Fas – Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum explained

Fas – Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum
Type:Studio
Artist:Deathspell Omega
Cover:Fas - Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum.jpg
Released:16 July 2007
Genre:Black metal, avant-garde metal
Length:46:16
Label:Norma Evangelium Diaboli
Prev Title:Kénôse
Prev Year:2005
Next Title:Paracletus
Next Year:2010

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 translation of Matthew 25:41, "discedite a me maledicti in ignem æternum", usually quoted as "ite maledicti in ignem aeternum".

Concept

The line "Every human being not going to the extreme limit is the servant or the enemy of man" in "A Chore for the Lost" comes from Inner Experience by the French post-surrealist Georges Bataille,[1] a frequent source of lyrical inspiration for Deathspell Omega. Much of the album's lyrics are taken verbatim from the book, as well as his other works Theory of Religion and The Solar Anus.[2] Similarly, the first and or last lines of each song, save for the Obombrations, quote My Mother by Bataille.[3] Music critic Thom Jurek's interpretation is that the use of these texts by the band is "for the purpose of explaining the Devil not as God's mystical antithesis, but as a pure nihilistic humanist construct that is synthesis. It also offers a very concrete view of the "real" theory of Satanism as practiced in Europe." On another interpretation, the album "represents the Bataillean quest for the "critical spasm", while remaining torn as to whether or not what one has just experienced was revolting or gratifying. This pilgrimage for spiritual truth is also a metaphor for Lucifer’s fall, as well as the dematerialization of grace."[4] Further, the title of the second track 'The Shrine of Mad Laughter' is again derived from Bataille, whose "definition of laughter as a response to aversion and horror, and to Ecclesiastes 2:2."

Notes and References

  1. Bataille, Georges. Inner Experience. 1988: State University of New York. 39-40. Trans. Boldt, Leslie Anne.
  2. Web site: Fas -- Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum - Deathspell Omega. AllMusic. 2017-01-01.
  3. Bataille, Georges and Yukio Mashima. My Mother, Madame Edwarda, The Dead Man. 1989: Marion Boyars. Trans. Pauvert, Jean-Jacques.
  4. Web site: Critical Text: Fas - Ite, Maledicti in Ignem Aeternum. Fearful Light. 2017-01-01.