Eliogabalus

Devil Doll's song 'Eliogabalus' is a haunting and surreal exploration of existential dread, identity, and the human condition. The lyrics are rich with vivid and unsettling imagery, such as 'great winged insects' and 'cat-headed butterflies,' which evoke a sense of fear and alienation. The protagonist's feeling of being a 'glass bowl' that could easily crack symbolizes fragility and vulnerability, while the reference to committing a 'horrible crime' without knowing what it is suggests a deep-seated guilt or anxiety that pervades their existence.

The song then transitions into a dreamlike sequence where the protagonist finds themselves in a 'vast garden' and cuts down the 'tree of the knowledge of good and evil.' This act can be interpreted as a rejection of conventional morality and an embrace of chaos and uncertainty. The vessel named 'Narrenschiff,' or 'Ship of Fools,' further emphasizes this theme, as it sails through 'black waves of clotted blood,' symbolizing a journey through a nightmarish and chaotic world. The throne and the 'terror of an endless hiccup' represent the anxiety and absurdity of power and existence.

The recurring motif of the mirror in the lyrics, with lines like 'The mirror! The mirror! The mirrored life!' and 'Watching the earth beyond the mirror,' suggests a duality between reality and perception, the self and the other. The protagonist's plea to the 'child' to 'crack my world from side to side' and 'kill me with every day' indicates a desire for liberation from this mirrored existence and a longing for genuine connection and understanding. The final lines, 'Life is a state of mind,' encapsulate the song's overarching theme: the idea that our perception of reality is shaped by our mental and emotional states, and that true freedom lies in transcending these limitations.