History
The band's name is drawn from a phrase in Lovecraft's story The Tomb: "I will tell only of the lone tomb in the darkest of the hillside thickets." The band formed in January 1992 after meeting at Fraser Valley College in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Afterwards they formed a local role-playing group.
After a slow start, several of their songs were picked up by music magazines and others for inclusion on compilation CDs, lending them greater recognition. They often perform live, and have performed concerts with many other bands including GWAR, They Might Be Giants, Dayglo Abortions and Nomeansno. The Thickets continue to enjoy reasonable cult success.
Members
The original three members of the band, at the January 1992 formation, were Toren Atkinson, Warren Banks and Quentin Rogers. Quentin, though, never appeared on any of their releases. The band has gone through several bassists and drummers since its inception. The discography below details band member history.
The current line-up of the band consists of vocalist and lyricist Toren Atkinson, guitarist Warren Banks, bassist Mario Nueva, drummer Jordan Pratt (former drummer for the band Mystery Machine), and backup vocalist Merrick Atkinson.
Outside of the band, Toren Atkinson is also an artist, having illustrated books for role-playing games including Dungeons & Dragons, Call of Cthulhu, as well as the Lovecraft-inspired collectible card game Mythos. Warren Banks and Toren Atkinson also co-wrote (along with contributions by John Tynes and Monte Cook) the roleplaying game Spaceship Zero, published by Green Ronin Publishing.
Operation: Get The Hell Out Of Here
The Darkest of The Hillside Thickets Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A minor quirk in the navigation.
I'm so confused that I don't know if we're coming or going
The tiny rock wasn't on the map
I'm at a loss for an explanation
So confused I don't know if we're coming or going, no
And then we saw the configuration
A rubble-strewn architrave clearly marked the way
And every cap had the same design--
The hieroglyphs that I saw inside my dreams
Those glyphs, those dreams!
"Now listen up, it's important information!"
But the commodore was having none of it:
"Take your time, take your toll, everything's under control."
"Execute Operation: Get the Hell Out of Here!"
We could see something underneath
We set the charge for the excavation
We got the cranky demolition monkeys coming and going
We blew a crack in the massive trap door,
And that's when I made the correlation, yeah
Oh, it's by design!
"Now listen up, it's important information!"
But the commodore was having none of it:
"Take your time, take your toll, everything's under control."
"Execute Operation: Get the Hell Out of Here!"
"It's gonna be alright, it's gonna be alright" [x7]
It's not gonna be alright, no, no, no!
I got possessed at the perfect time
For it to act on its information
The only thing that could know what was coming and going
It didn't come down to open it
A million lifetimes to check that it stays sealed...
Goddamn--oh, no!
"Now listen up, it's important information!"
But the commodore was having none of it
Take your life, take your soul, everything's out of control!
Execute Operation: Get the Hell Out of Here!
Execute Operation: Get the Hell Out of Here!
The lyrics of The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets' song "Operation: Get The Hell Out Of Here" are enigmatic and filled with imagery that can be interpreted in a myriad of ways. At its core, the song seems to be telling the story of a group of adventurers who stumble upon an ancient, mysterious location that they are unable to make sense of. Despite their confusion, they continue to explore the location and eventually discover a hidden trapdoor that they are able to blow open. This reveals a deeper level of the location beneath which appears to be ancient and cursed.
The Commodore, perhaps the leader of the group, seems to disregard the ominous signs and push for the group to continue exploring. The singer, however, is overcome by a sense of dread and possession, warning the Commodore that they need to leave before it's too late. The song ends with the Commodore ordering the group to execute "Operation: Get The Hell Out Of Here!".
Line by Line Meaning
It took the night just to find the place.
We spent all night trying to find this location.
A minor quirk in the navigation.
We made a small mistake while navigating.
I'm so confused that I don't know if we're coming or going
I'm extremely disoriented and have no idea which way we're headed.
The tiny rock wasn't on the map
This small rock formation wasn't marked on our map.
I'm at a loss for an explanation
I don't understand why this rock wasn't on the map.
So confused I don't know if we're coming or going, no
I'm still very disoriented and unsure of our direction.
We hit the shore, then we poked around
Once we reached the shore, we explored the surrounding area.
And then we saw the configuration
We noticed a particular arrangement of objects.
A rubble-strewn architrave clearly marked the way
There was an archway made of rubble that seemed to indicate a path.
And every cap had the same design--
All of the objects we saw had identical markings.
The hieroglyphs that I saw inside my dreams
The markings we saw were the same as those from my previous dreams.
Those glyphs, those dreams!
I can't believe what I'm seeing, it's just like my dreams.
"Now listen up, it's important information!"
I have critical information to share.
But the commodore was having none of it:
The person in charge refused to listen to me.
"Take your time, take your toll, everything's under control."
We have all the time we need and everything is going smoothly.
"Execute Operation: Get the Hell Out of Here!"
We need to leave this place immediately.
We could see something underneath
We noticed something beneath the surface.
We set the charge for the excavation
We prepared to blow the surface open with explosives.
We got the cranky demolition monkeys coming and going
We had a team of experts on hand to help with the excavation.
We blew a crack in the massive trap door,
Our plan to excavate the area was successful and we were able to open a large door.
And that's when I made the correlation, yeah
I finally understood what was happening.
Oh, it's by design!
Everything we've experienced was intentionally created by someone or something.
"It's gonna be alright, it's gonna be alright" [x7]
We're trying to reassure ourselves that everything will be fine, but we're not entirely convinced.
It's not gonna be alright, no, no, no!
Despite our attempts to reassure ourselves, we know that things are not going to be okay.
I got possessed at the perfect time
Something took control of me at a crucial moment.
For it to act on its information
Whatever possessed me had important knowledge to act on.
The only thing that could know what was coming and going
The thing that possessed me was the only entity with complete knowledge of the situation.
It didn't come down to open it
The door we opened wasn't designed to be opened from the outside.
A million lifetimes to check that it stays sealed...
This door was designed to remain sealed for eternity, and it would take an impossibly long time to check that it remained secure.
Goddamn--oh, no!
We realize that we've made a huge mistake and that our situation is now dire.
"Take your life, take your soul, everything's out of control!"
Our situation has become so dire that it's a matter of life and death now.
Execute Operation: Get the Hell Out of Here!
We need to leave this place immediately to save ourselves.
Execute Operation: Get the Hell Out of Here!
We need to leave this place immediately to save ourselves.
Contributed by Wyatt H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.