Dark Moor began the recording sessions for their second album, The Hall of the Olden Dreams, in August 2000 at New Sin Studios with producer Luigi Stefanini. During these recording sessions, the band recorded their cover of "Halloween", which was included on the CD The Keepers of Jericho part I - A Tribute to Helloween (Arise Records).
Their E.P. The Fall of Melnibone was released in June 2001. This E.P was a limited edition; 1500 copies were released and only for the Spanish market.
Dark Moor began the recording of their third album, The Gates of Oblivion, in Autumn 2001 at New Sin Studios. Dark Moor signed with the major label JVC for the Asian release. The band played 18 gigs at festivals such as Rock Machina, Viña Rock and Nit De Reis. After the first part of the tour, keyboardist Roberto Peña left the band and they were forced to finish the tour with a guest musician.
In August 2003 Dark Moor recorded four new exclusive acoustic tracks along with a string quartet, to be included in Between Light and Darkness, which was released in April 2003. Due to differing points of view regarding the musical direction for the next Dark Moor album, vocalist Elisa Martin, guitarist Albert Maroto and drummer Jorge Sáez decided to leave Dark Moor to start a new band.
The two remaining members of the band decided to start a search for new members. After the auditions, they accepted vocalist Alfred Romero, guitarist Jose Garrido, and drummer Andy C.
In August 2003, the band started recording their fourth album, Dark Moor, at New Sin Studios in Italy. Following a month of recording sessions, the album was mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios.
On 23 November 2006, the band announced the departure of their drummer on their official website, due to "incompatibility with his other musical projects." He would go on to play drums for Saratoga. His replacement, Roberto Cappa, was previously in the Spanish metal band Anima Sola.
In January 2009, their seventh album Autumnal was released.
The band made an announcement on their website, dated 4 June 2010, that their eighth album was in the works. It featured Berenice Musa as a guest vocalist. The album is titled Ancestral Romance and it was released in November 2010.
On 18 June 2013 the band released their ninth album Ars Musica, with the Japanese limited version including a bonus CD with five bonus tracks. They toured Mexico and Asia the same year, as well as few dates in Europe in 2014 to support the new album.
Dark Moor started recording their 10th studio album, Project X, on 27 July 2015 and released it in Europe on 6 November 2015 on Scarlet Records.
On 21 July 2018, Enrik Garcia, guitarist and founder of the band, announced via Facebook that their next album would be called Origins and that, after the parenthesis they did with ufology themes on Project X, they would return to their habitual themes; Origins will be about the celtic world, also adding celtic instruments on their new songs. This album has been released on 12 December 2018.
The Sphinx
Dark Moor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The treasure of Chimera′s daughter
Perhaps could be the truth of the world's strife
Or will I just find the end of time?
[Chorus]
Body of lion
I look your face of woman
Of your enigmas
Wings of eagle
Who devours men for Hera
Broken riddle!
Listen your end!
You, who lies in hidden dark seas of sand
Among the dunes
You, malicious creature, who enslaves my land
With ancient runes
The man is my answer
The dream of one romancer
The son of the heaven
Whose deadly sins are seven
My hope is the knowledge
The sacred wisdom
My word is the sentence
Jump to the void!
My arms destroyed!
Although the Monster was defeated by the man
The olden secrets not left the world
Perhaps it was forgotten since the life began
Or is the man himself the Sphinx?
The Sphinx is a poetic and enigmatic song from the Spanish metal band Dark Moor. The lyrics of the song delve into the mysteries and secrets of our lives, and the search for ultimate truth. The opening lines of the song pose an existential question, asking who really knows the secrets of our lives. The reference to the treasure of Chimera's daughter and the truth of the world's strife indicate that the song is exploring deep and complex themes. The chorus is highly symbolic, with references to a body of a lion, a face of a woman, and wings of an eagle. These animalistic traits embody the idea of power, femininity, and death respectively, further emphasizing the deep and complex symbolism used in the song. The broken riddle is a reference to the Sphinx's famous riddle that was solved by Oedipus, which ties in with the theme of uncovering ultimate truth.
The second verse of the song is directed towards the Sphinx itself, depicting it as a malicious creature that enslaves the land with ancient runes. The man is portrayed as the answer to the Sphinx's riddles, but also as the dreamer and sinner. The lines "Jump to the void! My arms destroyed!" indicate a willingness to face death and destruction in the pursuit of knowledge and truth. The final lines of the song leave the listener with a question- has the Sphinx truly been defeated by man, or is man himself the embodiment of the Sphinx?
Line by Line Meaning
Who knows the whisper of the secrets of our lives?
Who truly understands the secrets of life and the universe?
The treasure of Chimera's daughter
The valuable possession of a mythical creature's offspring
Perhaps could be the truth of the world's strife
It's possible that the answer to the world's problems can be found here
Or will I just find the end of time?
Maybe I'll uncover the apocalypse instead
Body of lion
You have the body of a lion
I look your face of woman
Your human-like face is what I see
In defiance
I stand strong against you
Of your enigmas
I refuse to let your mysteries defeat me
Wings of eagle
Your wings are that of an eagle's
Who devours men for Hera
You feed on men for Hera, the goddess of women and marriage
Broken riddle!
Your puzzle has been solved!
Listen your end!
Now it's your turn to listen to your fate
You, who lies in hidden dark seas of sand
You dwell in the sandy depths of the unknown
Among the dunes
Nestled in between masses of sand
You, malicious creature, who enslaves my land
You, a wicked being, have taken over my land
With ancient runes
Using symbols from the past to control everything
The man is my answer
My answer to your riddle is a human
The dream of one romancer
The vision of a dreamer in love
The son of the heaven
A child of the divine
Whose deadly sins are seven
Even gods have flaws, typically seven deadly sins
My hope is the knowledge
I seek wisdom as my hope for survival
The sacred wisdom
This wisdom is holy and revered
My word is the sentence
Once I say something, there's no going back
Jump to the void!
I leap into the unknown abyss!
My arms destroyed!
My arms are gone, torn apart!
Although the Monster was defeated by the man
Despite the monster's loss to a human
The olden secrets not left the world
The ancient secrets remain undiscovered
Perhaps it was forgotten since the life began
Maybe these secrets have been lost since the beginning of time
Or is the man himself the Sphinx?
Could it be that this human is the enigmatic creature, the Sphinx?
Writer(s): Daniel Fernandez
Contributed by Colton I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.