“To take somebody’s adolescence away is to deny that person some of the closest looks at God’s face that we ever get on this planet,” said songwriter John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats in reference to his song The Best Ever Death Metal Band Out of Denton. The song is an ode to the integrity of adolescent ambitions, as well as a disparagement of those who crush them. Apparently informed by Darnielle’s work in psych hospitals and residential treatment homes, the lyrics end with a vindication of the dreamers, optimistically promising the world that, “The best ever death metal band out of Denton/Will in time both outpace and outlive you.”
The Best Ever Death Metal Band Out of Denton
The best ever death metal band out of Denton
Was a couple of guys who’d been friends since grade school
One was named Cyrus, the other was Jeff
And they practiced twice a week in Jeff’s bedroom
The best ever death metal band out of Denton
Never settled on a name
But the top three contenders after weeks of debate
Were Satan’s Fingers, and The Killers, and The Hospital Bombers
Jeff and Cyrus believed in their hearts
They were headed for stage lights and lear jets and fortune and fame
So in script that made prominent use of a pentagram
They stenciled their drum heads and guitars with their names
And this was how Cyrus got sent to the school
Where they told him he’d never be famous
And this was why Jeff, in the letters he’d write to his friend
Helped develop a plan to get even
When you punish a person for dreaming his dream
Don’t expect him to thank or forgive you
The best ever death metal band out of Denton
Will in time both outpace and outlive you
Hail Satan
Hail Satan tonight
Hail Satan
Hail, hail