Key Entity Extraction III: Vic the Butcher

The story of Afterman is about Sirius (SY-russ) Amory. The story is set in the same universe as the rest of Coheed's stuff, but does not tie in with the other characters.

Sirius is a scientist who goes to discover how the Keywork works. The Keywork (the triangle in their logo) is a network of energy that encompasses the 78 planets of Heaven's Fence (the circles). He goes with an A.I. called the All-Mother to assist him. She's the female voice you hear in the spoken parts.

When Sirius gets to the Keywork, he finds that it is basically a destination for souls that have died, like an afterlife. In the Keywork, different souls (or Key Entities) basically tries to possess him, and he experiences their lives, beginning with Domino, then Holly Wood, and then Vic the Butcher.

Vic was a brutal general that committed terrible war crimes, but was never brought to justice because he intimidated those who knew. There was one who stood up to him Sentry, but he was hanged by Vic. (We meet Sentry in Afterman: Descension) This song is about when Vic was finally exposed, and was going to be punished for his crimes, so he burned his building, number 184 to the ground, which contained a nursery school on the ground floor. When Sirius experiences his life, he chooses not to burn the building down, and that attracts Evagria, a benevolent entity who protects him.

"You made this harder than it had to be The absolute marker, etching into me You flashed your colors at me, way prematurely Now I know what you're up to and it feels so good It's right"

This is Vic saying that the courts should have just left well enough alone, but now that he knows what they're up to, he's going to commit suicide.

"We've got your number written Reset the system screaming Hang your secrets, hang em' up, hang em' up now These sitting ducks in season The march of little children Hang your secrets, hang em' up, hang em' up now"

This is the chorus. Vic knows what he's going to do: burn the building, and the sitting ducks are the children that will die in the fire. "Hang your secrets" refers to the death of Sentry.

"I listened to them chuckle as they eat Their judgment hiding behind eyes and dirty teeth You think I care for all these phony pleasantries when I want nothing to do with, I want nothing to do with your life"

This is referring to Vic's life as a general, when he saw all those men who pretended to be pleasant, when he knew that they hated him for what he did. He doesn't care what they think, though.

"The truth will cut you down to pieces One eighty four, lets burn it down If I can't keep from living with this regret I'll need to change the way I think about us"

This is Vic saying that he refuses to accept the consequences of his actions, so he will burn his building (address number 184) to the ground. He won't face the shame of what he's done, so he's going to refuse to go to trial.

"Baby, I'm bad company and you don't have a mark You're the prettiest thing I have ever seen Come with me, I want to make you dirty"

When Vic burned his building down, his wife was with him. He says that she is pure, unlike him, but she will be an accomplice in this his final atrocity.

Really a sick song, but that's why this guy is called the Butcher! And in Descension, you get to see the guy that actually stood up to him come in and save Sirius from him.

I don't know the storyline at all. But it sounds like he's encountering different souls? Since Holly Wood the Cracked sounds pretty dark, and the end of the song sounds like Vic the Butcher is coming out of nowhere, doesn't sound like Sirius Amory is having a good time.

!!! IF YOUR NOT FAMILER WITH THE STORYLINE SPOILER ALERT !!!

This album is about Sirius Amory and about his discovery that the Keywork is made of lost souls. So I think that the songs with the titles 'Key Entity Extraction' are songs about him extracting a soul from the Keywork and each song is telling the story of that souls life, this one being about Vic and his life.

For everyone not following along, yes. This album is about Sirius going through the Keywork meeting different entities that make it up. They have all died terrible deaths in some way though. Vic the Butcher, at least from what I can gather, was a serial killer that killed children, chopped them up, and the way he died was his house was burned down. Basically Freddy Krueger style death.

I think after Holly Wood, Sirius is disoriented since that entity is crazy, but that probably catches the attention of another entity, Vic. From what I can tell, and from a previous comment, Vic is a serial killer who slaughters children. The madness of Vic puts Sirius in a very severe state by the end of the song, and I think that's where Evagria intervenes to "heal" him.

On a side note, did anybody notice this: The full name of the entity is "Victor the Butcher." Even the name rhymes lol.

Actually Claudio said in the concept videos that Vic was a horrible, ruthless general who carried out atrocious war crimes. He was being brought on the crimes, and decided that in a fit of rage decided to hang himself, and burn down his building. There was a daycare at the bottom of the building which caused the deaths of many children. Sirius enters Vic's consciousness at the moment he lights the match. Sirius' morals will not let him burn the building so he puts it out. That is when Evagria enters the story. At the end the all Mother even says "Caution: Unidentified entity approaching."

I have the collector's edition. The art book states this is about Vic The Butcher, a horrible man who committed atrocious war crimes. Sentry the Defiant was the only man to fight against his evil, and as a result, Vic hung him. Not long afterward, he killed himself by burning down an orphanage (while still inside)