A split, a tremor, the ground breathes anew
Two bulls contending, all is dropping through
The tide, it crashes, flushing out hatred
Fissures birth a waterfall, draining into the void
The visitor runs near, the cadaver's ploy
Cornered at the cataract's cliff, the corpse begins to speak
An evil smile bears putrid, serrated teeth
"You cry for help, but no one hears.
Should we share those same tears?
Is it me you've been seeing in the mirror?"
The visitor flails about, held in the corpse's arms
He's lifted up; quickly he grows alarmed
As the demon holds him high above he laughs,
"You yourself have carved out this path."
He's thrown; he falls into the depths
I hear my mother, my father, my childhood hymns and tunes
From down a flooded hallway I hear them crooned
Hieroglyphs of ornate impression appear on either side
The deepest cuts and convictions lie delicately inscribed
A heaving, stressed pulsation vibrates the tranquil stream
Ripples scurry back to the cadence of muffled screams
The visitor is strung along by the hypnotic rhythm
The beating stops, the ripples cease; it's a sight he cannot fathom
"Join me at once! Feel your flesh absorb into mine!" wails a tangled mass of eyes, sinew and spines.
His heartbeat rattles the visitor's core essence, his sonic waves surging and stirring the heavens
"Join the others behind me! Accept your fate as the coward you've always been!" he yells to my chagrin.
Men, women, and children look to the visitor in fright
Their tacit expressions beg for him to set things right
The visitor dodges the behemoth's blows
He taunts the brute, upon him a new courage is bestowed
Bashing and thrashing, the walls cave in
The prisoners escape
The behemoth meets his end
As the rocks come crashing down the monster and the visitor are buried underneath
Golden lotus flowers blossom around the visitor's lifeless body and open to him,
"It's nothing, don't you worry; you'll be fine you see.
With conscience cleansed of the disease, your shackled mind is set free."
Tim Arnold's latest album of lushly detailed art-pop explores the insidious ways tech surveillance has become a part of our lives. Bandcamp New & Notable May 9, 2023
The Long Island metal band's third album etches arena-sized hooks into their jagged compositions, deftly balancing experimental and poppy inclinations. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 12, 2022
