User blog:AustinDR/PE Proposal: Gilles de Rais (Into The Crypts of Rays)



Alright, so one more song candidate on my end. This one I could go either way with.

What is the work?
Celtic Frost was an extreme metal band much like Bathory that was founded by Tom Gabriel Fischer in Zurich, Switzerland. They were largely influential on the extreme metal scene, and also had some influences on black metal.

Who is the candidate? What has he done?
From their 1984 debut album Morbid Tales song Into the Crypts of Rays is Gilles de Rais. Gilles was a wealthy nobleman who was a marshal who became the personal guard of Jeanne D'Arc (Joan of Arc). He fought in the Hundred Years War alongside Jeanne D'Arc, which earned him the title of the Marshal of France. So, he would eventually retire from his military life and returned home. Remember how I said he was pretty rich? Well, as most tend to do with that large amount of money...he ends up wasting it on things like lavish parties. Being squarely up to his neck in debt, Gilles dabbled in dark magic and mysticism to accumulate riches.

In the song? To do so, he entices several children into joining his black masses, and sacrifices them to different demons among other things. By the time that he was arrested, he had robbed the lives of over 140 innocent children and was sentenced to hang. Of course there are now some accounts that state that he did not actually commit the crimes that were attributed to him, but in the context of this song, he is.

Freudian Excuse? Mitigating factors?
He was a wealthy nobleman who was largely better off, but because of his hedonism, he lost everything that he built up. Worse, he decides to sacrifice hundreds of children as a means of lining his pockets instead of...I don't know...make back his money through legal means?

Heinous standard
The album doesn't have a major interwoven story. In short, he sets it in what with sacrificing 140 children in ritualistic sacrifices.

Conclusion
Leaning towards a "keep" for Song!de Rais, but I'll leave it to you guys.