God Seed – Alt Liv (Video Symbolism)
Country of origin: Norway
Genre: Black metal
Themes: Mythology, chaos and darkness
The Formation of God Seed:
God Seed was formed in 2009 after Gaahl and King ov Hell lost the court battle over the rights to the former band name “Gorgoroth.” After losing the battle, Gaahl and King ov Hell chose “God Seed,” since it was the name of one of their songs. King says that the “God Seed” band represents a more spiritual side of their work, ” the will to grow; the will to be the super man, so to speak (Tune of the Day).”
The video above is a song from their first album “I Begin.”
Alt Liv Video Meaning:
What is the meaning of this song itself, “Alt Liv”? I found many reviews of the song, but not much about its actual meaning.
From what I could find, the Norwegian title itself refers to “everything that lives.” This matches the idea of the band “God Seed” in general to reflect the Will – or the God within, the growth of the seed of power. Everything lives, everything grows.
What does the video itself mean?
There are several symbols here that refer back to Norse Mythology.
Odin is the all father of the Norse Gods. He hung himself upside down from the World Tree, the gigantic ash Yggdrasil. He hung there for nine days and nine nights, pierced by his own spear. He made of himself a sacrifice to himself. Finally he fell from the tree, when he received the flash of insight that revealed the secrets of the runes.
In this video, we see a man hanging from a tree. There are also ravens that fly from the tree (ravens are one of Odin’s attributes). Huginn (“thought”) and Muninn (“memory”) were two of his ravens that would fly all over the world and bring back information. Ravens are often pictured sitting on Odin’s shoulders. In this video, the feather of the raven occurs as a frequent image.
There are three boys in this video who see the man hanging from the tree, but only one has the courage to pick up the spear and pierce the hanging man. Perhaps this reflects the idea that it takes courage and even a bit of audacity to confront the deep knowledge within oneself.
There was also a woman in the video working magic, perhaps this is a reference to the Seiðr magic that was specifically practiced by women. Seiðr was associated with both Odin and the Goddess Freya.
Of course these are just my interpretations. Perhaps God Seed did not have such a specific meaning for their video. Yet the allusion to Norse Myth and the quest for knowledge emerges as a very apparent theme.
All things live. All things grow. Nature grows. Man grows. Yet deep knowledge is necessary for growth.
LINKS:
Metal Gaia 