Killer Lyrics: We're born and raised to die / There's no meaning to this life / Indebted to a God enslaved by time

"The lyrics were initially very inspired by the marching, mechanical rhythm of the opening riff," guitarist and vocalist Charles Elliot of Abysmal Dawn said to Noisecreep of their new song, 'In Service of Time.' "I could just visualize the gears of clocks churning and people slowly marching with their heads down like in some old silent film ('Metropolis' maybe?). That got me to thinking about my own mortality and time in general."

'Time' is off of the Los Angeles-based death metal band's third album, 'Leveling the Plane of Existence.' Elliot's aim for the lyrics was that "time is what rules over all and that if there is a God, that would be the one thing that entity would have to account for as well."

"It also deals with realizing your own mortality and that history is doomed to repeat itself under what some would call a divine will," Elliot said. "I don't believe in divine will, and I'd like to think we control our on destinies to a certain extent."

While death metal can be unfairly labeled as a negative art form, Elliot believes the message in 'In Service of Time' is ultimately beneficial. "Even though the lyrics are sort of pessimistic, as are all our lyrics," Elliot explained. "I feel I'm pointing out something that can be corrected if you're made aware of it. So learn from your mistakes and make the best of this time that you're given on Earth, because 'there is no time for regret, only regret with time.'"

'Leveling the Plane of Existence' is out now on Relapse Records.

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