I believe Randy is talking as an army troop who just came back home.
"The path I set out on took a turn
When the axis shifted
This is not the life I envisioned
What's done is done
The crime is committed"
He set a path and it changed once he took a soul, and he can't undo that crime of killing.
"Now the beast has come home to roost
He returns with blood on his hands
Caught in the trap of meeting
The laws of supply and reprimand"
He came back home after he killed people to settle down, but the blood is on his hands, and now he has to deal with law that didn't apply on him back in the battlefield.
"My blood is boiling
I can't feel my own skin
Though I can see it crawling
Can't expose all these sins
But I can see them falling"
I think the chorus describes his condition, heat from the battles makes his blood boil, he can't feel pain tho he can see his skin cut, he can't talk about all the crimes he committed.
Not really sure about the last line.
"This is a labor of hate
Falling down
This is a labor of hate
Falling down"
Describing army men as the labour of hate, for they kill people and take lives wherever they are.
"There's no escape from building tension
The pressure valve has been refitted
A lost plot in constant revision
A rising storm that's never abated
You can't know enough 'til too much
The envelope is decimated
Too far gone now to reverse my course and be subjugated
And my blood keeps boiling"
Back in the battlefield, there's tension and pressure, keeps killing and never know it's enough until he kills too many people.
It's now far beyond repair, and his heat from battles keeps his blood boiling.
"This is how I choose to survive
The only way I know to exist
The road is hard the cost is high
But I was built for this
But I was built for this
My labor of hate"
As a soldier, killing is the one thing he knows to make his living, it's a tough path to take, but he was built for this or we can say trained to kill, he was prepared to kill.
The song name "Visitation" I think refers to the visit to the battles where all of that happens.
I believe Randy is talking as an army troop who just came back home.
"The path I set out on took a turn When the axis shifted This is not the life I envisioned What's done is done The crime is committed" He set a path and it changed once he took a soul, and he can't undo that crime of killing.
"Now the beast has come home to roost He returns with blood on his hands Caught in the trap of meeting The laws of supply and reprimand" He came back home after he killed people to settle down, but the blood is on his hands, and now he has to deal with law that didn't apply on him back in the battlefield.
"My blood is boiling I can't feel my own skin Though I can see it crawling Can't expose all these sins But I can see them falling" I think the chorus describes his condition, heat from the battles makes his blood boil, he can't feel pain tho he can see his skin cut, he can't talk about all the crimes he committed. Not really sure about the last line.
"This is a labor of hate Falling down This is a labor of hate Falling down" Describing army men as the labour of hate, for they kill people and take lives wherever they are.
"There's no escape from building tension The pressure valve has been refitted A lost plot in constant revision A rising storm that's never abated You can't know enough 'til too much The envelope is decimated Too far gone now to reverse my course and be subjugated And my blood keeps boiling" Back in the battlefield, there's tension and pressure, keeps killing and never know it's enough until he kills too many people. It's now far beyond repair, and his heat from battles keeps his blood boiling.
"This is how I choose to survive The only way I know to exist The road is hard the cost is high But I was built for this But I was built for this My labor of hate" As a soldier, killing is the one thing he knows to make his living, it's a tough path to take, but he was built for this or we can say trained to kill, he was prepared to kill.
The song name "Visitation" I think refers to the visit to the battles where all of that happens.
This is what I think this brilliant song means.