Happy New Year my friends! We are back with another example of how you open an album to establish dominance. Just the thought of this song makes me shiver. And since today it snowed here for the first time in many years, I decided to stop the Voyage "streak" and dip into the winter anthems collection that is Bara no seidō for a minute. Even though it took the longest to grow on me, I absolutely love this album, mostly this glorious track (easily in my total top 10), and it is pretty much the only thing that helps me romanticize shit weather. As usual, I put the sung lyrics in [brackets] where they differ from standard readings. 
Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think and enjoy <3

聖なる刻　永遠の祈り

(lyrics and music: Mana)

「漆黒の闇に浮かぶこの大聖堂
薔薇に導かれた記憶の空間に響きわたる雷鳴が
新たなる悪意と悲劇の物語の幕開けを告げる」

揺れる月明かりに浮かぶ重なる影は
まるで霧のように幻想的なこの光景はあの日に見た夢

「瞬間の霧の中に浮かぶこの大聖堂
永遠の風に乗り聞こえてくる鐘の音は
貴方の血を記憶の薔薇に変える
ここは甘美な約束の場所」

迷宮の回廊照らす蝋燭の影は
暗い礼拝堂に続く賛美歌の調べに
かき消されてゆく

聖なる光　照らされた闇は薔薇に彩られた

永遠の刻　告げる鎮魂歌　神秘なる祈りを

聖なる光　照らされた闇は薔薇に彩られた

永遠の刻　告げる鎮魂歌　再会の祈りを

Seinaru toki     Eien no inori

“Shikkoku no yami ni ukabu kono daiseidō 
Bara ni michibikareta kioku no kūkan ni hibikiwataru raimei ga 
Aratanaru akui to higeki no monogatari no makuake wo tsugeru”

Yureru tsuki akari ni ukabu kasanaru kage wa
Marude kiri no you ni gensoutekina kono kōkei wa ano hi ni mita yume

“Shunkan [toki] no kiri no naka ni ukabu kono daiseidō 
Eien no kaze ni nori kikoete kuru kane no oto wa 
Anata no chi wo kioku no bara ni kaeru 
Koko wa kanbina yakusoku no basho”

Meikyuu no kairō terasu rousoku no kage wa
Kurai reihaidō ni tsuzuku sanbika no shirabe ni 
Kakikesarete yuku 

Seinaru hikari    Terasareta yami wa bara ni irodorareta 

Eien no toki    Tsugeru chinkonka [rekuiem]    Shinpi naru inori wo

Seinaru hikari     Terasareta yami wa bara ni irodorareta 

Eien no toki    Tsugeru chinkonka [rekuiem]    Shinpi naru inori wo

Sacred time, eternal prayer

“Before this cathedral, floating in the pitch-black darkness
Thunder echoes in the space of memories, guided by roses,
Announcing the rise of the curtain on a new tale of malice and tragedy.” 

The shadows float one over another against the flickering moonlight…
This landscape, as ethereal as mist, is just like the dream I had that day

“In this cathedral, floating in the mist of time
The sound of bells carried by the eternal wind
Turns your blood into the roses of memory 
This is the place of sweet promises.”

The shadows cast by candles shine through the labyrinth path 
And drown out in the melody of hymns leading to the dark chapel 

The holy light shines through the darkness tinged by roses

The requiem marking an eternal time is a prayer of sacred mystery 

The holy light shines through the darkness tinged by roses

The requiem marking an eternal time is a prayer of reunion

So, finally we get to look at some lyrics written by Mana, and I love how he has some aesthetic motives and images he repeats in most songs. Needless to say, roses and cathedrals are a certainty in this album (titled "The Cathedral of Roses", if you hadn't looked for the translation), and while we lost some France along the way (</3), this full-out gothic fever dream is just delightful to me. 
Translation-wise, I didn't do anything crazy, besides adding "Before" right at the beginning; what I mean is that the lyrics don't specify where we are in this scene, but from the context, I think we are seeing the cathedral from the outside, floating in the mist. It's always fun because I think that their lyrics, no matter who wrote them, always have that visually descriptive component and synesthesia of some sort, so you can imagine the scene with all of your senses.
Anyway, let me know if you have any thoughts! Thank you for reading and thank you Maiden Death for the code! Background by figuresinthevoid.