BLACK SEEDS OF VENGEANCE

I.   Invocation of the Gate of Aat-Ankh-es-en-Amenti (0:43)
         Lyrics and music - Sanders. Argoul played by Mostafa Abd el Aziz.
II.   Black Seeds of Vengeance (3:35)
         Lyrics and music - Sanders.
III.   Defiling the Gates of Ishtar (3:38)
         Lyrics and music - Sanders. Guest vocals by Boz Porter and Gary Jones.
IV.   The Black Flame (3:21)
         Lyrics and music - Sanders. Tibetan Monks appear courtesy of Digital Reincarnation from original           Nephren-Ka sessions.
V.   Libation unto the Shades Who Lurk in the Shadows of the Temple of Anhur (1:32)
         Music - Sanders
VIII.   Chapter for Transforming into a Snake (2:25)
         Lyrics and music - Sanders.
IX.   Nas Akhu Khan she en Asbiu (4:15)
         Lyrics and music - Sanders.anders.
VI.   Masturbating the War God (5:41)
         Lyrics and music - Sanders. Guest vocal by Gary Jones.
VII.   Multitude of Foes (2:09)
         Lyrics and music - Toler Wade.
X.   To Dream on Ur (9:07)
         Lyrics and music - Sanders. Guest lead vocal by Scott Wilson.
XI.   The Nameless City of the Accursed (2:51)
         Music - Sanders. Respirations by Aly et Maher el Helbney.
XII.   Khetti Satha Shemsu (3:32)
         Lyrics and music - Sanders. Chant by Mahammed el Helbney. Guest vocals by Ross Dolan, Derek Roddy,            Gary Jones, Scott Wilson, Bob Moore.

NILE:
Karl Sanders - Guitar, Vocals
Dallas Toller-Wade - Guitar, Vocals
Chief Spires - Bass, Vocals
Pete Hammoura - Drums, Vocals

Derek Roddy - Additional Drums

Produced by Bob Moore and Karl Sanders. Engineered by Bob Moore.
Mixed by Bob Moore and Nile. Recorded at The Sound Lab., Columbia SC.
Cover art by Wes Benscoter www.wesbenscoter.com.
Graphics and imagery by Adam Peterson.

Mastered by Dave Shirk at Sonorous Mastering, Inc., Tempe, AZ.

All songs published by Serpent Headed Music (ASCAP), except Multitude of Foes published by Hittite Requiem Music (ASCAP).

Contact Nile:
PO Box 6062, Greenville, SC 29606 - 6062

Official NILE website:
www.nile-catacombs.com

Nile Management:
Gunter Ford for WORLD Management:
PO Box 3095, Sea Bright, NJ 07760
fax: (732) 747 - 3357, e-mail: worldent@monmouth.com

(P) & (C) 2000 RELAPSE RECORDS. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws. For a massive catalog write to RELAPSE RECORDS: P.O. Box 2060, Upper Darby, PA 19082 U.S.A., E-mail: relapse@relapse.com, Web: www.relapse.com.
RELAPSE RECORDS EUROPE: Postfach 721147, 30531 Hannover, Germany, E-mail: relapseeur@aol.com.

Karl Thanks
Special thanks to Lynda and Kael, Bob Moore, Derek Roddy, Gunter, Dieter, Matt, Gordon, Chip McCabe, Hoz, Pellet, and Schultzie, Mark, Maria, Frank, Mark Price, Richard Johnson, Dave Willis, Shannon Bryant, Don Mitchell, Eddie Hamet, Dunnel Brooks, James Floyd, Richard Wittington, Joe Schietwzer, Duane Bates, Earl Sanders, Scott Wilson, Boz Porter, Trey, Eric, Steve, Pete, Bobby, Punchy, Damon, John McEntee, Ross Dolan, Chris Barnes, Big Daddy, Eric, Mike, John, Alex, and Flo, Grutle and Enslaved, The guys in Thyrfing for being so cool, Peter and Vader, Dark Moon, Luc Lemay and Gorguts, Jim the Death Metal Dude, John Davis, my bandmates, and all the people who have supported us over the years. Thanks!

Pete wishes to thank:
My family, Karl, Chief, Dallas, Pete Sandoval, Flo Mounier, Marcin "My Son" Golebiewski, Alex Hernandez, Kyle Severn, John McEntee, Gunter Ford, Dieter Man, everyone at Relapse Records, The Relapse European office (Maria, Frank, Mark) - thanks for the great time in Berlin!, Morbid Angel, Incantation, Cryptopsy, Immolation, Six Feet Under, Vader, Daniel Corchado and The Chasm, Scott "Mooch Guy" Wilson, Boz "Uncle Frank", Earl "Peanut Gallery" Sanders, Steve Hoier, Bob and Irene Sanders, Mark Swicegood, Bob Moore at the Sound Lab, ALL THE FANS, BANDS, ZINES, and radio stations who have supported us. Welcome to the next chapter!!! Very special thanks to my cousin John Spada who started this madness by giving me my first drum kit. Another very special thanks goes to my good friend Derek Roddy without whom this album would not have been completed.

Chief would like to thank:
My brothers in metal Pete, Karl and Dallas! Earl, Bozz (Uncle Frank), Porter and Scott (foot licker) Wilson for being the best crew in the business, Gunter and Dieter of World Management, Tucker, Trey, Pete of Morbid Angel, Erik and Jared of Hate Eternal, Steve Hoier (great web work bro!), Alex Solca, Bob Butane of Dreamquest Tattoos, Ross, Bob, Alex of Immolation, all my brothers in Cryptopsy, Six Feet Under, Vader, Enslaved, and Thyrfing for the unholy time in Europe, Matt, Pellet, carl, Hoz, Gordon, Chip, Tom, Rob, and everyone at Relapse for their incredible work, Adam Peterson, Wes Benscoter, Kyle Severn, Big Daddy, Dewey Carpenter, G-man and sons, Bobby Beneiti, Dynamo Open-Air Crew, Martin from SKB for the cookies and wrestling, Gorguts, Skinlab, Pissing Razors, Cronic Disorder, John and Rob of Incantation, Oppressor, Suzy, Daniel and The Chasm, Bob and Irene Sanders, Maria, Mark and Uncle Frank at the European Relapse office (thanks for the great time guys, you fuckin rule!), Derek Roddy (great work bro!), Jagermeister, Bob Moore at Sound Lab (thx for the stone echo chamber!), and all the bands, clubs, zines and Nile fans all over the world for your monumental support! I hope you all enjoy this record as much as we do, it's for you! Love and special thanks to ALice, Mom, Dad, Tommy, Anslee and the rest of my family and friends for believing in me and my dreams, thay have come true!!

Dallas would like to thank:
My Wife Jamie for everything, my son Drake, my brother Dylan, my Mom and Granmother for supporting my music, my Aunt Sally, Uncle Jimmy, my cousin Johny (for getting me into music, stay metal!) Kari, Josie, Mary, Lee, Ruth, Mike, (thanks for all the support you guys rule!), My Friends: Brian Allen & crew, Ed Rhone, Chris Corcione, Clay Lytle (for hooking me up with Nile), Chris Nichols, Robbie Lewis, Mario Vasquez, Chris Moran, Deland Trina, Parker, Karl Sanders, Chief Spires, Pete Hammoura, Earl Sanders, Derek Roddy, Sweettooth and anyone else I forgot. Thaks to the bands: Morbid Angel, Cryptopsy, Gorguts, Incantation, Immolation, Dark Moon, Chronic Disorder, Monstrosity, Six Feet Under, Vader, Enslaved, Thyrfing, Cephalic Carnage and Teratosis. I would also like to thank everyone at Relapse and to all our fans for the support. And for all you primitives out there, the secret is to bang the rocks together guys!! In memory of John Dallas Toler.

BLACK SEEDS OF VENGEANCE

The scourge of Amalek is upon you
The seed of Amu hath oppressed you
They hath urinated upon you
And made you to eat feces
They know not Ra
They are the enemies of Asar
They hath defiled your tombs
Violated your women
And made victims of your little ones
They hath befouled the writings of Thoth
They hath burned sacred papyri
they hath cracked open your heads
Smashed your teeth and gouged out your eyes
They hacked off your limbs
And thrown your mutilated bodies
Towards the Heavens mocking Ra
Let not their seed multiply among you
Honour not their wretched little Gods
Crawl not on your bellies before them
Plague and pestilence shall you call down upon them
You must destroy their seed utterly
You shall gash them with flints
You shall gore them with sticks
Hack off their testicles
And cut their phalluses to pieces
Suffer none of them to live
Dismemberment and slaughter shall you perform on them
The mighty Sekhmet will devour them
The chain of Sut is around their neck
Horus hammereth them
Nepthys hacketh them to bits
The eye of Ra eateth into their faces
Their carcasses will be consumed in the desert
The seed of Amu will perish utterly
Their filth shall never breed among you again
We shall blot out the rememberance of Amalek
From under the sky

DEFILING THE GATES OF ISHTAR

Impure am I
Impure I spill my seed
Upon barren earth
And spit in the face of the Goddes
Unclean am I
Unclean I copulate
with the hands of the God
and defile the gates of Ishtar
UnBlessed am I
Unrepentant
Defiant
Buh Luh Uh
Si il Inanna
As Gi Su Ak
Gis Tes
Gis Tes
Unwashed am I
Unwashed I lay violent hands
upon the Altar of the Goddess
In filth I lay
In filth I desecrate
and profane the Temple of Ishtar
And blaspheme in the presence of whores
Baad Angarru
Ninnghizzhidda
Open the Gate
That I may enter
Open
Lest I attack the Gate
Open
Lest I break down the walls
Open the Gate
Lest I cause the dead to outnumber the living
Open the Gate
Lest I cause the dead to rise and devour the living

THE BLACK FLAME

Withdraw Thy Phallus Baboui
Open the Gates of the Duat
For I am Burning in Aataakhu
Chains Bind Me
Flames Encircle Me
And Burn My Flesh
Open
For Me the Gates Shall Open
Over the Fire of the Spirit
The Breath Drawn by the Gods
Arise Apophis Return
That I Might Return
Borne by the Flame
Drawn by the Gods Who Clear the Way
That I Might Pass
The Gods Which Sprang from the Drops of Blood
Which Dripped From
The Phallus of Set
That I might be Reborn
For I am Khetti Satha Shemsu
Seneh Nekai
And Will become Set of a Million Years
Akhu Amenti Hekau
I Shed My Burnt Skin
And am Renewed

MASTURBATING THE WAR GOD

Evil sick flames cast uncertain shadows
in the dimly lit Temple of Anhur
as we count the dead and vanquished
by hacking off their phalluses and piling the severed hands
before the living stone image of the God
The shamed and humbled women of the subjugated
kneel in hopeless aquiescence
as we grasp them by the hair and force them to serve
our father Anhur
Yea we impale them on the massive stone member
of the Ithyphallic War God until
the backs of their throats are torn out
and their bowels are ripped apart
One by one we force the female captives to serve the Ahati
until the Gods legs are awash with blood
and his phallus drips with red and black gore
Un snem sheth tesher mekhsefu parthal m aba neth Anhur
We lay our Bloodstained weapons of Iron
on the Altar of Anhur
and his Seed blesses us with strength to slay our enemies
Like as unto Menthu we have become Ithyphallic
The mighty Sekhmet is with us

MULTITUDE OF FOES

Sep Au Hetep
Ab Au Mekhar Gau t Metkh
Mekhar t Khhert Ua an Aqu
Mekri Sau t Athien Hapti
Tehem Er Sa Msa
I Call Upon Thee My Father Amun
For I am in the midst of A Multitude of Foes
Abandoned by the Legions of Amun and Ra
Engulfed by the Heat of the Fire
Blood of the Impure
Drips from my Weapons
Dismembered Armies Rot in the Sun
Mekhi Kherit Au Aqu
Mtun thai Peten Nekht An Aqu

CHAPTER FOR TRANSFORMING INTO A SNAKE

I am Long Lived Snake
I Pass the Night and Am Reborn Every Day
I am the Snake which is in the Limits of the Earth
I Pass the Night and am Reborn
Renewed and Rejuvenated Every Day
I am a Crocodile immersed in Dread
I am the Crocodile who Takes by Robbery
I am the Great and Mighty Loathsome Reptile
Who is in the Bitter Waters
I am the Lord of those who Bow Down In Sekhem

NAS AKHU KHAN SHE EN ASBIU

Nas Aakhu Khan She en Asbiu
Ua tehani, Ua temam, Ua khames Re Per Akhu
Ua khames em bah khan She en Amu
Ua khames em bah khan She en Seshet
Temam aakhu Thaui, Temam aakhu Shemsu Satha
Saakhu Nebu Tchaut, Saakhu Nebu Khebentiu
Snemeh em bah Akhu-Aqer
Tata ab uk em She en Asbiu
Ta-ua Akh uk em She en Nesersert
Meh u She en Shemmet, Meh u She en Shamu
Ua uk, Ua uk, Ua uk Aat en Khet
Ua uk, Ua uk, Ua uk

TO DREAM OF UR

Desolate and Forsaken
Eerily Moaning Dark Winds
Murmur Incantations
Dusk Calls forth Shadows
Spirits of the Glorious Dead Lingering
Bound to this Place
Thay Whisper of Untold Sagas
of Long Dead Cities
the Seven Shining Cities Sacred to the Aphkhallu
of Ages Past when the World was Young
When Babylon was Blessed of Marduk
and the Sound of her Armies was the Blare
of Ominous War Horns
and the Clash of Immortal Cymbals
of Bronze Gates Arrayed in Splendour
and Magnificent Walls of Sunbaked Brick
of Temples of Marble
and Bloodstained Altars
Long Before the Jeweled Throne of Ur
Fell Silent and Turned to Dust
Beneath the Endless Shifting Sands
and the Inevitable Vengeance of the Elements

KHETTI SATHA SHEMSU

Khetti Satha Shemsu
Khetti Satha Shemsu
Khetti Satha Shemsu
Khetti Satha Seneh
Khetti Satha Tua
Khetti Satha Kesu
Khetti Satha Sethes
Khetti Satha Sekhu
Khetti Satha Senes
Khetti Satha Suti
Khetti Satha Sekhem
Khetti Satha Sekhem
Khetti Satha Sekhem

Over the years, many people have written us asking about the meanings and origins of our song lyrics. Out of dedication to our listeners, we have decided to include a brief description of each song from Black Seeds of Vengeance.

Invocation of the Gate of Aat-Ankh-es-en-Amenti
This piece features a Middle Eastern instrument called the Argoul. The Argoul is a kind of double reed oboe with a mouthpiece made of two pieces of reed. One is used to produce a droning note and the other is pierced with holes to obtain the melodic notes. It is played with a system of continous respiration that lends a sustaining effect. The Argoul is a very old instrument, having already been in use at the time of the Pharaohs. The additional sub-octave drone was reproduced by Bob Moore at the Sound Lab by means of recording the droning resonance of a Tibetan Brass Bowl on 2-track 1/2 inch tape at 30 ips and replaying it in a continous loop at 15 ips. Manually holding and dragging on the tape reel achieved the eerie, pulsating flanging. Recording a small Turkish gong and playing the tape in reverse at half speed similarly achieved the reverse gong. The chanting lyrics are from Spell 31 of the Nectanabus Sarcophagus Text. It is noteworthy for being characteristic of the time period when Graeco-Roman and Mesopotamian influences were being assimilated. By the time of the Greek period of control of Egypt, there had been much adaptation of religious, scientific, cultural and magickal influences from various neighboring nations. According to Dr. T. Hopfner in his Grietscisch-Aegyptischer Offenbarungszauber published in Leipzig 1921, the name "Aat-Ankh-es-en-Amenti" means vaguely, Tomb of eternal life in the Underworld.

Black Seeds of Vengeance
Black Seeds deals with the subject of the Amalachites -- a pestilential nation of nomadic desert peoples that continually plagued the Egyptians. Despising anything Egyptian, the Amalachites would cruelly abduct, murder, mutilate, dismember, violate and sodomize random Egyptian peoples. They would ruin crops, salt fertile earth, steal or kill livestock and urinate on stored grains. Their particular joy was to destroy, steal, blaspheme and befoul with feces sacred Egyptian objects: art, scrolls and religious papyri. They became a scourge to the ancient Egyptians. The Amalachites also became a terror to Hebrews when the Jews were wandering in the desert after the Exodus. The Amalachites would lie in wait for Hebrew stragglers to fall behind and become separated from the long lines of travelers. Then they would swoop in and murder whatever man, women or children they happened upon. The tired, weary, sick, very old or very young Jews were their favorite victims. They were such a terror to the Hebrews that Jehovah said of their leader, Amalek, "For his sins, Amalek shall be first in Hell". ALso on our minds when we wrote Black Seeds was the idea that when someone wrongs another person they plant a small seed in thet person's soul. As this evil seed starts to germinate, the desire for revenge becomes like a malignant, cancerous growth that causes one to become empty and lose the person they once were. The lyrics are voiced from the perspective that the "speaker" is some sort of rebellious leader - iniciating the downtrodden and oppressed masses to take bloody vengeance for years of abuse at the hands of the Amalachites.

Defiling the Gates of Ishtar
These lyrics are taken from translations of cuneiform tablets found during excavation of the temple libraries of Uruk and Sippur. The Sun God's temple was recently discovered and excavated with its library intact by Iraqi archaeologists. Autorship of this particular text is generally ascribed to one Sin-Leqe-Uninni of the 7th century BC, but it is unclear if he was actually the author, or if he only recorded a handed-down, ready-made oral narrative believed to date from as far back as the second millennium BC. The cuneiform tablet is partially crumbled and fragmentary, and contains many omissions and variations that differ from the many other broken tablets found in other locations. The story seems to be a minor segment of The Epic of Gilgamesh, and concerns the Myth of Enkidu. It is noteworthy for its extreme variation from the standard version found at Ninevah, and it also contains a number of fragments that cannot be placed in correct sequence with any degree of confidence. Enkidu was a primitive, brutish, longhaired wild man who lived among animals until tamed by a prostitute and introduced to Uruk to rival the hero Gilgamesh. In this version of the myth, Enkidu is brought before Shamhat the Harlot. Shamhat removes her garments and spreads her legs before the murderous youth. Enkidu responds by violently raping her for seven days and nights. After he is finally sated, he allows himself to be taken to Uruk, to the Temple of Ishtar where he is offered many sacred temple prostitutes as a bribe to profaning the goddess Ishtar, manually ejaculating on her form. At this point, several lines of cuneiform are crumbled and missing. The next readable characters describe Enkidu using ritualistic words of power to blaspheme and threaten the Goddess. He damands the opening of the gates of the underworld, calling forth undead minions to rise and wreak havoc among the streets of Uruk, where he is to wrestle with Gilgamesh.

The Black Flame
The Black Flame is from The Papyrus of the Undying, unearthed by Maspero in 1883 and quickly disposed of by private auction. A translation of the text was later published in an article in The Cairo Arachaeological Critiques May 1902 and in the book Textes et dessins magiques by G. Daressy (Cairo 1903) and reprinted by Lexa in volume 2 of his La Magie dans l'Egypte Antique (Paris 1925). The Papyrus of the Undying was generally dismissed as rambling, illogical, profoundly incoherent, perverse and profane to such an extreme extent that the text became regarded as a curio- a minor text of secondary import that originated from a small, uninfluential serpent cult. The papyrus is believed to date to the end of the Fifth Dynasty, about 2350 BC, and appears to be the work of the priests of the Cult of Seta. It deals with matters of the underworld, afterlife and magical regenerative formulae, as well as several blasphemous chapters devoted to the destruction of the sun god Ra. The historical value of such questionable material was, at that time, no doubt considered to be of lesser import than other more popular works such as the new translations of The Book of the Dead, for this reason the radical and unpopular Papyrus of the Undying fell to dismal obscurity. The text did not reappear again until 1912 when it was purchased by Rollo Ahmed, a native Egyptian occult expert and author of several books around the turn of the century. Mr. Ahmed did much further research on the papyrus and circulated several new translations of the text. However, because of his reputation among legitimate scientists as a serious occult practitioner, largely from his early years spent studying the dark arts first hand in Africa, South America and Asia, his views and interpretations of The Papyrus of the Undying were dismissed as unsubstantiated, and never fully accepted among the mainstream of the academic community of his time. The original manuscript was quietly acquired in 1939 when famed Nazi occultist Otto Van Anza took it to Germany. Presumed lost during the fall of Berlin in 1945, it was recently rediscovered in the burnt out remains of a bunker underneath a construction site in East Berlin in 1998. The papyrus has been partially restored and is now on private display in the Berlin Museum of Aegyptologie. The lyrics of The Black Flame are taken line by line from chapter 36 "The Chapter for being Reborn". It mentions Baboui, the dog-faced ape, guardian of the Lake of Flames, who feeds upon the overturned bodies of the enemies of Osiris -- rending, raping and devouring the souls of the damned. Baboui also holds the power to be a magickal formula for escaping fiery chained imprisonment in the underworld. It bears a strong resemblance to Spell 316 of the Pyramid Text of Unas, but seems to have several distinct variations, probably relative to its use by the priests of the Cult of Seta.

Libation unto the Shades who lurk in the Shadows of the Temple of Anhur
This instrumental piece utilizes a gut string classical guitar, monk chanting and gongs. It was recorded in the stone echo chamber located underneath the basement of Sound Lab Studios. Multiple Neumann microphones were positioned so as to catch the reverberating echoes of the guitar reflecting off the chamber's stone walls. The melody is based on a traditional Egyptian harp piece adapted for arrangement on the six string classical guitar. The theme of the title refers to the Temple of Anhur and the parasitic specters that feed upon the spiritual force of the bloody sacrifices enacted there.

Masturbating the War God
The lyrics to Masturbating the War God are an amalgam of two minor works Der Aegyptische Krieg Pharos by Brugsch and War Rituals of the Old Kingdom Pharaohs, a 13-page paper written by E. Wallis Budge. We have faithfully and painstakingly adapted these words as closely as possible, in order to preserve the purity and integrity of the originals. They describe the bloody ritualistic sacrifice of prisoners of war to the god Anhur, who is also known to the Greeks as Onouris. The Greeks identified him with their own counterpart, Ares, god of war, ANhur was believed to be the personification of the war - like nature of the sun god Ra, and he was often coupled with the god Shu, who held up the heavens, and was invoked under the composite god Anhur-Shu. In Egyptian art Anhur is portarayed with a headdress adorned with four straight plumes and holding a lance. He is often depicted in full ithyphallic mode. The Brugsch book from whence these lyrics came is generously graced with several reproductions of the original carvings and paintings from the Temple of Anhur. Given the graphic nature of the gory, ritualistic executions, sacrifices and ithyphallic impalements of helpless prisoners of war, it is a small wonder that so much wanton defacement and censorship was performed on the hieroglyphs and carvings by the early Christian arachaeologists. Only in recent years have the attitudes of scientists, museums and archaeologists changed from that of narrow-minded religious control and censorship to one of honest documentation, preservation and presentation of these priceless artifacts of our Earth's ancient history.

Multitude of Foes
These lyrics deal with the epic tale of the battle of Kadesh, in year 5 of the reign of Ramses the Great, about 1274 BC. They are derived from Ramses II personal account of the battle, preserved in an epic poem that is repeated in eight inscriptions in the temples of Karnak, Luxor, Abydos and the Ramesscum, as well as a shorter version called sometimes "The Report" or sometimes "The Bulletin". This account emphasized his personal bravery in achieving a single handed victory, but the Hittite record, inscribed in tablets in their capitol city Boghazkoy, also known as Hattusas, relate a different story. Ultimately the Wgyptians and the Hittites came to terms with a peace treaty, which included a cease of hostilities, a division of borders, trade provisions and a non- aggression pact with a mutual promise to come to one another's aid should one of their nations come under attack from a third party. Despite the stalemated conclusion of the war, each side boasted of complete and heroic victory over the other.

Chapter for Transforming into a Snake
This lyric is taken respectfully from The Papyrus of the Undying, particularly from the chapters 22 and 23 -- The Chapter for Transforming into a Snake and The Chapter for Transforming into a Crocodile. It bears an incredible resemblance to plate 27 of the Papyrus of Ani -- The Book of the Dead. In both the religious and profane literature of the ancient Egyptians, we learn thet the gods and man were able to assume at will the form of any animal or bird in the next life. No less then 12 chapters of the Book of the Dead are devoted to providing the deceased with the words of power necessary to transform himself. Within modern magickal systems, these passages are commonly regarded as possibly a protective spiritual metaphor, or thought of perhaps as a precursor to the common modern working "taking on the godform". But because of its inclusion in an obscure serpent cult text, it pits light. Of special curiosity is the last line "I am the Lord of those who bow down in Sekhem." In the Faulkner translation of The Book of the Dead, Faulkner renders the last reference of Sekhem as Letopolis. Quite natural as Letopolis is the Greek name for the ancient city of Sekhem, a cult center devoted to the worship of Sebek, the crocodile god. But Budge translated the hieroglyph as Sekhem -- no big deal, the reference is to the same place -- except when using the original Egyptian wording "Sekhem," there is undeniable phonetic word play considering the several distinctly differnet hieroglyphs pronounced "Sekhem." There are several hieroglyphs interpreted as being pronounced as "Sekhem" and consequently several different meanings. For instance, Sekhem is also interpreted to describe the divine right of power of pharaoh to use violent force granted to him by the gods for the sake of Maat in Egypt. But in the context of The Papyrus of the Undying, Sekhem is used many times as meaning a "shrine" or "sanctuary", a place of emptiness, or sometimes as a state of forgetfulness or a trance-like state. Within the framework of death metal song lyrics, any or all of these meanings could "work", i.e. "I am the Lord of those who bow down in Violence" or "I am the Lord of those who bow down in mindless emptiness" or "I am the Lord of those who bow down to Sbek" or "I am the Lord of those who bow down in Letopolis".

Nas Akhu Khan she en Asbiu
The title of this piece translates vaguely as "Invocation to those who dwell in the Lake of FLames." It is taken from the Spell 112 of The Sarcophagus Text of Nectanabus and has elements very similiar to passages from the Book of Am-Tuat and The Book of Gates, two very old texts depicting the Duat, or Underworld, of the Egyptians. The chanting hymn is interpreted as being a sort of hymn homage to the souls of the damned who burn in tiery pits of torment in the underworld. Although the chant is readily available in English translation, we have chosen to adhere as closely as possible to the original Egyptian phonetic phrasing, to preserve their natural violent vocal rhytms. The old tongue somehow better communicates the utter feelings of orgasmic self-immolation generated within the natural spiritual force of the original Egyptian syllables of the text -- and that essential "power" is somewhat lost when attempted with the English translated version.

To Dream on Ur
To Dream on Ur is a moody, epic piece meant to reflect on the idea that nothing lasts forever -- everybody dies, and even the mightiest of man's achievements are doomed to become merely dust, debris and forgotten ruins in the face of the inevitable vengeance of the elements. "Nothing lasts forever but the Earth and Sky" is actually a very old saying.

The Nameless City of the Accursed
This song takes its title from an H.P. Lovercraft tale. The Nameless City tells the story of Randolf Carter and his experience amongst the catacombs wherein dwell the spiritual remnants of a race of prehuman serpent creature who built a great civilization, and then retreated beneath Earth to a vast subterranean city with the coming of Man. They exist now only as hateful shades that come forth from the pits and chasms of their Sabatean resting place in the form of a howling, swirling, tempestous wind. They possess an utter hatred for anything human, and are driven by a maddening thirst for vengeance against the human race. Musically, the piece contains many chanting voices; gongs; choir-like monks; subliminal, horrific screaming; African ritual shakers fashioned from human bone and resonant Tibetan chanting. It also includes a Tympanic Kettledrum solo. The chanting voices are reminiscent of the Arabic ceremony of Dhikr. In the Dhikr ceremony, all the participants repeat the name of Allah in a system of hypnotic respirations that bring them to a kind of serene detached trance. The leader then psalmodies an improvisational poem that may be either sacred or profane. In this case it is a chant of the Coptic tradition, which has maintained its original form from a pharonic chant. It is said that this melody was one that accompained the embalment of mummies.

Khetti Satha Shemsu
Khetti Satha Shemsu is another piece taken from The Papyrus of the Undying. Within that text it is known as Chapter 17 "Hymn of Servitude to the Serpent Seta." According to the many references in the Rollo Ahmed translations. Khetti-Satha is a composite deity composed of two older deities. Khetti is a giant 50-ft underworld snake whose duty is to breathe fire in the face of the damned. Satha is a huge serpent worshipped for its regenerative and reincarnative properties. "Homage to the Servitude of the Serpent Seta" is a chanting type of hymn is praise of the serpent deity, to be recited en-masse by the assembled sacrificial throng of followers. The word "Shemsu" is typically interpreted as "follower" or "worshipper" or "member of the divine bodyguard". The words of the hymn are declaring homage, praise and eternal servitude to the deity. Of note are the final recited words of "Sekhem". According to Lexa in his 3-volume La Magie dans l'Egypte Antique (Paris1925), inthis context the word Sekhem is not necessarily used in its usual strictly violent meaning. It is debatable whether or not any violence is inherent in the ideas put forth by the priests of the Cult of Seta, although what is reasonably certain is that the word Sekhem is used principally for its meaning of a mindless state of unconsciousness achieved through repetitive chanting. When the state of emptiness is realized, the worshipper is "open" or "ready" to accept the control of the spirit of the deity. The chanting lyrics are left in their original state on this recording, again to preserve their rhytmic power and mind-numbing hypnotic essence.