They Hold No Quarter

Listening to one of my all time favourite bands from childhood Led Zepplin. All through the 70's & 80's I listened to this and had no idea what the lyrics meant, nor why I loved them so much. No I do. They hold a piece of my heart.

Led Zeppelin - No Quarter (Live at Madison Square Garden 1973)

[Verse 1]

Close the door, put out the light

You know they won't be home tonight

The snow falls hard and don't you know?

The winds of Thor are blowing cold

They're wearing steel that's bright and true

They carry news that must get through

[Chorus]

They choose the path where no-one goes

They hold no quarter

They hold no quarter

[Guitar Solo]

[Verse 2]

Walking side by side with death

The devil mocks their every step

The snow drives back the foot that's slow

The dogs of doom are howling more

They carry news that must get through

To build a dream for me and you

[Chorus]

They choose the path where no-one goes

They hold no quarter

They ask no quarter

They hold no quarter

They ask no quarter

The pain, the pain without quarter

They ask no quarter

The dogs of doom are howling more!

Coming Soon...

I sell my designs on Red Bubble as well as directly through me. Some lovely staff member at Red Bubble saw my shirt rolling off the dryer in their Colorado office and snatched a photo for me.

Oh yes! and I have a new website called The Crow's Fjord coming March 01, 2014. Watch for it! I will post the link.

The Crow's Fjord

I am selling my designs via Facebook (for now). I know of a few out there who have managed to abstain from Facebook, (although I don't know why they bother at this point... its like having a telephone, so get over it, but anyway....) so I have made a public page which I hope can be viewed by anyone, even those without a Facebook account. It is here:

https://www.facebook.com/TheCrowsFjord

You can also buy them through sending me a direct email to:

mscorpsecafe@gmail.com

(spammers, please be aware that I have a spam filter and your junk will be deleted at the end of each day and not read by a single soul, so save yourself the bad wyrd and go somewhere else)

Here's a print ad I created for a magazine which breifly outlines what I've got:

Thor and Electricity

Thor and Electricity Conduction in ancient times - Hidden Knowledge in Old Norse Myths Pt 2 from Maria Kvilhaug.



Must find Pt 1 !!

Woden

Alright, it has been a long time coming....

The story of Odin's sacrifice on the world tree for nine days, Geri & Freki, Hugin & Munin + more. This image can be purchased asap at Red Bubble (see sidebar), or I will be custom printing t-shirts and posters and perhaps an apron or two for the master chefs, all of which should be ready for May 24th weekend.

Theudho

Theudo, is a 'blackened' pagan metal band from Belgium. Founding member Jurgen has had an interest in the religious traditions, legends, myths and history of the Germanic cultural realm since he was a young boy and incorporates much of the lore from those times into the lyrics.

Silence Reigned over the Bog from The Silence EP was inspired by the book "Blot: Tro och offer i det förskristna norden” by the Swedish Britt-Mari Näsström as well as an essay by Georges Dumézil. It endeavours to explain the religious background behind the bog bodies that were found in both the Netherlands and Denmark.


(lyrics)


Welcome to the bog, where silence reigns
Their existence ends here, it all comes to a halt...


No place for cowards
No tolerance for the feeble
No respect for the unjust
No life for the unworthy


Along this deserted trail
Bordered by pagan idols
They take their final breath
As the noose is tightened


Kill them for Wuotan!
Kill them for Donar!


Feel your life slip away, darkening before your eyes
Feel the chill of the bog, becoming one with you


Welcome to the bog, where silence still reigns
Their existence ended here, it all came to a halt...

---

Uttergälden from the album The Völsunga Saga was shot in the medieval castle of Beersel, near Brussels and features an excerpt from Andvari's Hoard, a tale from the epic saga of The Völsunga.


(lyrics)

(Loke)
Vad är det för fisk
som i floden ränner
kan sig ej för fara frälsa?
Lös du ditt huvud
ur Hels våld
skaffa mig guldets glans


(Which is the fish
That runs throught the flood,
And knows not to guard himself from danger?
Your head,
Ransom it from Hel
And find me the fire of the well.)


(Andvare)
Andvare heter jag
Oin hette min fader
i mången fors
jag har farit
En olyckig norna
i urtid bestämde
att jag skulle
i vattnet vada


(Andvari is my name
Oin was my father;
Many a falls have I fared over.
A wretched Norn
Destined in ancient days
That I should wade in water.)


(Loke)
Guld är dig nu givit
och gäldat är dig
mycket för mitt huvud


(With gold you are now paid
And as payment you have
Much for my head.)

Goddess Hel

I don't think I've shared this before but I've had it as a favourite on my Youtube channel for a while. This video has been on my mind lately, perhaps as I sink into some deeper place, closer to Her realm. There are fewer distractions here and I desire something a little more primal.

The song is 'Hel Goddess of the Underworld' by Hagalaz Runedance.



The Goddess Hel, for your information, is the Norse Goddess of the underworld and she reigns over a place called Helheim. It is not the same place as the Christian hell, although I think they may have gotten the name from it.

Helheim is an alternative to Valhalla to spend the afterlife. People good and bad alike go there. It is not reserved for anyone special. Warriors go to Valhalla, all others go to Helheim.

November Fire

First of all, these are not my designs; they are designs I found and liked at November Fire, a dark art t-shirt and accessory printing place. Second they are awesome; I am inspired.

This Gullinbursti Shirt, is a Norse themed design based on the story of the dwarves Eitri and Brokkr being goaded by Loki into making a gift for Freyr which turned out to be a boar that could fly and had bristles of hair that glowed in the dark:



Another Norse themed design which is causing me to become ecstatic, featuring Thor's goats Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr:



There's even Geri and Freki, Odin's wolves:



Or a sombre dance macabre ensemble called The Orchestra of Death:



Dead Men Tell No Tales is just one of the slogans you can get printed on a wristband.



All this and more can be found at November Fire.

Hel, I say wear it!

Thunor T-shirts

I no longer use T-shirt monster as they've changed companies yada yada yada... so I'm going to be printing these myself. And, for now, I'm only going to be doing the black t-shirts. If you want a white t-shirt, you can order one from Red Bubble (see sidebar). If you'd like one of these, send me a message at corpsecafe@yahoo.ca and I'll take your order!

This is my first attempt at selling my work online. I really appreciate all your comments and support. Thank you very much and I hope you enjoy the designs!

Thunor

At long last I have something to show for the last two months of my life. It's taken me that long to complete this design. It is the first of a series with the theme of Norse Gods. This first one is Thunor, otherwise known as Thor. I plan to make T-shirts of them. If you are in the mood, please let me know which design you prefer. I'd like to whittle these down to 2 from 4... one white on black and one black on white.

From The Circle of the World

Image is from a rock carving depicting the Sigurd legend (Ramsund, Sweden 11th century)

Having read through most of Samuel Laing's translation of Vol. 1 in The Heimskringla (World Circle); Chronicle of the Kings of Norway, by Snorri Sturluson, I realize how excited I had become to discover more about the interconnectedness of my ancestry between the Germanic Saxons and the Celts. According to Mr. Laing in his preliminary dissertation, the nature of western culture has much more to do with the Anglo-Saxon, Danes, Swedes, Northman of the viking sagas than it has to do with cultural influences resulting from the Roman invasion of Europe or even from the Celts. I share with you an excerpt from page 7(ish) in Vol. 1:

The moral power of this people --- the Anglo-Saxons and Northmen being essentially the same people --- has left deeper impressions on society, and of a nobler character, than the despotic material power of the Romans. It is in activity at the present hour in European society, introducing into every country more just ideas than those which grew up amidst the ruins of the Roman empire, of the social relations of the governing and the governed. The history of modern civilization resolves itself, in reality, into the history of the moral influences of these two nations. All would have been Roman in Europe at this day in principle and social arrangement, --- Europe would have been, like Russia or Turkey, one vast den of slaves, with a few rows in its amphitheatre of kings, nobles, and churchmen, raised above the dark mass of humanity beneath them, if three boats from the north of the Elbe had not landed at Ebbsfleet in the Isle of Thanet fourteen hundred years ago, and been followed by a succession of similar boat expeditions of the same people, marauding, conquering, and settling, during six hundred years, viz. from 449 to 1066. All that men hope for of good government and future improvement in the physical and moral condition --- all that civilized men enjoy at this day of civil, religious, and political liberty --- the British constitution, representative legislature, the trial by jury, security of property, freedom of mind and person, the influence of public opinion over the conduct of public affairs, the Reformation, the liberty of the press, the spirit of the age --- all that is or has been of value to man in modern times as a member of society, either in Europe or in the New World, may be traced to the spark left burning upon our shores by these northern barbarians.

This does fascinate me because I'm torn between my English (Anglo-Saxon) heritage on my grandmother's side and my German ancestors on my grandfather's side. I don't know why but I feel a strange affiliation with Thor as the Norse version of the God even though my ancestry is much more heavily influenced by the Anglo-Saxon version of Heathenism, which depicts Thor as Thunor, and Odin as Woden. I just don't feel anything for this terminology, although I'm not sure how many other differences there might be to yet explore. Hence, my decision is not yet made as to which branch of Heathenism I will subscribe wholeheartedly to, but I have a feeling this chronicle will shed some serious light on the grey areas for me.

The entire chronicle can be read online at The Heimskringla.

Thanks to Norse Mythology on Facebook for the info.

Norse Mythology & Black Metal

From the special features on the Metal: A Headbanger's Journey DVD



and a featurette from the movie

The Saga Of Biorn

Very humorous 3D animation. Things can go wrong, but wait till you see how wrong!