MOROWE – "S"

Released: 14 Feb 2014 by Witching Hour

Morowe is yet another project of Nihil and his fellow musicians (Hans and ML). This release had mixed reviews, depending on a person's attitude towards boundaries of black metal. Generally, their debut was more or less standard black metal, whereas "S" tilted the scales in the direction of post-black metal and sludgy atmospheres. To be honest, I consider it to have been a good idea as there are tons of average bands around, simply following the well-established patterns from the end of the previous century. Therefore, despite "S" being far from perfect, it presented us with a decent foreshadowing of evolution of Morowe's sound.

Download original lyrics and translation
Morowe – Official Page
Bandcamp – BUY and LISTEN
S at Metal Archives

TRANSLATION:

BUBONIC (or PESTILENT) – "S"

1. "W" ("IN")

(instrumental)

2. "W POKOJU MAGII" ("IN THE ROOM OF MAGIC")

In the room of magic

a war with the space

weightlessness

motionlessness

puffs of fear.

Outside there's a lion

gnawing off faces,

and here a silent war,

behind the open door.

In the room of magic

war.

In the room

of magic war.

The room at war

enchants itself. *

The room changes us *

into war from the mirror.

* "Pokój" means both "room" and "peace" in Polish. Thus, the last verses could be as follows:

The peace in war
enchants the room.
The peace changes us into war
from the mirror.

3. "WSZECHŚWIAT PRZYCIĄGA" ("THE UNIVERSE ATTRACTS")

He was looking for the universe

so he let himself free

off the earth he held onto,

just to fall upwards

and when his body slowed down,

he looked at an earth's patch

only to fall down this time

and dive into concrete.

And only then

has he seen it whole,

the dark absence of energy

and the stars.
The Universe
attracts,

in every direction,

crushes you sideways

and rends you along.

4. "WAŻNE" ("IMPORTANT")

A hammer, a motion,

a nail, a bang,

a palm, pain,

blood, hiss.

5. "ONI PRZYJDĄ" ("THEY WILL COME")

They were supposed to come

in a short while,

slowly.

Carrying the old light

to cover the young darkness

and transform it
into brightness.

Yet, a lot

of time has left,

whole seconds,

many meters.

He had found a convenient spot

and was watching.

He was waiting for the moment

of brightness

and darkness

to simultaneously appear

and surcease.

He knows that... (x10)

They will come and light the shadow.

 

6. "NOCNA STRAWA" ("NIGHTLY REPAST")

Already the deathly wine
is pouring from within him.
During one day or many
in intestines
on ulcers
it's fermented
according to no rules.
Oleaginous texture,
its colour black, turbid,
98%.

Again he's preparing a nightly repast
Already the yellow viper
with a human head
the size of an eye,
with human attitude
towards god's "thou shalt not kill",
swims in the noodles.
Enjoy your meal.

7. "Z1"

(instrumenal)

8. "MUCHY" ("FLIES")

He's found them dead
on Niemno's riverbank **
They had swum upstream,
encountering a sickness.
Their wings got numb,
eyes purulent.
Thrown back into (the river),
they swim towards the sea
and farther beyond the sun,
they revolve 'round the planets
like flies 'round excrements.
The fish of hope are flying
back to their god.

** Niemno is a river having its source in the vicinity of Minsk and flows through Belarus, Lithuania and Russia.

9. "TRZECIA DŁOŃ" ("THIRD HAND")

The king was sitting,
crushing the world,
looking and judging,
pointing (at sth),
calculating, being silent,
he nodded gently
his head down.
And a stitched stooge
was fanning him,
taking the air
from under buck's rump.

He offered a hand
that he's already cut off.
To thrust it into crowds,
to sanctify them with their fear,
to herd them like cattle
to and fro without a purpose,
to rip open their order,
to pull the strings
of belfries in hell
or in paradise.

The third hand
livid, numb, tepid.
10. "Z2"
(instrumenal)

And it finally happened: the first translation is online. I'll be trying to add content here on a regular basis, so this blog could become a little database of translated black metal lyrics.

Currently, I'm working on the translation of "S" by Morowe, and "Esperalem Tkane" by Odraza. I hope you're familiar with those two, and if not, go check them out! :)

Morowe "S" at Bandcamp
Odraza "Esperalem Tkane" at Bandcamp

P.S. As there are some Polish black metal bands writing their lyrics in English, I'm considering doing the reverse, that is, translating them into Polish. This audience is definitely narrower but I think I'll do the translations anyway sometime in the (near?) future. Just a thought.

FURIA – "NOCEL" *

Released: 16 Oct 2014 by Pagan Records

First up is the latest release of Furia, a band spearheaded by Nihil (a busy bee of Polish black metal scene and one of the pioneers of its unique sound).

* The title "Nocel" is hard to translate. Firstly, there's no such word in contemporary Polish (maybe it's an archaism, we'll get to that). Secondly, Nihil isn't exactly helpful in interviews as to clarifying the issue.

The root of this word – "noc" –  means "night" and the word is definitely a noun. It sounds like a thing or a person related to night or causing it so at first I wanted to translate it as a "nighter", however, an interviewer in "Musick Magazine" (No 4/2014), Piotr Dorosiński, suggested that "Nocel" is possibly and archaic synonym of Kupala Night (or Midsummer Night) – the night of summer solstice celebrated in many Slavic countries with ritual dances and heathen ceremonies. Nihil enigmatically responded that the answer to this question is to be found on the album and nothing has to be added. Personally, I consider "Kupala Night" to be a valid translation of "Nocel", hence the numerous references to night (and even all- (or omni-) night) in the album's lyrics.


Download original lyrics and translation
Furia - Official Page
BUY Nocel at Pagan Records
Nocel at Metal Archives

TRANSLATION:

FURY – "NOCEL" *

1. "OPĘTANIEC" ("THE POSSESSED")

Enormous night
poured itself
through eyes, ears
and nose
straight into the mirror
into vacant space

and circulates within.

And it made me wake up,
resurrect myself with my own impetus
around my pair of ghostly pivots,
raise flames while dancing,
and further model noise
from trees, rain and discord

and spin and spin and spin
a comatose possessed –
a cataleptic trammeled –
a drowner scorched –
a convict entangled –

a grass snake awoken –
a zealot fucked up –
a clasped fanatic –
a clayman reborn –

And circling 'till dawn
my ties I tighten up,
and braid the ends
of eternity.

* (Probably) archaic for Kupala Night.

2. "IDĄ PTAKI" ("BIRDS ARE COMING")

By the forest birds are coming
where fruit are rotting
there they seek for life,

Neither old,
nor young,
they hunt for eternity.

Leaves are tussling
despite their decay,
heavy birds are coming.

Birds are walking through the fields,
with sustaining lives
their lifetime's occupied.

By night and day,
to plow to reap hate

proud birds are marching.

Birds will fly,
birds will fly,
when their talons
they peck to pieces,
bite to death,
consume.
Once
and far,
once and high.
The farthest, the highest,
the fastest they can,
they will fly.

3. "ZAMAWIANIE DRUGIE" (can mean both: "SECOND ORDER"
or "HIGHER-ORDER VOLITION")

Not to yield to the garrote
Not to yield to the garrote
Not to yield to the garrote
Not to yield to the garrote
Not to yield to the garrote
Not to yield to the garrote
Not to yield to the garrotes
When the will to live is starving.

4. "NIEZWYKŁA LUDZKA NIEPRZYZWOITOŚĆ" ("UNCANNY HUMAN INDECENCY")

Winding path, lead me
straight to the destination,
where nobody has
ever been,

ladle the weight
of sweet truth,
swamp the world
drown the world
in uncanny
inhumane indecency
cross its borders,
overwhelm (with) our wisdom,
(with) our growing expectations,
(with) low cunning,
(with) course of events
and then solidify,
drown the world
in uncanny
inhumane indecency
and for a few moments
softly go quiet,
let it be swamped
let it be drenched in
uncanny inhumane indecency

That's the only power,
blood and sweat,
relief and tribulation,
slothful joy,
eternal circle –
uncanny, inhumane
indecency.

5. "NIGDY I NIGDZIE" ("NEVER AND NOWHERE")

And the monstrous all-night
has fallen,
and with a funerary dance
we are being entertained,
Run,
escape,
don't come back.
I will chase you,
but never and nowhere
will I find you.

6. "MY BEŁKOCZĄ" ("WE GIBBERING") **

We gibbering sullenly
about nothing real,
profusely,
about regrets expressed
before dawn,
to snow
falling from the moon,
we're full of dearth.
Not for nothing.
We gibbering sullenly
we breathe out methane.

** The title isn't grammatically correct in Polish, hence my omission of “are” in the translation.

7. "BEZE MNIE" ("WITHOUT ME")

Without me
this thing inside me
and that thing around.

8. "OGROMNA NOC" ("ENORMOUS NIGHT")

The moon is silent,
let's light torches off our heads,
in the darkness of this enormous
night
let's hack the sidewalks,
to home,
to dawn.
And frenzied with the dance
let's tear the ties,
let's save us
from ourselves.

Into edification,
into enlightment,
into conscious darkness,
into sanctified night.
Into night,
onwards, into night!
into nothing.

Welcome to Dead Polish Autumn, metalheads!

This blog is dedicated to translations of Polish XXI-century black metal lyrics into English. Following this scene, I've become well aware that some bands like Furia, Mgła, Thaw, Morowe etc. get a lot of publicity in foreign media and a lot of praise from non-Polish speakers. As their lyrics are usually an important ingredient of the concepts behind respective albums, it'd be great if a broader audience could understand them. That is why I've decided to try to familiarize those fans (possibly, you yourself among them as you're reading this post) with the lyrics of the well-established, and acclaimed artists.

First upcoming album translation is going to be Furia's "Nocel". Stay tuned!

Also feel free to request a translation.