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Compendium Vampyrica by Vampyrouss

Synth Rock | 18 track album

Compendium Vampyrica Related images:

Release Date:

Tuesday, 31 October 2017

Track Listing:

(Instrumental)

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Garbed in crude shadow she stands before me

Pale like supple marble, a statue of purity

Innocence even drifts from twixt her milky thighs

A scent so sickly sweet a spell of giddiness arrives


Taking away my breath I find myself upon the floor

Staring up to heaven, her pearly gates and more

Thrashed upon a bed of velvet, crushed and needing air

She pounces upon her prey like a plague, my passion predator


Her blank eyes stare through me

As with her lips she parts them wide

Her fangs strike deep into my core

Spewing for her my life...


Garbed in moistened crimson she sways above me

Inebriated by my blood she breathes debauchery

Caressing my chest with her fingers like sharpened knives

Waning from my blood-loss a spell of dizziness arrives


Taking away my life I feel her lips upon my skin

I stare up to the heavens to escape her eyes, her sin

Splashed upon her mouth congealing stains, my scarlet gore

She rolls her head towards the skies and parts her lips for more


Her bare skin grinds upon me

As I writhe with a final rasp

I know I'll die this moment

Here in Pestilence's pleasant grasp...


Even as she tears my throat and the room begins to turn

Upside-down and insides out I can see my stomach churn

I still feel the wretched plague in my ebbing, risen core

I would give up anything to hold her just for a second more


And so now I've reached the end of the line

As she rakes her cold claws down my spine

Pulling the cord the light finally dies

Plunged into darkness yet I still feel her eyes


Through the ear-splitting silence I can still hear her sighs

Close my eyes and my mind as I reach my demise

And her wicked laughter still spreads like disease

Even in death my soul will never rest in peace...

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The faltering flame, it wanes before my eyes

As darkness finally conquers Lady Bastet's Holy shrine

A grey day overhead as her death is mourned

This betrayal of the Gods whom took away her refined form

Will raise the wrath of slaves taken in by her dark charms

Wresting 'twixt the fabrics which kept her men from taking to arms

A Holy war now beckons like a plague upon the Nile

With Deathlike crooked fingers pointing scythes unto the sky

Unto the skies...


Goddess of the flame no longer flickers fervent eyes

The Lady of the East no more with the Sun shall rise

Our perfumed protector, fallen to protect her kin

Shall see her legend carried on a War of Deicidal Sin

In her name and against her will, the powers shall be slain

"For glory!" and "for Egypt!" and to ease the pain

To ease the pain...

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Under scarlet evening skies I sigh

Opening my undead weary eyes

Ready to walk into the night


As the final light of the sun recedes

I catch the scent of her

My solemn dream, my only need


She sees past my disease

My lack of humanity

Making this curse feel as real

As a dream and it would seem

This is the seductress for me


I reach from the dark

Her I seek to fulfill my heart

Rising as the dusk

I give in to my lust


I beg: "Set me free

Of this passion tearing me

Encompassing all light

Like the coming of the night..."


Finally we meet

Hungering our darkest needs

Gently she disrobes her seams

And instantly my soul is redeemed


In her I trust my never ending lust

From lust to dusk...

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Through mist veiled night she comes to me

Dressed in furs with eyes of grief

"Destiny!" she barks at me

Through flesh torn fresh from the throats of fiends


"Those like me whom upon night feed

On flights of lust and debauchery"

Is this the nature of the beast you seek?

- silence -

She is lost to me...


I see the darkness in your eyes

The sullen tears welling up inside

The fury of the beast you try to hide

Will be unleashed tonight


I fear the hope in you has died

Too late my dear to reconcile

Your rage like the glowing moon will rise

Reveal your Lycanthropic guise

Arise...


Bathed in blood you pounce upon your prey

With snarling fangs and jagged claws

I see perfection in swift decay

Waged in war you falter in reverie

With longing eyes and primal sighs

I wish for you to stay with me

And rid your mind of the impending prophecy

You are not what you wish, but what you are

Beyond the beast there beats a frail heart...


Deep within you always knew the truth

Behind those (Autumnal) eyes where sorrow blooms

You bare your fangs at me tonight

Will you take my life? Or will you decline?


Will you take a chance and see it through?

Or take the path of Loup Garou?

I feel your spirit rise as with the moon

Will you see sense? Or red in hatred's hues?


I'll ease your metamorphosis

Bearer of the light, your nemesis

Resist the passion in our veins

The silver lining still remains


The night is young, the hate is strong

In you the fallacy that longs

To be released from deep inside

Reveal your Lycanthropic guise

Arise...

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Rising from deep slumber

Losing the crystal lake

Shattered dreams like fallen stars

Disappear as I awake


Howls in the distance

Beckon reality

Somewhere a siren whispers

Calling out to me...


Dreams are lost 'twixt life and sleep

Spiralling away with speed

Tears are shed into the night

Endless and without peace


She always hears and soothes the fears

With passionate embrace

Take me now my silent guide

Lead me through the blackest veil


Always shall I follow

Her radiance through the gloom

And never will I cease

Gazing upon the harvest moon


No matter if the shadows consume

Everything of worth

As the light fades once again

And stars shine upon the earth


She will rise and take her place

Ascending to the throne

The regal jewel of the night

Come to take me home


Always shall I follow

Gazing upon the harvest moon


Come enlighten me

Lend me your noble gallantry

Bestow me with your ancient gift

To always penetrate the darkest mist

This is my only wish...


Arriving at the precipice

Peering into the sea below

Gazing out beyond the shore

Bathing in her glow


Her face fades into the twilight mist

Whispering of her leave

Departing as my weary lids close

Drifting into endless sleep

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(Instrumental)

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"Good things come to those who crave

Passionate moments in warm embrace

Always awaiting the next congregation

Overwhelmed by this undying elation..."


Her darkened shadow and pallid skin

I caught a glimpse of through forest limbs

The twisted boughs and whistling winds

I traced her tracks deeper still


Steeper I clambered beyond danker woods

Until her eyes I met 'neath shadowed hood

"Take my hand and come with me"

So her hand I took, though cautiously


We ran through thickets, I lost control

She took my body and stole my soul

By gnawing fangs deep into my throat

This evening forever ours to own


I watched her glide, her wondrous gait

My deepest lust she would gladly sate

We lay together by the moonlit lake

Until dawn approached us to seal our fate


The sunrise... seared my veins...

Full of fire... set ablaze...


To her castle we fled in throes

We crept in darkness and shadow

Into her coffin our bodies heaved

Until the sunlight had duly ceased


I watched dusk settle into night

We kissed under the pale moonlight

I graced her skin with my lips

From nape to navel my solemn kiss...


"I walk the land of dreams

Take my hand and follow me

Through forever with it's shining light

To see the wonders of this coming night..."

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The symbol of Death reflected in her eyes

Feelings of remorse suggest a shattered mind

Remembering how she let the flame expire

Watching the line drawn deep beneath the mire


The flames grow higher illuminating her lies

But for one last time her true beauty shines

Under the shadow of her wicker tomb

She seeks reconcilement with the one she slew...


Once the back is turned the deed is done

As ceremonial pyres light beneath the setting sun

Time grows short as the Pagan chants arise

Emotionless she stands with only Karma by her side


The waning sun barters with the night

As the embers below begin to rise

The lick of flames drown out her cries

Until only ashes blow into the mourning skies...

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The wind has blown so cold since her demise

Howling through winter skies

Hanging onto the thin threads left inside

He yearns to give her life

In the corners of his study (and his mind)

The answers he will find

Chasing dragons in excess he pines

For her...

He adores her dress and slowly drifts away

As a profound change and altered state he takes


Stalking in the night long shadows pave

For her safe passage to the prey

Unwitting "poor hoars" reeking of high pay

Who would miss them in any case?

In dark corners kept for sinful embrace

Each night his knife inscribes

His signature, a gothic font engraved

In them...

He discards the dress and dons a mask of pain

Shocked and in awe as his heart begins to race


Locked away he swears to wrong his rites

Each a blood drenched sacrifice

With a potion to bring them back to spite

And free him of the guilt knotting inside

In the corners of his study (and his mind)

The answers he will find

To unlock the secret formula of life

For them...

He abhors the dress with vehement disdain

Yet the Ripper's ruby kiss will rise to strike again!


At the toll of twelve he slips into attire

(Dressed to kill)

Fully risen and peaked, brimming desire

Veiled by cheap frills

This femme fatale prances deep into the night

Unaware of the crowd behind

Assembling on the horizon with vengeance on their minds

For him...

They cast his husk upon a stake then spark a flame

Engulfed in fire, ablaze, the Ripper's ruby kiss is tamed

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From the vast and deep seas she comes

A moan of ecstasy, elation!

Flooding us with her tidal wave

Causing worldwide devastation


Tsunamis dance over civilised lands

And cobblestone Victorian roads

Across the desolate desert plains

Tearing  through the woodland groves


Her wrath they say could bring the end of days

And catastrophic Armageddon

The path she paves with her abysmal rage

Strays ever left from our salvation

The scrolls they wrote of prophecies in prose

"Atlantis in extremis..." it reads

Of Earth in throes as the ocean flows

Amassing rivers into great seas


The Nile is shamed by it's minuscule frame

The fury of Mother Nature scorned

The Atlantic outsized by the global tidal rise

The Pacific made insipid by dawn

Her cult they say warned us of this day

And cataclysmic Armageddon

The past she laid to rest in ocean graves

As she bows below to thunderous ovation!


"Love" still lies deep beneath the seas

Clutching onto Biblical tales

His dying smile now ravaged and vile

Bloated 'neath the ocean he pales


Yet still holds hope for the faith he chose

A self-belief in self-deceit

That she will reveal her passionate zeal

Three words from her are all he needs


Beneath the waves he waits and grieves

As time passes by and all hope leaves...

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I crept my way through the thicket leaves

And the pouring rain, you marked the trail

And in your face I saw the pain of a thousand frays

I left your gaze and met the skies

In hues of grey, the clouds exhaled

Your trance-like gait held me in sway

As I followed you led the way (I led the way)

You danced with the strongest winds tempest

My Angel midst the storm (amidst the storm)

I heard you sing a song for me

That I would swear (sounded wolves to call)

A howl to the moon and how she shone

Her brightest light (upon our path)

Golden with romance we strolled our dance

Deep into the night (as we fade to white)


And at last I could see your hand reaching out to me

But alas this dream was not to be

You floated away on the breeze (Fade away)

Higher you swept becoming a ghost above the trees... (Fade to white)

(Take me)


I crept my way through the graveyard gates

In the pouring rain (to where I lay)

And no longer in your face could I see the pain

Of your final days (snuffing out the flame)

I left in a haze, would we meet in the skies

Those hues of grey? (where we will remain)

In trance-like state, hold me and sway

Take me away (take me away)

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(Instrumental)

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Sunday is gloomy my hours are slumberless

Dearest the shadows I live with are numberless

My frail white flower will I never awaken you?

Not where the black coach of sorrow has taken you

Angels have no thought of ever returning you

Should they be angry if I thought of joining you my love?

Side by side


I waited 'till dreams like my heart were broken

The flowers all dead and the words unspoken

The grief that I knew was beyond consoling

The beat of my heart was a church bell tolling

My eyes could not see one I wanted to love me

The Earth and the flowers are forever beyond me

The bell tolled for me but the wind whispered "never!"

It's you that I love and I bless you forever with

Gloomy Sunday tears

For you


Gloomy is Sunday with shadows I spend it all

My heart and I have decided to end it all

Soon there'll be candles and prayers that are sad I know

Let them not weep, let them know that I wish to go

Death is no dream, for in death I'm caressing you

In my heart and soul I'll always be missing you my love

My dying bride

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Slowly as the guests arrived to dance

We embraced, our bodies entwined

Composing our verses under amorous trance

Waltzing in wonder we waited to dine


Her hair flowed free in the midnight breeze

Her body gleamed bright under Diana's beam

At one with the Earth and at peace with her soul

Ritualistic redemption was hers to behold


In darkness they pledged their lives to the cross

And put faith in their texts with all context lost

To align with the crimes and accuse of devilish rites

In the name of "Love" and "Glory" they rode into the storm clad night...


Coldly as the collective espied

A mere glimpse of her glorious figure divine

We made our way to the heart of the dance

A rapturous ovation arose as we arrived


Her mind drifted skyward to reach inner peace

As her body lay motionless she ascended with ease

She felt the embrace of the lunar five-fold kiss

Enrapture her soul and moisten her lips


Under cover of darkness they stalked their prey

Now curled beside a fire the Sinning mistress lay

They charged at once wielding the power of light

In a bout of sheer violence they took her defenceless life...


And there she lay in a shallow grave

Hidden by their shadows in her own blood she bathed

Proudly they stood 'neath the glorious storm

Majestic thunder rumbled, surely a sign from their Lord?


Marked with a cross they swiftly buried their loss

One of their children so needlessly lost

To Witchcraft and sin, those carnal delight

Laid to rest now and cleansed from that terrible blight...


Potently as night drew her veil

Of sleek stormy black skies and their cloud laden trail

The waltz wound down under spell of the wine

A slow grinding gait the throng came in time


Arriving at last at the vast labyrinth estate

Death had left her kiss, such a vile aftertaste

They entered the halls for their heroes return

They slew the Dragon and then watched her burn


They killed for their Lord a blasphemous wench

Returning to find that all truths were bent

Their hosts bore warped faces, snarling fangs and red eyes

The tables now turned it was time to plead for their pious and pitiful lives...

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Candles flicker guiding me

Through the rusted iron gates

Licking in the soaring winds

Dancing with enchanting grace


The ground beneath my feet heaves

Shifting, rifting, splayed

As I move along the undead throng

Beneath me in their graves


I see glimpses of them

From their monoliths and tombs

Their claws grate heavily against

The ancient marbled ruins


I hear their sinister laughter

Echo through the starlit night

I see their shifting shapes and shadows

Sweeping through the isles


Creeping through the cemetery

Passing by the burial mounds

The wind carries ghastly laments

Whispering their depraved sounds


Peering through the cobwebs

And the twisted branches of the trees

Stumbling across the demonic rites

On the night of a Samhain feast


Scaled Sins tear at my skin

Passing me through many hands

Taking me and taunting me

Preparing their torturous plans


Skulls litter their lair

Alongside rats and broken bones

No matter how loud my screams resound

I cannot surpass their moans


The candles are snuffed at once

With a final tempestuous blow

They clamber with their cobwebbed toes

Into their abode below


Sacrificed to Devils

I see their festive fires light

Frightening figures of fervent Evil

Ushering my demise


Congregated Demons

With red eyes stare right through me

Chanting dark and twisted words

At I, the Samhain feast...


...I, the Samhain feast!

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Bleakness churning in the dark

The skies above me dismal and stark

Betraying the earth with icy rain

Washing away all but the searing pain


This midwinter eve

Before the beauty of nature took her leave

Forsaking every moment of the past

To the barren blizzard of a stone-cold heart


Ice-cold blasts burning my skin

Cannot compare to the aching within

Foolishly searching through the drift

To find the way back to that perfect wish


That midwinter eve

Before the beauty of nature took her leave

Forsaking every moment of the past

To the barren blizzard of a stone-cold heart


Weakness showing in the cracks

The never-ending winter recedes back

Thawing the untainted world beneath

From a thousand years of nightmarish sleep


Those midwinter eves

When the beauty of nature took her leave

Forsaking every moment of our past

For the emptiness of a broken heart

...my heart

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Blood!


Blood rains from the skies

The day their messiah dies

And Demons hail once again

The Sovereign Evil begins


The scythe digs in as Death is unveiled

Digging deep as they're impaled

The crowds disperse as bodies rip

Sinews are torn as blood runs thick


Darkness cometh...


Darkness cometh...


...Darkness ensues!

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About Compendium Vampyrica:

COMPENDIUM VAMPYRICA is an album long in the making. A follow up to the 2009 debut "A Dark Desire" we initially started recording some of these tracks (which had been live staples) as an EP late that year and previous to that all of the songs were originally recorded and speckled throughout our early demo recordings (2004-2008) .

The idea, was to bring the songs up-to-date and this had been tried several times, 2009, 2011, 2012 and now in 2017. I found all the files I could, from the rough-DIY demo days through to less barbaric audio sources, many different versions of the music containing different elements, different tempos and stages of completion... and I began sifting through creating the "ultimate" version of each.

This was huge undertaking, just matching up the parts and cleaning away unwanted external hiss and other issues took longer than I can care to remember! I went back to the initial finished demo recordings, the earliest versions of the songs that I had available and I listened to what made them special in the first place. This was to be my guide on how the new versions would eventually appear, with the same structures and tempos, I used this as my template to map out the album.

Then came the fun of adding in all the new elements which had come from a decade (in some cases closer to a decade and a half!) of development, different samples and ideas, things we'd done live that I remembered or could watch from footage of gigs and rehearsals and including anything that was always supposed to be in the songs but was beyond our abilities or means back then.

So, although the album title "Compendium Vampyrica" refers to the songs themselves as a collection of stories, a Vampyrouss mythos of sorts, it also refers to the way these songs have been resurrected, drums recorded in one year, synths recorded in a different decade entirely, bits and pieces from everywhere as well as the influence and ideas of artists and the touch of musicians who were never even in the band at the same time!

Most of all this album is how these songs should always have been presented, finally given the time and care to present their tales in the most detail possible, months of fine-tooth-combing over decades of musical adventures to finally present this next chapter.


- E.S.L. Kazraine Maars -

Compendium Vampyrica Liner Notes:

Musicians on the recording:
Kazraine Maars
- Vocals, guitars & keyboards
Azrael Gexen - Keyboards, composition
Rejon Munchausen - Keyboards
Robert Rothschild Rochelle - Bass

With the following:
Suzanne Bongartz
- Female Voice (Track 3, 6, & 12)
DameNostrand - Female Narration (Track 8)
Lazerous Yazerall - Extra guitar (Track 2, 10, 11 & 17)
Paul Butterworth - Extra guitar (Track 6)
The Psammead - Percussion (Track 2, 3, 10 & 17)

CREDITS:
Recorded 2002-2017 @ Emperor City Studios by Vampyrouss.

Mixed and mastered by Kazraine Maars @ Emperor City Studios, 2017.

All music written by Azrael Gexen 2001-2017.

All lyrics written by Kazraine Maars 2001-2017*.


Front cover artwork by Kazraine Maars.

*Except track 14, lyrics adapted from translations of the Hungarian Suicide Song "Gloomy Sunday" by Rezső Seress/László Jávor.

Compendium Vampyrica Trivia:

  • The 2nd album by Vampyrouss. The mammoth 18 track album contains re-recorded material originally written between 2001-2007.

  • "A Plague Upon The Earth", "My Passion Predator", "Beyond The Beast", "The Ripper's Ruby Kiss", "She Will Rise", "Gloomy Sunday Tears" & "The Righteous Hand" all originally appeared on the 2007 demo "Compendium Vampyrica" from which the album takes its name.

  • "Bastet Of The East" originally appeared as a B-Side on 2006 single "Reflections Of The Past" and compilation demo "Chapter One" the same year.

  • "From Lust To Dusk" and "An Epic Romance" came from the bands 2nd demo, 2005's "From Lust To Dusk" as did "Clasp Of The Vampire" and "Darkness Ensues" which had also previously appeared on the very first demo 2004's "A Gothic Romance".

  • "Karma Of The Wicker Man", "Gazing Upon The Harvest Moon", "I, The Samhain Feast" & "Midwinter Eve" all originally appeared on 2006's "Gazing Upon The Harvest Moon" demo. "I, The Samhain Feast and" and "Midwinter Eve" also appeared alongside "From Lust To Dusk" and "Beyond Mortal Passion" on the 2008 demo "Prologue".

  • "Angel Midst The Storm" had been recorded in many iterations over the years from the 2005 VCD and 2006 singles of the same name to the 3rd demo, 2005's "The Tragic Tale Of Lust And Lore" and finally 2006's compilation demo "Chapter One".

  • "Darkness Ensues" was actually written by Kaz and Azrael in 2001 before Vampyrouss existed. It became the first complete Vampyrouss song when the band was formed in 2002.

  • Vampyrouss creator and former guitarist Lez appeared on this album playing acoustic guitar on "Karma Of The Wicker Man" and "Midwinter Eve" as well as additional guitars on those 2 tracks and "My Passion Predator" as well as lead guitar on "She Will Rise". He also appeared in the video for "Gazing Upon The Harvest Moon".

  • An additional 7 old instrumental demo tracks were re-recorded during the same sessions as the "Compendium Vampyrica" album but kept back to save from the album becoming even longer. These were finished up and released as the "Addendum" EP a year later.

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