Dead Skin Mask - Slayer

Artist: Slayer
Song: Dead Skin Mask
Year: 1990
Album: Seasons In The Abyss

Before you dismiss Slayer, take the time to actually listen to their music. You will find that each song has been meticulously created to be a unique experience. There are no repeated licks. There are no repeated lyrics. There are the horrors of real life laid out in song.

The horrors of war. The reality of serial killers. The underside of human existence is present in these songs. It's a reality that we cannot face, but one that we must face. The tales told in Slayer songs are ones of reality. They are gritty stories that recall horrible things and make each one sound delicate and somehow bursting with a strange beauty.

"Dead Skin Mask" tells us the story of Ed Gein. Ed was a serial killer in Wisconsin and spawned the fictional inspirations of Norman Bates, Jame (Buffalo Bill) Gumb (from Silence Of The Lambs) and Leatherface. While Ed Gein would make his mark on popular culture, Slayer would strip away the mythos and present a more morbid tale.

The music for "Dead Skin Mask" is mood appropriate. It mimics the feeling of childhood innocence and creates a sinister tone around that. The build up to the end is just right. The end of the songs features a release. Almost as if you are following Ed Gein until his luck runs out.

Lyrics:
How I've waited for you to come
I've been here all alone
Now that you've arrived
Please stay a while
And I promise I won't keep you long
I'll keep you forever

Graze the skin with my finger tips
The brush of dead cold flesh pacifies [sings "appease"] the
means
Provoking images delicate features so smooth
A pleasant fragrance in the light of the moon

Dance with the dead in my dreams
Listen to their hallowed screams
The dead have taken my soul
Temptation's lost all control

Simple smiles elude psychotic eyes
Lose all mind control rationale declines
Empty eyes enslave the creations
Of placid faces and lifeless pageants

In the depths of a mind insane
Fantasy and reality are the same

Graze the skin with my finger tips
The brush of dead warm flesh pacifies the means
Incised members ornaments on my being
Adulating the skin before me

Simple smiles elude psychotic eyes
Lose all mind control rationale declines
Empty eyes enslave the creations
Of placid faces and lifeless pageants

Dance with the dead in my dreams (Hello? Hello Mr Gein?)
Listen to their hollowed screams (Mr Gein?)
The dead have taken my soul (Lemme out of here Mr Gein)
Temptation's lost all control (Mr Gein? I don't wanna play anymore Mr Gein)
(Dance with the dead in my dreams (Mr Gein, it's not any fun anymore,)
Listen to their hollowed screams (I don't want to play anymore Mr Gein)
The dead have taken my soul (Mr Gein? Lemme out of here Mr Gein
Temptation's lost all control) (Lemme out, LEMMMMEEE OOUUUUUUTTT!!)