Metallica – The Thing That Should Not Be

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  Song Meaning:Lovecraft used the term “Great Old Ones” in only two stories: in “The Call of Cthulhu” it referred to Cthulhu’s spawn, and in “At the Mountains of Madness” it was the title of the starfish-like beings who lived in Antarctica and warred with the Cthulhu-spawn!
  
  Cthulhu is a “Great Old One” and he is of a race called the “Spawn of Cthulhu”.
  
  Cthulhu lies "dead but dreaming" in the city of R'lyeh, a place of non-Euclidean madness presently sunken below the depths of the Pacific Ocean.
  timeless sleep
  has been upset
  He awakens
  
  It is said that the "Great Old Ones" will return, causing worldwide insanity and mindless violence before finally displacing humanity forever.
  in madness You dwell
  
  Cthulhu himself is served by humans, the amphibious deep ones or "hybrid children", and his own spawn.
  Hybrid children watch the sea
  Pray for Father, roaming free

  Flagged Rothguardon August 15, 2012   Link

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• -3
  General Comment:So many ignorant, illiterate morons trying to "educate" others.
  
  First of all, this song is not based on H.P. Lovecraft's short story "Call of Cthulhu". It is based upon his novella "The Shadow Over Innsmouth". The "Thing That Should Not Be" in question is aquatic deity Daigon, for which there is a cult founded and dedicated to it within the city Innsmouth. The "hybrid children" are the Deep Ones, which are basically half-human half-fish mutations created by Daigon.
  
  Secondly, there is NO deeper meaning to the story. There is nothing to be taken away from this song, there is no implication to anyone's life experiences, or purpose to the song. It is nothing more than Lovecraft's story in song form.
  
  Finally, quit trying to educate people on subject matter you know nothing about.

  Flagged HateSolsticeon March 15, 2012   Link

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    -1

    It's Dagon, and I disagree.

    Flag Rothguardon August 15, 2012  

    -2

    I've seen it spelled both ways, so take your pick. I really don't care if you disagree, because you're wrong. You would realize this if you'd familiarize yourself with Lovecraft's work, and ceased being an illiterate twat.

    Flagged HateSolsticeon August 28, 2012  

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    Lovecraft wrote a short story called Dagon, SPELLED Dagon. Considering your little rant about educating people maybe you should educate yourself on how Lovecraft himself spelled the creature's name. Secondly, Dagon is NOT a deity. In the pantheon of the great old ones, Azathoth reigns supreme followed by Yogg-Sothoth and so-on. Cthulhu himself is a priest for the great old ones and Dragon and Mother Hydra are his subordinates.
    
    So maybe *YOU* should stop trying to educate people.

    Flag inorganicangelrosielon April 17, 2013  
• 0
  General Comment:This song got me into HP Lovecraft.

  Flag BlackSabbathon March 10, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:oh yeah. sorry for the second post but this song really reminds me of alice in chains, it just puts me in the same creepy nightmare world as aics "dirt" and "facelift" albums. people are gonna hate me for comparing metallica to grunge so much but the guitar on the verses sounds a lot like "come as you are" by nirvana, i think thats a chorus pedal that makes it sound all watery and whatnot

  Flag SludgeGarden13on August 19, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:i never read any of hp lovecraft books but i did recognize that reference in "call of ktulu", so it makes sense thats what this song is about if they were interested in lovecraft. this has always been my favorite song on master of puppets (a cd where every song is fucking excellent) mainly because of the atmosphere...its heavy and cool and it also has an amazing creepy vibe to it, thats not something you hear a lot

  Flag SludgeGarden13on August 19, 2009   Link

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• -2
  General Comment:I don't know, it doesn't seem that a simple H.P. Lovecraft reference fits into the theme of the album, which is being conformity or being restrained and controlled by others. I think that that's just on the surface, when i first heard it, i thought it was talking about how the A-bomb is the ultimate control -- It's use or lack of it has control of the future of the world.
  
  "Messenger of Fear in sight
  Dark deception kills the light." -- Could refer to the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the tangle of espionage almost killed the world.
  
  "He watches
  lurking beneath the sea" -- Nuclear submarines could end things faster than world leaders could react.
  
  "Crawling Chaos, underground
  cult has summoned, twisted sound" -- Underground testing on the bomb, which was summoned by the Manhattan Project (a sort of cult, not letting anybody in and keeping many dark secrets)
  
  "Out from ruins once possessed
  fallen city, living death" -- Hiroshima was destroyed, while the fallout caused radiation sickness (living death)
  
  "Not dead which eternal lie
  stranger eons Death may die" -- Not only a reference to the poem, but the fact that the planet will become eternally dead. In the fact that there is nobody left to die, Death itself dies.
  
  "Drain you of your sanity
  face The Thing That Should Not Be." -- People ignore the atomic bomb because it's too scary a thing to face. Should people continue to ignore it, there could be disastrous consequences of not realizing when it is going to come.

  Flag Burningledon August 03, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:this song is awesome just for the dark insanity that it has and it is one of the darkest songs i've heard
  the S&M version it's kinda scary, jaymz looks like he's a psycho about to kill someone xDxD.
  
  awesome song and lyrics by one of the greatest bands and by the greatest bassist of metal
  
  R.I.P. Cliff Burton

  Flag SetTheWorldOnFireon July 21, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:oh, i was listening to the cure when i wrote the above comment so yeah...

  Flag heronothingon June 23, 2009   Link

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• -2
  My Interpretation:this song, to me, is about people doing bad things then seeking redemption. "The Cure" is God. "I do believe" because in the Bible it says thats all you have to do to get into heaven. Im not a very christian man but thats what I keep hearing

  Flagged heronothingon June 23, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:i love this song. i first thought hybrid children referenced nephilim.

  Flag SerpentSeedon May 21, 2009   Link

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