Quickly gathering excellent reviews, SIG:AR:TYR was signed to Karmageddon Records (formerly Hammerheart) only two months after the release of The Stranger demo. SIG:AR:TYR's next project was to forge a concept work with more metal musical elements, while retaining the acoustic-ambient atmosphere. Unfortunately, before the album could be released Karmageddon went out of business and SIG:AR:TYR was back into the underground.
In 2005, SIG:AR:TYR released the debut full-length release, Sailing the Seas of Fate via Morbid Winter Records. The album, a mixture of metal and acoustic music, tells the story of a Viking quest to the far northern reaches of the world to retrieve an object to turn the tide of Christianity.
In 2008, SIG:AR:TYR released the second full-length album Beyond The North Winds that built upon the folk metal and acoustic atmosphere introduced in Sailing the Seas of Fate to create a powerful and diverse pagan metal album. Beyond The North Winds received many excellent reviews and inclusion on several top ten lists for 2008.
Riding the momentum of the great reception received by Beyond the North Winds, SIG:AR:TYR immediately plunged back into the writing and recording process in 2009 to create Godsaga, a darker, harsher album that explores the concepts of loss and sacrifice in the tales of both Egil's Saga and Odin's sacrifice on the world tree Yggdrasil. Godsaga is set to be released in early 2010.
Under the Mountain
SIG:AR:TYR Lyrics
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Where rivers flow inward, where souls cannot be
Beyond the horizon, of fallen stars dreaming
The dark sun burns brighter, than sky brothers gleaming
From star-born creation, to far end of time
To dwell deep within us, to wait for the sign
Under the mountain, and under the sea
The light that will fear us, and flees from our sight
The strength of the ancients, the sacred birthright
Far from the mountain, and far from the sea
Awaiting the coming, the true Northern king
SIG:AR:TYR's song "Under the Mountain" is a mystical and introspective piece that speaks to the listener's deep existential and spiritual yearnings. The lyrics suggest a hidden world, where the human soul can come in touch with the ancient and the mystical. The initial verse suggests a place of darkness where no stars light the sky and no human soul can reach. This suggests that the place being described is beyond what we perceive as the physical world. The second verse highlights the theme of temporality, by referring to the journeying of living beings in time. The lyrics state that the spirit, present at the beginning of time and present until its end, lies sleeping under the sea and mountain, waiting to be summoned by something greater than itself.
This spiritual waiting is brought to light in the third verse, where the song speaks of a light that flees from the spirits' sight, and of the strength of the ancients that the spirits possess as their sacred birthright. This is again an allusion to a hidden existence, where the Northern king is awaited. In essence, the song reflects aspects of Norse mythology, where great kings would arise from among the people who possess a divine born right to rule, like Odin or Thor. This is further emphasized with the symbolic language used throughout the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Deep in the darkness, where stars cannot see
In the place where darkness reigns and no traces of brightness are visible
Where rivers flow inward, where souls cannot be
Where water flows towards an unknown place and where living beings cannot exist
Beyond the horizon, of fallen stars dreaming
In the farthest distance, where passed away shining lights long to shine again
The dark sun burns brighter, than sky brothers gleaming
The obscure sun becomes more radiant than its celestial brethren
From star-born creation, to far end of time
From the beginning of celestial birth to the end of time itself
To dwell deep within us, to wait for the sign
To reside inside of us, awaiting a signal to be awakened
Under the mountain, and under the sea
Beneath the mountains and beneath the ocean waters
Our spirits lie sleeping, dreaming to be
Our souls are in slumber, yearning to awaken
The light that will fear us, and flees from our sight
The light that will dread and escape from our presence
The strength of the ancients, the sacred birthright
The power that has been passed down through generations as a sacred inheritance
Far from the mountain, and far from the sea
At a distance from the mountains and oceans
Awaiting the coming, the true Northern king
Eagerly anticipating the arrival of the legitimate ruler of the north
Contributed by Elena R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.