Slum River

Arresting Officers' song 'Slum River' paints a grim picture of life in the ghetto, where children grow up in an environment fraught with violence and despair. The lyrics describe the ghetto as a 'playground battlefield,' indicating that the struggles and conflicts faced by the youth are a daily reality. The absence of cries for reform suggests a sense of hopelessness and resignation, as if the inhabitants have accepted their fate. The metaphor of building a 'death camp from within' underscores the self-destructive nature of this environment, where the community is trapped in a cycle of violence and decay.

The chorus introduces the concept of 'slum river' as a form of purification for the ghetto masses. This could be interpreted as a dark, ironic twist, where the only form of 'cleansing' comes through death and the discovery of bodies by the police. The imagery of minds being a place of 'decedent species' and 'unity in blood, murder, and disease' further emphasizes the dehumanizing and brutal conditions of ghetto life. The 'cage of war baked vengeance' suggests that the inhabitants are trapped in a perpetual state of conflict and retribution, with chaos and judgment reigning supreme.

The song also highlights the pervasive presence of weapons, with 'guns and knives' becoming a way of life. The line 'it's not survival they're on the attack' indicates that the violence is not merely a means of self-defense but an aggressive, premeditated act driven by greed and desperation. The reference to 'dollar signs in their eyes' suggests that economic hardship and the lure of quick money fuel this cycle of violence. The final verse likens the streets to a war zone, with 'dogs of war' roaming freely and the 'eternal defeat' of the community. The comparison to the fall of Rome and the slow onset of an apocalypse underscores the sense of inevitable decline and destruction.

'Kids grow up in the ghetto
A playground battlefield of their own
No cries for reform, know what's in store
Building a death camp from within

(chorus)
But slum river is a purification
For the ghetto masses
Where the dead don't rise til the police find them

Minds are a place with decedent
Species
Unity in blood, murder and disease
Prompt in a cage of war baked vengeance
Chaos and judgement 'til today

(chorus)

Guns and knives become your lives
It's not survival they're on the attack
With dollar signs in their eyes
If they target you, you're gonna die

(chorus)

Dogs of war now roam the streets
Stand behind this eternal defeat
The fall of rome was never so close
It's apocalypse, starting slow

(chorus)"