Darken sees himself as a Heathen and Christianity as the worst enemy of white Europeans. He exalts the latter’s return to their ancestors' heritage, and has spoken out against “race mixing”.[2] On the Graveland EP Raise Your Sword!, he declares Heathendom to be the religion of white Europeans.
Darken has been accused of being a neo-Nazi. However, he has made statements to contradict this accusation, even speaking out against the Third Reich and their ideology: "I do not see any point in referring to NS because I do not see any point in referring to any ideologies that lost. It is against logic and eternal law of evolution"[3] and "If you are White proud of being White and proud of your forefathers faith, if you politically incorrect, if you dare to criticize the politicians and it you point at the existence of a strong powerful Jewish lobby supporting Israel – you are called nazi and anti-Semite. And the special institution start to persecute you. I am called ‘Nazi” but no one has any proof of my nazi background. They just repeat once heard someone else words having no proof of it."[4] And "In Poland many people refer to Slavonic heritage as many refer to German. And I think that those who refer to Slavonic culture are the majority but they do not make big show of it. For me there is no difference between pagan beliefs of Vikings and Slavs. The names are different but the core is the same. Different stories but the same Gods with the same attributes. The ideologist of the Third Reich were responsible for the division between German Aryan world and Slavonic world. They distorted the historical facts in order to separate from Eastern world. Communist did the same but they of course favouritized [sic] Slavs."[5] Yet, in a 2006 interview with Decibel, he stated that "Graveland is regarded as a NSBM band because of my political convictions, [which] most people would call extreme right-wing National Socialist convictions," and "people I played with were Satanists and they were not interested in paganism. Due to these differences, we finally started to walk separate ways and Graveland became [a] one-man band again. I understood that I could not support Satanism [because it] was a part of Judeo-Christian religion. In the Third Reich, Satanists would end [up] in gas chambers."[6] In the same interview, he stated "I do not see any point in referring to [National Socialism] because I do not see any point in referring to any ideologies that lost. It is against logic and the eternal law of evolution. I think that white men should search for new ideas that would be well adapted for the current reality and the problems of [the] contemporary world."[6]
The Dark Battlefield
Graveland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
thirsty for blood
I walk between the corpses of my enemies
My shield beats back the strikes
My sword crushes the heads
blood covers my face.
My scream reaches the sky
Our horde attacked from the hills
enemy strewed us with arrows
few brave warriors died
the axes were shining horrible
Crossing with the swords
the warriors without shields
Had to die hopelessly
the dying men were screaming around
trampled by the fighting hordes
it was enough for me.
I was loosing my mind
But i still was killing...
The night came soon...
I heard a horrifying sound of horns
Our horsemanship will attack soon
We must leave the battlefield fast
Heil moor asferoon...
In the name of the moon
Under the heavy hooves
those who were too
strong for us will die...
The lyrics of Graveland's song The Dark Battlefield depict a warrior's battle frenzy in the midst of a war. The opening lines are a portrayal of the singer's thirst for blood and how he walks amidst the corpses of his enemies with his sword and shield as his weapons. The adrenaline rush and the cries of the dying men are sending shivers down his spine. However, he still stands strong amid the chaos and continues the killing spree with a maniacal fervor. The next few lines describe how the enemy army retaliates with arrows and weapons but falls prey to the horde's attack. The reference to the horn sound indicates that they must retreat as the cavalry is on its way.
The song reflects the horrors of war and the warrior's psyche, who is immersed in the blood-soaked battlefield. The intense emotions and the fears of the singer are palpable through the lyrics, which makes it an excellent portrayal of the horror of war. The song tries to convey the message that war may look glorious on the surface, but it is the epitome of violence and horror.
Line by Line Meaning
Raptured with murder
Filled with excitement for killing
thirsty for blood
Feeling a strong urge for bloodshed
I walk between the corpses of my enemies
Walking amongst the dead enemies
My shield beats back the strikes
My shield protects me from attacks
My sword crushes the heads
Killing enemies with my sword
blood covers my face.
My face is covered in blood
My scream reaches the sky
Letting out a loud war cry
Our horde attacked from the hills
Our group attacked from elevated ground
In the fog of dust and smoke,
Amidst the fog and smoke of battle
enemy strewed us with arrows
Arrows were raining down from the enemy
few brave warriors died
Only a few courageous soldiers lost their lives
the axes were shining horrible
The axes of the enemy were incredibly sharp
Crossing with the swords
Engaging in sword combat
the warriors without shields
The fighters who did not have shields
Had to die hopelessly
They met their end without hope
the dying men were screaming around
The wounded soldiers were shouting in pain
trampled by the fighting hordes
Being crushed by the masses of fighting soldiers
it was enough for me.
I had seen enough of the carnage
I was loosing my mind
I was going insane
But i still was killing...
Even so, I continued to commit acts of violence
The night came soon...
Nightfall arrived quickly
I heard a horrifying sound of horns
A frightening sound of horns reached my ears
Our horsemanship will attack soon
Our cavalry will soon launch an attack
We must leave the battlefield fast
We need to retreat from the battlefield quickly
Heil moor asferoon...
An exclamation of loyalty to Moor Asferoon
In the name of the moon
Swearing by the moon
Under the heavy hooves
Beneath the weight of horse hooves
those who were too strong for us will die...
The enemies who were too powerful for us will perish
Contributed by Charlie C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.