1. Into Iniquity

instrumental – music by Orlok

2. Aleidis

I came to the old house in the dark night
I felt only a dark sensation, but no fright
The strange old man's words ran through my mind
In this unholy place, what would I find?

I entrered the mansion, thinking I was alone
I saw a strange, ancient gravestone
Suddenly a woman's voice whispered my name
Or was the old man playing a silly game?

Aleidis came to me unimaginably beautiful
Dressed in white, while the moon was full
Suddenly I felt overcome by an unholy desire
But was she just young or an ages old vampire?

Maybe she was just a portrait, or a figment of my sick mind
But whatever the truth, she was the best wife I'd ever find
I loved her in a way I had never even known
But would the blood my love needed soon be my own?

She used to kill animals and suck their blood
She belonged to Satan, her soul lost by God
One day at last, she made my neck her unholy teeth feel
Now we are joined for eternity, but is this all real?

music & lyrics by Orlok
This song has been very popular among COUNTESS fans, especially in Germany, ever since it first appeared on The Wolves Awake and, though certainly not a favourite of the band members themselves, has been a regular in the band's live set though it was not included on the unreleased live CD. The lyrics were based on an existing short story.

3. Fire & Blood

Mountains engulfed by darkness
Campfires blazing in the night
Ten thousand warriors gathered
The fires their only light

Now let the sacrificial blood flow
To appease the war gods
A great battle is at hand
We must fight against the odds

The enemy awaits us
Ahead lies victory or death
Steel cuts through flesh
Breathe your last breath
Blood flows everywhere
The woods are turning red
Spears fly and hammers clash
My sword severs your head

Force of life and omen of death
Blood colours my sword red
We find glory on this battlefield
Where so many fought and bled
Once every man must die
If not by the spear by old age
Worthy are only honour and pride
So on the battlefield I rage

music & lyrics by Orlok
This song has become a classic over the years as well as a standard part of COUNTESS' live set, usually played as the second song after the regular opener The Priest Must Die and of course it was also included on the unreleased live CD. This song's music was originally written for a project to be called THE NINTH WAVE and was even recorded as such, with lyrics written by Opyros, but never released. Then this song was called Furor.

4. A Cry Of Hope Forever Gone

instrumental – music by Orlok
This song was written for the project THE NINTH WAVE as well, but never released. It has never been played live.

5. Ritual Of The 7 Priests

Blasting through the blackened sky
Knowing not but knowing still
Lost all sense of place and time
Yet filled with an evil thrill
Awakening in the black cathedral
Departing the dimensional gates
No need for any explanation
Knowing the task that awaits
Full moon shines in utter darkness
The hour of midnight drawing near
Tonight 13 the bells will chime
Tonight the holy tremble in fear

Behold the 7 innocent maidens
Behold the 7 velvet altars
Behold the 7 southern crosses
Behold . . .
Behold the 7 evil priests
Behold the 7 silver chalices
Behold the 7 silver daggers
Behold . . .

Sacrifices have been made, thunder and lightning appear
Rejoice in hideous blasphemy, know that the time is near

The chosen hail the Master well, lusting for hate and scorn
Crying out in evil ecstasy, "the Antichrist is born!"

music & lyrics by Orlok
This song has been a regular in the band's live set and was included on the unreleased live CD.

6. Into Battle

instrumental – music by Othalaz
The music of this song was origially written for HORDES for the Children Of The Black Hill lyrics written by Hammerheart (which were later used for a BIFROST song). After the break-up of HORDES it became a COUNTESS song with lyrics written by Orlok but in the end it was arranged as an instrumental song and the lyrics were dropped though the title was kept. This song has been a regular in the band's live set and was also included on the unreleased live CD, preceded by a guitar solo by Zagan.

7. The Wolf Cries Evil

Straying through the dark forest
The night so black, the mist so cold
A lonely path to destiny
Feel evil's desperate hold
Feel the presence of the wolf
As the hunter roams the silent woods
A fire burns, close yet so far away
Men they dance in robes and hoods
And the wolf cries . . . evil
The wolf cries evil

A thick blanket of fog covers all
Feel the darkness all around
Breathe the evil, be the darkness
Forever and ever and ever Hellbound
Become one with all darkness and evil
Join the pack, howl in the night
Hail the Master for all eternity
No more fear, no more fright
And the wolf cries . . . evil
The wolf cries evil

music & lyrics by Orlok
This song was played live during the German tour in '95 but dropped from the set after that.

8. Deisidaimonia

Tread the Path of Destiny
Walk under the Sign
Guided by the light of Set
Will the moon ever shine?

Eternal desert lies ahead
The smile of Azazel
Whisper an ancient incantation
Cast an unholy spell

Descend into the darkest chamber
Celebrations of sin
Worship of Evil so much older
Than Prometheus' kin

Weird reality surrounds the chosen
Deep in Midgard's womb
Taste the smell of absurdity
In this infernal tomb

Manifestation on the altar
Pray to eteranl truth
Sacrifice through fear and lust
Virgin flesh so smooth

Awake in forest of nowhere
Symphony through the haze
Innocent blood drowning your soul
The skyline is ablaze

music by Othalaz & Orlok - lyrics by Orlok
This song was written for FALLEN TEMPLE and appeared on that band's Ancient Fears and Shrines Of The Past tapes. The song then had a final, seventh stanza that was deleted from the lyrics when the song was rearranged by COUNTESS' MkIII line-up. It was part of the live set for a while but eventually dropped. As such, it was recorded for and appeared on the Hymns Of Winter compilation tape released by Thurisaz Productions, before it was recorded again for this album.

9. Since Man Has Wielded Swords

Since man has wielded swords
Man has gone to war
Since man acquired speech
He has lied for evermore
Since Abel was struck by Cain
His brother man has slain
Since man has wielded swords
Man has battled for power and fame
Since man acquired fire
He has set the world aflame
Since Eve led Adam to sin
Man's dark desires will always win

music & lyrics by Orlok

10. Bloed In De Sneeuw

Oude toortsen zijn opnieuw ontstoken
Onze ketenen voor altijd gebroken
Niet langer door valse moraal geknecht
Halen wij met vuur en staal ons recht

chorus:
Bloed vloeit in de sneeuw
Hoort 't gebrul van Neęrlands leeuw
Ziet de laffe verraders beven
Beter vrij te sterven dan geknecht te leven

De slavenkoning en diens volgelingen
Zullen wij verslaan met magische ringen
Tot Wodan bidden wij andermaal
Onze zielen en zwaarden hard als staal

chorus

Door mist en regen, wind en kou
Rijden wij trots, gelaten zo grauw
Grimmig en o zo vastberaden
Ditmaal kennen wij geen genade

Donar zal ons weer beschermen
Onze vijanden zullen kermen
Onze zwaarden rood van bloed en roest
Nu gebeurt wat gebeuren moest

chorus

Het rijk van Jehovah is gevallen
Ziet de lijken van zijn vazallen
Gezuiverd is nu onze geboortegrond
Ziet de nieuwe heidense morgenstond

music by Othalaz & Orlok - lyrics by Orlok
This song was an instant classic, genrally acknowledged as the first-ever Black Metal song with lyrics in Dutch. Orlok came up with the idea to do a song with Dutch lyrics and Othalaz liked this idea a lot but since this had never been done before they decided to try it as a project first and thus it was originally written for 13 CANDLES and appeared as such on the Hymns Of Winter compilation. Opyros liked this song a lot and insisted it be added to The Return as a bonus track, so Orlok remixed it and put it on this album. It has also been a regular in the band's live set and was of course also included on the unreleased live CD.

The recording of this album took place at SPOD in Delft, a place where most of my projects and bands have rehearsed at one time or another and a lot of shit I have done over the years was recorded there because they had an excellent Fostex 280 4-tracker available in combination with a fine Alesis effects processor.

The recording more or less started at home by programming all the drum parts in my Yamaha RY10 rhythm machine, which were subsequently recorded at SPOD, through a heavy old Peavy bass amp. Next I put down all the bass parts, playing my Aria Pro II, played through the same amp.

The next day Othalaz showed up, bringing along his rare Fender Prodigy guitar as well as his ancient Boss DS-1 distortion, and while I was finishing the bass parts he went to get some hamburgers from a nearby junk food joint. After lunch we put down the first rhythm guitar parts, Othalaz playing the older songs he had already played with the MkIII line-up like Aleidis while I did the newer ones like Ritual Of The 7 Priests. We played the guitar through the Peavy bass amp because the guitar amps at SPOD usually suck and in an attempt to get a heavier sound, but looking back this did not work out too well...

Next I mixed the bass and first rhythm guitar to the fourth track together and we recorded the second rhythm guitar on the second track, then mixed it to the third track together with the drums from track one so we had tracks one and two left for vocals, leads and stuff like that. When the basic tracks were laid down we took a break and a few days later Imogem showed up to play the lead guitar parts on Into Battle and Deisidaimonia. He brought his Yamaha guitar and Boss effects processor along but I don't remember what amp he played through. When he was done, however, I recorded some guitar leads myself and after that I did the keyboards, using SPOD's excellent Roland D50 and the vocals of course.

When everything was laid down I mixed the whole shit, adding the earlier-recorded Bloed In De Sneeuw in the process, and a month later I took a train to Regensburg, Germany to personally deliver the master tape to Opyros. He was pleased with the recordings and another two months later this album was released.

I know some diehard COUNTESS fans still consider this the band's finest album and though I certainly respect their opinion I do not share it. The improvement in playing, production and songwriting compared to The Gospel may be huge but this was only logical since the songs were written by different people and recorded using much better equipment. In a way this was the first COUNTESS album and not only because it was the first one recorded for N.E.P. but also because it was really more a continuation of my earlier bands and projects like FALLEN TEMPLE and HORDES than a continuation of COUNTESS' MkI and MkII line-ups. I still like this album, it has a really powerful, raw and extreme sound, but many of the songs – which are great tunes indeed – have become live favourites and hearing these tunes live reminds you how much better this album could have been.