Nightmare Heaven

Arcturus' song 'Nightmare Heaven' delves into a surreal and haunting landscape, blending themes of oblivion, existential dread, and the ethereal nature of reality. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a dreamlike realm where the boundaries between life and death, consciousness and unconsciousness, are blurred. The 'subjects of sleep' suggest individuals who are caught in a liminal state, neither fully awake nor entirely asleep, experiencing a reality that is both nightmarish and heavenly.

The imagery of 'sodomy and death and smoke and laughter' juxtaposes elements of pleasure and pain, life and decay, creating a sense of disorientation and unease. The mention of 'their feet no longer underground' implies a detachment from the earthly realm, as if these subjects are floating in a void, disconnected from the physical world. The snow, which 'hides the traces never set in a first place,' symbolizes the erasure of history and identity, reinforcing the theme of oblivion.

In this 'negative kingdom,' the angels are described as 'all stone,' suggesting a state of paralysis or petrification, unable to escape their fate. They spend their years 'hoping to be saved from oblivion by oblivion,' highlighting the paradoxical desire to find salvation in nothingness. The miracle, as the lyrics state, is that 'nothing has happened, nothing has a history or a name,' emphasizing the futility and insignificance of existence. The only constant is the 'voice of falling snow,' a metaphor for the relentless passage of time and the inevitable descent into oblivion.