Aus den Kampfliedern
(Alkaios von Mytilene, c. 400 B.C.)
[German translation]

Nicht mehr begreifen kann ich der Winde Streit:
Denn eine Woge wälzt sich von hier heran,
Von dort die andre. Wir inmitten treiben im Sturme
Auf schwarzem Schiffe.

Das Ungewitter bracht' uns in Todesnot.
Schon schlagen Wellen hoch über Bord und Deck,
Durchlöchert ist das ganze Segel,
Fetzen nur flattern von ihm im Winde.

Die Anker halten nicht............

Und bricht die Sturzsee über das Schiff, so schwand
Ihm jede Lust am Kampfe mit Sturm und Meer:
Man meint, die Klippe in der Tiefe
Schlägt es bald leck und zerbricht's in Trümmer.

In solchem Seesturm treibt unser Schiff dahin.
...

"I never lived elsewhere
Than in dimensions of fear.
My spirit is enthroned in the land
Of the silent moving shadows.
Where a deep red fountain
Keeps a thousand lakes of blood.
And the stairways to nowhere
Are the only hope
That remains to the souls...
In this eternal realm of pain.
This is the only place
I can remember
In my ancient existence.
And the gate, I am.
Here it's not a question
Of life and death anymore,
But of torment and despair.
Here lie bodies
Of unnameable kinds,
Tortured by soulless demons
...and worse...
Goodness reflects the light,
And evil, bears the seeds
Of all darkness.
These are the mirrors of the soul,
The reflections of the mind.
So choose well, wanderer,
For here lurk truth and damnation.
It belongs to you
And your imagination."

[Instrumental]

Which way is the right path
As I stand upon
This chaotic crossroad of hate...
How many ways
Are there to roam
On this dark and damned
Road of fate...
There are many ways my son,
To find where the souls
Of demons remain...
But it takes only one second
Of despair
And of doubt until at last,
Your soul they will gain...
Inherit these lands,
These things,
These dreams that are yours,
Forever to adore
For there is no life,
In the depths of chaos,
My son for you to explore.
There are many ways my son,
To find where the souls
Of demons remain...
But it takes only one second
Of despair and of doubt
Until at last,
Your soul they will gain...
Inherit these lands,
These things,
These dreams that are yours,
Forever to adore
For there is no life,
In the depths of chaos,
My son for you to explore.

[Instrumental]

Silva vetus stabat nulla violata
Securi et specus in media virgis
Ac vimine densus
Effigiens humilem lapidum
Compagibus arcum uberibus
Fecundus aquis, ubi conditus
Antro martius anguis erat
Cristis praesiginis et auro
Igne micant oculi,
Corpus timet omne
Venenis, tres vibrant linguae,
Triblici stant
Ordine pentes quem postquam
Tyria lucum de gente profecti
Infausto tetigere
Gradu demissaque
In undas urna declit sonitum,
Longo caput extulit
Antro caeruleus serpens
Horrendaque sibilia misit.
Effluxere urnae manibus,
Et attonitus subitus
Tremor occupat artus,
Ille volubilibus aquamosos
Nexibus orbes torquet
Et immensos saltu
Sinuatur in arcus ac media
Plus parte leves
Crectus in auras
Descipit omne
Nemus tontaque est
Corpore quanto,
Si totum spectes, geminas
Qui separat arctos
Nec mora phoenicas,
Sive ipse timor
Prohibebat utrumque, occupat.
Hos morsu,
Longis complexibus illos,
Hos necat adflatu
Funesti tabe venemi,
Sanguisque reliquit corpus.

Down the halls,
Where no light glows-
Where once was life
Now shadows move.
Without mind,
Without a will
They search...
And never fade away,
The end of all paths is their aim,
But never they will find again
What was lost
In nowhere once,
In the space that is called time.
Down the halls,
Where the silence lasts,
In the dark where dust prevails
The shadows lurk
Beyond your sight
And follow you
To where you go.
Quietly they listen
To your breath,
And in obscurity
They wait for you.
You must move
To find the key
That only the blind can see.
Instead of wisdom
Thou need instinct.
But even if you call my name
A shadow you will be again.
Only the blind can see...

Live...between the wolf in your heart
And the cross in your back.
Betrayed by your belief -
Sworn to your arms -
You had never any choice.
Thou will wander endlessly
In the shadows of thy doubt...
Possessed by your desires.
Fight for the wolf in your heart
Against the cross in your back.
See the dark side of thy soul
As clear as thou
Once have seen the sun.
Enjoy the pain that lies
In this tragic beauty
Of your being.
Death is worth to be worshipped
And damnation consists
Of undoubtly truth.
Thou broke the cross
And fell into everlasting darkness.

Te in signum mortis.
Te in corpore immortale.

[Instrumental]

So we awaked
In a place beyond space and time
Where mortal limits last no more.
We left the balance
And the fading world
Witout regret,
Without on more thought.
Carried by the shadows we drift
Into another sphere.
Erased are fear
And all emotions -
I feel the great collective now.
Within the everlasting void -
Time never existed
And constant...
Is all existence.

[Instrumental]