Kärgeräs

Kärgeräs is the fourth full length album by the Czech black metal band Root. It is a concept album based on a fictional land and race spawned from the imagination of vocalist and front man Big Boss. It tells the story of Kärgeräs’s beauty and peace, which is tragically fated to come to a cruel, yet mysteriously fair end. Aside from the lyrics, the story is told through a synopsis in the first and last page of the booklet, and though it is written in Czech it has been unofficially translated as follows:

(First page) “Once a nation called KÄRGERÄS lived somewhere on this Earth. It was really long ago, long ago before the race of people who unjustly called themselves “Homo Sapiens” settled the Earth. At that time, our story took place. The story that did not end up happily though, but in spite of this fact it is mysteriously fair... One lovely autumn afternoon beautiful Rulbräh is giving birth to her first baby on verge of a forest, near the entrance into the cave. However, the child is weirdly quiet. Rulbräh takes the baby to her hand and she can see with tears in her eyes that the newborn is dead. She puts down her baby with silent grief onto a strange black stone which lays in the lawn beside her, without noticing of anything. After a while the baby opens his eyes. The eyes glow with green-yellow bright of a beast. In this moment a tall, pale man of sharp traits comes out of the cave. He fixes his pervasive eyes upon the newborn. It is a Big Magician EQUIRHODONT himself. He chuckles and embraces the child-beast, cuddling him gently. He also bends down for the Black Stone and then he comes back to the cave together with both his finds. When he comes through long and dark corridor, he finds himself in front of an Altar bestowed on a stone pedestal. The whole Altar is very strange and it’s phosphorescent with a violet light. He puts the baby on the Altar and holds the Black stone over the baby‘s head. A Ritual is starting in the course of which the stone begins to gleam with the purple light. At the end of this Ritual the child-beast makes a move and simultaneously emits a terrible shriek that shakes the walls of the cave.

TWENTY YEARS LATER…

Outside the half-ruined shack an old prophet is sitting and singing a song about the beast named DYGON. He sings that just Dygon will be the true reason for the ruin of the nation called KÄRGERÄS. Rullbräh is standing in front of the prophet and she harks with astonishment his song which in fact paints the nativity of her son twenty years ago. After the song ends she understands that she will have to look for her friend – fighter RODAXX. Once she finds him, she tells him promptly what the Prophet had sung. She also adds that it was actually her who gave birth to Dygon. They decide to look for the Big Magician EQUIRHODONT and ask him for help. Neither she or he can guess that… In the meantime, fear of something that liquidates all what is alive spreads amongst people. Rulbräh and Rodäx meet an OLD MAN and an OLD WOMAN on their way to the Big Magician. From their songs they learned all about the Black Stone and Dygon. They disjoin each other. Rulbräh leaves to look for the cave where Dygon was born. Rodäxx is looking for Dygon even if he is discouraged from it in the song. However, he does not believe what the song says and he wants to kill the beast in order to save his nation. He finds Dygon and a severe fight starts between them. Rodäxx is only armed with his sword, whereas Dygon’s has got his claws which are sufficient for him to strike back at Rodäxx’s attacks. The big magician EQUIRHODONT appears in the middle of fight and tells the truth to Rodäxx... Dead people of the nation called Kärgeräs lay all around. Rulbräh enters into the cave where the black stone is hidden, touches it and dies. At the same time Rodäxx is dashing his sword into Dygon’s eye and they both are crumbling into dust. Big Magician Equirhodont smiles contentedly and leaves for the forest. His task was fulfilled. The Earth is dead, empty and deserted. All died except for gravedigger TRYGAN who buried all the dead. Now he is digging the last grave, lying into it and dying. He was the last. Silent Earth – A new era…?”

(Last page) “The whole Universe…

Dum vivimus, vivamus! (Latin for "Let Us Live While We Live"; i.e. Let us enjoy life.)

This record, though it is very sad, is the definitive end of the existence of the band Root. To make this decision was very hard for us but we wanted to leave at the top. However, we do not close the portal totally, because we know that we will come together again some time in the future. That is why we thank all who have ever helped us and showed interest in us. We will carry you in our hearts forever...”

Despite the message of disbanding, Root continued to release several albums afterwards. Most first presses of every Root album contain a similar message.

Track listing

Personnel

• Jiří "Big Boss" Valter - Vocals, Flute
• Petr "Blackie" Hošek - Guitars, Bass, Keyboards
• René "Evil" Kostelňák - Drums, Guitars in "Old Woman"