Reckless men - So righteous, so clean
Towards the light - So b… Read Full Bio ↴Lyrics
Reckless men - So righteous, so clean
Towards the light - So bashful, so pure
Who told you to abandon life
Your strength, free will
And bow for the light?
The light! And turn from the spinning wheel
Fear of the judgment!
Obey!
Ref (x2):
You have the key to mystery
Pick up the runes; unveil and see
Judgment comes, before us lie
The paths of war and you may die
You have the key, cross over and see
The old and wind-cold tree
Walk the steps and you´ll hear the winds that cry
Search beyond the blinded eyes
Listen before you preach
Don´t leave yourself behind
Honor life, when life has ceased
Welcome the dawn
Beware the glory tales
Watch their deeds - So just and fair
Crusaders - Appointed by God
Who told you to step inside and preach?
Did you forget the daggers lurking in the dark?
Couldn´t you listen or didn´t you ever learn how?
Were you saved?
Were you saved, so you could slaughter with grace?
Ref (x2):
You have the key to mystery
Pick up the runes; unveil and see
Judgment comes, before us lie
The paths of war and you may die
You have the key, cross over and see
The old and wind-cold tree
Walk the steps and you´ll hear the winds that cry
Search beyond the blinded eyes
Listen before you preach
Don´t leave yourself behind
Honor life, when life has ceased
Welcome the dawn
Beware the glory tales
Hold on, don't fade away
Don't be afraid to bleed, afraid to dream
Let the elders enlighten the path
They have cried for you, died for you
Drasill - Ride on
Drasill - Ride on
Ride on
Drasill
Ethica Odini
Enslaved Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Towards the light - So bashful, so pure
Who told you to abandon life
Your strength, free will
And bow for the light?
The light! And turn from the spinning wheel
Obey!
Ref:
You have the key to mystery
Pick up the runes; unveil and see
Judgment comes, before us lie
The paths of war and you may die
You have the key, cross over and see
The old and wind-cold tree
Walk the steps and you'll hear the winds that cry
Search beyond the blinded eyes
Listen before you preach
Don't leave yourself behind
Honor life, when life has ceased
Welcome the dawn
Beware the glory tales
Watch their deeds - So just and fair
Crusaders - Appointed by God
Who told you to step inside and preach?
Did you forget the daggers lurking in the dark?
Couldn't you listen or didn't you ever learn how?
Were you saved?
Were you saved, so you could slaughter with grace?
Ref:
You have the key to mystery
Pick up the runes; unveil and see
Judgment comes, before us lie
The paths of war and you may die
You have the key, cross over and see
The old and wind-cold tree
Walk the steps and you'll hear the winds that cry
Search beyond the blinded eyes
Listen before you preach
Don't leave yourself behind
Honor life, when life has ceased
Welcome the dawn
Beware the glory tales
Hold on, don't fade away
Don't be afraid to bleed
Don't be afraid to dream
Let the elders enlighten the path
They have cried for you
They have died for you
Drasill - Ride on
Drasill - Ride on
Ride on
Drasill
The lyrics to Enslaved's "Ethica Odini" are a powerful critique of religious fanaticism and blind obedience to authority. The song begins with a description of reckless and self-righteous men who blindly follow the light, abandoning their own free will and strength in the process. The singer questions who told these men to bow down to the light and turn away from the spinning wheel of life, and warns of the fear of the judgment that comes with obedience to authority.
The second half of the song provides a contrast to this blind obedience, urging the listener to search beyond blinded eyes and listen before they preach. The singer encourages honoring life even after it has ceased, and warns against the danger of glory tales and crusades appointed by God. The song ends with a call to hold on, not be afraid to bleed or dream, and to be enlightened by the elders who have cried and died for the listener.
Overall, “Ethica Odini” can be interpreted as a call for individuals to question and challenge authority and dogmatic beliefs, to search for deeper truths beyond what they are told or taught, and to honor life and individual free will.
Line by Line Meaning
Reckless men - So righteous, so clean
Those who blindly follow the light and righteousness, thinking they are clean and pure
Towards the light - So bashful, so pure
Blindly following the light with an innocent, pure mindset
Who told you to abandon life
Your strength, free will
And bow for the light?
Questioning the idea of giving up one's personal freedom and strength to follow blindly the light
The light! And turn from the spinning wheel
Fear of the judgment!
Obey!
Emphasizing the pressure of obedience out of fear of judgment from the light and forgetting about the balance of life represented by the spinning wheel
You have the key to mystery
Pick up the runes; unveil and see
Judgment comes, before us lie
The paths of war and you may die
You have the key, cross over and see
The old and wind-cold tree
Walk the steps and you'll hear the winds that cry
Encouraging one to look beyond the surface and embrace the mysteries of life, even in the face of impending judgment and possible war, in order to gain insight and wisdom represented by the old tree and winds
Search beyond the blinded eyes
Listen before you preach
Don't leave yourself behind
Advising others to be careful of blindly following others and to not lose oneself in the process
Honor life, when life has ceased
Welcome the dawn
Embracing the concept of life and death, and not being afraid to face the inevitable
Beware the glory tales
Watch their deeds - So just and fair
Crusaders - Appointed by God
Warning against believing in the glorification of just and fair crusaders appointed by god
Who told you to step inside and preach?
Did you forget the daggers lurking in the dark?
Couldn't you listen or didn't you ever learn how?
Were you saved?
Were you saved, so you could slaughter with grace?
Challenging those who preach righteousness and asking if they are ignorant of the danger and possibly even hypocritical in their beliefs
Hold on, don't fade away
Don't be afraid to bleed
Don't be afraid to dream
Let the elders enlighten the path
They have cried for you
They have died for you
Drasill - Ride on
Drasill - Ride on
Ride on
Drasill
Encouraging others to hold on, be brave, and follow the wise elders in finding their path, with Drasill (the World Tree from Norse mythology) as a symbol of connection and journey
Contributed by Lucy B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Cristian Hernández
Hold on, don't fade away
Don't be afraid to bleed, afraid to dream
Let the elders enlighten the path
They have cried for you, died for you
Yiana
The best lyrics ever. Makes me cry for this world.
SinisterSkip
Enslaved still has blackmetal roots which you can clearly hear. They've always had their own sound, style and atmosphere, very unique. And in the end: fuck the genres! Good bands are good no matter what genre.
JTB 79
🤘
Akerfeldtfan
Easily one of the best metal songs I have ever heard
Michael Harris
I agree 100%!!!
Andi Pawlik
That is a bold statement. I have a hard time putting together a list of the best 100 metal songs I have heard in my life, let alone pick just one. Kudos though...
John D Jones III
+Välkommen till Pulvercity Enslaved never sought to be a mere 'black metal' band, they're influenced heavily by Black Metal, mostly due to their origin, but they've always avoided classifying themselves as anything but Extreme Metal, which has allowed them to remain unique in their sound. It's a large group of their fans that keep insisting on trying to 'stay kvlt' and attach the Black Metal label on them. But yes, as you mentioned, this is much better than plain black metal. I was reading an interview with Ivar a few months back and when asked about the Black Metal origins, he kind of brushed it aside but mentioned that he took the suggestions from Euronymous about avoiding power chords and using full chords, diminished minors, and the picking nuances of fast 16th note picking varying the strings hit, etc but he stressed that they never subscribed to any of the political or religious rhetoric that was going on at the time, they were just kids wanting to make extreme music; with Grutle taking it a step further by singing only in Icelandic and Norwegian and using the Viking Tales/Epics as the lyrical subjects... ( Sorry I didn't intend on commenting this much, but I just typed out the mindflow as it came ).
killerpeaches7
Välkommen till Pulvercity No, it's more "blackened" than Black. But the influence is there.... in a very progressive manner.
you
this isnt black metal . but better than black metal.