They were a trio and t… Read Full Bio ↴Holy Martyr formed in the middle of the nineties.
They were a trio and they were led by guitarist Ivano Spiga.
The band started writing songs, which were in the vein of the classic British metal and of the eighties epic metal.
After numerous changes in the line-up, the band finally found stability in 2002, when they released their first demo cd called “Hatred And Warlust”.
With its relentless savage attack, the cd made proselytes all over Europe, and Holy Martyr gained prestige as one of the best undergound Italian Heavy Metal bands of the new century.
Anyway, the band was not too happy of these great results, so after just 5 months they started composing new stuff and they recorded their second Ep called “Hail to Hellas”.
It was based upon the famous battle of Thermopylae, fought by 300 Spartans. The Ep gained prestige among the most famous Italian, German and Greek magazines, and the band became a cult Heavy Metal band in Europe.
For this album, Holy Martyr asked and got funds from more than 200 fans.
This was quite unusual for an underground band, but they managed to create a huge group of faithful fans all over the world in a short time.
Thanks to the numerous good reviews, Holy Martyr were asked to join the German Festival “Keep It True”, along with bands such as Manilla Road, Elixir and Wizard.
The band got an enormous success in this first abroad appearance, and they were asked to join another festival, this time in Greece (Athens) and along with Cloven Hoof.
Here, they received an enthusiastic welcome.
In 2005, after the positive experience of the previous years, the band produced their third Ep, which was put of print within a few months after its release.
It was called “Vis Et Honor”, and it showed another improvement in the style of the band, which anyway stick to their origins: an epic, aggressive and melodic work, this time inspired by the Ancient Rome and Roman Soldiers.
This third chapter gained the interest of DragonHeart Records, which offered the band a contract and the chance to finally record their debut album, in the name of steel and blood!
The Shadow over Innsmouth
Holy Martyr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Through the black night their face now I see
Running in the city with fear in the veins
Living in a nightmare, nightmare so real
Reef of the devil , fishman revenge
Ia! Rlye, Cthulhu Ftagn!
Order of dagon, Zadok is dead
Monsters invasion creatures of Cthulhu
Preparing to kill, Shadow over Innsmouth
Terror and fear, death and destruction
Vision of a Shoggoth, Shadow over Innsmouth
Y'ha-nthlei reign of Cthulhu
Dreamer in the abyss the course is near
Now I am a monster and kill is my wish
I don't want to die the fate is done
Reef of the devil , fishman revenge
Ia! Rlye, Cthulhu Ftagn
Order of dagon, Zadok is dead
Ia! Rlye, Cthulhu Ftagn
Monsters invasion creatures of Cthulhu
Preparing to kill, Shadow over Innsmouth
Terror and fear, death and destruction
Vision of a Shoggoth, Shadow over Innsmouth
Demon warriors from the sea
Now they rise up from their graves
With the talisman of hell
Feel the evil in their eyes
And the curse goes on and on
When Cthulhu is still alive
And the shadow cover them
This is not reality...
(Repeat first Verse and Chorus)
The lyrics to Holy Martyr's "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" depict a terrifying invasion of monsters and creatures from the sea. The singer is living in a nightmare, where a legion after legion of beings with faces blackened by the night, chase and terrify the inhabitants of the city. They are getting prepared for death and destruction, consumed by vision of a Shoggoth, where the Shadow over Innsmouth metaphorically represents the ominous and impending doom brought by these creatures. These monsters seem to be seeking revenge as the Reef of the devil and the Order of Dagon have both pledged allegiance to Cthulhu with Ia! R'lyeh Cthulhu ftagn.
As the creatures invade the city, the singer realizes that there is no escape, and the course towards their impending doom has begun. He is surrounded by the reign of Y'ha-nthlei, a land belonging to Cthulhu. Gradually, the singer himself turns into a monster and is consumed by the desire to kill. He wishes to survive, but the fate is inevitable. The curse of Innsmouth is never leaving as long as the evil talisman of hell is with the demons who have risen from their graves.
Line by Line Meaning
Legion after legion coming from the sea
Countless monsters are emerging from the sea
Through the black night their face now I see
Their faces can now be seen in the darkness
Running in the city with fear in the veins
They are causing fear in the city and in its people
Living in a nightmare, nightmare so real
The situation is so terrifying that it feels like a nightmare, but it is actually real
Reef of the devil , fishman revenge
This is the result of the devilish reef and the fishmen seeking revenge
Ia! Rlye, Cthulhu Ftagn!
A chant dedicated to the dark god Cthulhu
Order of dagon, Zadok is dead
The Order of Dagon is responsible for the death of Zadok
Monsters invasion creatures of Cthulhu
The invasion is the result of creatures that follow Cthulhu
Preparing to kill, Shadow over Innsmouth
They are preparing to take lives and cast a shadow over Innsmouth
Terror and fear, death and destruction
These are the emotions and consequences of the monster's invasion
Vision of a Shoggoth, Shadow over Innsmouth
The horrible creature known as a Shoggoth is a part of the darkness cast over Innsmouth
Y'ha-nthlei reign of Cthulhu
The underwater city of Y'ha-nthlei is under the control of Cthulhu
Dreamer in the abyss the course is near
A dreamer in the abyss sees that the end is close at hand
Now I am a monster and kill is my wish
The singer has turned into a monster and wishes to kill
I don't want to die the fate is done
Even though the singer doesn't want to die, it seems inevitable
Demon warriors from the sea
Warriors from the sea, possibly demons, are now a part of the invasion
Now they rise up from their graves
These warriors were once dead and have now risen up to fight
With the talisman of hell
These warriors are carrying the talisman of Hell
Feel the evil in their eyes
The evil can be felt just by looking into their eyes
And the curse goes on and on
The curse will continue to affect the town and its people
When Cthulhu is still alive
As long as Cthulhu is still alive, the curse will continue to exist
And the shadow cover them
The shadow of fear and death is covering them
This is not reality...
Despite all of this happening, it feels like it's not real
Contributed by Christian C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@PlatipuseKing
Traveller: "So tell me a bit about this Innsmoth"
Train Station Agent: "boy did you ask the right guy" proceeds to rant out the entire towns history for twenty minutes
@fort809
Lovecraft moment
@dragonlord1935
To be fair, it does make sense. He DID say that folks around here are the sort who don't get started on stuff like this, but when they do get started, they don't know how to stop. It's clear that the guy falls into this category himself.
@secretcrocodile7499
If you read the book it's heavily implied he knows a thing or two about this town
@jonathonfreeman9233
guess you've never had someone ask you about "the bad side of town" that you knew about. ;p
@kekero540
“So you see some sailors went to Africa and got frisky…”
@brettonalwood4173
Remember the days when OP was afraid to post 15 minute videos because he didn't think people would listen to his voice for that long? What a long way we have come.
@PrincessEev
lol god I could listen to him for hours on end (and have lol); something about his voice just makes it easy to tune in
@Felix-tz6hn
I have been reading "Op" everywhere, what does it mean?
@littledragon4792
@@Felix-tz6hn: I understand it as "original poster", that is, the person that started the thread a person is now replying to. This could be a different person than the one you are replying to, just like I now reply to you, while the original (the initial) post is the video posted by The Exploring Series, or Mangg if you prefer, who would be the OP in this case. Could it also be used in the meaning of "original post"? I have never seen that, but maybe someone else can tell if that is custom somewhere.