Lack of parental guidance notwithstanding, here's The Best of Arth:
July 2009 - The Best of Arth - LIVE - CDR - CHF5 + p&p
Formed in 2002, Arth played what we called heathen metal... generally brutal, fairly fast, sometimes tuneful... but always metal. No symphonic keys here, pal. Our lyrics varied from historical (concerning the battles and folk religions of medieval Switzerland) to spiritual (Memorial Ruins) to mythical (e.g. the legend of the Black Sword)...
At the end we had 4 members -
Tyrant - drums
Dargor - guitar
Grym - bass
Schweintröll - vocals, weapons and armour
...and played quite a few concerts in Switzerland and France between 2002 and 2007, the preprepenultimate being at Versoix (near Geneva) where we staged a sword fight during one of the songs, much to the enjoyment of the audience! 2007 UPDATE: Having failed to find a suitable guitarist, and amidst alcohol-fuelled internal strife, Arth began a long long pause in the middle of 2007...Arth reunion in 2010 anyone ? We'll do some Black Metal this time, huh ?
Best of Arth - LIVE track information...
The Best of Arth – LIVE
01 Einsiedeln (die Krähe) - Burgdorf (BE) - 14.10.06 Best opener ever… shame about the “bunker of Bern†sound quality. With Trimonium and Forgotten Chaos, whose singer’s girlfriend had dumped him that day… Oh boy, what a LOT of beer…
02 The Dead Army - Salgesch (VS) - 18.07.06 With Draemoontias. Dodgy drum triggers notwithstanding, the audience hated us 100%, but we played on… and on…
03 The Black Sword - Malleray (NE) - 15.01.05 Mid-January, -8° outside but +30° inside – the mad-for-metal men of Malleray gave us and locals Thrashing Heads a very warm welcome. Unlike Salgesch I might add. I guess Arth (NE) was not “local†enough for deepest, darkest, ten-gallon-hat-wearing tobacco-chewing Valais ;-)
04 Celtic Cross - Haute Nendaz (VS) - 04.03.05 Ye olde version with guitar into’ and outro’
05 Zwölfte Nächte - Burgdorf (BE) - 14.10.06 Héhé so I finally got to use two umlauts in one song title !
06 La Malédiction du Druide - Haute Nendaz (VS) - 04.03.05 The mildly fascist audience of Nendaz finally warms to the mellow sounds of Arth… Too much free Guinness before and after… Grateful thanx to the Phoenix Pub (RIP)
07 Memorial Ruins - Rehearsal tape - Local St Aubin (NE) - 28.10.06 Or “Memorial Riunes†as Schweintröll nearly always called it ! Check out the John and Paul double vocals at the end… Ah, the breath of the Beast !
08 Hidden Flame - Burgdorf (BE) - 14.10.06 Damned good audience !!! Shut the fuck up German bloke (unless you are Vinterriket, then it’s OK and you are welcome to be on our CD).
09 Celtic Cross - Burgdorf (BE) - 14.10.06 Bass intro’ and outro’ version… as people seem to rather like this, we’ll have it twice on this CD ! Celtic Cross was written exclusively for Joëlle (RIP).
10 When Medieval Winds Crossed the Land ?Regina Montium - GuyStock Festival 05 Haute Normandie, France - 09.07.05 Arth’s invasion of France succeeds in killing a few coke-head Parisians who were expecting techno techno techno…
11 Memorial Ruins - GuyStock05 - 09.07.05 Arth not always perfect ??!! But the nearby Château Gaillard was BUILT for this song… Didier… hold the bloody microphone still next time !!! Er, yes, we did play quite loud, in a field, in the rain…
12 Creeping Wolf, drunken Stéf - Salgesch (VS) - 18.07.06 The beginning of the end... and the end of the concert… after a little too much free beer and apparently not enough McDonald’s…
I assure you it's worth CHF5 just for the last track - it's so funny !
Zwölfte Nächte lyrics
Zwölfte Nächte – Arth and victory ! Unterwalden, Uri, Schwyz Rauhnächte – slaughter in the abbey Wotan mit den Toten zur wilden Jagd aufbrechen
Zwölfte Nächte – 1313 300 years of subjugation Glöckelnächte – murder in the cloisters Death to the invaders – the end begins tonight
Candles lit and prayers whispered Women and children stay inside The old faith knows the ways – the spirit realm is open The souls of the dead roam free tonight
Demons stalk the frosted fields Animals speak in human tongue Revealing the future, but never to be repeated For those who hear them die at once
The old folk religion again suffused with power The time for oracles is ripe The wise speak of victory, against a mighty foe A vast army defeated by country men
Not once but twice on the plains of Schwyz Men of Arth and the forest cantons Defeat the forces of Habichtsburg The blood soaked fields of Morgarten and Sempach Images glimpsed in the smoke and fire… The end of occupation begins tonight
Zwölfte Nächte – Arth and victory ! Unterwalden, Uri, Schwyz Rauhnächte – slaughter in the abbey Wotan mit den Toten zur wilden Jagd aufbrechen
Zwölfte Nächte – 1313 300 years of subjugation Glöckelnächte – murder in the cloisters Death to the invaders – the end begins tonight
Pitchforks and scythes, tools of sheer brutality Wielded in the hardened hands of downtrodden men Twelfth night – the monastery set alight An unforeseen assault on an avaricious foe
A vision in the bonfire’s shadows… A premonition veiled in smoke A glittering army masses on the plain Four thousand men prepared for war
The rebel militia must occupy the high ground Forge sword and halberds for (the) impending fight The prophecy of Rauhnächte, interpreted, exploited Sees the regal splendour drowned in the lake!
refrain etc.
Back story:
(1) History (2) Mythology
(1) History
Hawk's castle: AD 1020
Count Radbot builds himself a castle, in 1020, on a promontory overlooking the river Aar to the west of Zürich. Perhaps because of its high position, it becomes known as Habichtsburg - 'hawk's castle'. From this fortress Radbot's family later acquire their name, as the Habsburgs.
Two centuries later Radbot's descendants are counts of Zürich, with extensive rights over the entire region around Lake Lucerne - comprising the territories of Schwyz, Uri, Unterwalden and Lucerne. These Swiss cantons, the original heart of the Habsburg inheritance, are gradually lost from 1291. But by then a Habsburg count, Rudolf, has won more extensive territories for the family.
Rudolf I: AD 1273-1291
In 1273 the German princes make a slightly surprising choice in their election of a new king. They favour Rudolf of Habsburg, even though the family's ancestral lands are at this stage quite modest - relatively small regions in the Alsace and in Switzerland. But Rudolf is a powerful leader and a German, well suited to challenge the growing power of the Slav king of Bohemia, Otakar II, whose election as duke of Austria has represented a major enroachment on German territory.
Rudolf first approaches his task by legal means. He questions Otakar's right to the Austrian duchy, summons the king to appear before an imperial diet and places him under a ban when he fails to do so. He then resorts to force.
Rudolf enters Austria with an imperial army in 1276, defeats Otakar, and forces upon him the treaty of Vienna. By its terms Otakar renounces his claim to Austria. As a vassal of Rudolf he is allowed to keep the ancestral lands of his dynasty, Bohemia and Moravia (the western part of Great Moravia, linked to Bohemia since 1029), but he is stripped of his other dignities.
Two years later, in 1278, Otakar marches west to recover Austria. His army meets Rudolf's at Dürnkrut, northeast of Vienna. Otakar is defeated, and is killed in flight from the battle.
By these means the Austrian territories, long held by the Babenberg dynasty, pass to the Habsburgs. The important region of Tirol, enriched by trade through the Alpine passes, is bequeathed to them in 1363 by Margaret of Carinthia. Thus the central region of the Habsburg inheritance, the heart of their realm until 1918, is assembled by the end of the 14th century.
During that same century their original lands, in the forest cantons of Switzerland, slip out of their grasp. In 1291, the last year of his life, Rudolf I takes measures which offend his Swiss vassals. They form a league in opposition to the Habsburg dynasty.
Everlasting League: AD 1291-1315
On the death of Rudolf I, in 1291, the three forest districts of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden openly campaign against the election of his Habsburg successor, Albert, as German king. To protect themselves against Habsburg attack, they pledge themselves to an Everlasting League of mutual defence (signing it, tradition says, in the Rütli meadow in Uri).
The pledge remains for the moment hypothetical. A rival candidate wins the crown. Albert subsequently defeats him in battle and becomes the German king, in 1298. But there is no dramatic clash between the rebellious cantons and the Habsburgs until fifteen years later, when the next escalation in the drama follows an act of aggression by the Swiss.
In 1313 the men of Schwyz attack the rich Benedictine abbey of Einsiedeln. The Habsburgs, with feudal responsibility for the abbey, take various steps to reassert their authority. When these fail, they assemble a great army in 1315 to attack Schwyz.
On the mountain slope of Morgarten, on the border of Schwyz, near the viallge of Arth, the glittering Habsburg array [of 4’000 men] is met on November 15 by a much smaller citizen army [of 1’500 men] drawn from the farmers of Schwyz, Uri and Unterwalden. The Swiss are armed with a weapon which they make very much their own - the halberd.
The Habsburg knights, mounted and in armour, rely on the thundering weight of a charger to mow down the opposition. In the confined space of Morgarten, they find themselves at the mercy of the Swiss halberdiers.
At the end of each 8-foot halberd there is a sharp metal point; this can jab like a spear. Below the point to one side is a hook; this is used to grapple a knight and drag him from his horse. Below the point on the other side there is an axe blade; with a heavy sweeping blow, at the end of the long handle, this will cut through armour and sink into limb or neck. With this lethally adaptable weapon the Swiss footsoldiers bring down the Habsburg cavalry.
Withering of Habsburg rule in Switzerland: AD 1318-89
Morgarten does not immediately free the forest cantons from Habsburg influence. But the Swiss have earned a new respect.
Another great victory - at Sempach in 1386 - settles the issue. Some 1600 Swiss confederates crush a Habsburg force of about 6000 men. A treaty agreed in Zürich in 1389 effectively annuls Habsburg feudal rights over the Everlasting League, now much enlarged from the three original members of 1291. The treaty is renewed in 1394, 1412 and 1474 until the peace of Basel finally recognizes Swiss independence in 1499. (The missing name from this brief account is Switzerland's most famous character, William Tell. But alas, like England's King Arthur, he appears to be a figure of legend.) http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?h istoryid=ac77
(2) Mythology
Als Rauhnächte oder zwölf Nächte (auch Zwölfte oder Glöckelnächte) bezeichnet man die 12 Nächte zwischen dem Heiligen Abend (24. Dezember) und dem Fest der Erscheinung des Herrn (6. Januar).
Zur Mitte der Weihnächte, nämlich zu Silvester, sollte Wotan mit den Toten zur wilden Jagd aufbrechen. In dieser Zeit steht nach altem Volksglauben das Geisterreich offen, und die Seelen der Verstorbenen sowie die Geister haben Ausgang. Dämonen können Umzüge veranstalten oder mit der wilden Jagd durch die Lande ziehen. Tiere im Stall sollen um Mitternacht die menschliche Sprache sprechen und über die Zukunft erzählen. Wer die Tiere allerdings sprechen höre, sterbe unmittelbar danach. Altem Volksglauben zu Folge seien die Rauhnächte des Weiteren für das Durchführen von Orakeln sehr geeignet. Im Silvesterbrauchtum wird dieser Glaube - wenngleich in erster Linie aus Geselligkeit - in Form des Bleigießens bis heute weiter gepflegt. Daher auch der Brauch, zu Silvester Lärm zu erzeugen. Die indogermanischen Kelten feierten diesen Brauch zu Samhain, was in der Neuzeit zu Halloween avancierte. Zumindest an den vier besonders wichtigen Rauhnächten (21. Dezember, 24. Dezember, 31. Dezember und 5/6. Januar) werden im Volksbrauchtum Haus und Stall vom Hausvater mit Weihwasser und Weihrauch gesegnet, Kerzen entzündet und Gebete gesprochen. Diese vier Rauhnächte galten mancherorts als derart "gefährlich", dass sie mit Fasten und Beten begangen wurden. Im Haus durfte keine Unordnung herrschen, keine Wäsche auf der Leine hängen. Frauen und Kinder sollten nach Einbruch der Dunkelheit nicht mehr alleine auf der Straße sein.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rauhnacht
Die Rauhnächte - in vielen alpinen Gegenden wie dem Salzkammergut nach wie vor ein mystisches Ereignis, bei dem Perchten, Hexen und andere eigenartige Gestalten ihr Unwesen treiben - sind tief verwurzelte Volksbräuche bei denen, der Überlieferung nach, die gejagten Seelen auf die Erde kommen und ihr Unwesen treiben. Vielfältiges Brauchtum, Orakel, Magie und Aberglaube ranken sich um diese Tage und Nächte. Die Stallungen und Höfe der Bauern werden mit Weihrauch ausgeräuchert (daher das Wort „Rauhnacht“) und mit Weihwasser besprengt, um das Böse fernzuhalten. Geister und Fabelwesen werden in den vier Rauhnächten zur Bedrohung für Mensch und Tier, Phantasie und Realität verschwimmen: Versunkene Schlösser und Schätze steigen empor, Zwerge kommen zu Besuch und müssen bewirtet werden. Wesen mit hölzernen Teufelsmasken und Fellkostümen ziehen scheppernd und wild gestikulierend durch die Straßen: Auch die Perchten mögen die bösen Geiser vertreiben! In weiteren vielfältigen Ritualen versucht man, nicht nur das Böse zu bannen, sondern auch die Zukunft vorherzusehen und zu deuten.
Die Zeit der Sonnwende und des Jahreswechsels hat die Menschheit schon immer beeindruckt und beschäftigt. Schon in vorchristlicher Zeit wurde die Wintersonnwende als Geburt der Sonne gefeiert. Sie ist eine Zeit des Kampfes des Lichts mit der Finsternis, des Guten mit dem Bösen. Einige alte Bräuche oder Märchen zu den Rauhnächten mögen den heutigen Betrachter zum Schmunzeln anregen, andere machen nachdenklich oder besinnlich.
http://www.rauhnacht.at/