Razors edge
Outlines the dead
Incisions in my head
Anticipation the stimulation
To kill the exhilaration

Close your eyes
Look deep in your soul
Step outside yourself a
And let your mind go
Frozen eyes stare deep in your mind as you die

Close your eyes
And forget your name
Step outside yourself
And let your thoughts drain
As you go insane, insane

Inert flesh
A bloody tomb
A decorated splatter brightens the room
An execution a sadist ritual
Mad intervals of mind residuals

Close your eyes
Look deep in your soul
Step outside yourself
And let your mind go
Frozen eyes stare deep in your mind as you die

Close your eyes and forget your name
Step outside yourself and let your thoughts drain
As you go insane, insane

Innate seed
To watch you bleed
A demanding physical need
Desecrated eviscerated
Times prostrated


Lyrics submitted by jt, edited by zlickdude, sgr1, CoffeeAchiever

Seasons in the Abyss Lyrics as written by Tomas Enrique Araya Jeffery John Hanneman

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

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Seasons In The Abyss song meanings
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43 Comments

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  • +59
    Song Meaning

    It means that me and Coco and other Pomeranian dogs are gonna get justice, and Coco will not get hurt. They are gonna regret messing with us!

    LuckyCandKittyon July 14, 2014   Link
  • +20
    General Comment

    to me, this song is based off of Aliester Crowley's "The Abyss". which is a fucking awesome book. The so-called abyss symbolizes the gap between your self and non-self. you can cross the abyss, and become more wise and powerful than you can imagine. should you fail, however, you fall into the pit for all eternity, as "the Beast" internally eats away your mind and basically go insane. which is where the "Close your eyes, Look deep in your soul, Step outside yourself, And let your mind go. Frozen eyes stare deep in your mind as you die" part fits in...i dont know, i could be wrong

    GodHatesUsAllon April 05, 2005   Link
  • +15
    General Comment

    to me, this song is (right off the bat) about the abyss itself. (like in the ocean). because you dont know whats down there, and you end up going insane from it all as you die. im guessing what slayer is saying here is "dont be afraid of the unknown, and just face your fears or you will die."

    lukermanon February 28, 2006   Link
  • +13
    General Comment

    THIS SONG IS FUCKING KICKASS!!!!!!!!!!!! One of Slayer's best songs, right up there with my other favorites Angel Of Death, Raining Blood, Hell Awaits, and Black Magic. It seems to be about some random sadist ritual. Although, I think the interpretation that interpretation that GodHatesUsAll had sounded likely too, even though I've never heard of that book in my life.

    Thrash Metal Rulezon December 24, 2006   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    I believe this song is basically about overcoming extreme physical pain. You need to escape your own body, forget life and just release your spirit. You need to flee into and spend some time in "the abyss", where your spirit can heal and recuperate.

    Ddaduttaon September 13, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Umm... 1st of all... why are you writing like that? And, if you think the lyrics are incorrect simply submit the corrections(read the latest news post in the main page first) and I'll correct them.

    <b>S</b>ong<b>M</b>eanings Mod.

    Idanon February 03, 2002   Link
  • +2
    Song Meaning

    Okay, here is what the song is ONE HUNDRED PERCENT ACTUALLY ABOUT, and if you've never experienced this yourself, I fully expect you to disagree vehemently, and I don't blame you one bit for not getting it or for doubting it. The song is about a psychadelic trip, from beginning to end, nothing more, and nothing less. Maybe shrooms, maybe acid, maybe something else, but definitely a psycha hallucinogen. Is there something in the liner notes that I didn't read? Is that why no one posted the actual meaning of these lyrics? "Razors edge Outlines the dead" This means he's just taken the shit, and he's anxious that maybe it was a mistake, a VERY BAD way to begin a trip. "Incisions in my head" What the hell do you think this means? If you're taking this literally, you're a brainlet. It means his mind is being cut, lacerated, and various parts are being compartmentalized from the other parts, meaning things are making less and less sense. "Anticipation the stimulation, To kill the exhilaration" He's waiting on the high to kick in, which normally takes at least 30min, and starts to feel like maybe it's just not going to work, especially if it's your first time. He thinks the anxiety over it not working means it won't work, BUT HE IS DEAD WRONG, as the chorus illustrates. "Close your eyes, Look deep in your soul, Step outside yourself, And let your mind go" That part really shouldn't need explaining, but the next part's explanation helps understand this part as well. "Frozen eyes stare deep in your mind as you die" Death is not literal in this section of the chorus, as basically everyone knows, but what you MAY not know is the intended metaphor: EGO DEATH. I cannot describe ego death to you properly and expect you to understand without a common frame of reference, but suffice to say you actually do forget who you are, where you are, what you are, and your whole life experience. As you approach this "death", you begin to suspect you are still who you think you are, but more and more in your mind who you were becomes a distant and fading memory. It's not an unpleasant experience, despite it's description for the uninitiated, but it can overwhelm if you go into it stressed and anxious. The next part further elaborates on ego death with: "Close your eyes And forget your name, Step outside yourself And let your thoughts drain As you go insane, go insane" Oh yeah, that's what it feels like. Nothing makes any sense, but nothing has to. You become like Joker in Batman, for an easily relatable example, only not malevolent. You're just seeing colors, shapes, odd architectures, strange and often ultra colorful landscapes, etc. You just sit still and take in the experience. "Innate seed, To watch you bleed, A demanding physical need" Honestly, this one doesn't seem to mesh with the rest. It might be like a meth or PCP trip, idk never done either, seems a bit violent without a proper analog for tripping, but maybe I just don't know the analog. "Desecrated eviscerated" This is what you can feel like sometimes on a heavy dose. Your own perception of your body and spacial dimensions no longer make sense. You'll raise your hand over your head, but instead of just a foot an a half or less, it might feel like your hand is 6 feet over your head. You might cross your ankle across your knee casually, but it feels more like you're twisting your legs around themselves over and over again, but not painfully. It's like you feel like Mister Fantastic; stretchy, and almost fluid. "Time's perpetuated" Okay, everyone, EVERYONE here has at least smoked weed, and therefore you all know what it feels like to think an hour has gone by, then you check your watch or phone, and it's only been just a few short minutes, sometimes even less than a minute. That's only PART of the psychatrip. Time becomes meaningless to you. You're not sure whether you're traveling forwards though time or backwards, or if time has just frozen and you're the only thing that can currently move in all existence. Maybe you're frozen, too, and only think you're moving. You're not sure how fast things are or aren't moving through time, or if you're even in the same time you thought you were before you took your dose. TIME IS MEANINGLESS. "Inert flesh, A bloody tomb, A decorated splatter brightens the room" These are some basic hallucinations you might see on the walls. Seeing inanimate objects breathe and pulsate is also EXTREMELY common and normal, but that's usually long before what the song has already described happening. "An execution a sadist ritual" That's more ego death, you feel like whoever or whatever you were is gone, and if you started out anxious and stressed, you'll likely feel as though there's some sadist futzing around with you, or anyone else around you is being the sadist and inflicting this torment on you. "Mad intervals of mind residuals" You're mad as a Hatter and the March Hare at this point, and the reality you're experiencing no longer lines up with either the true reality, or any number of other false realities you may have experienced over the past few hours. Reality itself has lost all meaning, and has become an unstable and ever-shifting quantum uncertainty, with multiple universes seeming to change in your vision, whether your eyes are opened or closed, uncontrollably, and with no end to the madness in sight. I'm sure the lyrics by themselves and without having experienced a proper hallucinogenic trip yourself must seem very brutal and metal and dismember blood gore BLAH and such, but that's not at ALL what this song is about. "War Ensemble", "Dead Skin Mask", "Raining Blood, etc. all have much more literal meanings. Again, if you've never tripped, I don't expect you to get it, because I didn't get it for decades, and doubted my own conclusions about this song for months after hearing it again post-first-trip. This is just what the song is, and there you go.

    BeerySwineon February 03, 2019   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    time perpetuated, mind residual, decorative splatter, etc. What a bad ass fucking song though. I want to kill people by smashing them with a guitar when i listen to this song. Just thought i'd add that.

    adamizeron May 23, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    In Egyptian initiations, one of the initial stages involved placing the initiation candidate inside a sarcophagus and letting them remain "dead" for three days. During this time, the masters would gather around the sarcophagus and, using mantras and rituals in conjunction with the geometric structures of the pyramids, facilitate a conscious astral projection of the initiate. This allowed the initiate to see their own body lying in the sarcophagus and understand that, in reality, they were not a "body experiencing a spiritual journey," but their true self is a "spirit wearing the garments of flesh." This part of the initiation ritual became known as the "Barque of Isis" because the sensation experienced during astral projection in this manner is likened to the gliding of a boat. In the astral realm, priests adorned their astral bodies with forms of known deities and instructed them in the final stages of the mystery before baptism and rebirth through the waters. Hence, the music video was filmed in Egypt!

    PauloDDOon January 10, 2024   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    hahah ya tell that bitch..lol

    Drizzt606on May 02, 2002   Link

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