CARPE NOCTEM Stream “Söngurinn sem ómar á milli stjarnanna” and Translate the Lyrics! [Exclusive]

When it comes to a scene that delivers a continuous barrage of extreme metal talent, Icelandic black metal is pretty tough to beat. Much has been made of the Venn diagram that links its most prominent members, resulting in stunning records from Naðra, Misþyrming, and Árstíðir lífsins among others.

Now, the band from whence these projects emerged have finalized their second album Vitrun (pre-order a copy here), and it is a masterpiece of chaotic, apocalyptic, and esoteric black metal. Each song rides a wave of unforgiving drumming, needling guitar work, ominous noise and industrial, and vocals bellowed from the soul. The words accompanying these opuses tell of Norse myths, occult scriptures, and black magic rituals, foretelling the inevitable apocalypse and what lies beyond. We’re streaming the opening track, “Söngurinn Sem Ómar Á Milli Stjarnanna” (transl. “the song that echoes between the stars”) below.

Google Translate has saved the lives and jobs of many people, but in one area it is unforgiving – Icelandic black metal lyrics. To this end, we have the official lyrics provided by the band, in order to unravel some of the mystery that enshrouds Carpe Noctem’s ethos. The lyrics come with a note attached: “This translation is made with the goal of giving the reader a line-by-line comprehension of the Icelandic lyrics, trying to remain as close to the original source as possible.”

Stream the song “Söngurinn Sem Ómar Á Milli Stjarnanna” here and be enveloped by the blackness.

Lyrics: English Translation:
You would not listen to anything except
the song that echoes between the stars
Everything else was only ephemera
which you ignored like a bad dream

You would not even
listen to your own heartbeat
which drowned and disappeared
in the violent cacophony of the firmament

With a sword you drew a line in the sand
between yourself and mankind
And we stared at each other across
that unbreakable boundary

You filled your cup with stagnant water
and drank and regretted the disappointment
which haunts you as a ghost
which haunts you as an evil ghost

With hateful runes you flayed
the flesh that imprisoned you
With seething incantations you weaved
new chains, thorned

With trembling hands
you dug in the damp earth
and sowed curses
your own condemnation

Where you laid down on the earth
and praised the pain
and the suffering you cultivated
like weeds inside of you

Where you laid down on the earth
and praised the pain and the suffering
resilient wild flowers grew

You praised the pain and the suffering

“This world is a grave which pales in comparison to
the song carried to me from the void”
you said and retreated into the warm darkness
vanished from my sight once and for all

The album Vitrun drops on October 5, 2018 via Code666.

Lyrics: Original Icelandic Version:

Þú vildir ekki hlusta á neitt nema
sönginn sem ómar á milli stjarnanna
Allt annað var aðeins hjóm
sem þú leiddir hjá þér eins og vondan draum

Þú vildir ekki einu sinni
hlusta á eigin hjartslátt
sem drukknaði og hvarf
í ofbeldisfullum skarkala himinhvolfsins

Með sverði dróstu línu í sandinn
á milli þín og mannanna
Og við horfðumst í augu yfir
órjúfanleg landamærin

Þú fylltir bikar þinn af stöðnuðu vatni
og drakkst og harmaðir vonbrigðin
sem ásækja þig sem draugur
sem ásækja þig sem illur draugur

Með hatrömmum rúnum fláðirðu
holdið sem fangelsaði þig
Með ólgandi þulum ófstu þér
nýja hlekki, þyrnótta

Með skjálfandi höndum
rótaðirðu í rakri jörðinni
og sáðir formælingum
þinni eigin fordæmingu

Þar sem þú lagðist í moldina
og lofaðir sársaukann
og þjáninguna sem þú ræktaðir
eins og illgresi innra með þér

Þar sem þú lagðist í moldina
og lofaðir sársaukann og þjáninguna
uxu harðgerð villiblóm

Þú lofsamaðir sársaukann og þjáninguna

„Þessi veröld er gröf sem bliknar í samanburði við
sönginn sem berst mér úr tóminu“
sagðirðu og hörfaðir í ylmjúkt myrkrið
hvarfst mér frá augum fyrir fullt og allt