1. |
Panophion
05:34
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You serpent of old are a scattering flame
Dispersed as by winds did all lands the image pervade
Whence comest you? and by what means?
Creature of obscure fame
Draconian, Panophion, Divine flame
A wealth of records and remnants
Testify to the universal character
Of its iconography
For it crept all over history and scripture
And adorns sundry temples and monuments
Which exhibit its indelible likeness
Enshrouded in mystery
Thou hast verily confounded the ages
As to origin and significance
A creation at once feared and esteemed
Injurious by nature yet virile for its form
Came to be venerated like to the Sun
No longer does the fire burn in its temples
The edifice still stands
But its order seeks the shadow
Like those elusive-god men
Who first bore the standard
Untold ages declare you
Antediluvian!Antediluvian!
Your mythos reveals you
Antediluvian! Antediluvian!
Let a thousand voices proclaim you
Antediluvian! Antediluvian!
Symbol and bearer oft’ become one
The spirit of antiquity is bygone
Your annals bear the mark of the Seas
Though removed by centuries
Untold ages declare you...Antediluvian!
You serpent of old are a scattering flame
Dispersed as by winds did all lands the image pervade
Whence comest you? and by what means?
Creature of obscure fame
Draconian, Panophion, Divine ...Flame
Pervious, imperious as dawn
...Panophion!
Igneous as the sun
...Blazing scion!
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2. |
Kalassa
04:33
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A mountain rises majestically before man
Aye! so sublime and immeasurable
– a veritable colossus
And lo! o’er Its mighty peak
The sun in its place of power
The glory of Nature
Stirreth the spirit in man
Antiquity.. cultivates reverence
So he raised altars of unhewn stones
Rude monoliths, great monuments
And in times long subsequent
His own Kalassa
Vestiges of our primordial mountain
And the divine dyad
Are spread across the face of the earth
And the bowels of the ocean
The mountain-temple stands everywhere before us
Aye! so impressive and imposing
– a veritable colossus
And lo! upon its mighty top
The gods in their place of power
The divine in Nature
Made manifest by the spirit in man
So he raised altars of unhewn stones
Rude monoliths, great monuments
And in times long subsequent
His own Kalassa
Deiwos, Mahameru
Maheshvara, Himavanta
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3. |
Atlantean Gates
03:06
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O' Atlantean gates
From whose pillars emerged
Tumultuous numbers, seaborne
And anon the great deluge... of all!
Ere it was by such insolence stricken
And so smitten by their edicts
Didst that place in full glory shine
Of gold and orichalcum
Its Promethean race lifted from chaos
Societies thitherto increate, whence their semblance
Serpents amongst men were you for wisdom
Bestowing upon the savage order...civilization
Its Promethean race lifted from chaos
Societies thitherto increate, whence their greatness
Serpents amongst men were you for wisdom
Bestowing upon the savage order...civilization
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4. |
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5. |
Grand Babylonia
05:47
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Great kings lifted that great city
Illustrious and radiant Babylon
The crown-jewel of Shinar
Encrusted by the very hands of the gods
But glorious though it was
How bewails the envy of kings!
Th’ pride of the Chaldees
Who once ruled over the nations!
And what much drank they of Her cup
So that all quarters of Her vast dominions
Were overflowing with the contents
…Of the ages
Pharisees! It is Her sacred rites you celebrate
Pharisees! It is Her pagan vestments you don
Babylonia...Gloria!
The beast whereon She sits
Whose horns (kings) are ten
And crowns (isles) number seven
Is like to that place of olde
Sunken in the abyss
And still, they drink profusely of Her cup
O’ deathless procreator
Seductress of empires
Thou hast dressed the death-wound
Come forth at once that all might see
The jewel of Shinar; the pearl of the Seas
Pharisees! It is Her sacred rites you celebrate
Pharisees! It is Her pagan vestments you don
Babylonia ...Gloria!
Drink, drown, drink, drown!
Great kings lifted that great city
Illustrious and radiant Babylon
The crown-jewel of Shinar
Encrusted by the very hands of the gods
But glorious though it was
How bewails the envy of kings!
Th’ Pride of the Chaldees,
Who once ruled over the nations!
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6. |
The Course of Empire
05:36
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The ages of man
Archaic as they are
Gave rise to countless powers
For all their might
Even the most edified collapsed
And still, his eyes are set on splendor
A savage, he roamed the prehistoric Earth
And made of cliffs and caves a dwelling
This half-formed creature of beast-like loins
Would in time become a king
Mastering his environs now behold!
The dawn of sophistication
Eras of war, art, and wisdom
Herald the rise of kingdoms
Amidst the fire of ambition
Flash visions of consummation
See his rise!
So brazen and emboldened
Urged from within
Claim your destiny
He is meant to ascend
And yet is subject to fall
In the course of empire...
Consummation bears so heavily upon him
–Are you not as godly as
you make thyself to be?
Where is the scepter? thy firmness, thy fortitude–
Vainglory and the labyrinth corrupt you
Grandeur imperatively demands grandeur!
The days of yore are long behind us
Aureate clouds of aspiration
His eyes ever set on splendor
Conceiving the advent empire…
Sift through the fragments of your ruins
A pillar, he shall stand at desolation...
...who works his marble for long standing
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7. |
Theology
03:52
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Grant me sight
Bring the obscure to light
Blaze forth O’ wisdom!
Blaze forth O’ Ikon!
The divine ikon whose idolatry
Prevailed the world over
The gods hurled its arcana
Into profoundest depths
Engulfed in darkness
Name and flesh
Indwelling, fire!
..Spirit
They concealed it in mythos
Draping it in lore and symbol
That no man nor king profane
Might usurp it
Usurper, who lays claim for sight
Usurper, who lays claim for light
And hath not made his own fire burn,
As deep embers
And upwards the pinioned soars
To reach the height and majesty
Of his seekings
Luminant with ardor
Burn as embers
That is sight
Burn as embers
That is light
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8. |
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Is not the hour darkest before dawn?
Calamity, bring us a new epoch!
Unto them, unto them
... diluvium
Unto them, unto them
... the depths
Ocean, without end
Water where once reigned mountains
A harrowing sight; dominions claimed by the seas
Remote history sunken ‘neath the foaming waves
Does not the sky when sullen appear as an abyss?
Calamity, dispel this gathering darkness!
Unto them, unto them
….dilivium
Unto them, unto them
... the depths
...and oblivion...
in the night of ages,
in the night...
in the night of ages,
in the night...
in the night of ages,
In the night…
...and oblivion...
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OPHION Madrid, Spain
Ophion is an international extreme metal band formed in 2017 and integrated by Focalor and Monarch. Exploiting the intensity
of feeling and epic atmosphere of the genre, the band conjures musical passages through which they explore diverse themes related to antiquity, mythology and human nature.
*Dominican/Spanish
... more
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