Mental Cruelty — Forgotten Kings (Track 3)
Information
Artist – Mental Cruelty
Album – Zwielicht
Label – Century Media Records
Released – June 23rd, 2023
Type – Full-length
Additional
Notes
Zwielicht is the fourth full-length by German deathcore band Mental Cruelty, released on 23 June 2023 through Century Media Records. Production, mixing and mastering were completed at Random Awesome Studios in Midland, Michigan; Josh Schroeder is specifically credited with mixing and mastering. The recording lineup comprised Lukas Nicolai on vocals, Marvin Kessler and Nahuel Lozano on guitars, Viktor Dick on bass, and Danny Straßer on drums.
The album develops symphonic deathcore through tremolo-picked black-metal voicings, blast-beat passages, layered choirs and orchestration, low-register chromatic breakdowns, and Nordic-folk-derived acoustic interludes. Its production uses tightly controlled kick and snare transients, wide rhythm-guitar layering, heavily compressed low-end impact and orchestral automation that preserves vocal and percussion definition. Nicolai alternates gutturals, black-metal shrieks, overtone-heavy extreme techniques and limited clean singing, while the arrangements treat breakdowns as sectional contrasts rather than the sole structural focus.
Videos
Recording
Produced, mixed and mastered at Random Awesome Studios, Midland, Michigan, USA.
Tracklist
1. Midtvinter – 01:43
2. Obsessis a Daemonio – 05:07 >
Hell's Mighty Wrath
Speaking in Tongues
Choirs of the Underworld
Holy Water, Silver-Plated Crucifixes, Liturgical Garments
a Cleric Dressed in Velvet and Damask
Useless Armor in a War Against Hell
with Every Step, the Faith and Courage Leave His Body
Useless Priest, Coward and Heretic Slaves of Christ
de Exorcizandis
Gods Beg, the Devil Commands
Gods Beg, the Devil Commands
de Exorcizandis
Fall Into Sin
Fall Into Inferno
Ego Te Absolvo
in Nomine Daemonio
Tell Me Thy Name and
Lead Us Not Into Temptation But Deliver Us from Evil
Save Your Servant Who Trusts in You, My God
Leave Me Alone
Throw Your Cross Into Fire
Your God Means Nothing to Me
Nail Your Bastard Son Back on His Cross
Oh Nameless, I Command You
Bow Down to My Holy Relicts
Let Her Find You, Be with Me
Obey Me to the Letter
Leave Me Alone
Throw Your Cross Into Fire
Your God Means Nothing to Me
Nail Your Bastard Son Back on His Cross
Back on His Cross
Obsessis a Daemonio
Fall Into Sin
She Opens Her Mouth Split Tongues Chant Glory to the Name of Satan
Mighty Ruler of This Sinister Netherworld
Open Your Ears, Hear the Gospel
the Gospel of All the Dammed
in the End, We Will Rise
Out of the Treacherous Void
He's Guiding Me
Embrace the Dark
Sheep Misguided by the Lights
He's Deep Down Within Me
Your Allies Will Burn
Darkest Spirit Clinging on to Your Soul
Fanfares of the Deep
Silence the Angels Break Rituals
Done in the Name of the Eternal Trinity
Father, Son, Holy Spirit Defamed
They Will Be Powerless Against This Beast
Darkest Spirit Clinging on to Your Soul
Your Allies Will Burn
in Nomine Daemonio
3. Forgotten Kings – 05:57 >
The Chained-Up Body Is Rotting in a Prison
Frostbite, Skin Turning Black as It Falls from the Limbs
Ancient Gods Sentenced for Eternity
Crooked Judge, a Thousand Years Spent in Isolation
Abandoned and Trapped, Hidden from the Sight of the World
Sharpened Stones Are Grinding Into the Skin
the Iron Mask Is Pushing Rusty Spikes Into the Face
Blackened Vultures Circling, Purple Blood Runs Down the Chin
Crush Me, Burn Me, Deliver Me from Pain
a Crown of Thorns Decorating the Skull
the Purple Blood Runs Down the Chin
Thin Air Poisoning My Curse Ridden Helpless Mind
Eternal Circle, Every Day Is Living Hell in This World
False Idols Perishing to the Masses
Filled Up with Haughtiness and Pride
Degenerate and Viciousness
the Cries of Pain Howled Through the Hall
They Get Drunken with Power, Again and Again
Serve Your Sentence, Shackled to a Mountain Summit
as the Sky Will Break Open
Kneel Before the Graveside of Forgotten Kings
Shiver to the Power of Forgotten Kings
of Forgotten Kings
Wine Tastes Like Salty Water
Bread Tastes Like Rotten Flesh
as the Sun and the Moon Rise and Set
Eagles Nourish from My Guts
Pecking Their Beaks in My Flesh
a River of Blood Streaming Down the Glaciers
Hands Go Numb and Fingers Lost
Never-Ending Torment
Runes Are Carved Into the Crumbling Stone Below My Feet
Read the Words, Bite My Tongue, Spitting Blood Upon the Snow
Bow My Head, Icy Hail
Please Lord Take My Hand and Save My Soul
Rot in Hell
as They Announce the Final Judgement
Verdict Was Spoken by the Gods
Hammer Has Fallen
Embrace Armageddon
My Hollowed Soul Died in the Face of the Holy Mother
Serve Your Sentence, Shackled to a Mountain Summit
as the Sky Will Break Open
Kneel Before the Graveside of Forgotten Kings
Shiver to the Power of Forgotten Kings
of Forgotten Kings
4. Pest – 05:52 >
Embrace the Curse of the Black Death
Fever, Dread and Bubonic Plague
See the Deceased Bodies Piled Up, Covered in Swarms of Flies
They'll Be Left on the Streets, They'll Be Burned on a Pyre
Doomed to Extinction, Villages Vanished
a Scythe Will Wipe Them from the Earth in the Blink of an Eye
This Dire Fate Is Brought in Sailing Ships, Barrels, Crates
Remains, Thrown Into Ditches Filled Up with Mud and Sewage
Caress the Cloak, Welcome the Grim Lord, Who Will Sentence You to Death
Like Withered Leaves, We Will Fall Down and Be Carried Away in the Tempest
the Gods Will Send Their Wrath Upon All Mankind
by Their Punishment, Your Limbs Will Rot Off, Death Fog
the Fog of Dead Masses Is Sweeping Through the Continent
Vomiting Sticky Blood, No Time to Catch Your Breath
Tens of Millions Die and Go to Waste
Gone from All Memories
Forgotten Names Crumbling of Gravestones
Forgotten Names
They'll Be Weathered Away
Black Death Accursed by the Pest
Kissed by the Breath of the Moribund
the Ferryman Is Guiding You the Way Tonight
Rest in Peace and Close Your Eyes
Black Death Pray for Salvation
Absolve Us Blasphemous Heretics
the Ferryman Is Guiding You the Way Tonight
Rest in Peace, Time to Die
Grim Reaper Writing Down, Death Tolls, Filling Books
Summon the Cries of Widows
These Are Your Last Rites
Rest in Peace
Embrace the Curse of the Pest
Crow-Faced Doctors Shaking Hands with Preachers
Last Remaining, Patron Saints of the Fallen, Cross Leaving Us
Pray for Mercy Listen Closely, No One Will Answer You
Black Death Accursed by the Pest
Kissed by the Breath of the Moribund
the Ferryman Is Guiding You the Way Tonight
Rest in Peace and Close Your Eyes
Black Death Pray for Salvation
Absolve Us Blasphemous Heretics
the Ferryman Is Guiding You the Way Tonight
Rest in Peace, Time to Die
Shadows of the Night
Cursed to Starve Outside
Shadows of the Night
Cursed to Starve Outside
Fading Out of Life
Desire to Die
Shadows of the Night
Cursed to Starve Outside
Fading Out of Life
Desire to Die
5. Nordlys – 05:19 >
Souls Rising Up to Heaven
Led by the Giants, Their Torches Covering the Night Sky
Eerie Voices Shouting Down Tremble Up the Horizon
Wrapping the Evening Glow in Countless Shades of Sorrow
Fearing Their Light Go Hide Yourself
Do Not Look Back
Escape Nearing Disaster That's Building Up
Above the Trees
Rushing Through
Shadows of the Night Covering This Dark Path
Heartbeats to the Neck
Gasping Breath
Air from the Lungs Is Stuck in My Throat
a Taste of Blood
Gazing Up
Green, Red, Purple Lights Flicker Across the Sky
Revealing My Trace
Dread to Enrage the Ancient Spirits
as They Will Reign According to Their Almighty Wrath
Nordlys, Hear the Sky Whistling
Draw My Wrath Upon You
They Light Up the Firmament
Nordlys Shining Omen of Bane
Restless Spirits
Phantoms Will Reach Down to Slice off Your Head
Be Afraid
Alerting the Ghosts for Your Punishment
Never Dare to Speak
Valkyries
Attempting to Rise Again for Revenge
Behold Their War Cry
Vibrantarcs
Shine Over the Arctic Ominously
Dance with the Moonlight
Never Dare to Whistle Wave or Sing Again
Warriors on Horseback They'll Be Gorgeous, Deadly, Winged and Their Desire
to Erase Thy Hope with Their Sword of Fire
Dread to Enrage the Ancient Spirits
as They Will Reign According to Their Almighty Wrath
the Stars Will Align for Your Fate Will Be Decided by the Servants of Yggdrasil
Nordlys, Hear the Sky Whistling
Draw My Wrath Upon You
They Light Up the Firmament
Nordlys Shining Omen of Bane
Restless Spirits
Phantoms Will Reach Down to Slice off Your Head
Crimson Presence
Enlight the Starry Heaven
Only Answered
with Whispers by the Living
Giants Fire Up Their Wooden Torches
Leading the Souls of the Deceased Over the Abyss
I Am Fire, Bringer of Doom
I Am Fire, Portent of War
I Am Fire, Light Up the Heaven
I Am Fire, Bringer of Dawn, Son of the Moon
6. Mortal Shells – 06:11 >
Oh, Mortal Shell So Easily Broken Crafted in Sadistic Design
and a Tragedy Upon Us
Merciless Killer
the Upbringing They Promised to You
Was Nothing But a
Fucking Disappointment
Now the Ashes of Nations Past Fall Upon Faces of Desperation
Leaving Behind a Grey-Scaled Barren Landscape
Forsaken the Thorns That Sting and Burn in Aged Wounds
My Malenchantment, the Pain That Bears Deathless Membrance
High Burning, Feel the Renegance Churning
High Blowing, Memento Ventum Aquila Metus
High Burning, Feel the Tempest Churning
High Blowing, an Orcanous Final Sigh
I Feel Wailing Motions of Guilt Molten to the Ego
No Power That's Left for Me, Eternal Prison
This Earth Forsakes Me
Corrupt the Husk I Dwell in
My Wish to Conquer This World
Got No Merit to the Ways of Fate
Caught Betwixt the Fallen
the Misery That Paved Each Step
My Wish to Conquer This World
Leaks Out of Every Pore of My Lifeless Self
Fear That Thrives and Fosters Formidable Fickleness
Foreign the Concept of Empathy
Control Freak Frowned Upon
My Heart, an Ever-Rusting Weapon
That Penetrates and Diminishes
the Souls Around Me
Shattered Into Countless Fragments
Disgustingly Raw Myself Down to the Bone I Sacrifice My Will
Down to the Bone
Down to the Bone
Oh, Mortal Shell So Easily Broken, Crafted in Sadistic Design
Crafted in Sadistic Design
My Flesh, Consumed by the Outer God
My Fucking Brain, Picked Apart by Another One
That Shares Its Bane
the Intricacies of Man Make Way for the Fundament of My Ashen Throne
This Earth Forsakes Me, Corrupts the Husk I Dwell in
My Wish to Conquer This World
Got No Merit to the Ways of Fate
Caught Betwixt the Fallen
the Misery That Paved Each Step
My Wish to Conquer This World
Leaks Out of Every Pore of My Lifeless Self
Ravaged the Land Lies
Bear Witness to My Deformation
My Wish to Conquer This World
Shattered Into Countless Fragments
My Deformation Is Your Damnation
You Fucking Coward
7. Zwielicht – 01:33 >
Es Färbt Sich Schwarz Das Licht Der Nacht
Ein Letzter Strahl Mich Trifft
Mein Größter Feind Mein Eigener Geist
Schatten Im Haupt Ein Gift
Ein Schleier Dicht Sich Um Mich Hüllt
Es Odem Und Kraft Mir Raubt
Harter Boden Elend Weich
Mein Licht Es Nun Ertaubt
Es Färbt Sich Schwarz Das Licht Der Nacht
Ein Letzter Strahl Mich Trifft
Mein Größter Feind Mein Eigener Geist
Schatten Im Haupt Ein Gift
Ein Schleier Dicht Sich Um Mich Hüllt
Es Odem Und Kraft Mir Raubt
Harter Boden Elend Weich
Mein Licht Es Nun Ertaubt
8. Symphony of a Dying Star – 04:11 >
Nature Is Sleeping, Buried Under Ice
Listen to the Winter Forest, Can't You Hear There's No Life
Like a Symphony, to All Those Fallen Stars
Cheerful the Voices, Echoes in the Past
as I Wander the Pathway, to the Frozen Sky
I Can't See My Footsteps, Have I Already Died
the Sun Made Me Blind
Vision Starts Fooling Me I Am Drifting Away
Imprisoned in This Endless Dismay
Everything That Once Shined Bright
Is Covered in the Sand of Time
No Leaves Left on the Tree of Life
No Destination Will I Still Arrive
Frostbite Burns
I Just Realized There Is No Turning Back
No Feelings, No Hope and No Fear
My Mind Is Driven to a Point of Insanity
Everything Means Nothing in This Fog of Equilibrium
Take Me to the Other Side
Where Cold Is Warm and All Dead Alive
I See Myself Lying on the Cold Forest Floor
Be One with Nature and Will Be No More
Into the Night, I Fly Away
I Spread My Wings and Fade Away
My Mortal Being Left Behind
as Stars Align in Crimson Skies
Everything That Once Shined Bright
Is Covered in the Sand of Time
No Leaves Left on the Tree of Life
No Destination Will I Still Arrive
Everything That Once Shined Bright
Is Covered in the Sand of Time
No Leaves Left on the Tree of Life
Ascend from Hell to Paradise
9. The Arrogance of Agony – 05:22 >
The Glance of Death as I Look Into the Mirror
the Faceless Staring Back at Me Can't Recognize This Person
This Is Something That I Used to Be
Remaining Pain Clings to My Weakened Mind
Leave Me in Peace I Can't Take This Anguish Anymore
Trapped in This Place Damned to Live, Blessed to Die
Staring Away, There Is a Savor in the Eyes of the Dead, the Dead
the Arrogance of Agony
Why Should I Try to Win This Fight When There Is Nothing Left for Me
the Arrogance of Agony
Drown in Despair Until You Take Your Final Breath
Devotion to Destructive Habits, Lead My Way
Adorned with the Filth of a Traitor
Wash It All Away as I Have Never Lived
Shattering Are the Screams of Redemption
Redeeming Is the Feeling of My Deaf Ears
Ignite the Flames for a Barren Earth
as If It Wasn't Hard Enough, My Life Devoted to a Search
But I Can't Find This Sacred Place My Daemons Are with Me
Keep on Walking Through the Night
Haunted by a Shadow, a Likeness of Myself
My Demise Has Come to Take Hold of Me
the Remains of My Past Collapse to My Feet
the Glance of Death as I Look Into the Mirror
the Faceless Staring Back at Me Can't Recognize This Person
This Is Something That I Used to Be
Is This a Life Worth Living, or Will I Fall Into This Grief
Pain Release Me, When Judgement Day Has Come, They Will Set Me Free
Devotion to Destructive Habits Lead My Way
Adorned with the Filth of a Traitor
Wash It All Away as I Have Never Lived
Shattering Are the Screams of Redemption
Redeeming Is the Feeling of My Deaf Ears
Ignite the Flames for a Barren Earth
the Arrogance of Agony
Why Should I Try to Win This Fight When There Is Nothing Left for Me
the Arrogance of Agony
Drown in Despair, Now It Is Gone My Will of Life
10. A Tale of Salt and Light – 07:31 >
Blessed Are the Ones Who Walk the Salty Desert
Blessed Are the Ones Who Conquer Their Fear in the Ocean
Every Second I Battle the Current
Swim Against the Whim of Nature
Hunters of the Deep Circle of My Path
Hopes Washed Away by the Pull of the Tide
Sentenced to Drown by the Will of the Moon
We Are the Salt of the Earth, Scattered to the Soil
Everything We Touch Will Be Withered and Pale
with Every Step I Take and Every Mile I Swim in This Ether of Pain
I Distance Myself from This Salvific Oasis
Unknown Realms They Shine So Bright
Never Seen by the Mortal Eyes
Deprived, the Faculty of Sight
My Body, My Ache, Washed Up at the Cost
Stranded Between Sand, Seaweed and Shells
My Corpse Will Lie There to Be Bleached in the Sun
My Body, My Ache, Washed Up at the Cost
Stranded Between Sand, Seaweed and Shells
Serve as Memorial of Salt and Light
I Pray Every Night to Calm Down the Gods
I Beg the Stars to My Pleas They Remain Deaf
Behold the Clouds as They Gather Into a Storm
Hell Breaks Loose as They Disparage My Sorrow
Dragged Under the Surface by the Mighty Grip of Disbelief
Pulled Down to the Abyss of Dissidence
the Silty Grounds and Oceanic Trenches My Last Resting Place
Doubt Crossing My
Path Like a Sword Drawn and Slicing Through My Chest My Lungs Are Filled with Blood
Gaze Over the Surface the Ripple Will Be Raged, the Waves Show No Mercy
Letting Myself Sink and Soon I Will Descend Into Defeat
I Am the Light of This Cruel World
Doctrine, Abolish Thy Fate
Conquer Thy Fear
Gather Your Strength
Blessed Are the Ones Who Walk the Salty Desert
Blessed Are the Ones Who Will Fight the Sea
My Body, My Ache, Washed Up at the Cost
Stranded Between Sand, Seaweed and Shells
My Corpse Will Lie There to Be Bleached in the Sun
My Body, My Ache, Washed Up at the Cost
Stranded Between Sand, Seaweed and Shells
Serve as Memorial of Salt and Light
the World Is Fading
I Let Myself Go and Float in the Drift of Time Bed Me to Sleep
as I Dive Into Deep
I Serve as Memorial of Salt and Light
This Sunken Palace Will Serve as a Shelter for My Disgrace
I'll Rest Below, for This Sea Will Form a Blanket for My Desperation
the World Is Fading Before My Eyes
the Vastness of the Ocean Has Found a Prey in Me
Serve as Memorial of Salt and Light
Total length: 48:46
Lineup
Band Members
Marvin Kessler – Guitars, Lyrics, Songwriting
Viktor Dick – Bass
Danny Straßer – Drums
Nahuel Lozano – Guitars, Lyrics, Songwriting
Lukas Nicolai – Vocals, Lyrics, Songwriting
Miscellaneous Staff
Josh Schroeder – Mixing, Mastering
Lorenzo van Mourik – Logo
Mariusz Lewandowski (R.I.P. 2022) – Artwork
Carsten Drescher – Layout
Chris Hambrink – Songwriting (track 6)
Links
Download (.zip)