Text written by WikiBrother Gabriel Brandino , from @moshinhell
Slayer is a band with heavy lyrics that are a real slap in the face, and today we're going to talk a little about one of their greatest classics.
"South of Heaven" is a heavy, quite critical song that misleads many people about its meaning.
Many believe that it is a song with a critical view of Christianity only, however, it is more of a critique of our current society.
The song's name can already be identified as this prelude, since in Portuguese the title is "South of Paradise," and it may be a reference to this idea.
Primarily because, in European maps, south is always pointed downwards, and following south (downwards) would be an allusion to hell, which in this case would be the earth.
“An unforeseen future rooted somewhere in time.
Innocent victims, without warning, without signs […]
Forgotten children follow a new faith.
Greed and lust controlled by hatred.
The endless quest to destroy their sanity.”
Many of the band's songs deal with conflicts and wars, as well as various problems inherent in religious dogmas, and I believe this song may allude to that, to a possible "hell on earth".
"Souls condemned in their own reality.
Unbridled chaos in the age of disbelief.
The habitat of impulsive confrontations."
"Impulsive habitat" can refer to a land full of conflict, war, and people acting on their primitive impulses.
And the disbelief mentioned is not due to a lack of faith in a superior being or beings, but rather a disbelief in other religions, and the belief that only one faith is correct, leading to "holy wars."
"Bastard sons beget their whore daughters.
Promiscuous mothers with their incestuous fathers.
Ungrateful souls condemned for all eternity.
Observe the moral judgment under divine control."
Here we see the clear spread of a completely abandoned generation, devoid of values and utterly immoral.
Whether parents or children, they all grow up and continue to pass on to generations without any education, but which is controlled by something higher.
"The root of all evil is the black soul's heart,
a force that has lived for all eternity."
Evil doesn't happen because of who you are on the outside, nor because of your religions or beliefs, but rather because of who you are on the inside, your values and your ideals... as the song says, that's the root of all evil.
"The loss of all hope and dignity.
Always south of paradise."
The song ends on a pessimistic note, pointing towards the decline of a land that has crumbled to humanity's darkest desires.
READ ALSO: Candlemass and the macabre dance of doom metal
