Track By Tracks: Stalwart - Tempvs Edax Rervm (2026)

Album Overview

Each song on Tempvs Edax Rervm represents a kind of wormhole—a force that erodes personality or the soul itself. Destructive emotions and vices take root within an ego-driven, limited consciousness that cannot escape its own inertia. Attempts to rise above weakness—and, in a sense, one’s own nature—form the only real path to freedom. As long as we remain ruled by instincts and passions, we are unable to see the world clearly and consciously.

The album artwork reflects this concept, depicting a pantheon of decrepit, forgotten gods who can now do nothing more than illuminate and mirror human weaknesses and vices. This idea runs through the entire album and is articulated most directly in “Through the Dead Eyes.”

1. INGRESSVS:

This instrumental intro was born accidentally during the recording sessions. While tracking guitars for another song, a simple arpeggio emerged spontaneously. We felt it had the right atmosphere for an opening track and developed it into a short, standalone composition.

2. FEAR AND HATE:

This is the first full song on the album and also the very first track we composed for this release. While the influence may not be immediately obvious, it was heavily inspired by Rotting Christ, particularly their Rituals era. The end result sounds distinctly different, but still carries a strong «anthemic» quality. Lyrically, the song explores the monsters that live inside us—cruelty and violence that can easily hide beneath a respectable, socially acceptable mask.

3. INSTEAD OF YOU:

A midtempo, groove-driven track—think of it as a stripped-down, more direct take on something in the vein of Lamb of God. The second half slows down and becomes more atmospheric, adding contrast and weight. The lyrics convey a simple but uncompromising idea: if you don’t take responsibility for your own life, someone else will live it instead of you.

4. THROUGH THE DEAD EYES:

One of the earliest songs written for the album, this track brings together a piano-driven intro, jagged riffs, groove-oriented sections, blast beats, and subtle black metal influences. Lyrically, it reflects on spiritual blindness and inner decay—being trapped within destructive emotions and unable to perceive reality with clarity or awareness. Conceptually, it serves as a summary of the album as a whole.

5. SACRIFICE:

Probably one of the simplest songs Stalwart has ever written—unhurried, heavy, and groove- focused. The lyrics tell the story of a decrepit, forgotten old god, abandoned to oblivion. Now he wanders the night streets in search of his own sacrifice. It reflects on the human desire for attention and glory, and the pain that comes with losing them.

6. TEMPVS EDAX RERVM:

On this album, we experimented extensively with throat-singing–style vocals, and this track features them most prominently. Lyrically, the song continues the theme of greatness and oblivion.

Time devours everything, reducing entire empires to dust, while human arrogance and self- satisfaction remain stubbornly unchanged.

7. FENRIR:

Initially, it was just a midtempo groovy song. We recorded it and thought it sounded good, but something was still missing. Then we added weird keyboard layers here and there, and it finally got its distinctive vibe. The lyrics reference the mythological wolf Fenrir, symbolising the masses kept in submission through fear, laws, and morality. These forces are as intangible as the chain that binds Fenrir—and when control is lost, the consequences affect everyone.

8. PANDORA:

We had a hard time finishing this one - the composition stalled midway, and we weren't sure where to go. Finally, we made it, and also during the recording, we added multiple keyboard layers that reshaped the song and transformed several sections entirely. Lyrically, it draws from the myth of Pandora. Ancient myths, refined over centuries, remain deeply relevant. Pandora releases all evils into the world, leaving only hope at the bottom of the vessel. The story is told from the perspective of Ares, the god of war, underscoring humanity’s endless cycle of conflict.

9. SMOKE OF TEMPTATION:

One of the most intense and aggressive tracks on the album, but it still has slower atmospheric parts as well. The lyrics revolve around Belial, the demon of vice and corruption, who ensnares his victim without asking whether they are willing to submit.

10. THE MASTER:

A multi-layered composition combining a cinematic keyboard intro, groovy thrashcore riffs, black metal–tinged verses, a piano interlude, melodic death metal elements, and a crushing, “bulldozer” riff to close the track. Lyrically inspired by the biblical quote “You cannot serve God and mammon,” the song addresses greed, accumulation, and the corrosive nature of material obsession.

11. COME AND SEE:

This song was added at the very last moment before recording. We hesitated due to time constraints, but felt it was evolving into something significant and decided to include it. Much of the track developed organically during recording and ultimately became a seven-minute sonic odyssey, blending groovy riffs, cinematic keyboard passages, and even a bass solo. Lyrically, the song represents calculated, “justified” cruelty—where the lives of thousands are considered an acceptable price. It is dedicated to the bombing of Hiroshima, with a direct allusion to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse appearing in the second verse.