Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam

 

 

 

1. Wound Upon Wound

2. Carving a Giant

3. God Seed (Twilight of the Idols)

4. Sign of an Open Eye

5. White Seed

6. Exit

7. Untamed Forces

8. Prosperity and Beauty

 

Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam is the seventh studio album by Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth. It was released on 19 June 2006 by Regain Records. This was the only Gorgoroth album on which all of the lyrics and music were written by Gaahl and King ov Hell, and was the last to feature both members It also marked the return of drummer Frost and was the last Gorgoroth album that he appeared on. It was nominated for Norway’s 2006 Spellemann award in the “Metal” category. It is the first Gorgoroth album with no Norwegian lyrics.

In November 2007, Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam was reissued with a slightly different cover and a DVD containing the “Carving a Giant” music video and another video documenting how the album was recorded.

The title is a Latin term meaning “for the greater glory of Satan”. It is a mutation of the Society of Jesus motto “Ad majorem Dei gloriam”, meaning “for the greater glory of God”. It contains a grammatical error, however, as “Sathanas” is typically declined as a first declension masculine noun, where its genitive (possessive) form would correctly be “Sathanae”. It was conceived by Infernus after he read an article about the organisation.

The cover artwork was taken from the 1850 painting Dante and Virgil in Hell by William-Adolphe Bouguereau.