Death Angel is often referred to as one of the key bands in the Bay Area thrash metal movement of the 1980s, and secured opening slots at club venues that decade, including opening for their peers Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Overkill, D.R.I., Mercyful Fate and Possessed. They are also often credited as one of the leaders of the second wave of thrash metal movement from the 1980s, and considered to be one of the "big eight" of the genre (along with Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Testament, Exodus and Overkill), as well as one of the so-called "Big Six of Bay Area thrash metal" (alongside Exodus, Testament, Lååz Rockit, Forbidden and Vio-lence). Following the underground success of their first two studio albums, The Ultra-Violence (1987) and Frolic Through the Park (1988), Death Angel signed to Geffen Records in 1989, and released their only album for the label, Act III, the following year. While they were touring in support of Act III, then-drummer Andy Galeon was injured in a tour bus accident and needed more than a year to fully recover. This resulted in the band's break up in 1991. However, Death Angel reformed in 2001 (without original rhythm guitarist Gus Pepa) at the Thrash of the Titans benefit concert for Testament singer Chuck Billy. The band has since released six more albums, including Humanicide (2019), to which the title track gave Death Angel their first-ever Grammy Award nomination.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Angel
Studio albums
The Ultra-Violence (1987)
Frolic Through the Park (1988)
Act III (1990)
The Art of Dying (2004)
Killing Season (2008)
Relentless Retribution (2010)
The Dream Calls for Blood (2013)
The Evil Divide (2016)
Humanicide (2019)
When Worlds Collide
Death Angel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We'll take to the skies
Battle eternal
of infinite size
Question salvation
In time you'll rot
Grave disposition
Which way to face
Nowhere to run
Disaster is constant
No shade from the sun
This Generation
Walks wounded alive
Invaded castrated
When worlds collide
Screw Your countries
and fuck your states
Selfish desires
Have sealed your fate
Swallow confession
You'll gain not a pound
Maimed declaration
Black Planet No sound
Which way to face
Nowhere to turn
diaster is constant
No shade from the burn
This Generation
Walks wounded alive
Invaded castrated
When worlds collide
History repeats itself
for the final time
A once endless cycle
reached the end of the line
Canyons of division
Signify your doom
Rivers bleed denial
re-infect the wound
History invites itself
To the final meal
A once dormant plague
Impossible to heal
Canyons of division
Signify your doom
Rivers bleed denial
Re-infect the wound
This generation
Walks wounded alive
Invaded castrated
When worlds collide
The first two lines of the song, “Take to the water, We'll take to the skies,” may refer to the juxtaposition of the two most vital elements, water and air. These lines may symbolize the unison of society and nature, hinting towards a balance between the two that humans should strive to achieve. The next two lines, “Battle eternal, of infinite size,” are about the battle that society wages against nature for supremacy. The lines seem to indicate that society's aspiration to control nature is a continuous, endless battle. In the next few lines, the lyrics take a dark turn as they highlight the failure of humans to protect themselves against destruction. The lines “Question salvation; in time, you'll rot / Grave disposition; Alliance is lost” appear to convey that humans are responsible for their own undoings and that they are running out of time to right their wrongs.
The chorus of the song, “This generation walks wounded alive / Invaded, castrated when worlds collide,” seems to talk about the present generation falling victim to greed, selfishness, and a lack of regard for other living beings. The lyrics seem to suggest that humans have destroyed the balance that was once present on Earth, and that destruction has resulted from the collision between their desires and the forces of nature. The song's repeated refrain, “Which way to face, nowhere to run / disaster is constant, no shade from the sun,” seems to be stressing that there's no escape from humanity's destructive tendencies, and we must all face the consequences of our actions.
Line by Line Meaning
Take to the water
Let's escape to the water
We'll take to the skies
Let's also escape to the skies
Battle eternal
The war seems to never end
of infinite size
And it's just too big to comprehend
Question salvation
Doubting that salvation exists
In time you'll rot
As time goes by, you will eventually die
Grave disposition
The grim atmosphere of death
Alliance is lost
There's no longer unity among people
Which way to face
Feeling lost and unsure where to go
Nowhere to run
Can't escape from the chaos
Disaster is constant
Problems occur repeatedly
No shade from the sun
There's no relief from the heat of the situation
This Generation
Referring to the current generation of people
Walks wounded alive
Surviving but still struggling
Invaded castrated
Feeling violated and powerless
When worlds collide
When opposing forces clash
Screw Your countries
No longer putting faith in nations
and fuck your states
Rejecting local governance as well
Selfish desires
Selfishness is what leads to destruction
Have sealed your fate
It's too late to change the outcome
Swallow confession
Admitting to wrongdoing, but not making things better
You'll gain not a pound
Confession won't ease the pain caused by actions
Maimed declaration
An announcement of harm done
Black Planet No sound
Signifying a bleak and silent existence
Which way to face
Still unsure of what to do
Nowhere to turn
No one to rely on for help
disaster is constant
Problems continue to occur
No shade from the burn
No relief from the pain of the situation
History repeats itself
The same patterns happen again and again
for the final time
This particular instance will be the last
A once endless cycle
A process that used to never end
reached the end of the line
It finally came to a stop
Canyons of division
Large and unrepairable differences
Signify your doom
Meaning it's too late to prevent disaster
Rivers bleed denial
Refusal to accept reality causes more pain
re-infect the wound
Trying to ignore the problem only makes it worse
History invites itself
The past is recurring once again
To the final meal
To the last chance to fix the issue
A once dormant plague
An issue that used to be controllable but became out of hand
Impossible to heal
And now can't be fixed
This generation
Still referring to the present generation
Walks wounded alive
People continue to struggle despite being alive
Invaded castrated
Still feeling violated and powerless
When worlds collide
Highlighting the most destructive point once more
Contributed by Henry H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.