Song Meaning
These lyrics plunge the listener into a scene of absolute dread and impending annihilation. A collective "We" faces a brutal, inescapable end, preparing to be "Devoured By Anthropophagi." The mood is one of stark terror, where survival is not an option, only the manner of destruction.
The central emotional tension here is the systematic stripping of identity and dignity, not just physical demise. The repeated refrain, "We Shall Be Colonised / Dehumanised / Despised," acts as a chilling prophecy. It suggests a fate worse than death itself: the complete erasure of self and status under an "Unfeeling Lustre Of Those Burned-Out Eyes."
The lyrics' craft shines in its potent, unsettling imagery and a powerful literary allusion. Phrases like "Blood-Covered Masks Like Savage Totems" evoke a ritualistic, primal horror. More profoundly, the mention of "Arising From The Heart Of Darkness" and "Mongrel Descendants Of Your Crime" elevates the conflict, hinting at a cyclical violence or a karmic retribution for past transgressions, giving the terror a historical and almost mythical weight.
What makes these lyrics so effective is their relentless, unsparing depiction of a world consumed by primal fear and retribution. The shift in perspective, from the immediate threat to the vast "Ragged Millions" and "Blackened Masses Of The Zombified" waiting "Beyond The Chain-Link," expands the horror from a personal ordeal to an apocalyptic vision. The final, blunt declaration "Savages" leaves a stark, unsettling echo, forcing the listener to confront the raw, untamed nature of the conflict.