THAL – Swarm the Mandala

THAL - Swarm the Mandala cover art
Artist: THAL
Label: Overlook Hotel Records
Release Date: 11-25-2022
Genres: Doom Metal, Hard Rock, Metal, Stoner Rock
People: John "Vince Green" Walker, Kevin Hartnell

Available On

Album Reviews

"Swarm the Mandala" is a "protest album" in all but name, its targets are numerous, and its arrows are directed both outwardly and inwardly, it is a powerful album, both lyrically and musically, an album that doesn't offer answers but urges us to ask questions of not just those who make the rules but also those that follow them.

Desert Psychelist

Tracklist

1. Swarm the Mandala Buy Track
2. Caustic Buy Track
3. Mirage Buy Track
4. Crimson View Buy Track
5. Torch the Crown Buy Track
6. Death Sublime Buy Track
7. Shadow Work Buy Track
8. Godmaker and the Child Profits Buy Track
9. Desolation Buy Track
10. As Above Buy Track

Lyrics

Swarm the Mandala

Boots on the ground,
another raid
Would rather be no other place
Than bringing existence to an end
Stained with blood of a thousand dead men
Circle back, we know the drill
Confirm the dead with overkill
My memory razed now it’s hollow
Fall to the back cuz I’m the devil to follow

I’d rather die than let them breathe
Another day on this plane
Exorcise your demons
Come to me and leave with no shame

It’s the rage I want
And it gives me life with a scent that’s sweet like death’s smell
Behind the eyes, an empty space
To contemplate my own hell

Watch the blood, circle the drain
The rhythms of life always end the same
Summon the strength to punch back until they burst
Knowledge is everything, blindness is God’s curse
The moment will come in the blink of an eye
Everything we know is a goddamn lie
Everyone will run into the streets and cry
Because we let mankind control the sky

I’d rather die than let them breathe Another day on this plane
Exorcise your demons
Come to me and leave with no shame

It’s the rage I want
And it gives me life with a scent that’s sweet like death’s smell
Behind the eyes, an empty space
To contemplate my own hell

Caustic

I burn with the rage of a flame straight from Hell
Run with a pack of demons begging to kill
Sharpen my axe for the hunt on this night
Draw so much blood it will smother the sky

I’m a caustic man of reason
Burning your soul
Stay out of sight to hide my shame
Cuz I’m caustic
Kill with my flame

The bloodshed is great, but the kill comes so fast
When the wolf spots his target, that target won’t last
Loud the coward screams, was so smooth before
Never invite the hate to your front door

I’m a caustic man of reason
Burning your soul
Stay out of sight to hide my shame
Cuz I’m caustic
Kill with my flame

Mirage

Ash clouds are thick as I come home tired
Won’t get out of my way
Faith long burnt down like the world on fire
For the rest of my days

Time froze and I walked away from those I thought were heroes
Took my trust and ripped it in two
Went from boy to a man in a day
As much as I try
I’ve lost my own light

Insufferable men, cling tight to their power
Predictable as night will fall
Pay attention to noise at the top of the hour
They slip away down the back hall

Time froze and I walked away from those I thought were heroes
Took my trust and ripped it in two
Went from boy to a man in a day
As much as I try
I’ve lost my own light

Crimson View

Wish the fire would blow away
Those Devils speak right through me
Calibration of the world soul leaves me broke and lonely
Purify my message, won’t you listen?
The key surrounds us
Grab a hold of common sense, don’t let those serpents drown us

The rain will fall and hunger rules the day
Give’em a bite and they’ll take the whole damn plate away
My tank is low with miles to go and bloodstains fill my eyes
We can’t coexist if I don’t get some sleep tonight

Take the next step up the tree
Leave the fallen to die away
Shed the clothing when it burns and maybe the sun will rise today
Lead to gold, impresses few while the masses turn their backs
The truth is ugly but the unevolved will still deny the facts

The rain will fall and hunger rules the day
Give’em a bite and they’ll take the whole damn plate away
My tank is low with miles to go and bloodstains fill my eyes
We can’t coexist if I don’t get some sleep tonight

Torch the Crown

Read the bones, they tell the story
Of a vanquished snake who lost his glory
And he multiplied like a parasite along the way
Pestilence and plague condemned the land
Western flames turned lakes to sand
Yet the serpent hid like a coward in the cover of day

Free yourself
Rise from Hell
So low
Does the blackness inside the abyss consume us all?

Behind the mask of the serpent is a liar’s tongue
War among brothers, fathers, and sons
Shame is not a thought that a narcissistic man can feel
And so it was told, the kingdom shall fall
Lead to the river by a coward that can’t even crawl
Sometimes a wound will open and refuse to heal

Free yourself
Rise from Hell
So low
Does the blackness inside the abyss consume us all?

Death Sublime

What’s a man supposed to say before he dies?
Playing the game with all of you fools and all of your filthy lies
The blade is blunt, just like life, as painful as can be
Devils come collect me and set my spirit free

Blood on the wall
Screams down the hall
Take the knife from my hand
The stench of death will find us all and convict us to the damned

She hunts them down and makes them scream
Cast the bodies into a pile and laughs at our wasted dreams
When she came to take me home, I looked away in shame
Cuz at this point right now, I’m ready to break these goddamn chains

Blood on the wall
Screams down the hall
Take the knife from my hand
The stench of death will find us all and convict us to the damned

Shadow Work

Afraid to show it’s face to light
Buried, forgotten, and left behind
Crawling out from it’s tomb
Your body’s a cage and your mind is a womb
Your deepest of secrets belong to him
Hung from the pyre that burns within
Dividing the conscious in half
I give up myself, consumed by the black

Where do the Shadows hide?
When there’s no light to catch them
Burrowed deep inside
Answers to half of our questions
If only we would grow
Without exceptions
As the breathing slows
Death will reflect them

As a child it will manifest
Turn your back I will kill for less
Over the plains it’s tendrils grow
Wrapped up around our collective throats
Doing much damage to life
Exposing those critical lies
Wiping the blood from his teeth
Clicking his nails on the edge of your dreams

Where do the Shadows hide?
When there’s no light to catch them
Burrowed deep inside
Answers to half of our questions
If only we would grow
Without exceptions
As the breathing slows
Death will reflect them

Godmaker and the Child Profits

Brace now, for all the children choking on their own blood
Lay down tonight and hug them tight, their life is now done
Red Wolves comprise their dreamscapes as they wake and scream at night
Profits rise, let’s raise a toast to those that cannot fucking fight

Levitate above, all the land and lives you claim
You claim to own
Decapitate the swine, hang it from my tired neck
My neck alone

What’s that sound coming from the sea?
I command the children to die for me
And I’m the last one in the world to take some lead tonight
Toss my soldiers to the pits of hell
Smother the Mothers that dare to tell
My third eye is blind, but I no longer need my sight

Levitate above, all the land and lives you claim
You claim to own
Decapitate the swine, hang it from my tired neck
My neck alone

Face the North and grace the fallen
Hang those heads with faces sullen
Activate the mothership because it’s time to flee
Do you carry the mark of a madman?
On his knees in the muck of the badlands?
Hold my skull to the clouds, so the moon can see

Levitate above, all the land and lives you claim
You claim to own
Decapitate the swine, hang it from my tired neck
My neck alone

Desolation

Desolation, in my mind
My own creation, keeps me blind
Summon breath, with no one left to care
I’ll take my leave now and get the fuck out of here

I’ll take my leave now and get the fuck out of here

Crawling alone on the side of the road
Looking for what remains of my soul
Rain upon my back for the rest of my days
Grit my teeth and gasp as I fall off the stage

Even now I define myself by my solitude as it grows
Close my eyes to its wicked ways
There is nowhere else to go

As the Summer rains will fall
The rage inside shall fester long
Coiled up in song
A conversation of one
Take me to my maker
I’m goddamned done

I’m goddamned done

Even now I define myself by my solitude as it grows
Close my eyes to its wicked ways
There is nowhere else to go

About Album

THAL, a heavy doom-laden rock project created by John “Vince Green” Walker (Columbus, OH), release “Swarm the Mandala” and dedicate it to Em T-Edens and others who lost their lives over the previous two years. His incredibly powerful vocals dominate throughout the ten tracks fueled by anger and frustration over current events.

Personal Pick: Godmaker and the Child Profits