Cygnus Rock Band - Huginn and Muninn (Ancient Visions)

One of the many-many underrated songs of Cygnus.

Personally this is one of my greatest disappointments and sometimes it's really painful for me to see this phenomenon, namely that the vast majority of people are into 2, maybe 3, max. 4 Cygnus songs (Valhalla, Raise Your Horns, Death of a Viking Warrior - maybe Odin's Wolves, too, but then I'm pretty much exaggerating). On one hand it's disheartening to see that people are this ignorant

yes, I'm judging them, they deserve it 😒

on the other, and I've said it I seriously don't remember how many times, but it seems that I have to repeat it over and over again. These rockers invest A LOT, and by A LOT I mean SO FUCKING LOT of time, energy, dedication, faith, love and creativity into each and every one of their songs, that many of you out there can't even imagine. 

especially those of you for whom listening to music is just some shallow background pastime

And way too many people don't even want to imagine it. That's what saddening me the most. And no... it's not normal that people are THIS ignorant, regardless that we can't really do anything about it. It's not normal, it's not healthy, it's not something we must resign ourselves to. 

I demand the right to judge idiots!!!!

So, where was I before I got a depressive attack because of humane stupidity...

not the first time, not the last time... I know 🙄

This is one of the many underrated songs of Cygnus, and everyone who overlooks this song thinking that it's just "another ballad" makes a very big mistake.

First of all, it's a very very interesting song. If you listen to it well, you'll hear that there are only two acoustic guitars in it. Nothing else. No percussions, no drums, no bass, no orchestration. Just two acoustic guitars and two humane voices. No slowly building song structure, no catharsis, just two quiet instruments and two wonderful men singing about Odin's ravens.

It would be very interesting to know why everyone's favorite Colombians decided to make it like this simple and humble; if they actually planned it to be like this or the song just ended up like this during the long and winding road of songwriting and creative work. Regardless of their original intention though, this is not only a beautiful song, but also a very exciting and unusual one. I'm trying to remember, but no other track by them comes to my mind that would be like this - like if really two Norse bards would be sitting at the fire, with people around them, old and young, listening to them with sparkles in their eyes as they sing about the gods and their servants. 

There's another thing I found in this song and this makes it for me even more interesting, though I need to admit, it's possible that it's only my ears and in reality there's nothing behind it and I hear it wrong. But for me it's like as if Ruxx and Deneb decided to switch vocal parts. It's usually Ruxx who is singing the higher, sharper parts of a song, while Deneb is in charge for the deeper, more mellow vocals. This time it's Deneb, who is singing in a pitch that is higher than his usual baritone, while Ruxx keeps his smoky, dusty tenor under control in the lower regions. Regardless whether it's really like that or if it's just me hearing it this way, the result is beautiful and absolutely unique.

A video was also made from this song, and what makes it special is that this is the last time Cole Vidrine appeared in public; soon after this video was made, he passed away. It was released back in late October 2021 for his memory.

Just a side-note and it has nothing to do with the the song; I browsed through the comment section of this video and if I see it well, there's a general misconception about Valhalla, regardless of nationality, cultural background or education. Many tend to think of Valhalla as some sort of "Viking heaven", where warriors stay until the end of time having fun, "feast and drink, fight and lay valkyries", as the classic song says.

Well... no. It's not like that.

It's probably the Christian impact, but Valhalla is not an everlasting place; indeed it's Odin's hall where those warriors gather who died in the battlefield. They are treated wonderfully, they feast, eat, drink, all in Odin's company. But these warriros are in fact all waiting for Ragnarök, where they all must fight at Odin's side against the giants and all the demons that arrive at the infamous Naglfar, the "nail farer" or "nail ship" led by Loki and a giant called Hymir. 

This Naglfar is probably one of the most horror parts of all old Norse sagas; it's built up in the underworld by goddess Hél's servants (if I remember well) from the nails (hand and toe) of dead people. Even ancient Norse people knew that after death the body hair and the nails are still growing for a while; the servants of Hél cut the nails of the dead and use them to build Naglfar. For this reason ancient Scandinavians preferred to cremate their dead and only very special people - kings, chieftains, etc. - had actual graves. They didn't want to serve too much "raw material" for Naglfar. 

Even goddess Hél is on this ship guarding her undead army. Fenrir the wolf has torn his chains and is running through the worlds killing everyone in his way; it's definitely not a happy event and really only the bravest and most courageous can bear with it. And yes, these warriors can die in Ragnarök; well, most of them probably does. (The saga doesn't talk - or I don't remember - what happens to those who die there.) So, Valhalla is really for the best and the bravest - for a reason! - but definitely not a place for ever.