The band's over-the-top lyrical style and high-pitched (which were based on the vocals of the band The Winter Massacre), Rob Halford meets Udo Dirkschneider -esque vocals, combined with their appearance in official photos, which owes more to modern "scene" fashion and clothing labels such as Atticus, have lead some to dub them as a parody of the classic heavy metal acts they claim to seek to give tribute to. When questioned on this, vocalist Cam Pipes gave the following statement: "Just because we're a bunch of young guys singing about the greatness of heavy metal doesn't mean we're some joke band." .
Interestingly, when performing live, the band dresses far more in the manner you would expect a heavy metal band.
Isle Of Eternal Despair
3 Inches of Blood Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
everywhere on shore there's treasure all around
bury deep the horded loot far down below
no man or god will ever take away the plunder
he will find a cave to hide away the gold
doomed to a desert isle
all of the riches in his hands
no living thing around
alone with bounty gold
something compels him to stay
heaven or hell, time will tell
the captain thinks what will come of this
if this is the end, the gold must die with me
delving underground, to his dismay
the captain finds a curse
the isle of eternal despair, to spend eternity alone
the isle of eternal despair, with gold beyond his dreams
what a sight that's sitting right before his eyes
ancient spoils of the pirates of the past
skeletons are sheathed in gold by candlelight
hunger sets buts he will guard the jewels forever
now hes punished by the gods
forever pondering his greed
but hes doomed to eternal life
as a golden skeleton
the isle of eternal despair, doomed as his flesh begins to rot
the isle of eternal despair, knowing he'll never really die
as he decays into living, golden bones
eyes open watching for the rest of his life
The song "Isle of Eternal Despair" by 3 Inches of Blood tells the tale of a pirate who discovers a desert island filled with treasure. The captain decides to bury the loot deep in a cave and stay on the island, but something compels him to never leave the cave. The captain is eventually cursed by the gods to rot away as a golden skeleton, forever guarding the treasure he hoarded.
The lyrics explore the themes of greed and the consequences of obsession. The captain's lust for treasure leads to his downfall, as he is cursed to an eternal life as a golden skeleton. The song also touches on the idea of fate and the idea that one's actions have consequences that cannot be avoided.
Overall, "Isle of Eternal Despair" is a cautionary tale about the dangers of greed and obsession, and how these traits can ultimately lead to one's downfall.
Line by Line Meaning
kiss the sand, praising the dry land he has found
The singer has arrived on a deserted island and is happy to be on a dry land.
everywhere on shore there's treasure all around
The singer sees a lot of treasure all along the shore of the island.
bury deep the horded loot far down below
The singer buries the treasure deep into the ground to keep it safe.
no man or god will ever take away the plunder
The artist believes that no human or deity can take away the treasure he has found.
he will find a cave to hide away the gold
The artist decides to hide the treasure in a cave to ensure its security.
doomed to a desert isle
Unfortunately, the singer is stuck on an uninhabited island.
all of the riches in his hands
The singer has acquired all the treasure on the island.
no living thing around
The artist is alone on the deserted island.
but he will never leave the cave
The artist never goes away from the cave where he has hidden the treasure.
alone with bounty gold
The artist is left alone with a lot of treasure.
something compels him to stay
The singer is driven to stay on the island with the treasure.
heaven or hell, time will tell
It remains to be seen what fate awaits the artist in the future.
the captain thinks what will come of this
The captain wonders what will happen to the singer and his treasure.
if this is the end, the gold must die with me
The captain believes that if he dies, the treasure should die with him.
delving underground, to his dismay
The captain goes underground to look for the treasure but is unhappy with what he finds.
the captain finds a curse
The captain discovers a curse associated with the treasure.
the isle of eternal despair, to spend eternity alone
The curse condemns the artist to spend the rest of his eternal life alone on the island.
the isle of eternal despair, with gold beyond his dreams
Despite his curse, the singer still has a lot of coveted treasure.
what a sight that's sitting right before his eyes
The captain is amazed at the amount of wealth he sees in front of him.
ancient spoils of the pirates of the past
The treasure belongs to the pirates of the past.
skeletons are sheathed in gold by candlelight
The treasure is associated with the skeletons of the past pirates, some of which are adorned with gold.
hunger sets buts he will guard the jewels forever
Despite getting hungry, the artist commits himself to guarding the treasure forever.
now hes punished by the gods
The gods have punished the singer for his actions.
forever pondering his greed
The artist is now destined to contemplate his greed for eternity.
but hes doomed to eternal life
The singer will live forever as part of the curse.
as a golden skeleton
The singer has turned into a skeleton made of gold.
the isle of eternal despair, doomed as his flesh begins to rot
The island is doomed to eternal despair as the singer's body begins to decompose.
the isle of eternal despair, knowing he'll never really die
The artist knows he will never truly die as he is now part of the curse.
as he decays into living, golden bones
The artist's body is decomposing into golden bones.
eyes open watching for the rest of his life
The singer's eyes remain open as he continues to guard the treasure for eternity.
Contributed by Wyatt B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.