Flotsam and Jetsam is an American thrash metal band that was formed in Phoe… Read Full Bio ↴Flotsam and Jetsam is an American thrash metal band that was formed in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1981. Before settling on its current name in 1984, the band had existed under three different names, Paradox, Dredlox and Dogz. Their current lineup includes vocalist Eric "A.K" Knutson, guitarists Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley, bassist Bill Bodily, and drummer Ken Mary. Flotsam and Jetsam went through several lineup changes over the years, leaving Knutson as the only constant member. They are also notable for featuring founding member and bassist Jason Newsted, who left the band shortly after the release of their debut album to join Metallica as Cliff Burton's successor.

Flotsam and Jetsam has released fourteen studio albums in their career, with the latest being 2021's Blood in the Water. Despite not achieving similar levels of commercial success as some of their thrash metal contemporaries, the band emerged as part of the second wave of the genre in the mid-to-late 1980s (along with Sepultura, Testament and Death Angel), and has enjoyed some moderate success in the United States, with two of their albums (1988's No Place for Disgrace and 1990's When the Storm Comes Down) entering the Billboard 200 chart, and their fourth album Cuatro (1992) cracking the top 30 on the Heatseekers chart.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flotsam_and_Jetsam_(band)

Discography
Doomsday for the Deceiver (1986)
No Place for Disgrace (1988)
When the Storm Comes Down (1990)
Cuatro (1992)
Drift (1995)
High (1997)
Unnatural Selection (1999)
My God (2001)
Dreams of Death (2005)
The Cold (2010)
Ugly Noise (2012)
Flotsam and Jetsam (2016)
The End of Chaos (2019)
Blood in the Water (2021)

The Master Sleeps
Flotsam and Jetsam Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Wake the master
Is all you survey
Pictures down the well of my thoughts
In settled dust they're hidden away
Forced down the yellow pills then I stepped into the screen
God were you sleeping so you couldn't hear their screams

God were you sleeping, something feels so strange

When I open my eyes wide you fade away, you fade away
Reflections on this wall consume the tides consuming me
Rejuvinated and cold reasons ripped apart, man bought an d sold

I open doors never chosen for me
Lost my sense of reality
Now I'm free like a rat in a cage
Sleeping God You're a stranger to me

Now I know my place in life as time devours me more each day
Sands will sift away, our time slips away

Can you feel it slipping away, you're growing older day by day
Now I know my place in life and it devours me more each day, no, no

Overall Meaning

The song "The Master Sleeps" by Flotsam and Jetsam is a complex and thought-provoking piece that delves into themes of power, control, and the loss of personal freedom. The first verse seems to be calling for the "master" to be awakened, implying that there is someone in control who needs to be held accountable for their actions. The singer then describes how their own thoughts and memories have been suppressed and buried, perhaps as a result of the control exerted by the "master". The reference to "yellow pills" suggests some sort of medication or chemical restraint that has been forced upon the singer.

In the second verse, the singer questions whether God has been asleep or indifferent to the suffering caused by the "master". They also struggle with their own sense of reality and identity, feeling that they have been forced into a life that was not their own choosing. They express a desire to break free, but at the same time, there is a sense of despair and hopelessness. The final lines of the song seem to acknowledge the passage of time and the inevitability of mortality, with the singer coming to a bleak realization about the nature of existence.

Overall, the lyrics of "The Master Sleeps" are open to interpretation, but the sense of frustration and longing for freedom is palpable. The song seems to be a criticism of those in power who seek to control and oppress others, and a call for individuals to break free from this cycle of dominance and submission.

Line by Line Meaning

Wake the master
Rouse the one in control

Is all you survey
Everything you observe

Pictures down the well of my thoughts
Memories buried in my mind

In settled dust they're hidden away
Left untouched for a long time

Forced down the yellow pills then I stepped into the screen
Compelled to take medication and lose oneself in media

God were you sleeping so you couldn't hear their screams
A plea to a higher power for not intervening to stop suffering

God were you sleeping, something feels so strange
Questioning the lack of divine intervention

When I open my eyes wide you fade away, you fade away
The fading of faith, the loss of a higher presence

Reflections on this wall consume the tides consuming me
The overwhelming feeling of being consumed by one's own thoughts

Rejuvinated and cold reasons ripped apart, man bought an d sold
Being stripped of humanity and reduced to a commodity

I open doors never chosen for me
Breaking free from an expected path