Show Notes: Year Zero
Let us first talk about the title. Year Zero isn’t actually a religious phrase at all, as far as I can tell there has never been a Year Zero mentioned in sacred texts. The phrase actually originates from a political sense, specifically the takeover of Cambodia in 1975 by the communist party in the country at the time.
It’s a play/derivative statement of Year One which is part of the French Revolutionary Calender. While both the revolutions resulted in many deaths following the installation of a new government, the Cambodian genocide led by Pol Pot was far far greater, targetting anyone intellectual or important at all to the old regime.
To quote, “The idea behind Year Zero was that all culture and traditions within a society must be completely destroyed or discarded, and a new revolutionary culture must replace it, starting from scratch. All of the history of a nation or people before Year Zero would be largely deemed irrelevant, because it would ideally be purged and replaced from the ground up.”
Now we know that, we have a better idea of how to approach the song.
Side note before we begin, special Ghoul refers to this song as “the perfect opening song to the second act” which perfectly fits this show. If you’re like me and have a musical/stage play in your mind, the curtains have gone dark after Zombie Queen and we’ve opened back up with this song.
Belial, Behemoth, Beelzebub
Asmodeus, Satanas, Lucifer
You may think that all these names are just alternative names for Satan, but you’d be wrong. And right. While these names HAVE become this, a few of them were originally demons in their own right. Let’s run through what each of these mean AND their significance.
Belial – Belial is often credited as being “the father of Demons” and sometimes even Satan himself. In Judaism, he is the leader of the Sons of Darkness, In Christianity, he is a “Jinni” or “Jinn” of confusion and lust.
Behemoth – He is a mythological beast of hell and holds the rank of “caretaker of wine cellars, grand cupbearer of the royal household, and right watchman. He oversees the feasts of Jinnestan and is responsible for serving the Devil his food and wine.” Apparently he also sings and plays music to entertain his lord.
Beelzebub - “literally "Lord of the Flies"; According to the 16th century occultist Johannes Wierus, Beelzebub is the chief lieutenant of Lucifer, the Emperor of the Underworld, and presides over the Order of the Fly. He was originally the name of a Philistine deity whom Jesus was accused of invoking to cast out demons from the possessed in the Gospels.
Asmodeus – He has 72 legions of demons under his command. He is one of the Kings of Hell under Lucifer the emperor. He incites gambling, and is the overseer of all the gambling houses in the court of Hell. Some Catholic theologians compared him with Abaddon.
Satanas is Latin for Satan – the fallen angel of Christianity and Judaism which eventually became the devil and “enemy of humanity”.
And finally, Lucifer, the morning star. Lucifer is often seen as the other side to the destructive force of Satan – the creative and positive force, the “light leading the way”.
One interesting feature of this verse is the fact that it is very much akin to a Gregorian Chant, a type of worship used in Christianity. It’s a a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek).
Since dawn of time the fate of man is that of lice
Equal as parasites and moving without eyes
A day of reckoning when penance is to burn
Count down together now and say the words that you heard (or will learn)
I think to set the scene for this verse and the following, we kind of have to discuss the attendees of this celebration/party. Would the general population be cool with this? Probably not. I believe this sermon is being held to a crowd of the Clergys most devout followers who won’t stray from the path when the true intentions are revealed.
Papa in this instance is sort of gloating in my opinion. His plan has succeeded and he now believes he stands above most men, literally referring to them as lice and parasites, blind to grand goings on that surround their lives.
When penance is to burn is a really interesting line. Penance by itself means either “punishment inflicted on oneself as an outward expression of repentance for wrongdoing.” or “a sacrament in which a member of the Church confesses sins to a priest and is given absolution.”
So with this line they COULD be saying that penance is going to burn away, that sins and wrongdoings no longer need forgiveness in the new world. OR it could be a reference to an act of public penance carried out by the Spanish Inquisition known as the auto-da-fe (which translates into act of faith).
Essentially what it was was punishing heretics or non-believers of God. The most brutal of which was, you guessed it, being burnt to death. Does this sort of lie in the plans for what the clergy plan to do to the believers of God that remain?
I think the last line is basically Papa saying that the day of reckoning – the apocalypse – will happen. When it does, he is telling the people to worship Satan, not God.
Hell Satan, Archangelo
Hail Satan, Welcome year zero
Hail Satan, Archangelo
Hail Satan, Welcome year zero
Some people believe Papa is saying “Hail Satan” here, but he is actually saying Hell. The meaning however does not change. Hell is actually used in old swedish as the word for Hail (the more modern and commonly used version is Hagel but that doesn’t have the same ring to it).
Crestfallen kings and queens comforting in their faith
Unbeknownst to them is the presence of the wraith
Since fate of man is equal to the fate of lice
As new dawn rises you shalt recognize now behold the Lord of Flies
This is actually quite a politically charged line and one of the first time Ghost has mentioned another power outside the Church in their universe, that of kings and queens.
I think what Papa is saying here to the masses is that with the rise of the anti-christ and Satan, the old system of monarchy will be killed. Most monarchs in the world are actually quite linked to religion, often being inducted/crowned by a member of the ruling religion of the area (predominantly Christianity). Therefore when God loses his authority, so do they.
The word crestfallen can obviously mean sad, but I think in this context its other usage applies which is humiliated. Papa is basically saying they’ve been unknowingly humiliated by the clergy with their plans and are oblivious to their own end.
The fate of man line is pretty self explanatory.
The final line is just Papa saying “The Lord of Flies” has risen to power (as year zero has come) and that people must now look up to him and worship him. Or he’s just really into the William Golding book.
He will tremble the nations
Kingdoms to fall one by one
This is a reference to a specific verse in the Bible, Daniel 11:41. In it, Daniel says: “He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall”. It is both a religious and literal description of what’s about to happen once the anti-christ matures.
A victim to fall for temptations
A daughter to fall for a son
The ancient serpent deceiver
The victim in this sense isn’t one person, but the entirety of mankind falling for the temptations the anti-christ.
This line seems like a pretty direct meaning of, well you know, however I think it has a deeper meaning. It doesn’t have to mean literal incest, it can simply mean that lust will take over the world. After all, everyone is someones son or daughter.
The ancient serpent deceiver is a direct reference to the Garden of Eden, in which Satan takes the form of a snake to tempt Eve into eating the forbidden fruit of God, deceiving her into thinking God would be merciful or unknowing.
To masses standing in awe
He will ascend to the heavens
Above the stars of God
This is a paraphrasing of Isaiah 14:12-13, interpreted as Satan plotting to overthrow God.
“12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God”.
Basically it means that Satan will overtake Gods throne and sit above him as Lord of all being.