Symphony Of Destruction.

Band: Megadeth
Song: Symphony Of Destruction
Album: Countdown to Extinction

After being kicked out of Metallica, Dave Mustaine formed Megadeth, a band that is considered as one of the founding fathers of Thrash Metal. Megadeth was the medium in which Mustaine expressed his anger, weather it was a relationship, his life, government or simply rage.

Symphony Of Destruction is one of Megadeth’s most famous singles. In 1992, when it was released, the album achieved double platinum status. Like many Megadeth albums, political critique has always been an undertone to Dave Mustaine’s lyrics.

You take a mortal man
And put him in control
Watch him become a god
Watch people’s heads a’ roll

The first stanza of the song depicts a man who gains total control of a powerful entity. Dave Mustaine has a very clear aversion towards the way governments were run, and deeply believes that powerful men are easily corrupted. The ending line of the stanza reasons the reaction that such power causes, or what had to go down in order for that power to be achieved.

Just like the Pied Piper
Led rats through the streets
We dance like marionettes
Swaying to the symphony of destruction

The chorus uses an allusion to the Pied Piper of Hamelin, a German poem where the Pied Piper used his flute to clean a rat infested city, and after being unpaid for his service, he leads all the children to a mountain where he locks them forever, leaving a city with no children. This allusion refers to how people follow blindly their leaders, to what Mustaine called the Symphony Of Destruction. The question, however, is what is being destroyed? By blindly following leaders, we ‘cause destruction to many sectors of life, such as economy, individualism and even civilization. Again, the allusion to the Pied Piper comes into play as it destroys the future, the children of each generation.

Acting like a robot
Its metal brain corrodes
You try to take its pulse
Before the head explodes

The first line of the 2nd stanza can refer to both the leader and the subjects. To the subjects as they act under a program invented by the leader. To the leader as it represents an automatic response to power, and eventually corroding, or corrupting his mind. As a metal brain, a machine, we can also assume that it stops being about the welfare of the people, but instead it works only with the idea of personal success, completely rational rather than emotional, about achieving power, even at the expense of the people.

Just like the Pied Piper
Led rats through the streets
We dance like marionettes
Swaying to the symphony of destruction

We sway to the Symphony of Destruction as we follow forth and back a leader that only follows his own will. However, the dark tone of the lyrics might induce that it is not a simple slavery or submission, but something magic, in the same way the Pied Piper hypnotized the rats and then the children of Hamelin. Mustaine here offers a different image, as men stop being men, and become droids, mindless machines under the will of an apparent God.

"It's about the masses being led to their own destruction by a leader who's more or less a puppet of a phantom government. Just about every leader we've had that hasn't ended up with a bullet in his head is a political puppet." (Mustaine, 1992)

The earth starts to rumble
World powers fall
A’ warring for the heavens
A peaceful man stands tall

The last stanza changes the course of the whole song. When the “earth starts to rumble” implies that there is a tremor in the way things were. There are two ways of looking at this. One is that the people would rebel, and thus overthrow the governments. When warring for the heavens, or for a utopian future, a man that disagrees with the world order that was set would stand out among the bloodshed. We can also see this as a justification for the actions taken by governments. Many times, it has been said that bloodshed was done for the greater good, to reach some sort of utopia, thus, “warring for the heavens.” However, to be for heaven would in fact contradict Christian ideals, and again, the man who opposes this would shine. This is an allusion to the Bible, since in the time of Jesus many powers were at war with each other to achieve their personal heavens. Jesus came along, and with a message of peace changed the world order.

“Basically what this song is about is, you take a person - a typical stereotype numbskull - and you give him the old shit, shower, and shave, throw him in a monkey suit and he can run the country. As he starts to become more this political puppet, things start to get worse." (Mustaine, 1992)


Here is a link to the poem The Pied Piper of Hamelin.

I am sorry for not posting the video, but it seems like someone in Youtube doesn't like it when people embed such famous things. But do feel free to look up the video. It adds a lot more to the lyrics.

Where The Rain Grows.

Band: Helloween
Song: Where The Rain Grows
Album: Master Of The Rings.




Helloween was founded in the mid 1980s, and has been considered the father of the Metal subgenre, Power Metal, reinventing it many times over the course of years.

Where The Rain Grows is a song that describes someone who, for the lyrics may well apply to anyone, had trouble coping with the lies and mistreatements of another, pehaps a lover or simply an important person in their life.

I never look higher
Than I could see
Never gave less
Than you have given me
The more you have taken
You turned into fakes
I finaly know now, why for Heaven's sake?

The first stanza of the song depicts how the person, to whom I will reffer as "Person A," never asked for more than he gave. This is an obvious assumption, as we can see from the lines "Never gave less, than you have given me." However, the lyrics seem to imply that Person A constantly tried to prove or do something, yet unanswered. It may be that Person B, the subject of the song, forgot or left Person A in a shroud of lies and deciet. The last line of the stanza, "I finally know now, why for Heaven's sake?" implies that Person A found the lie, and probably regrets the events.

Don't tell me you did not see that I cryed
Don't act so deaf and blind
Don't think that if someones made dumb to the core
He would stay like before

Here, the song takes a different turn, as it portrays how Person A was feeling, or what he went through. It is, in fact, a very straight forward verse. More and more it seems like Person A was in a corruptive relationship, where he cared for Person B to the extent of pain, a pain that was overgrown by the appearent lack of interest shown. "Don't think that if someones made dumb to the core, He would stay like before," speaks of the way in which, once the damage was done, there was no turning back. Considering the lyrics and the tone, I can assume that such relationship was broken or betrayed on one side, however with the pretence of legitimacy, for any reason possible. The response is of course, that Person A would not feel the same way as he did at the beginning.

So I take my life
Back from where the rain grows
Die to survive
Back from where the rain grows

The chorus is the consequence of what is discussed above. The place "where the rain grows" could well be heaven. This would make sense, as he, Person A, would regret the loss or failure of the relation, thus taking his life away from heaven. In accordance to this, "Die to survive" can mean that, to be able to go one, something had to be sacrificed. Then again, it also goes on with the theme of heaven, as suicide, by Christian standards, is condemned with hell.

Now you call me liar
'Cause you're just the
“Always have right, fool’s majority”
I think that if someone
Start at your side
You'd all turn your back
Won't give any dime

The last part of the song changes its tone, and begins accusing Person B. Person A stands on the idea of morals, where he would consider himself truthful to Person B. This of course would create the conflict, as Person B believes that “always have right, fool’s majority.” What the stanza means is that however much Person A might trust and give away his life for Person B, it would not matter in the end.

Me, myself and I.

Welcome!

This blog is about my thoughts and ideas on music. I am not an expert nor do I pretend to be. All I will be doing is going over the lyrics of songs that I come across, and pointing out what I believe they mean, or what they do for me.

Well, that is my short introduction, and I will move on to my first post.

ARVB

By the way, if there is any song you think of, let me know!