Both are from a small town called Aurland in Norway. Christer Andresen was founding member of the long-lived metal band Madam Curie (1988-1998). This band toured Norway a lot, but never released a proper album ever. Arild Aardalen was member of Protos Nemesis (techno-rock) and Alien Love Gardeners (pop-rock). During the summer of 2005, after having played in various bands and projects for about 10 years, Chris and Arild decided to embark on a musical project of their own. They wanted to focus primarily on the songwriting this time, and not so much the band concept. The goal was to write a great album, record it, and get it relesaed. Though the musical expression of Keldian was explored in different directions, they quickly ended up on a melodic and powerful style of metal heavily inspired by a lot of the legends from the 80's. After about two weeks of writing and pre-production recordings, a very rough demo-version of their debut album "Heaven's Gate" was finished. For different reasons, the project was now laid to rest for about a year. They picked up the ball again early summer 2006. With a fresh perspective, the demo-versions of the songs were revieved. Most of them were re-worked and a couple of them were cut from the record completely. Keldian is the first project by Christer and Arild. Christer played all the guitars and did the majority of the vocal work. Arild did all the keyboards and some vocal work, he also engineered and produced the album. Their debut album "Heaven's Gate" features Jorn Holen from the norwegian black-metal bands Vreid and Windir. He is friend with Christer since there high school days. Album also features Maja Svisdahl, Gunhild Matea Olaussen and Mats Rybo. Maja is a singer/songwriter in Norway. She makes folk/country/pop inspired music. She has a very beutiful voice. Gunhild is a violin player of norwegian band called black metal band "Pantheon I" and Mats is singer from "The Fabulous Lightbulb Society". The "Heaven's Gate" album is basic 80's Scandinavian beautiful hard rock and has a lot of good melody that hits your heart. "Heaven's Gate" was released in Japan with a Japanese edit of Plains of Forever (track 10) and Japan bonus track "Hope".
Memento Mori
Keldian Lyrics
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The wailing of shells far away
I sat up and listened, I rose and got ready
To greet the last day of my life
Far away, I can hear your prayer
And I know it means goodbye
Far away, nothing I can say
All of the day, all the waiting
It drives me insane
Don't want to go, don't want to stay
To find my fate
Stuttering guns drawing ever nearer
Faster the pounding of my heart in fear
Far away, I can hear your prayer
And I know it means goodbye
Far away, nothing I can say
On the last day of my life
Standing in line, side by side
All awaiting our doom
The whistle blows
Now the trenches will soon become tombs
No more than men, we are not immortal
No more than them, on the field we are equal
Far away, I can hear your prayer
And I know it means goodbye
Far away, nothing I can say
On the last day of my life
Far away, I can hear your prayer
And I know it means goodbye
Stay with me, safe as i can be
On the last day of my life
On the last day of my life
Then there is nothing but the sound of silence
It feels like I'm falling asleep
I know you can't hear me
But you will remember
This was the last day of my life
The lyrics to Keldian's "Memento Mori" tell a story of a soldier preparing for his last day of life. He wakes up to the sound of dripping water and the distant wailing of shells. As he waits for his impending doom, he hears the prayers of loved ones far away, knowing that it means goodbye. He stands in line with his fellow soldiers, all awaiting their fate, realizing that they are not immortal and are no different from the enemy they face. The last thing he hears is the sound of silence as he falls asleep, knowing that even though his loved ones may not hear him, they will remember this was the last day of his life.
The song carries a strong anti-war message, portraying the horrors and senselessness of war. The title "Memento Mori" is a Latin phrase meaning "remember you will die," emphasizing the fleeting nature of life and the inevitability of death. The lyrics convey a sense of resignation and acceptance of one's fate, but also a longing to be with loved ones and a desire for safety on the last day of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Awoke to the sound of the dripping of water
I woke up to the sound of water dripping in the morning.
The wailing of shells far away
I heard distant sounds of shells being fired and exploding.
I sat up and listened, I rose and got ready
I payed attention and prepared myself for what was to come.
To greet the last day of my life
I embraced the fact that this was my last day to live and welcomed it.
Far away, I can hear your prayer
I can hear someone praying from a distance.
And I know it means goodbye
I understand that the prayer is a way of saying farewell.
Nothing I can say on the last day of my life
I have nothing left to say knowing that this is my last day to live.
All of the day, all the waiting
The entire day is spent waiting for what's to come.
It drives me insane
This wait is making me go crazy and lose my mind.
Don't want to go, don't want to stay
I am uncertain whether I want to leave or stay in this world.
To find my fate
I am determined to discover what my destiny holds.
Stuttering guns drawing ever nearer
The sound of gunfire is getting closer and more frequent.
Faster the pounding of my heart in fear
My heart beats faster as I become increasingly frightened.
Standing in line, side by side
I find myself next to other people waiting for the same fate to arrive.
All awaiting our doom
We are all aware that our fate is inevitable and that we are waiting for it to happen.
The whistle blows, now the trenches will soon become tombs
The sound of the whistle signals the start of the end and the trenches will become our graves.
No more than men, we are not immortal
We are simply men and not invincible.
No more than them, on the field we are equal
In this battle, we are all equal with no one having a higher status than the other.
Stay with me, safe as I can be on the last day of my life
I plead for someone to be with me and keep me safe as the end approaches.
Then there is nothing but the sound of silence
There is complete quiet with nothing making any noise.
It feels like I'm falling asleep
My body feels like it's drifting into sleep and losing consciousness.
I know you can't hear me
I am aware that no one can hear what I'm saying in this moment.
But you will remember this was the last day of my life
Even though I may be gone, people will remember that this was my last day to live.
Contributed by Zoe Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.