The Locust are a band formed in 1994 in San Diego, USA. They are known for… Read Full Bio ↴The Locust are a band formed in 1994 in San Diego, USA. They are known for their unique mix of grindcore speed and aggression, complexity, and new wave weirdness. They take inspiration from powerviolence (Crossed Out, Dropdead), experimental rock (Art Bears, Renaldo and the Loaf), and death metal.

The Locust was formed by Justin Pearson, Bobby Bray, Dylan Scharf, Dave Warshaw, and Dave Astor. After a number of personnel changes, they arrived at their current four-piece lineup in 2001, consisting of Pearson, Bray, Gabe Serbian, and Joey Karam. Originally a powerviolence band with a strong tendency towards synth-based passages, they have more recently stripped down much of their past sound, but retained the heavy distortion, synthesizers, screamed vocals, and intense stage presence. On the band's unique sound and live presentations, singer/bassist Justin Pearson has said, "I wanted to change the way people perceive music, or maybe just destroy it in general." Their music is complex, dynamic and fast-paced, often featuring abrupt and inconsistent time-signature changes. These erratic elements are, according to guitarist Bobby Bray, "a reflection of perhaps how our brains have to function in order to be able to do anything in the Western societies we live in."

The Locust have a unique stage presence: costumed in skin-tight, full body nylon suits (which the band refer to as uniforms), they have at times come across to first-time viewers as frightening. The last 5 different suits were designed and made by Ben Warwas. Unlike most bands, which normally have the drums set up behind the other members, the four members of The Locust are usually all positioned in a line at the front of the stage. The group recommends that in order to get the full impact of the music, one should see them live. The Locust boycotts Clear Channel Communications and refuse to play in any Clear Channel-owned venues. This boycott affected a 2005 tour with Fantômas as well as another tour with Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They also have a policy of only playing all-ages shows. The band's lyrics range from stream-of-consciousness poetry to satirical portrayals of mainstream ideas of sexuality to political commentary and critiques of religion.

Sever the Toe
The Locust Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Rabid rabbit. Fill your bellies while they feed you lies.
Complacently watch our earth's demise.
What means convenience to a starving race.
Gangrenous sores start to appear.
All because of humanities' fear.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Sever the Toe by The Locust provide a scathing commentary on humanity's disregard for the environment and our unsustainable consumption habits. The opening line "Rabid rabbit" serves as a metaphor for our uncontrollable need to consume, similar to how a rabid animal cannot control its impulses. The next line "Fill your bellies while they feed you lies" highlights how we are fed falsehoods about the convenience of our consumption habits, while ignoring the larger impact on the environment.

The following lines, "Complacently watch our earth's demise. What means convenience to a starving race" highlight our indifference towards the environmental destruction caused by our actions, despite knowing the long-term consequences. The final two lines, "Gangrenous sores start to appear. All because of humanities' fear," serve as a reminder that our fear of change and discomfort drives us towards unsustainable habits, which will eventually have dire consequences.

Overall, Sever the Toe is a critique of our insatiable need for convenience and our inability to reduce our consumption habits, despite the catastrophic harm it causes to the environment.

Line by Line Meaning

Rabid rabbit. Fill your bellies while they feed you lies.
People are blindly consuming lies like a pack of hungry animals, not realizing the consequences.

Complacently watch our earth's demise.
We're standing by apathetically while our planet is destroyed.

What means convenience to a starving race.
In the face of starvation, convenience becomes meaningless and irrelevant.

Gangrenous sores start to appear.
The negative consequences of our actions are beginning to manifest and become visible.

All because of humanities' fear.
Our fear and lack of action is the root cause of these issues and our inability to address them.

Contributed by Keira C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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