t th e su rgeon l i ved on . Fed on t he i r organs , l imb s , a b lood h un ger n ever sat is f ied . Soon he rea l iz ed h is ra id of d eath h ad come to an end .

It turns out that the surgeon (understandably, considering his superior medical knowledge),

soon was the only survivor of the famine, having consumed the flesh of the others around.

With neither animals left to hunt nor fellow humans to eat, he goes mad. His desperation

and insanity are reflected through a sudden violent attack of blastbeats and dissonant

guitars, as well as high-pitched vocals screaming, both from third-person as well as first-

person point of view,

No l i v in g sou l lef t , for h i s hun g er-d r iven t hef t . K i l led t hem a l l ! "But I must eat!

The “theft” implies that the surgeon ‘robbed’ the others of their organs and limbs. A spine-

chilling cry of madness and desperation induced by the character’s insatiable hunger

resounds in the back of the mix, erratically shifting between the left and right speakers, as if

encircling the listener.

“ Just a l i t t le p iece of me! Come t o daddy! He must eat!"

The music used during the earlier verse starting with “thirteen days…” recurs; but at this

point in the narrative, seven (whether this particular number is intended by the lyricist or

not, considering its significance on this record, is a question that remains open) more days

have passed since the events recounted previously. Now the surgeon, all alone, finds himself

[ t ]went y d ays a lmost st arved t o deat h in th i s forsaken p l ace . Foun d

b y so ld iers who b rou ght h im b ack. He was s af e . Comat o se, l i t t le d id h e kn o w wh at h orrors s l o wly crawled up on h im on ce he (a )r o se . "Severe war t rau mas" he was t o ld .

And one final time, the death metal riff recurs:

"M ou th guard . St rap . Pu l l h im t o th e gr o und . No innocent h an d s! Every secon d c oun ts ." He ate h i s own ton gu e. Th ick b lood f lows. "We are los in g h im!" Heart f a i l s . So wast ef u l , t ast efu l , eaten f rom wit h in . Th is b lood hu n ger grown t o b e a part o f h im. Never sat i s f ie d , in h i s last momen t he rea l i zed , h i s ra id of d eath h ad come t o an end .

The last verse implies the gruesome conclusion: the maddened surgeon ended up eating

himself, and could not be saved by the other soldiers. Figuratively speaking, and highly

ironically, he truly got ‘the taste of his own medicine’. Formerly the most powerful of all

around him, he too ultimately surrendered to death by using his own method of evading

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starvation on himself, which was (naturally) counter-productive – in other words, self-

destructive.

The final sounds heard are a piano and the maniacal laughter of someone apparently

vomiting and coughing up his insides.

2.6. Spectral Infantry Battalions

This brief interlude that barely exceeds two minutes is remarkable in that it contains no

guitars. It is mainly driven by extremely low and dissonant piano notes, drums and

synthesizer. After a build-up with only synths, piano, drums and vocals (which alternate

between higher-pitched screams and low-pitched grunts) kick in. The rhythm reminds one of

marching, which makes sense considering what the song is about, namely the ghosts of dead

soldiers continuing to march on, as if automatic, even in the afterlife:

Bat t le format ion s , d ead bu t st i l l wander in g ah ead . A g igan t ic app ar i t ion keep s r i s in g f rom a f ie ld , once co lored red f rom b lood sh ed . Where th e sou nd s of war can st i l l b e heard and th e b a lan ce of n atu re i s ser iou s ly d i st urbed . Spectra l inf ant ry b at t a l ion s march in g th rou gh a f reez in g t imeless vo id . Aga in , gh ost ly cava l ry reg iment s sha l l r id e th e lan d s t hey 'd on ce d est royed .

The ‘freezing timeless’ void was already once described in “Lingering in an Imprint

Haunting”, as “a timeless frozen scenery”.

Bat t le format ion s , fog - l i ke inf an t ry b att a l ion s . Bat t le format ion s marchin g unt o an en d less dest in at ion .

A brief instrumental passage follows until the vocalist exclaims:

This is the sound of death!

(D eat h ) a mi l i t ary haun t in g! ( D eath ) Bat t le format ion s, (D eath ) st i l l marchin g ah ead! ( Death ) Batt le f ormat ion s! D eath ! D eath ! D eath !! !

Probably not coincidentally, the word “death” is repeated seven times during the final lines.

The song ends abruptly with the last utterance of this word.

2.7. General Nightmare

Similar to “Lingering in an Imprint Haunting”, this track begins with a suspenseful build-up of

strings, later drums, staccato guitar-playing and brass, before the screamed vocals set in. The

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story is told from the first-person point of view of several characters and the third-person

point of view of an omniscient narrator.

S t ar in g, screamin g "Br in g my map !" wit h c len ched f i st s . "Co lon e l ,

Att aq uez l 'A l lemagne!" "Tou s nos h ommes, san s au cun remord s!"

Th is st orm of sacr i f ice wi l l re ign!

The use of French implies that the war takes place in France. “Attaquez l'Allemagne!” “Tous

nos hommes, sans aucun remords!” translates as “Attack Germany!” “All our men, without

any remorse!”. The war is apparently between France and Germany.

I h ave conqu ered! "M urdered!" I am you r lead er! "No! You s lau ght ered u s a l l ! " Désert eu rs! "We' l l in fest you r n igh t mares wit h ou r p a in !"

“Déserteurs” translates as “deserters”. It seems that the speakers who correct their leader’s

(a General’s) claims; they accuse him of murder and threaten to haunt him in his dreams

with the pain they feel.

Genera l Night mare!

Eerie synthesized female choir chanting can then be heard in the background replacing the

strings and brass. The vocalist states in a low clear voice:

He dreamt the horrors of the ones condemned to death.

before reverting to his habitual shriek, continuing:

Screaming women, children... Tourmentés, brûlés, violés, tués !”

(“tortured, burned, raped, killed”).

The melody continues with staccato strings, brass and guitars, and double bass drumming,

resembling the sound of military marching. The vocalist, alternating between growled and

shrieked vocals, explains what happens to the General; this passage lacks guitars and

consists solely of vocals, strings and drums:

Woken f rom d e l i r ium (b y) th e st en ch of b urnin g f lesh . Wad ing t hrou gh an ocean of b lood and t ears st i l l f resh .

Guitars come in again. French lyrics are screamed by this character, who thinks he has gone

mad, unable to realize what he is experiencing:

"Suis- je fou? Mais je reste puissant! Je m'en fous de la populace!" (“Am

I insane? But I remain powerful! I don’t give a damn about the populace!”)

“ATTACK!”,

cries the vocalist.

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A brief instrumental passage occurs, consisting of guitars, drums, brass, strings, and flute.

Male choir chanting sets in as the words

General Nightmare! Genera l Nightmare! General Nightmar e!

are repeated, first as a low growl and then twice as high shrieks, before the first verse is

repeated (“staring, screaming” is replaced by “trembling, raging”):

T remb l in g , rag ing "Br in g my map" wit h c len ched f i s t s . "M y ord ers : Att ack! At tack!" "Tou s nos h ommes, san s au cu n remord s!" Th is s t orm of sacr i f i ce wi l l re ign !

Wi l l re ign!

Genera l Night mare! Gen era l N ight mare!

Female choir chanting comes in again (presumably representing the screaming women and

children) and already heard lyrics are repeated, twice, with a shriek of madness and

desperation:

He dreamt t he h orrors o f t he ones cond emn ed to d eath ; screamin g women, ch i ld ren . . . Tourment és , b rû lés, tu és! He dreamt t he h orrors o f t he ones cond emn ed to d eath ; screamin g women, ch i ld ren . . . Tourment és , p ou r l 'é t ern i té!

The final word “l’éternité” (“eternity”) is uttered as a lengthy cry, and the song ends.

2.8. Little Hector What Have You Done?

This story is possibly one of the most disturbing on the album, since it is about a child who

lives in a haunted house which eventually drives him insane, and he commits murder and

then suicide. It is told by an omniscient third-person narrator in the past tense. The song

begins slowly and quietly with a piano, a boys’ choir chanting a somber melody, harp, and

strings. The combination sounds very ‘innocent’. Then, guitars and fast-paced drumming kick

in, adding some aggression to the sound. The piano and choir fade out as harsh vocals begin

to tell a horrible tale:

Hect or was n in e . In sch ool makin g co lorf u l d rawin gs most of h i s t ime. On e d ay h e mad e t h i s h orr ib le port ra i t of a d ead man and h is ch i ld . Th e t each er was shocked! How cou ld su ch a youn g lad d raw a p ictu re so sad ? Hect or was asked t o exp la in . He rep l ied : " I t ' s me and d ad d y in t he att i c ; han gin g! Wh en we are dead ."

“Cold and dead!” is repeated three times. The second verse starts, the same way as the

first:

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Lat er th at d ay , th e b oy lef t sch ool ear ly . Hector ran away . When h e came h ome, he foun d h is d ad d y 's re vo lver . Now i t ' s t ime to p lay . Wh i le f at her s lept , h i s son b lew h is b ra in s a l l over th e bed. Th en h e wen t u p st a ir s t o t he att i c . There t he k id sh ot h imse lf th rou gh t he h ead .

“Cold and dead!” the vocalist screams again, greatly prolonging the vowel in “dead”.

A change in melody occurs. Accompanied by low strings, guitars and drums, the narrator

recounts:

M ot her came h ome and saw her hu sband . M ot her came h ome and saw her son . Her sou l co l lap sed an d her heart f roz e . Af ter t he f un era ls she t o ok an overd ose .

Fast guitar picking and ominous brass are heard as the narrator points out that the

paranormal has something to do with the boy’s terrible act:

It is the house! It is the house!

the vocalist whispers before shrieking:

Hau nt ed! The h ou se i s cu rsed , t he h ou se i s damn ed . Bewit ch ed ! Tou ch ed b y th e d evi l ' s h an d . Haunt ed ! Th e h ou se i s b i t t er and sad . Bewit ched! I t someh ow d rove l i t t le Hect or mad!

A disturbing melody intended to illustrate the child’s insanity is heard during an instrumental

break. Strings, bells, eerie soprano chanting, piano, and brass accompany wailing guitars,

bass and hectic drums, until the ominous music used during the “Mother!” sequence comes

again, as the narrator explains the cause of the house’s haunting in a flashback, leading back

to the era of World War II:

Once upon a time during the war, the Nazis came and breached down

this door.

"AUFSTEH’N!" (German for “Get up!”)

cry several voices at once, imitating the Nazi characters, as

[t]he men head to stand and see –

"HINSEH’N!" (German for “Watch!”) –

[h]ow their women got raped so brutal ly. So hard.. .

A terrifying sadistic laugh is heard, emphasizing the Nazis’ cold-blooded cruelty.

“Cold and dead!” is heard once more. The narrator continues the story:

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Fath er res i st ed and for th at h e was t aken up st a i r s af t er h is boy. With h i s hand s t ied t o h is b ack and an ot her rop e around h is neck , t hey made h im st and u pon t he sh ou ld ers of h i s own d ear son . Un fort un at e ly t he ch i ld cou ld not ho ld h i s d add y t hat lon g . For several d ays he sat amon gst h i s rav i sh ed and execut ed fami ly . Eventu a l ly he kn ot ted a rop e ou t of h is own bed - sh eet s and h un g h imse l f n ext t o dadd y.

Judging by how the song ends. The listener can infer that the ghosts of the father and son

haunted Hector’s house, which lead him to murder his own father and commit suicide, as if

to sacrifice the living for the irretrievable dead. Whether the tormented spirits can now rest

in peace or not is up to the listener’s imagination.

2.9. These Fields Are Lurking (Seven Pairs Of Demon Eyes)

The closing track of the album begins, like the first song after the intro, with a long,

suspenseful strings introduction, before, at 44 seconds, blastbeats, guitars and a prolonged

shriek assail the listener. The tempo slightly increases, and a third-person narrator, in

present tense, begins to describe the horrible state of a character, who is initially simply

referred to as “he” and whose identity is not immediately revealed:

Th ere he l ies ; h au nted , hun ted, b eat en , tort ured , h an ged an d

eaten . En cumbered b y t he p ast of t hese seven app ar i t ion s .

The mentioning of the “seven apparitions” makes it clear that the character referred to must

be the executioner who appeared in the first track and spoke of being haunted by “seven

horrible visions of war”. It is likely that he is in his mind “haunted, hunted, beaten, tortured,

hanged and eaten”, since he was very recently forced to experience the horrible war visions

of each prisoner, who suffered from these cruel fates.

"Where am I?" "Did I just die?"

the executioner, audibly afraid and uncertain whether he is dead or alive, asks, probably

himself, since

[n]o one [is] in s ight.

He continues

[s]canning his surroundings for where they might l ie.

A low voice explains that

“[t]he Prisoners, one by one, left him traumatized” ,

and screamed vocals utter:

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“Now only seven empty stakes pierce a blood red sky .”

The prisoners seem to have vanished – which is why, in the first track, the executioner

mentions that “[his] bullets couldn’t reach them”. The “blood red sky” evokes not only

associations with actual blood, but also with the fiery pits of Hell. Presumably, this is the

place the executioner currently finds himself in.

Double bass drumming ceases and there is a brief, doleful instrumental passage consisting of

bass, strings, synthesized female chanting, and threnodic melodic guitars, with several blue

notes, that remind of somebody weeping. Then, the screamed vocals come in again and

continue the narrative:

He ru n s b ut st u mb les , t r ies to crawl , to f l ee f ro m th is macab re

scen e . With b roken b on es , b l in d an d shocked , can ' t comp reh end

wh at he h as seen . Th e wet eart h t remb les and war wind s howl l i ke

Wehrmach t - wolves on hu ngry p rowl .

"These f ie lds are more t han I can see! I cannot t ake t h i s! "

Th ese f ie ld s are lu rk in g as b l ack h a i l f a l l s l i ke ash en b lades . Th ese

f ie ld s are c los in g in to b ury h im with f roz en spades .

On b it ter t aste o f b lood h e gags . Draggin g on wit h broken legs t o

b reak loose f rom t he h orr id st en ch of bu rn in g l i ves and bu rn ing

f lags .

With e lbows t hrou gh t he mud he d rags h imse l f f orward! Forward!

" I sha l l escape t h i s p lot . I must! I wi l l ! " ,

the character cries.

Th e win d l ies down an d t he earth s tand s s t i l l . B lack h a i l f i re s t in gs

n o more .

“D ear lord above , did I escape t hat he l l i sh p lace of gore ?” ,

he wonders. But

“NO!”

seems to be the answer:

He en ds u p where i t a l l began . Seven p ai rs o f demon eyes . Seven

f earsome d emon sm i les . T rapp ed in a paranormal ch a in . Bou nd to

su f f er end less warfare , tort ure , f ear an d pa in .

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The previously heard plaintive guitar melody and strings return, as if bemoaning the

character’s inescapable fate, doomed to suffer forever in the afterlife:

So end s th i s t a le of f at es a l ign ed . A p rop hecy of war ent win ed int o

b lood y knot s th at won 't un wind . Th is ominou s record in g i s a l l th at ' s

le f t beh ind : "Sund ay, October th i rd , 6 p .m. Rain . . . "

The title of the intro (the “ominous recording”) is mentioned by the narrator in the closing

sentence, thereby ending the story “where it all began” – and the last words, “Sunday,

October third, 6 p.m. Rain…”, spoken by the familiar voice of the man in the introductory

track, as if played on the tape that is left behind (presumably recorded by the executioner

shortly before his death), conclude the story. These last words are also the first lines heard in

the intro.

The song does not yet end at this point, however. During the last line in which one hears the

‘tape’, guitars and drums stop playing, and rainfall fades in (as at the very beginning of the

album). Additionally, foreboding low strings, and finally, a piano, cellos, and the harrowing

sounds of a man crying and repeatedly screaming “No!” can be heard. The piano repeatedly

plays a dissonant, chill-inducing melody that gently falls in its sequence of notes like drops of

rain, accompanied by a polyphonic, dreamlike female choir which sounds either like

mourning angels or spirits of the dead haunting and hovering over the infernal, eternal scene

of battle. The man’s cries eventually fade out, and a violin solo is played that sounds like a

lamentation of doom. This goes on and on for many bars until the music very slowly begins

to fade out until nothing is heard but the sounds of rain, which eventually die away as well.

The rain can, on the one hand, be viewed as symbolic – as though the sky is ‘weeping’ tears

of sadness because of the dreadful things happening on earth – but also as if it is washing

away the ‘sins’ or atrocities committed by the warriors, ‘redeeming’ everything. On the

other hand, its concrete interpretation is that it comes as, in this case, a pleasant force of

nature, and constitutes a contrast to the burning lives and flags, capable of extinguishing the

fires.

3. Conclusion

Throughout the album, the way the lyrics are written intends to accentuate the core aspect

of the story – namely, that the hauntings are never-ending and that the horror the main

character/executioner experiences repeats itself over and over. This is achieved by frequent

repetition of certain lyrical passages within each song, in some songs more than in others.

The main storyline is that the executioner, tormented by the war visions of the prisoners,

cannot escape the haunting they leave behind; however, these characters themselves

experience the same, as can be heard in their own stories: the American soldier who was

unable to kill his friend who asked him to in “Lingering in an Imprint Haunting” is damned to

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re-experience the battle scene over and over again; the German soldier in “Bitte Tötet Mich”

repeatedly attempts suicide but for some reason never succeeds and finally dies a slow and

painful death; the somber melodies of the violinist’s swan song continue to haunt the

battlefield after his death; the starving army surgeon is plagued by the trauma of

cannibalism and he eventually completes the ‘food chain’ by devouring part of himself;

“Spectral Infantry Battalions” is about ghosts of dead soldiers endlessly haunting the fields;

the General in “General Nightmare” keeps having the same recurring nightmare featuring

the anguish of the innocent people who died under his command; and nine-year-old Hector

is haunted by the restless ghosts of a family murdered by Nazis, which causes him to lose

sanity and to eventually kill himself and his own father.

Musically, especially the outro of “These Fields Are Lurking” underlines the infinite state of

being trapped in an inescapable paranormal chain, by having the same eerie melody

repeated multiple times and never really coming to an end – it simply grows increasingly

quiet and ‘distant’.

The compositions contain much dissonance, which has an unsettling effect on the listener.

Moreover, the majority of the songs are in the minor tonality, which is generally perceived

as sad and despairing. The music, a perfect example of ‘word painting’, tends to alternate

between fast, aggressive passages and calmer ones, in order to stress the current

happenings in the stories, depending on what they are. Thus, the music on its own

successfully conveys the emotions the story intends to trigger. Further, the lyrics themselves

arouse certain feelings in the listener: on the one hand, he/she will experience fear, shock

and disgust, due to the nature of the lyrical content, which is violent and horrifying. Listeners

will definitely cringe at the thought of humans devouring their own kind, and possibly find

the fictional horror scenario to be exaggerated, but in fact, anthropophagy due to starvation

actually truly did (and does) happen during some wars, for example World War II1, so the

events described are not at all purely fantastical but have a base in reality.

On the other hand, the listener will at one point or another empathize with the some of the

characters, most likely with the soldiers who do not want to fight and eventually suffer an

awful death. The situations that seem especially woeful are those in which the characters’

friends become involved; listeners might try to put themselves into the characters’ position

and imagine a hypothetical situation in which their own friend begs to be killed by them, or

imagine their friend trying to prevent them from committing suicide, but in vain. Also, the

listener might compassionate the characters who experience the claustrophobic feeling of

being unable to escape a place they are caught in.

1 This „Guardian“ article from 1945 reports that cannibalism occurred at a German prison camp:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/1945/apr/19/secondworldwar.fromthearchive

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Besides the songwriting, the performance aspect is of major significance. Since the

musicians wish to tell stories, it is the vocalist’s responsibility to narrate them in a manner

that will engage listeners. Just as the music shifts between more aggressive and softer

passages, the vocals vary between high-pitched shrieks, low-pitched guttural growls, clearly

spoken words, cries, whispers, and incidental maniacal laughter (which some may even

consider ‘cartoonish’). Since the music is in general greatly influenced by black metal, the

primary way of vocalizing is the relatively high-pitched scream. The vocalist enunciates very

clearly, so listeners can understand what he is saying with considerable ease. The pitch of his

vocals appropriately rises and falls depending on what he chooses to place particular

emphasis on. Therefore, despite the fact that he mainly employs an unhuman-like, vicious-

sounding shriek, his manner of narrating is still a close imitation of authentic speech, since it

is never monotonous, and moreover, charged with differing emotions. An interesting

feature is that the theatrical vocalist, on his own, slips into the roles of narrator and

characters, sometimes more than one character within a song, thus performing a

monopolylogue. (An exception is “General Nightmare”, which features guest vocals in

French by Philip Breuer, singer of the band Le Grand Guignol.) The majority of the

stories/songs are related from a third-person perspective (by a narrator who is not himself

involved as a character) with occasional brief sequences of direct speech told by a character

(or more than one, as in “General Nightmare” and “Sir John”) involved; the first two tracks,

“An Ominous Recording” and “Lingering in an Imprint Haunting” are told from the first-

person point of view of the main character. The present is the most frequent tense used,

since it lends the events described a kind of ‘immediacy’. “Bitte Tötet Mich” shifts between

past and present tense, and “An Ominous Recording”, “Sir John”, “General Nightmare”, and

“Little Hector What Have You Done?” feature past tense third-person narration, though the

lyrics to “Sir John” and “General Nightmare” largely consist of character monologues that

seem more immediate.

Insane laughter is used in “Bitte Tötet Mich” and “Sir John”, and a malicious cackle in “The

Funerary Dirge of the Violinist” and “Little Hector What Have You Done?”, occurring

specifically in instances which, content-wise, are not in the least amusing. The intended

effect is shock through creating mood dissonance; the listener should feel indignant at a

sudden, unexpected (cruel) laugh ‘commenting’ on the tragic action described. Thus, it

intends to additionally contribute to the existing horror.

The lyrics feature much assonance and rhymes as well as some alliteration, which is highly

effective for the vocal interpretation. It is evident that the lyricists thought much about how

exactly to phrase what they wanted to say so the words sound efficacious when performed

aloud. The word “death” seems almost over-used, namely 23 times, but with a solid reason:

no matter how hard the characters try to evade death, they ultimately surrender to it

whether they want to or not. Death is the conclusion to each tale. Though at its core a

horror story, Where The Corpses Sink Forever can, in the broad sense, also be regarded as a

criticism of war, which is a vast source for various forms of realistic horror (which in this

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fictional setting is just as dreadful as the paranormal interfering with the characters’ life and

beyond) and causes irreparable damage to people’s psyche – unfortunately, not just in

fiction, but also in reality.

The number seven appears more than once throughout the album. Apart from the seven

prisoners and their stories/songs, seven shots are fired in “An Ominous Recording”, seven

days pass before the starved surgeon is found by soldiers and the word “death” is repeated

seven times during the final lines of “Spectral Infantry Battalions”. The symbolism ascribed

to the number seven is manifold; arguably the most obvious association with this number

that comes to mind with regards to this story is with the biblical “seven sins”. Though

religion as such plays no role on this album, there are several originally religious terms used

in a metaphorical sense to describe something negative, such as “godless”, “hell”, “devil”,

and “sin”, or the attribute “heavenly” to describe something particularly positive:

“godless trench”

“kept alive in his hell for two long years”

“the devil is in charge”

“Touched by the devil's hand”

“his heavenly gift with a violin”.

Metaphor and simile are, overall, used rather sparsely, and if so, not to describe the

characters and/or their feelings, but part of the setting, especially nature:

“skies weep leaden tears and blood”

“thick cloak of sulphurous mist”

“frozen scenery where nature stands still”

“nature's most sombre melodies

“The wet earth trembles and war winds howl like Wehrmacht-wolves on hungry

prowl”

“black hail falls like ashen blades”.

Other examples of figure of speech are:

“These magnificent tunes are like silk for their ears”

“the instrument of peace is being silenced by the one of war”

“empty stakes pierce a blood red sky”.

To conclude, it can be said that musical composition, lyrics, and performance have evidently

been carefully planned and elaborately interwoven, resulting in a coherent work of art that

has the ability to emotionally engage listeners on a profound level. Due to the abundance of

horrific elements, and to the fear and pity listeners have reasons to feel, Where The Corpses

Sink Forever is likely to have a cathartic effect on them – which is precisely what tragic

drama is originally about. Thus, despite the absence of physical or visual representation

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(save for the album artwork), Carach Angren has successfully created a gripping and

poignant piece of theatre.