Metal Album based on Ancient Egyptians?

I am a huge fan of Iron Maiden and of course POWERSLAVE ranks among their top albums in my opinion. So I've been writing some tunes that have a similar vibe. I have two complete (without lyrics or vocals yet) and I'm kind of liking the direction. I was thinking of doing a few more to maybe have a complete EP all with the same theme. Anyway, here are the two songs I've done so far... Thoughts?

https://soundcloud.com/user-930202776/pharaohs




https://soundcloud.com/user-930202776/take-it-to-the-grave

Cool tunes!

You area talented guitarist and song-writer, John.  Cool sounding stuff.

Thanks guys!! I'm going to keep going with this theme. So I am wondering...do these tunes need typical vocals? Or would they do ok as instrumentals and some chanting here and there? If they would stay as instrumentals then I would add in some additional lead guitar throughout to make them a bit more interesting. Just wondering where I should take these tunes.

Check this out...

I like instrumentals so if there were lead guitar filling in the "vocal" spot I think it would work.

Cool vid!

I'm a bad person to ask as I really don't care for 99% of "instrumental only" music.  
So I would definitely vote for vocals....but they certainly don't need to be "standard" verse-chorus-verse style vocals.

Staybrite wrote:

I'm a bad person to ask as I really don't care for 99% of "instrumental only" music.  
So I would definitely vote for vocals....but they certainly don't need to be "standard" verse-chorus-verse style vocals.

+1

I've loved listening to that, and as my brain always heads down the lyrics route I thought I'd give it a go on Pharoahs...  Here's my effort...

0:41 in the blazing sun of Egypt,
0:44 that does scorch the dry parched land,
0:47 a myriad of slaves do toil,
0:51 to brutal, harsh command.
0:54 the searing winds are peppered,
0:57 with the people's tortured cry,
1:00 as through the pain they struggle on,
1:04 and build up to the sky.

1:20 for pharoah.  Build the pyramid.
1:25 for Pharoah.  Build the pyramid.

1:47 necropolis of Khufu.
1:48 oh it's majesty appears.
1:52 at Giza they work night and day,
1:56 for over twenty years.
1:59 for Pharoah they were building,
2:02 through the pain and sweat and strife,
2:05 for Khufu give, his soul to live,
2:08 there in the afterlife.

2:13 oh, oh Pharoah.
2:18 oh, oh Pharoah.

3:17 and there it stood, impressive.
3:19 oh, this timeless monument.
3:23 when Pharoah dies, his wealth supplies,
3:25 will be to heaven sent.
3:29 and amen-ra oh he will smile,
3:32 at all the things they did,
3:35 so now behold, worth more than gold,
3:38 the greatest pyramid.

3:42 oh, oh Pharoah.
3:48 oh, oh Pharoah.
4:01 oh, oh Pharoah.

Oh man! Nice lyrics! But you're late to the party my friend... We are well on our way with this one. I worked fast on this album for some reason because the ideas just came pouring out. I wrote and recorded 6 songs in about a week. Lyrics half way done and we're getting to the vocals now as well. And as seems to be 'our thing' it will be another concept. I like doing these because if the main idea is good then you can really tell a good story without trying to cram it into a 3 or 4 minute song.

Here is a taste of what's to come...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCXNnkMdXsU&feature=youtu.be

Wow!  You do work quick!  You're very talented, and the music sounds great to me.
No worries about the lyrics, I just love writing stuff like that anyway, and every now and again I share what I've done.  I did want to work on the lyrics earlier but we've been so busy at work I haven't done much for the past three weeks other than work and sleep!  It was only two nights ago that I could sit down for a short while and try and put something together.

Great lyrics Fundy. I especially like,

a myriad of slaves do toil,
to brutal, harsh command.
the searing winds are peppered,
with the people's tortured cry,
as through the pain they struggle on,
and build up to the sky.

Excellent writing.

The story we're telling will be about Hatshepsut one of the few female kings of Egypt. I'm learning a lot about ancient times with this project. It's incredibly interesting.

Here's an work-in-progress excerpt from one of the songs with a working title of "Afterlife." This song focuses on the preparation for the funeral rites.

It was believed that the body needed to remain whole in order for the soul to be reunited with it in the Afterlife. The Underworld was a land of lakes of fire which only the wicked of heart needed to fear. For the successful "rebirth" the priests would chant spells over the body as it was transformed into a mummy and became no longer human, but god-like. Once the body was cleaned, they had 30 days to complete the transformation and needed to take great care so that the body would remain whole and recognizable to the soul. Upon burial, if successful, the grave would open up to the underworld and allow the deceased to pass through. If the soul failed to recognize its vessel, the deceased would...die. I can't imagine a more awful job...chanting over a corpse for 30 days. Ugh! I have to admit that some of this reading totally weirds me out, but in the name of telling the story...she must be done...

Ho Pharoaoh!
Sailing the lakes of fire
Refreshed by the waters
Where none but the wicked burn

Ho Pharaoh!
Acquitted by your foes
Your name is power
A god of the underworld

Pre-chorus:
You've 30 days to live or die
With care the mouth will open wide [not happy with that line -- it's too cryptic]

Chorus:
A painted mask to hide the shell
A body whole to house the soul
Purified to greet Osiris
Across the Nile in the Afterlife

...course y'all know we went this route just to find a use for that silly pharaoh emoji

 

Jen5 wrote:

...course y'all know we went this route just to find a use for that silly pharaoh emoji

 

Now that's funny!

Interesting for sure. I've found a translation of a book of spells (prayers?) they used for preparing the dead for the afterlife. It's some weird reading. What you said about interpretation is true for sure. For every spell there seems to be half a page of alternate interpretations listed. They're all pretty poetic. Here is one translation of spell 21:

You may ascent to the sky
To walk among the gods
with pestilence removed
you may drink the water
you shall walk upon your feet
not with you head held downwards

The water refers to the lakes of fire where only the pure of heart can drink in safety.
If the deceased walked with head downwards it means they were dead for all eternity. Apparently it was one of their great fears...that the living would not take prudent care of their body in preparation for the afterlife.

Oh, I am such a geek.