The lyrics of "The Thing That Should Not Be" seem to fit well with the H.P. Lovecraft Cthulhu mythos, including lines such as "Great old one" which may be a reference to the Great Old Ones often appearing in Lovecraft's works, "Hybrid children watch the sea, Pray for father, roaming free" which may refer to the people of Innsmouth (a key location in the Cthulhu Mythos) and "Out from ruins once possessed, Fallen city, living death" a possible reference to Cthulhu himself as he resides in R'lyeh (another key location in the Cthulhu Mythos). The lines "Not dead which eternal lie/Stranger eons death may die" is a phrase refrencing the couplet "That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons even death may die." that appears in the fictional Necronomicon that Lovecraft refrences numerous times. The lines "Messenger of fear" and "Crawling Chaos" refer to Nyarlathotep, the messenger of the evil Outer Ones. The line "Cult has summoned" may refer to the Cult of Cthulhu and their quest to awaken their god.
Live[]
"The Thing That Should Not Be" has been played live 276 times as of January, 2025.
It was first performed live on May 23rd, 1986, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at Cain's Ballroom.
It was last performed live on June 13th, 2019, in Cologne, Germany, at the RheinEnergieStadion.
Trivia[]
The studio recording is their first in D standard tuning; however, it is their only D-tuned song to be played live in D-flat tuning, having been so played from its first live performance.
Lyrics[]
Messenger of fear in sight
Dark deception kills the light
Hybrid children watch the sea
Pray for father, roaming free
Fearless wretch
Insanity
He watches
Lurking beneath the sea
Great old one
Forbidden site
He searches
Hunter of the shadows is rising
Immortal
In madness you dwell
Crawling chaos, underground
Cult has summoned, twisted sound
Out from ruins once possessed
Fallen city, living death
Fearless wretch
Insanity
He watches
Lurking beneath the sea
Timeless sleep
Has been upset
He awakens
Hunter of the shadows is rising
Immortal
In madness you dwell
Not dead which eternal lie
Stranger eons death may die
Drain you of your sanity
Face the thing that should not be
Fearless wretch
Insanity
He watches
Lurking beneath the sea
Great old one
Forbidden site
He searches
Hunter of the shadows is rising
Immortal
In madness you dwell
.jpg){kind=link}
