So this has been.my favorite song of OTEP's since it came out in 2004, and I always thought it was a song about a child's narrative of suffering in an abusive Christian home. But now that I am revisiting the lyrics, I am seeing something totally new.
This song could be gospel of John but from the perspective of Jesus.
Jesus was NOT having a good time up to and during the crucifixion. Everyone in the known world at the time looked to him with fear, admiration or disgust and he was constantly being asked questions. He spoke in "verses, prophesies and curses". He had made an enemy of the state, and believed the world was increasingly wicked and fallen from grace, or that he was in the "mouth of madness".
The spine of atlas is the structure that allows the titan to hold the world up. Jesus challenged the state and in doing so became a celebrated resistance figure. It also made him public enemy #1.
All of this happened simply because he was doing his thing, not because of any agenda he had or strategy.
And then he gets scourged (storm of thorns)
There are some plot holes here but I think it's an interesting interpretation.
You walk this earth without a heart
You tear the innocent's souls apart
You shovel your conscience into the grave
You walk this earth without a heart
Your uniform couldn't be taken off
A tattoo burned into your flesh
Your mind, your voice
These are your instruments of death
How could you dare to be so bold
You only did as you were told
Marionettes dancing in time
To the apologetic lines
For all the monsters of our time
Who is evil, who is blind?
In the name of who you'll find
A city of souls dying for peace
Welcome to the belly of the beast
One mind, one voice
Welcome to the belly of the beast
Who hears your voice?
Millions, never, never again
Madness, never, never again
Martyrs, dead that can't die
Monsters
Insanity, the normal state
The left hand a hammer, the right the stake
Driven so deep into the heart
It's killing love, it's killing faith
It's killing 'cause it's from the heart
What better way to demoralize
When your own children are your spies
The things you trust are not the same
Trust in death, trust in grief
Trust in hope is trust in pain
Who is evil, who is blind?
In the name of who you'll find
You're not supposed to question faith
But how do you accept this fate?
Millions, you walk this earth without a heart
Madness, tear the innocent's souls apart
Martyrs, shovel your conscience into the grave
Monsters
You tear the innocent's souls apart
You shovel your conscience into the grave
You walk this earth without a heart
Your uniform couldn't be taken off
A tattoo burned into your flesh
Your mind, your voice
These are your instruments of death
How could you dare to be so bold
You only did as you were told
Marionettes dancing in time
To the apologetic lines
For all the monsters of our time
Who is evil, who is blind?
In the name of who you'll find
A city of souls dying for peace
Welcome to the belly of the beast
One mind, one voice
Welcome to the belly of the beast
Who hears your voice?
Millions, never, never again
Madness, never, never again
Martyrs, dead that can't die
Monsters
Insanity, the normal state
The left hand a hammer, the right the stake
Driven so deep into the heart
It's killing love, it's killing faith
It's killing 'cause it's from the heart
What better way to demoralize
When your own children are your spies
The things you trust are not the same
Trust in death, trust in grief
Trust in hope is trust in pain
Who is evil, who is blind?
In the name of who you'll find
You're not supposed to question faith
But how do you accept this fate?
Millions, you walk this earth without a heart
Madness, tear the innocent's souls apart
Martyrs, shovel your conscience into the grave
Monsters
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Intro to reality- Belly of the Beast.... This tells the story of the post 9/11 world, hysteria and fear, the Orwellian society that we've plunged into. Recall the intro to reality clip is from the original "Twilight Zone" episode about the concentration camp revisited by a former nazi tool whose atrocities are coming back to haunt him. Sounds like the grim death peddlers of the new millennium. Shovel your conscience down the drain.
"This tells the story of the post 9/11 world" ¿? 8-O please check album info