''Si monvmentvm reqvires, circvmspice'' is the third full-length album by

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

band

Deathspell Omega Deathspell Omega is a French black metal band formed in 1998 in Poitiers. Their lyrical content deals primarily with Satanism on a metaphysical level – as the band has stated that "all other interpretations of Satan are intellectually invalid" ...

. The album title is a grammatically mis-quoted version of the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

on the tomb of

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

(built by him), meaning "If you seek his monument, look around you". This album is the first part in a trilogy of albums released by the band, followed by ''

Fas – Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum ''Fas – Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum'' (Latin for "Divine Law – Go, Accursed, into Everlasting Fire") is the fourth full-length album by the black metal band Deathspell Omega. The album takes its title from the Vulgate The Vulgate ...

'' in 2007 and ''

Paracletus ''Paracletus'' is the fifth full-length studio album recorded by the French black metal band Deathspell Omega, released on 9 November 2010 through Norma Evangelium Diaboli along with Season of Mist. It is the third part in their metaphysical ...

'' in 2010. The trilogy has been described as "a theological dispute on the divine essence of the Devil, the roles and virtues of faith and the place of man therein", particularly from a Theistic Satanist perspective. One interpretation of the purpose of the album is to examine and proclaim that "Satan is pervading every part of our material and metaphysical realms and how Man’s relationship with Him should be one of reverence and devotion." The album draws on themes of

putrefaction Putrefaction is the fifth stage of death, following pallor mortis, algor mortis, rigor mortis, and livor mortis. This process references the breaking down of a body of an animal, such as a human, post-mortem. In broad terms, it can be viewed ...

decomposition Decomposition or rot is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is e ...

, antinatalism, as well as the work of the French philosopher

Georges Bataille Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (; ; 10 September 1897 – 9 July 1962) was a French philosopher and intellectual working in philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history of art. His writing, which included essays, novels, ...

Background and artwork

The track "Malign Paradigm" is a tribute to the Swedish black metal band Malign, and their track "Ashes and Bloodstench". "Drink the Devil's Blood" is a re-recording of the song of the same name from the band's first album, ''

Infernal Battles ''Infernal Battles'' is the first album by the black metal band Deathspell Omega Deathspell Omega is a French black metal band formed in 1998 in Poitiers. Their lyrical content deals primarily with Satanism on a metaphysical level – as the ...

'', featuring new lyrics with a

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

ic theme. The artwork is "both a statement on the

Logos ''Logos'' (, ; grc, wikt:λόγος, λόγος, lógos, lit=word, discourse, or reason) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric and refers to the appeal to reason that relies on logic or reason, inductive and deductive ...

, providing metaphysical keys to a certain approach on reality, and a statement on our faith and its concrete anchors and applications in the world as every human being can actually experience it. But keep in mind: the light that illuminates us is the very same that blinds us too." The band notes that the artwork is also linked to a lyric from "Sola Fide I" (''"The heart of a lost angel is in the earth"''), taken from

Elizabeth Barrett Browning Elizabeth Barrett Browning (née Moulton-Barrett; 6 March 1806 – 29 June 1861) was an English poet of the Victorian era, popular in Britain and the United States during her lifetime. Born in County Durham, the eldest of 12 children, Elizabet ...

's poem "A Drama of Exile", which retells the exile of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and Satan's role in it.

Musical style and writing

Musically, it represents a massive departure in sound from the band's previous work, both for the increase in recording and production quality as well as for the pursuit of far more

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

and experimental directions than the band's previous work. The album incorporates

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...

s, chaotic moments and significant use of dissonant and atonal riffs and chord structures. The album was also originally intentionally structured in the manner of 1970s

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

s, with each LP side opening with a "prayer" (side four, which opens with "Carnal Malefactor", being an arguable exception). The album was inspired by Christian sources (often Catholic), particularly in its metaphysical discussions. The band frequently quote passages from the Christian Bible, for example 'Third Prayer' quotes Chapter 17 of the

Book of Jeremiah The Book of Jeremiah ( he, ספר יִרְמְיָהוּ) is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and the second of the Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. The superscription at chapter Jeremiah 1:1–3 identifies the boo ...

: "Thus says the LORD, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD.""Hétoïmasia" is Greek for "preparation", which references the empty throne awaiting Christ's return.

Track listing

References

{{Authority control Deathspell Omega albums 2004 albums

Background and artwork

Musical style and writing

Track listing

See also

References