1. THE CREVICES BELOW - CHARON - UPON THE WINDS OF LAMENTATION

A distant sound of water rippling
A faint disturbance
That moves the foggy air
From the caverns that rise before me
A shadow dances through the murk
As one who dares
To traverse these waters
I too must pay to cross these shores

A dark procession of orderly souls
One by one they board the sacred boat
A journey far across those whirlpools
Beyond the reach of Apollo's light
Waters as filthy as the old man himself
His beard and clothes reek of ages old

But sail upon the wind of lamentation
My friends, and about your head row
With your hands rapid stroke
In conveyance of the dead
(Aeschylus, seven against Thebes)

I see him there at the oars
Of his little boat in the lake
The ferryman of the Dead, Rharon
With his hand upon the oar
And he calls me now
"What keeps you? Hurry!"
(Euripides, Alceslis)


2. TEMPESTUOUS FALL - PYRIPHLEGETHON - IN DEATH'S GAPING JAWS

Fate abysmal, crimes forewarned
Blood of conquerors, valleys' of dead
Souls of once mighty proud men
Boil in blood, a river of flames
Forever drowning in those like slew
Bubbling steam from flesh and sinew

Mors alra auidos oris hialus
Pandil el omnis explical alas
Turba sororum lace Tarlarea

Mors alra auidos oris hialus
Pandil el omnis explical alas
(Seneca, Oedipus)

Slaughter above, the blood seeps
Into the waters down below
The river's girth starts to grow
Torrents of death, the fires arise

When the river's banks burst
Waters mingle with Stygian filth
And curse the land above

...Quae poena memel maneas el sedes, scio
(Seneca, Phaedra)

A realm of plague and death
A kingdom once grand
Now stands before those once conquered,
Now vengeful

...Quae poena memel maneas el sedes, scio


3. MIDNIGHT ODYSSEY - LETHE - THROUGH THE LAIR OF HYPNOS

There is no fire in hell
There is no place like hell
Where the streams wash away your cares
Through the caves all memories fade
When hell freezes over...

There are no fires in hell
There are no flames to keep you awake
Through the lair of Hypnos you stray
Through a bliss, oblivion, nothingness
Far away when hell freezes over

Through the lair of Hypnos I stray
To abyss, oblivion, bodiless

Faceless forms and vapour
Dissolved into the air

Taking my place amongst
The shades of hades
Drinking the waters
Forgetting my deeds
Leaving my memories
What is my name?
Drunk with drowsiness
Departing into sleep

Endless words and murmurs
Weigh down my tired eyes

Through the lair of Hypnos I strayed
Into bliss, elysian emptiness


4. THE CREVICES BELOW - ACHERON - DEFLECTING HEAVEN'S WILL

Below the deserts, the cascading hills of sand
Waters ghostly yet vaster than the greatest lands
The spirits ride, the mud seems to grow
Like hands reaching out to feed on these souls

Absorbing the painful memories
Stabbing away those hindering dreams
Thoughts opaque, the swamp infested gaze
Never will it take the pain away

Flow away from the oceans calming breeze
To the waters, muddied by mortal beings
And their sins, are washed into the shore
Their spirits wreathe, unable to endure

Absorbing the painful memories
Stabbing away those hindering dreams
Thoughts opaque, the swamp infested gaze
Never will it take the pain away

Watching... and wailing for their turn...
Dreading... and cowering for they know...
The words of Juno... The truths they face...

Writhing in this convoluted state
Contorting in these maddening screams

Flectere si negueo superos, Acheronta movebo
(Virgil, Aeneid)

Bathe them in malodorous waters
This decay - the foulest of beings

If I cannot deflect the will of heaven


5. TEMPESTUOUS FALL - COCYTUS - SHADES OF PHANTOM SOULS

Deepest darkest
Realm of my heart
Frozen, fallen
Shades of phantom
Forms dismal
Souls laid with guilt
Traitorous breaths
Whisper falsehoods
And screech like the owls...

Darkest frozen
Deepest fallen
Shades of phantom
Souls blowing cold words
Too late...

In the shades of
Chains forged eternal
You take your place
Amongst the ice

Traitors of blood
Traitors to land
Betray those of welcome slay
Doomed to freeze, the vultures seize
And pick as they please

Traitors of blood
Traitors to land
Betray those of welcome slay
Doomed to freeze, the vultures seize
And pick as they please


6. MIDNIGHT ODYSSEY - STYX - CONVERGE, RIVERS OF HELL

Nine circles travelled
The boundary of the world
Of waters blackened
Converge, rivers of hell

Amongst the yew trees
A silent deathly path
Of vapours poisoned
Exhale, breath of life

Oh waters holy
Of whom the gods swear oaths
A binding promise
No words can be undone

A pact made to be broken
The waters must be drunk
Silent the god tongues
Nine long summers must pass

Another nine years
Forced into exile
From marble halls of grandeur
The realm of Saturn's son

For even he knows
An innocent request
Cannot be broken
Can only end in death

And through night's blackness
The waters cold and dark
Calmly down the cliff side
Are swayed by jagged rock

A realm unworldly
Majestic silver swirls
Immortal waters
Tide against the marsh

The sun and eagle
Have known the water's ways
One gave his chariot
And one - His self revealed

To swear upon them
The silver slygian waves
Is cursed to regret
The fearful stream of hate

Nine circles travelled
The boundary of the world
Of waters blackened
Converge, rivers of hell