Mark Morton (guitar), Chris Adler (drums) and John Campbell (bass) started a band named Burn the Priest. The band members knew each other from the college they were all attending, Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. Morton left the band soon after its inception to receive his master's degree. Adler and Campbell replaced Morton with Abe Spear. For the next five years, the band practiced in Adler's house and around Virginia. In 1995, the band released its self-titled first demo. After the demo, Burn the Priest recorded two split albums with Agents of Satan and ZED respectively. After the band's first three demos, Burn the Priest added vocalist Randy Blythe to its line up.
In 1997, Morton returned to the band. The band released their first album entitled Burn the Priest through Legion Records on April 13, 1999. The album was produced by Today Is the Day guitarist and vocalist Steve Austin. Also in April 1999, Spear left the band to a pursue a career in photography. This left an open position for a guitarist. Adler's brother, Willie Adler became the band's second guitarist a year later and a deal with Prosthetic Records was signed. After being banned from playing in certain places (some venue owners believing the band possessed an "evil" name), Burn the Priest changed their name to Lamb of God.
Lamb of God decided to go by the name Burn the Priest in 2018 and they released a cover album called Legion: XX on May 18, 2018.
Salvation
Burn the Priest Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Solitude an acquisition, symbiosis turned parasitic
Now I'm starting to regret this, dying to be alone
Bleed me as I'm dying to be alone
A weight on my back
A noose around my neck
A clot in my veins, a worm in my gut
Please leave me alone
I can't breathe air from your mouth
I can't move in your embrace
I need a void in my life but you've taken all the nothing
Behind the heavy distortion and guttural vocals of Burn the Priest's "Salvation" is a surprisingly introspective and poignant exploration of the suffocating effects of unhealthy relationships. The lyrics are rife with metaphors and visceral imagery to convey the singer's deep sense of entrapment and desire for escape from the "affection" of their partner. The opening lines describe the paradoxical nature of the relationship, where what was once a symbiotic connection has turned "parasitic." This leaves the singer feeling trapped and "smothered" by their partner's attention and longing for something else: "dying to be alone."
The visceral imagery intensifies as the singer likens their partner to a weight on their back, a noose around their neck, a clot in their veins, and a worm in their gut, all of which are suffocating and deleterious. The chorus pleads for the partner to "leave me alone," as the singer admits they cannot even "breathe air from your mouth" or find movement in their partner's embrace. They yearn for a "void" in their life, but the partner has taken even the nothingness from them.
Line by Line Meaning
Smothered under your affection
Feeling suffocated by your love and attention
Solitude an acquisition, symbiosis turned parasitic
Initially craving for solitude, but being trapped in a co-dependent relationship which is now causing harm
Now I'm starting to regret this, dying to be alone
Starting to feel remorseful and wanting to be by oneself, desperately
Bleed me as I'm dying to be alone
The pain of separation is better than the agony of being together
A weight on my back
Feeling burdened and weighed down by the relationship
A noose around my neck
Being choked and strangled by the bond that was once believed to be beautiful
A clot in my veins, a worm in my gut
Feeling sick and miserable from within due to the effects of the bond
All this and more are you
You are the cause of all the pain and suffering
Please leave me alone
Asking to be let go and wanting to be free
I can't breathe air from your mouth
Suffocating in the presence of the other person
I can't move in your embrace
The touch of the other person feels constricting and restrictive
I need a void in my life but you've taken all the nothing
Desiring emptiness but realizing the other person has taken away all the space and independence needed
Contributed by Alexander K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
PUNKABUNKA
THIS SONG BRUTALLY ROCKS :)
terry scott
I just wish there was more Burn the Priest
Tyrone Shoelaces
@Fluffypopcicle i agree, you made some great points. i think i just like burn the priest better because of the feeling their music gives me.
sophia valentina
1:35 pure joy
pifa4life
the name of this song is salivation..unless my copy of the album is miss-printed..so......SALIVATION...ok? ok, good
noobyoil
i feel black metal in this song
Depraved Ritual
I got a live video somewhere of these guys with Multi-plex and Hellchild from Japan....I should find out how to put VHS on the internet.
Max Power
i like them better as burn the priest(dont get me wrong ashes of the wake was great) i just like raw BtP better, sounds like awesome garage hardcore...i dunno, i guess im just silly like that
Tyrone Shoelaces
@breakingbenjaminguy2 yea i know, but there is a difference between the two even if they are the same band
Max Power
yeah, imma oldhead metal head bro, if you say so...back in my day it was just speed,thrash, and death and truthfully i didnt categorize shit cuz i guess i stil dont know wtf anyone was talking about..i just dig metal that sounds good and dislike posers...now theres grindcore,metalcore,nu metal and if u grilled me on the difference id have no clue..i keep it simple "sucks" or "doesnt suck" lol \\m// bang on \\m//