A semi-automatic study of the use of Latin in Heavy Metal lyrics (2018-ongoing).
Cecchini, F. M., Franzini, G. H., Passarotti, M. C. (2020), 'Verba Bestiae: How Latin conquered Heavy Metal', In: Valijärvi, R. L., Doesburg, C., DiGioia, A. (eds.) Multilingual Metal: Sociocultural, Linguistic and Literary Perspectives on Heavy Metal Lyrics Emerald Studies in Metal Music and Culture). Emerald Publishing Limited, pp. 241-261. ISBN: 978-18-390994-9-6. DOI: 10.1108/978-1-83909-948-920200021
Study based on 102 songs taken from the Encyclopaedia Metallum. All songs used in this project are listed in our dedicated Latin Metal YouTube playlist.
| Band | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| Aarni | Persona Mortuae Cutis | Demo 2001 + Promo 2002 |
| Abigor | Temptation VII: Excessus | Leytmotif Luzifer (The 7 Temptations of Man) |
| Ade | Timor Macilentvs | Prooemivm Sangvine |
| Aeternitas | IX. Responsorium | Requiem |
| Aggelos | Labii Reatum | Mantos Purpúreos |
| Aion | O Fortuna | O Fortuna |
| Animae Capronii | Angele Dei | And Hourglass of Lifetime |
| Argentum | Ad Posthumum | Ad Interitum Funebrarum |
| Arkanus ad Noctum | Mors et Tenebrae | Calvariae Mortis |
| Astral | Haec in Nobis | Magia Eon... |
| Atis | Liberatio Mentis | Paranoia |
| Bahal | Valperga | Striges |
| Belphegor | Festum Asinorum / Chapter 2 | Goatreich |
| Caïnan Dawn | Legionem Daemonicus | Thavmial |
| Carcharoth A.V. | Nihilvm sed Vervs Ater | Qvantvm Mortifervs in Nvclevs Λtramentvm Vltima |
| Coronatus | Exitus | Porta Obscura |
| Dargaard | Arcanum Mortis | Eternity Rites |
| Dark Sanctuary | Memento Mei | Exaudi Vocem Meam (Part I) |
| Deathspell Omega | Obombration | Fas |
| Death SS | Black Mass | Black Mass |
| Délétère | Une lampée de ciguë | Inopia et Morbo |
| Devilish Impressions | Rex Inferni | Diabolicanos |
| DPOS!!! | Vagina Tendinum Musculorum Abductories Longi et Extensoris Brevis Pollicis | Devourment Ain't Brutal Enough |
| Draconian | Reversio ad Secessum | Where Lovers Mourn |
| Dyrnwyn | Tubilustrium | Ad Memoriam |
| Elend | Leçons de ténèbres | Leçons de ténèbres |
| Eligor | Immobilis November | In Nomine |
| Elliott’s Keep | Darkest corner | Sine qua non |
| Epica | Façade of Reality "The Embrace That Smothers | Part V" |
| Estatic Fear | Somnium Obmutum | Somnium Obmutum |
| Evangelist | Confiteor | In Partibus Infidelium |
| Ex Deo | Cruor Nostri Abbas | Romulus |
| Fides Inversa | First Congress | Rite of Inverse Incarnation |
| Finisterra | Tempus Transit | Kein Evoë, kein Requiem |
| Finntroll | Kyrkovisan | Jaktens Tid |
| Fleshgod Apocalypse | The Imposition | Agony |
| Fratello Metallo | Maria Maiestatis | Misteri |
| Funeral Mist | Labii Reatum | Salvation |
| Funerium | Ex Oblivio ad Finem | Cultus Deorum Aliorum |
| Furva ambiguitas | Omnibus! | Sacer |
| Ghost | Infestissumam | Infestissumam |
| Godless | Felo de Se | Ingredere in Templum Satanae |
| Gruppum | Cantatio | Album |
| Gutfucked | Intro | Fucked to death |
| Haggard | All'inizio è la morte | Eppur si muove |
| Helloween | Lavdate Dominvm | Better than Raw |
| Hesperia | Trivmviratvm | Caesar [Roma vol.I] |
| Hybrid | Doomed to Failure | Angst |
| Iced Earth | In Sacred Flames | The Crucible of Man |
| Imago Mortis | Ars Obscura | Ars Obscura |
| I Miti Eterni | Parthenopae | Historia Cumae |
| Imperium des Tenebras | Nag Hammadi Gnosis Arcanus | Absconditus Umbrae |
| Inner Shrine | Il Magnifico | Mediceo |
| Ithdabquth Qliphoth | Umbra Morta | Ithdabquth Qliphoth |
| Kamelot | March of Mephisto | The Black Halo |
| Keep of Kalessin | Reclaim | Reclaim |
| Keldian | Hope | Heaven's Gate |
| Kriegsmaschine | Altered States of Divinity | Altered States of Divinity |
| Krusader | Part I | Virtutes Septem |
| Krypteria | Liberatio | Liberatio |
| Luca Turilli's Rhapsody | Of Michael the Archangel and Lucifer's Fall | Ascending to Infinity |
| Malfeitor | Rex Bestia Fera | Unio Mystica Maxima |
| Marduk | Deatmarch | Plague Angel |
| Mascharat | Bauta | Mascharat |
| Maudlin of the Well | The Ferryman | Bath |
| Mayhem | De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas | De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas |
| Nazgûl | Legio Draconorum Orkian | De Expugnatione Elfmuth |
| Noctis Invocat | Alter Deus | Depressiva Vox Clamantis |
| Ofermod | Rape the World (Hymn to לויתן) | Mystérion Tés Anomias |
| Ophis | Dolor Nil Finis | Stream of Misery |
| Orcivus | Legatum | Consummatum Est |
| Orphaned Land | Building the Ark | Mabool |
| Peste Noire | Laus Tibi Domine | La Sanie des siècles |
| Powerwolf | Sanctus Dominus | Blessed & Possessed |
| Praedictum | Septimus Dies Qui In Inferi Es | Caput Cruentus |
| Ptahil | Dies Iræ! Dies Illa! Solvet Sæclum In Favilla! | Dies Iræ! Dies Illa! Solvet Sæclum In Favilla! |
| Pursuing the End | Aeterna Fuga | Prologue |
| Rhapsody of Fire | Valley of Shadows | Into the Legend |
| Rosae Crucis | Sacrem Reformationem | Il Re del Mondo |
| Rotting Christ | Non Serviam | Non Serviam |
| Sabaton | The Lion from the North | Carolus Rex |
| Samsara | Noctiferia | Death Culture |
| Satan | Maximus Latro Iesus Christum | Arcana |
| Schammasch | Consensus | Triangle |
| Secretpath | Nunc Sunt Flores | Wanderer and the Choice |
| Secrets of the Moon | Metamorphoses | Antithesis |
| Shylmagoghnar | As All Must Come To Pass | Transience |
| Slechtvalk | In Paradisum | The War That Plagues the Land |
| Sokrovenno | Vestigia Pressa Bisulcis | De Rerum Natura |
| Stormlord | Aeneas | Hesperia |
| Tenebra Arcana | Tenebra Arcana | Tenebra Arcana |
| The Black Cold | Tenebrarum Ars Scientiae Summae Est Pulchrissima | Et Svlphvr Natvs Mortem |
| The Black | Occumbere Mortem | Gorgoni |
| The Krushers | Crucifige | Omonimo |
| The Ruins of Beverast | Ornaments on Malice | Blood Vaults |
| Trans | Siberian Orchestra | Carmina Burana |
| Tuomas Holopainen | The Last Sled | The Life and Times of Scrooge |
| Vajrah | Vajrah | Paganus Doctrina |
| Veneficium | Consecratio | De Occulta Philosophia |
| White Skull | High Treason | Public Glory, Secret Agony |
| Woods of Infinity | Excrucior | Förintelse & libido |
| Xandria | A Prophecy of Worlds to Fall | Neverworld's End |
| Xibalba Itzaes | Furor Antiquus | Ah Dzam Poop Ek |
The Latin sources used in the study so far are:
- Vulgata Clementina
- Divinum Officium (Roman liturgy)
- Vergil's Aeneid
- Carmina Burana
- Catullus' Carmina
- Lucretius' De Rerum Natura
- Livy' Ab urbe condita
- Ovid's Fasti
- Ovid's Metamorphoses
- Statius' Thebaid
- Horace's Carmina
- Horace's Carmen Saeculare
- Epigrams of John Owen
- De Exorcismis et Supplicationibus Quibusdam
Most common Latin forms per time period, as recorded in the Thesaurus Formarum Totius Latinitatis.
| Overall | Antiquity | Patristic Age | Middle Ages | Modern |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| deus | dies | deus | deus | deus |
| dominus | homo | dominus | dominus | homo |
| homo | pater | filius | homo | uita |
| filius | deus | homo | christus | anima |
| christus | terra | pater | sanctus (sancio) | spiritus |
| pater | uita | christus | filius | terra |
| sanctus (sancio) | nomen | spiritus | anima | christus |
| anima | uenio | terra | pater | mundus |
| spiritus | filius | sancta (sancio) | spiritus | nomen |
| uita | mors | anima | uita | sanctus (sancio) |
| terra | anima | uita | terra | dominus |
| dies | rex | dies | dies | pater |
| nomen | gloria | nomen | nomen | dies |
| mors | dominus | mors | mors | mors |
| uenio | dux | uenio | gloria | filius |
| mundus | morior/morio | mundus | mundus | uenio |
| gloria | mundus | gloria | uenio | gloria |
| rex | spiritus | morior/morio | rex | rex |
| morior/morio | sanctus (sancio) | rex | morior/morio | morior/morio |
| dux | -christus- | dux | dux | dux |