Guest Article By Fiello
What is the creative cornerstone of black metal? Black metal shares among other styles of music the element of mimesis, one which this subgenre is often successful at when finding novel instances of beauty in nature be it natural, human or esoteric. In black metal, the elements of cosmic inversion and ritualistic extremity are often key to understanding several bands. In the
case of Besatt, both of these elements converge in their execution of the narrative structure. What might the verses in the song “Heading for Salvation” be constructing? Ahead are the full lyrics:
Satan – in the south sits on a throne of human heads
Lucifer – in the east gives a speech on eternal verities
Belial – in the north commands an army of demons
Leviathan – in the west mediates revenge in the abyss
Fire – the flames of delight which caress your body
Air – the space where your thoughts roam free
Earth – the place where you create your works
Water – the abyss where you drown your sorrows
A deceased path
Infinity on the horizon
There is only one way to salvation
Head towards the eternal shadows
Let the pentagram lead you to the place
Where the four gods rule the elements
The first verse of this song follows a sequence in which the four cardinal points are named in an order appearing in a counterclockwise pattern if this were being presented visually. The order in which demonic entities are named in every cardinal point can be interpreted as the left hand path– as defiance against circumambulatory ritual in the Northern Hemisphere. If the
clockwise path can be thought represents the right hand path, and temporal irreversibility through solar trajectory, then every line of this verse in “Heading for Salvation” presents initiation through encounters with evil.
In the second verse the sequence repeats and seems to begin in the South again, either having passed the West and beginning a new cycle or further describing the journey first detailed in the previous verse. Where the first verse of this song names the four cardinal points, the second verse does not do so explicitly; instead it names each of the classical elements that correspond to these cardinal points in the same sequence as before. Recurring motifs in the music braid the same pattern of the first verse. This time, the encounters with nature occur as places of specific action and if this is the case the cycle ends in the West once more.
`If indeed all journeys end West, after the widdershins journey around the quintessence, both music and lyrics mutate from this sequence to a verse that is continuous with these verses but breaks the pattern of delivery. Rather than a description of the path, or the pentagram itself, this verse might indicate that these are one and the same. The instrumental passage after each verse performs as a versatile catalyst for the next instance of lyrical delivery that follows, the interplay of harsh vocals and acoustic guitar elegantly juxtaposes the danger and the holiness of the apparent negative theology at play; “A deceased path, infinity on the horizon…”
Because of the possibility that these lyrics could be interpreted as a journey then “Heading for Salvation” is a real time initiation being represented musically and as such it can be said that this song succeeds poetically in the interplay between music and lyrics. The instrumental segments between every verse may serve as intervals of meditation before the understanding of the pentagram is deepened as the lyrics unfold while the end repeats known motifs while allowing the listener to ponder. “Heading for Salvation” is successful because as shown in the last verse the song is itself an invitation to take the path that may well indeed liberate; how it does this depends entirely on the conscience of the listener.
