(Beneath The Blazon Of The Hyperborean Empire)
ALTARUS:
Gaze deep into the mists with your spirit-eyes, Xerxes...
Look far, and tell me what you see.
XERXES:
I see a land far to the north...
A vast empire of dark endless moors and snow-crowned mountains...
A land of brooding citadels and warrior-kings who hail to grim gods.
ALTARUS:
Look well, Xerxes, for enlightenment hides
Within the fog-swathed vales of Hyperborea...
THE KING'S DREAM:
By the onyx sceptre of my forefathers,
The air is churning with auguries of dethronement...
Impending dread thus prophesized!
In a dream I was bade ride
The argent-eyed unicorn to the Ring of Stones...
There a torrent of viscid slime assailed me,
As pipes and horns sang the clarion of my dissolution...
And the usurpation of my ancient azure throne.
Assassins stalk the nighted halls of my palace...
Poisoned blades and chalices surround me.
I thirsted for a balm, but my thirst
Was slaked by an envenomed draught.
My swordarm shackled by tendrils of sloth...
Enthralled by the chasmed gloom...
Borne upon wings of labyrinthine dread...
I awaken!
I shall seek the counsel of the sorcerer,
Keeper of the ancient scrolls of wisdom,
And the Crystals of Power...
THE WORDS OF THE SORCERER:
My liege, great and regal king...
The mists disclose their secrets...
You are destined to wield a great dark power.
Drink deep of the potions of the apothecary,
For upon thee now I bestow a shard
Of the mystic Crystal of Mera...
Sacred artefact of the At lantean mages,
Won in battle by our legions.
My liege, the Crystal of Mera shall unveil the truth
Lurking hidden in thy most fever-haunted dreams...
THE VOICE OF THE HARBINGER:
The land awash with spilled blood,
And viscera torn forth from the sundered dead...
Gorge the earth with flesh
Darkened with the claw and fang of war...
Rent open the ravenous maws of worms...
THE KING:
The Crystal illumines dark secrets, the truth is known...
A dire and ancient threat is ranged against me.
Hearken, the clarion is upon the winds,
Now the call to arms is upon us all,
Grim warriors, take up thy spears and hone thy gleaming swords.
Archers, string thy bows, brave knights, saddle the steeds of war,
The glory of battle is nigh at last,
Our banner shall fly this day in victory!
My warriors, a legacy shall this day be wrought
By our blades, decreed by the gods,
Blessed by the blood of vanquished foes.
Our destiny beckons...
LORD ANGSAAR, DARK LIEGE OF CHAOS:
Come, great king of Hyperboria, march against me
With your splendid legions and shimmering swords.
I, the Bane of the Atlantean Kings, the Scourge of Lemuria,
Archfoe of the Immortals of Ultima Thule, shall Crush you!
I shall visit a thousand plagues upon your realm,
And wreak untold havoc and bloody carnage
Until I have your throne... and your soul!
ALTARUS:
And thus, flanked by the splendour of azure banners,
A vast army marched forth from the great walls
Of the Imperial City of Hyperborea,
And at the forefront of the mighty legions,
Astride an ebon war-stallion, rode the king,
Sunlight glinting up on his splendid armour...
Compelled by dreams, and guided by the Crystal of Mera...
XERXES:
Where? Where did the king's path take him?
ALTARUS:
???
XERXES:
But master, what powers did this blade possess?
What secrets did it hold?
ALTARUS:
???
XERXES:
Then there looms such a cataclysmic battle!
ALTARUS:
And so, from his Black Citadel, the Chaos-liege did send
Forth his Horde of Wraiths to engage the army of the king...
THE KING:
Behold, a legion of undead fiends meets us upon the field of war.
Face me, Scourge of Lemuria, I wield thy bane, the Shadow-Sword...
(and darksome sorceries now empower me with thunderous might!)
Hearken, the clarion is upon the winds,
Now the call to arms is upon us all,
The glory of battle is nigh at last, into the fray we ride!
XERXES:
The outcome, master...
Who left the field victorious?
Did the king prevail?
ALTARUS:
The mists begin to disperse... for now, the images fade.
That tale shall have to wait 'til another day...
Bal-Sagoth are a symphonic black metal band from Yorkshire, England, formed in 1993.
In the realm of rock 'n' roll, there are few names as iconic as Queen, and within the Queen pantheon, Brian May stands out not only as a legendary guitarist but also as an astrophysicist with a profound connection to NASA.
Hip-hop, one of the most influential cultural movements of the 20th and 21st centuries, has recently reached a significant milestone - it's turning 50 years old.
Coachella Festival 2022: here we are. In two days the doors of one of the most anticipated musical events of the year will open, even more so after the last two years in which for very obvious reasons the live music sector has suffered a very important setback.
The 2022 Grammy Awards were the chronicle of an announced triumph: Jon Baptiste collected 11 nominations and won 5 Grammys, defeating all opponents. This was also the year of the very young Olivia Rodrigo, who managed to take home 3 Grammys, including the the best new artist.
Here is finally some good news, the Arcade Fire have finally revealed the title and release date of their new album, 5 years after the last one. For the fan of the group it has been a time that seemed eternal,
Do we want to define "I know you know me" a masterpiece? Yes, without a shadow of a doubt for at least two reasons. The first and most evident are the artists who interpret it: Caroline Spence and Matt Berninger, second for the deep and poetic text.
My favorite group when I was just a teenager were the Fugees, thanks to them a certain curiosity about english language was born in me. I wanted to know and understand the lyrics of their songs, it wasn't enough for me to be carried away exclusively by their beautiful music.
Sweden and the United States are two countries far from each other, thousands of kilometers separate them, the language, culinary and sporting traditions, I don't feel so categorical about the landscapes, not knowing all of America there may be states that have the same reliefs of the country of northern Europe, but on one thing I am sure
It has been talked about for almost 3 years, rumored and it is hoped that sooner or later they will arrive at a collaboration, and now we are satisfied: the Catalan singer Rosalia and the American musician Oneohtrix finally announce the publication of a piece together!
In England there are institutions that are untouchable, first of all Queen Elizabeth II who reigns undisputed in the beating heart of every Englishman, then there are the Beatles, and that's the reason why they were awarded the title of baronets.
Looking at the images, one immediately thinks of archive photos of at least a year and a half ago. Lots of people together without masks dancing freely
How a music group can deliver strong and clear messages without singing is a mystery yet Canadians GoodSpeed You! Black Emperor they succeed very well.
"Creep" by Radiohead is certainly one of the most listened to, revisited and reinterpreted songs in the history of music. So much loved and listened to on all six continents, at least once in our life we all found ourselves humming it.
Very bad story for rapper T.I. and his wife Tiny, in fact, they have been accused of sexual abuse and kidnapping.
The malefactor managed to take Koji and Gustavo away, while Miss Asia, the third bulldog, escaped and was found shortly after by Lady Gaga's bodyguards.
David Crosby against Phoebe Bridgers, if we had been in the Middle Ages, they probably would have challenged each other with the sword, while in 2021 they decided to go wild with tweets.
Evan Rachel Wood, the beautiful protagonist of Westworld has decided to denounce the violence she has suffered for years, at least according to what she claims, by Marilyn Manson.
After some positive signs in the past months, here is the news that we weren't hoping to learn and that throws new questions on the possibility of organizing festivals and live concerts for 2021.
The winners of the 43rd edition of the Kennedy Center Honors have recently been announced, including Joan Baez, Dick Van Dyke, Debbie Allen and the violinist Midori.
The band Soundgarden recently recorded two classics with Brandie Carlile. After the death of their leader Chris Cornell, the band had decided to stop for some time also as a sign of respect for the untimely death of their front man.
New year is synonymous of news and in fact 2021 opened with a nice surprise. The American rock group, The Foo Fighters, founded in 1994 by Dave Grohl ex drummer of Nirvana, delight us with the release of a new single entitled "No son of Mine".
He was 69 and on Christmas Day, guitarist Tony Rice, Bluegrass legend, passed away. His label, Rounder Records, made the news with an official release on December 26th.
We still talk about music, but today we do it from a different point of view, taking a cue from a book, a photographic book called Ten Cities.
I was about 6 years old when I listened for the first time "Blowing in the wind" hummed by my mom while she was accompanying me to school, the version was the Italian one, but I liked the rhythm right away.
Angelica
Jesu
Kajagoogoo
Ann Lee
Morcheeba
Martyn Layzell
A
The Enemy
The Raincoats
The Faders
Zounds
Leatherface