1. Ad Maiorem Sathanae Gloriam

Cum nihil omnia erat
Iam in vacuo existitis
Ille erat, est eritque
Siquando omnia destructa

Nomines ab imbecillis veriti
Sed fortes semper Hunc adorunt
Obscuritas etsi lumen gerit
Servitus etsi liberat nos
Mors et igitur vita
Odium perpetuum est
Ignis glaciesque
Sibi nomines mille sunt
Illum adora

music & lyrics by Orlok
To give this intro a real mass-like character the lyrics were written in Latin. Basically the lyrics are a third-person adaptation of the lyrics to Thus Spoke The Master. The growls on the background were provided by Opyros and Demonos Sova.

2. The Priest Must Die

When the moon is full oh let him cry
Kill the priest, the priest must die
Smash his face, break his bones
Let morbid laughter drown his moans

Slave of lies, puppet of God
Eat his heart, drink his blood
Burning hate will conquer love
See the wolf rip to shreds the dove

When the moon is full oh let him cry
Kill the priest, the priest must die
Smash his face, break his bones
Let morbid laughter drown his moans

music & lyrics by Orlok
Since 1995 this song has been the regular opening song at COUNTESS gigs. It has definitely become a classic over the years and was also the first song on the unreleased live CD. It was also re-recorded for the promo '95.

3. The Wrath Of Satan's Whore

Into the noblest blood the Master's seed was sown
Married to gain Hungary's throne
Evil's incarnation, supreme in her day
Her deeds beyond words to her people's dismay
More than six times a hundred maidens fair
Lured into the countess' castle unaware
Dark lady of Hungary obsessed by blood
The virgins trapped in Hell cries in vain to God

Shed your blood oh virgins pure
To feed the wrath of Satan's whore
You've been chosen to let your blood
To make the mistress live for evermore

Gallons of blood she took for vampiric abuse
And for years nobody dared to accuse
But too many virgins vanished on her road to despair
Butchered by cruel servants in the countess' lair
Parents wailing while their daughters disappear
Her people for ages dwelt in terror and fear
Until at last she was caught anf tried
Convicted and lacking her bloody diet she died

Cut off the source of virgins pure
Who fed the wrath of Satan's whore
Yet deep within her castle's endless halls
Linger still Erzsébet's desperate calls

music by Orlok - lyrics by Opyros & Orlok
dedicated to Erzsébet Nádadsy (1560-1614)
This song was an instant classic and still is a favourite among many COUNTESS fans. It has been a regular in the band's live set, played without the intro by the MkIV line-up but played in full by the MkV line-up and thus it was also included on the unreleased live CD. The lyrics were written on a napkin in a fancy Spanish restaurant in Regensburg when Orlok and Opyros had returned from their pilgrimage to Lockenhaus (Léka), one of the castles where Elizabeth Bathory once had her bloody fun. There, they spoke to people in the village below who still believe Elizabeth haunts the castle at night.
When Elizabeth was born, the Báthory (as it is spelt actually) had already been an important noble house for a long time. They ruled Transylvania and her ancestors also included kings of Poland. At fifteen, Elizabeth was married to Ferenc Nádasdy, who was nineteen at the time. He was a military genius who spent his entire adult life fighting the Turks. In 1604 he died of an illness and Elizabeth inherited his vast possessions, making her perhaps the most powerful woman of her time. She owned vast amounts of land and many castles throughout central Europe.
After her husband's death, according to legend, she had some 650 supposedly virginal peasant girls slain or even tortured to death and drained of their blood in which she bathed, believing the virgin blood would keep her skin young and healthy. Probably the number of 650 is exaggerated but apparently the number was great enough to eventually end her reign of terror. She was imprisoned in 1611 – her servants who had done her dirty work were executed instantly – and spent the last few years of her life in prison. Her cause of death is unknown.
Modern historians do not agree whether the accusations brought against her held any truth. There have been many speculations over her motives: some say she went mad after her husband's death, some say she was simply insane because of all the inbreeding between the noble houses and some say she was a lesbian sadist. Recently, some have even claimed she was completely innocent; a victim of political intrigue, much like Gilles de Rais is looked upon these days. Whatever the truth, Elizabeth has certainly lived on in legend.

4. Thus Spoke The Master

When nothing was all
I was already in the void
I was, am and shall be
When you have long been destroyed

My names are feared by the weak
But the strong always worship me
I am darkness and bring you light
I am slavery and set you free

I inspire the chosen elite
Of your miserable human race
Who achieve works of greatness
Who dare look into my face

Many of you deny me blindly
Because you don't dare pray to me
I am death and therefore life
Without me you wouldn't be

I am the pain in the heart of him
Whose name I cannot speak
I am the terror of the pious
The vilest horrors of the meek

I am eternal hatred
I am fire and I am ice
I have thousands of names
I only laugh at your puny cries

I expose the white-light hypocrisy
But knowledge has a price
You are man, you are nothing
Worship me or perish in lies

music & lyrics by Orlok
Maybe not the best-known COUNTESS song but a personal favourite of the band members themselves and a regular in the band's live set, also included on the unreleased live CD. The original title of this song was I Am The Evil.

5. Blood On My Lips (The Silent Rose Of Sin)

She was so beautiful
Her memory still haunts me
She was so innocent
I will never again be free

I still see her lovely face
I still see the gentle curve of her hips
I still feel the touch of her soft, milk-white skin
Every time again when there's blood on my lips
Every time again when there's blood on my lips . . .

Dusk has arrived yet another time
I awake and leave my coffin
In the dark I hear an old bell chime
Sip from a chalice drained from a virgin

Countless centuries ago I burnt the rose
But it has forever stayed with me
Symbol of happiness to which I came so close
Alas, I know I never ever will be free

Was it a gift of pure love, or only a whim?
It was a present of a treacherous kind
Transformed into a token of sin
Nevermore to fade from my tortured mind

The rose still fills the castle's dark wing
Fear, respect and wealth have been my toll
But its vague images still are disturbing
Is some spark of light still hidden in my soul?

I have served Him very long and very well
But once there must have been another path
Since then I've gone too far on the road to Hell
To be able to stray from the way of wrath

Even if I could I would still not betray
Though thus I will never enjoy peace of mind
But I know I am destined to go this way
And on the opposite path only lies I'd find

But still the rose keeps haunting me
I am sure it'll never ever go away
I must carry it's burden for all eternity
Most horrible when asleep during the day

music & lyrics by Orlok
Originally these lyrics (without the first two stanzas) were used for a song called The Silent Rose Of Sin that appeared on The Wolves Awake, with music written by Imogem and Orlok. This song was never played live.

6. Sheltered Under The Claw

Once again the hour draws nigh
The night of the chosen has come
Our hopes and expectations burn high
Will we succeed this time?

The return of our beloved Master
Is what we desire so much
To lead us His children in most unholy reign
And the weakling shalt be trembled in the dust

Sheltered under the claw
We're gathered to summon our lord
In evil praise we sin
For the return of the Horned

Our efforts are answered at last
The ground opens to spew forth
Surrounded by sulphuric flames
From the abyss He doth rise

Now His evil reign unfolds
As foretold by visions ages old
Upon His children His spell He doth cast
Forever in indulgence we shalt live

Sheltered under the claw
We bathe in the presence of our lord
In evil praise we sing
The gospel of the Horned

music by Orlok - lyrics by Opyros
This song was never played live.

7. Ere A Bitter End

Created by an insane god
For only the purpose of worship
He was the first to develop mind
And in his heart grew rebellion

He loathed his kin as they do as they're told
His own sacrifice is half-hearted
And so his offerings were rejected by God
In favour of his feebler brother
Anger burned hot and strong was his fist
He killed with one single effort
His own flesh now cold he left to the beasts
So came murder upon mankind

"Cain, where is thine brother?"
Asked by God he was
So he did lie to him
And did commit another sin
Marked for eternity he was

The sign of Cain branded on his forehead
Cast out into the void he was
His shining blue eyes became the murderer's sign
Banished forever to roam the earth
Immortality was granted to him
To give time to think about his sins
As wives he took his sisters sinfully
So his seed is still upon mankind

For killing in rage
He is punished to live
Cast out by his kin
He leads a life of sin
A wolf among sheep he is

Among us he's still though his vision has changed
A life is but a flicker of a candle
For one like him the joys of life turn dim
As aeons repeat over and over
The terror of seeing loved ones age and die
Is familiar to him, he already lives in Hell
But stubbornly he fights to forever stay alive
Denying the torments of God's verdict

So he's stalking the ages
Forever he'll be there
Threatening fate
With bloodsmeared fist
A lifestyle dictated by his nature

music by Orlok - lyrics by Opyros
Part of the music was taken from the 13 CANDLES song A Pilgrim At The Gate Of Sin that appeared on the demo Pilgrimage To The Gate Of Sin. This song was rehearsed by the MkIV line-up but, feeling it sounded rather weak with only one guitar and no keyboards, it was never played live.

8. Ad Maiorem Sathanae Gloriam (Reprise)

instrumental – music by Orlok

9. Born Too Late

music & lyrics by Dave Chandler & Scott Reagers
SAINT VITUS has always been a favourite band of Orlok as well as Opyros and when the idea came up to do a cover on this album, this song was picked. It was never played live though, the only covers ever having been played live by COUNTESS being VENOM's Countess Bathory, ALASTIS' Messenger Of The U.W., MANOWAR's Metal Warriors and MOTÖRHEAD's Orgasmatron. The MkIV line-up also rehearsed IRON MAIDEN's Flight Of Icarus and The Trooper as well as MANOWAR's Battle Hymn but never played these live.

When I told Opyros I had enough stuff written for another album – this was before The Return... was even released, mind you – he suggested it might be interesting to record this shit in a real studio this time. I thought that was a good idea and picked the studio 'The Nick' in Mheer for these recordings because Hammerheart had told me this was a cool studio (he had just been in there to record the first BIFROST album, also for N.E.P.).

What made these recordings really special was the fact both Opyros and Demonos Sova had come over to Holland to be there. Two days before the recordings they arrived and we went to BIFROST's CD presentation gig that night, where Demonos got so drunk Opyros and myself literally had to carry him outside after he had puked all over the place... I remember he traded some rare 7" with The Unsane for a couple of beers...

We went to the studio where we met Nick Hall, the owner and engineer, who turned out to be a cool guy. He didn't understand my kind of music but he did try to understand it, which I appreciated. There were 16 digital tracks and on the first two we laid down the drums I had programmed at home in my Yamaha RY10 or 'Count Yamaha' as we use to call the thing.

After that I put down the bass parts, playing my Aria Pro II, through a small amp and a Boss bass chorus, and before we knew it the day was done. The next day I recorded the rhythm guitar parts, playing Nick Hall's Steinberger (which may be extremely ugly but is still by far the best guitar I have ever played). The guitar was plugged straight into the mixing desk through some advanced effects processors but when I could not get the sound I wanted this way we inserted an old Boss DS-1 distortion which helped a lot to get a really raw and filthy guitar sound.

By the time all the rhythm guitar parts were done the first two days of the recording were also done and since we only had the studio for three days this meant the final day would probably a be long one and indeed it would be... first I did the acoustic parts which was not really easy since I was not used to playing a huge classical guitar, then I did the guitar leads – improvised, as usual – and finally the keyboards. At first Nick Hall tried to do the keyboards through a computer to save tracks but when this didn't really work 'cos apparently he was not very familiar with his software we just put down the keyboard parts on tape, having plenty of tracks anyway.

Now only the vocals were left but, as always, these didn't take very long. When I was done Demonos and Opyros did the backing vocals on the intro and when that was done we went out for a bite before starting on the mix. When we came back we ran into the engineer's daughter, a gorgeous chick all dressed in black and wearing fishnet stockings, which made it kinda hard for us to keep our minds on the mixing.

The mixing, during which Demonos was emptying the engineer's liquor cabinet, took all night and if I remember correctly we were finally ready around four in the morning. Initially I wasn't too happy with this album, thinking it sounded too clean and not exactly like I had intended, but I slowly grew to like it. The sound may be a little clean but it's a very distinctive, original sound that fits the music very well and the guitars are raw as Hell.