Legion of the Damned

            Legion of the damned follows the typical Death Metal topics, war and the graphic images that go with it are the main points in this song. “Insurrection was avenged with merciless cruelty / Mass executions in the promised land.” These lines give the audience the gruesome visual of the mass graves and executions depicted in the movies we all watched in school either about the Holocaust or other war demonstrations. As a whole this songs seems to be illustrating the entirety of World War II. “Ruins of the reich,” definitely is referencing Hitler’s army at the conclusion of the war. However, I believe that the lyrics of this song are not meant to be strictly about the Second World War but rather war in general. It mentions Oppressive tactics and executing the oppressed which are things that happen in almost every war, though adding in prepare for the final flight insinuates the war on terrorism in the US.

Hand of Darkness

            This song lyrically is the closest to a stereotypical Death Metal song on the list. This song has an incredibly heavy emphasis on death and a rather gory one at that. Hand of Darkness also has the religious undertones that are common in Death Metal, in this song it is specifically Satanism. “There is no pallid savior / That comes down from the cross / The hand of darkness reigns / So better bleed for my god” As these lines show, the audience is given the thought that the character in this song is unable to be grated sanctuary by the Christian god so they have no choice but to die at the hand of this individual for his god. For the typical shock value that is associated with Death Metal there are these lines “Sadistic killer / Burning with wrath / Antinomian lord of the flesh / The venom pulsates / In my unholy blood / And as you die / So does your god” As one can imagine, a straight-edged individual who hears this would be horrified with the lyrics, which is why Death Metal and just Metal in general were often used as scapegoats for issues that people saw in everyday society.

Werewolf Corpse

            This song is much more based on repetition that the other songs I have selected, it also has a bit more graphic wording than the others. This song is meant to show how villagers react in times of high stress, as with many individuals even now, they are more worried about self-preservation. As a result instead of calling upon someone to kill the werewolf plaguing their town they decide to offer up sacrifices to it. “Secret order raised in the darkest hour / Victims are selected for the wolves to devour / Recalling the myths of ancient times.” As with any other Death Metal song there is of course undertones of death and gore, for example “… Lusting for blood, bringer of death / I’ve come to shred your flesh.” Another moment in which the lyrics play a part in the story is during the lines “No one can see who wears the wolf skin / Dormant at day, walk among the sheep.” Which is an interesting line because it leaves the audience with the tiny idea that there could really be werewolves among them.