According to Erik Danielsson, when the band formed, "there weren't really any bands anymore that seemed to take things that seriously, and there weren't that many bands that actually consisted of, you know, people that did so much more than just play the music that they liked and the same kind of music that their idols play". They released their demo Go Fuck Your Jewish "God" in 1998 and their live tape Black Metal Sacrifice in 1999, which they do not intend to re-release. In October 1999, the band released their EP The Essence of Black Purity through Grimrune Productions, which they consider to be their first official release, and played a show together with Malign and Dark Funeral, organised by Watain and Grimrune Productions.
Watain's debut album Rabid Death's Curse was released through End All Life Productions and Drakkar Productions in 2000, followed by a split EP with Diabolicum released through Spikekult Records. A split LP with Malign was planned in the early 2000s and supposed to be issued by Grimrune Productions before the recording of Watain's second album Casus Luciferi, but never got released. Watain toured Europe with Unpure in early 2002. In 2003, they again entered the studio to record their second full-length album, Casus Luciferi, which features lyrics by Necromorbus of Funeral Mist (who also produced all their studio releases since The Essence of Black Purity and played live bass for them), MkM of Antaeus and Scorn of Katharsis. The Stellar Descension Infernal Tour through Europe followed, alongside Secrets of the Moon and Averse Sefira. They also toured throughout 18 countries with Dissection on their two months-long 'Rebirth of Dissection' tour in 2004. Dissection member Set Teitan supported Watain in Russia in 2005 due to live bassist Whorth's absence, and later became an official live member of the band.
In 2006, members of the band did the Hitler salute and wore t-shirts of the NSBM band Absurd after their gig on German festival Party San Open Air, leading to accusations of being a Nazi band. Asked about this incident in an interview to the German online metal magazine Metal.de, Erik Danielsson (vocals and bass) gave an evasive answer, but when asked about his views on NSBM, he explained the band sees it as a joke: "NSBM is a joke, a despaired approach of people who're incapable to comprehend the perversion and the insanity of Black Metal. They're trying to appear extreme and limit their selves in their conception to that kind of society, which describes something that we wouldn't care less about. Fuck the world! Black Metal doesn't have anything to do with the world like you know it."
Their third full-length album Sworn to the Dark was released in Europe on 21 February 2007, then they toured Europe along with Celtic Frost, Kreator and Legion of the Damned. In 2008, they played their first headlining tour in North America with Book of Black Earth. Eclipse Eternal and Kronosfear joined them for some shows as well.
In 2010, Watain released a single for the song "Reaping Death" in two formats, picture disc vinyl with a cover of the song "Chains of Death" by Death SS, and digisleeve CD with a cover of the song "The Return of Darkness and Evil" by Bathory. It was followed by the album Lawless Darkness, released on 7 June 2010.
In 2013, Watain have announced the completion of their fifth album, The Wild Hunt, to be released on 19 and 20 August 2013 in Europe and United States, respectively. The album release will be followed by world tour that will begin in Uppsala on 24 August. The first single of the album, "All That May Bleed", was released on 21 June and features as B-side the song "Play with the Devil", "originally recorded by the Black/Heavy Metal band Taiwaz in 1988, in Uppsala." The second single of the album, "The Child Must Die", was released on 17 July 2013.
Current members:
E. (Erik Danielsson) - Vocals, Bass
P. (Pelle Forsberg) - Guitar
H. (Håkan Jonsson) - Drums
Live:
Set Teitan (Davide Totaro) - Guitar
A. (Alvaro Lillo) - Bass, Guitar
S.L. (Selim Lemouchi) - Guitar
Previous:
C. Blom - Guitar (1998–2000)
Mörkkh (Jonas Lindskog) - Bass
Necromorbus (Tore Stjerna) - Bass (Session 2000–2002)
The Light that Burns the Sun
Watain Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
who outshine all the stars
in the heavens and beyond.
Thou who art fallen,
and risen in the deeps,
in the gleaming halls of darkness
and forbidden mysteries.
By your vigour
illuminated and in awe I stand
to curse all of the world.
Reborn beneath the Black Sun,
on my knees for none but thee,
whose flames ignites the heavens,
and scorch them thoroughly.
Rising from the deeps of Urkaos.
Hovering in doom.
Black sun of dissolving fire,
by whose wrath the self of god shall die.
Bursting from its roaring surface.
Shining from the Serpent's eye.
The Boundless Light that burns the sun.
The fire of the Fallen One.
God of Death primordial.
Flame of the unknown.
Mould my heart into a vessel,
and possess it as your own!
Make my torch into a furnace.
So that I can see the secrets clear.
Holy, radiant, silent.
A light so strong it bears the wrath of a god.
Rise! Oh Promethean Serpent of the underworld.
Ascend unto the highest,
above the very thrones.
Breath unto the embers
that dwell within my heart.
For within them lies the key
to it's perditionate reincarnation.
Awakened from it's restless slumber.
My Daimon, unbound to reign.
As I walk beyond the grace of god
into the roaring deeps arcane.
My eyes they burn as I behold
the wings of Lucifer unfold.
Transcending now into formation
to burn the sun and all creation.
In "The Light that Burns the Sun", Watain crafts a song dedicated to Lucifer, the Fallen One, who is referred to as the "Radiant Lucifer" and "Phosphorous divine". The song speaks of his beauty and strength, being more magnificent than any star beyond heaven. The lyrics almost seem to depict the singer in the song falling at the feet of Lucifer, recognizing his power and asking to be possessed by him. They explicitly express a willingness to curse the world and seek the destruction of the self of God. The song also speaks to a rebirth under the Black Sun, which is a symbol of spiritual transformation and revelation in occult circles.
"Rising from the deeps of Urkaos" possibly refers to Urkaos (or chaos), the pre-creation void in Norse mythology. It adds to the sense of darkness and otherworldliness of the song. The lyrics make references to the "self of God" and "wings of Lucifer," which suggest an infernal narrative that is common in black metal music. The words are powerful and evoke a sense of rebellion against established religious belief systems. They try to paint a picture of Lucifer as a powerful figure around whom the singer is willing to build their identity.
Line by Line Meaning
Radiant Lucifer, Oh Phosphorous divine,
Addressing Lucifer as the bright and shining divine being he is.
who outshine all the stars
His radiance is unparalleled and beyond the stars.
in the heavens and beyond.
Lucifer's light is not just limited to the heavens but is everywhere else too.
Thou who art fallen,
Even though he has fallen from grace, he remains a powerful and divine being.
and risen in the deeps,
He has ascended in the underworld and attained power there.
in the gleaming halls of darkness
Lucifer's powers are exercised in the halls of darkness, where he is most powerful.
and forbidden mysteries.
His power is so great that he transcends human knowledge and understanding.
By your vigour
It is by Lucifer's energy and strength.
and by your emerald phantasm,
That shines like a radiant green light that he magnetises others around him, including the singer.
illuminated and in awe I stand
The singer is enlightened and humbled by his power and stands in awe.
to curse all of the world.
The singer now has the power to bring down a curse upon the world.
Reborn beneath the Black Sun,
The singer has been reborn under the Black Sun, a symbol of Luciferian power.
on my knees for none but thee,
The singer kneels before Lucifer and pledges allegiance to none other than him.
whose flames ignites the heavens,
Lucifer's power is so intense that it even sets the heavens on fire.
and scorch them thoroughly.
His power is so great that it can destroy everything in its path.
Rising from the deeps of Urkaos.
Lucifer's power originates from the deep underworld of Urkaos.
Hovering in doom.
His power is so overwhelming that it feels like impending doom.
Black sun of dissolving fire,
The Black Sun is a symbol of Lucifer's power and it engulfs everything in its dissolving fire.
by whose wrath the self of god shall die.
Lucifer's enmity with God is so strong that even a part of God's divine self can be destroyed by Lucifer's power.
Bursting from its roaring surface.
The surface of the Black Sun bursts with his energy and strength.
Shining from the Serpent's eye.
The serpent's eye, symbolising Lucifer's power, glows with radiance.
The Boundless Light that burns the sun.
Lucifer's light is limitless and it engulfs everything, even the sun.
The fire of the Fallen One.
Lucifer's fire is the emblem of the one who has fallen from God's grace.
God of Death primordial.
Lucifer is also known as the primordial God of Death.
Flame of the unknown.
His fire is so intense and unknown that it can destroy even the strongest of divine beings.
Mould my heart into a vessel,
The singer is requesting Lucifer to inhabit his heart and take control over him.
and possess it as your own!
He wants to be possessed by Lucifer and become one with him.
Make my torch into a furnace.
He wants Lucifer to turn his flame into an even more powerful furnace to reveal the true secrets to him.
So that I can see the secrets clear.
He wants to gain complete understanding of the forbidden mysteries.
Holy, radiant, silent.
Lucifer's power is sacred, radiant, and mysterious.
A light so strong it bears the wrath of a god.
His light is so strong that it can bear the wrath of any god.
Rise! Oh Promethean Serpent of the underworld.
The singer invokes Lucifer to rise from the underworld and take his rightful place in the world.
Ascend unto the highest,
He wants Lucifer to rise to his full power and ascend to his rightful position on the top.
above the very thrones.
He wants Lucifer to be above all the other thrones and gods.
Breath unto the embers that dwell within my heart.
He is asking Lucifer to bring life to the dying embers within his heart so that it would be filled with Lucifer's power.
For within them lies the key its perditionate reincarnation.
The embers within his heart are the key to his own restoration and reincarnation.
Awakened from it's restless slumber.
The power of Lucifer has been awakened from its deep slumber.
My Daimon, unbound to reign.
Lucifer has freed the Daimon to rule and reign over the world.
As I walk beyond the grace of god into the roaring deeps arcane.
The singer has stepped into a realm beyond God's grace, into the mysterious and unknown.
My eyes they burn as I behold the wings of Lucifer unfold.
He is veiling in ecstasy as Lucifer's wings unfold before him.
Transcending now into formation to burn the sun and all creation.
He is witnessing Lucifer's power to overcome the sun and even destroy the creation itself.
Contributed by Anna H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ian Bruesch
on Malfeitor
So, a few things: for one, the Self and the I are two different things. The I/ego — which hinders the spirit — is what needs to be destroyed for the Self — which is closer to the spirit — to be liberated. You'll notice lyrics alluding to the Self vs the I throughout their music. I also wrote an analysis on Reddit a while back. Feel free to read. Hope it'll give a bit more insight into what the song is about.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Watain/comments/wbtoxv/gonna_try_my_hand_at_a_malfeitor_analysis/
PS
"To the death's head true" is about devotion to the energies of the 218/182 Currents. See the comment here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Watain/comments/zaty8s/can_you_explain_to_me_the_meaning_of_this_line/