It may surprise you to learn that "The Evil Men Do" is my favorite track on "Eternal Devotion to the Dark Goddess". There are a number of reasons for this, not the least of which is that I feel that it single-handedly destroys the illusions of Capitalism and exposes the depravity of the corrupted version of that anti-social ideology for all the world to see. Also, the emotions, the perspective, and especially the music make this track one that I love to play loud or sing when the spirit moves me. I might be alone in feeling that this track is my favorite as no one has written me and concurred, so allow me to give my reasons for liking it as I do.

First of all, this track is seriously depraved, or at least the things that the protagonist does and witnesses are far beyond the pale of civilized society, which is not to say that they aren't unheard of in the halls of power. In the previous track, "My Angel" the protagonist has killed the woman who betrayed him and the "voices" that he hears at the end of that song are not voices in his head but the voices of the members of the board of "the Firm". In "Masters of the Universe" the protagonist was able to use secrets that he learned from his mentor to blackmail the board and help him in his rise to power, but after "My Angel" the tables are now turned. However, instead of using the protagonist's crime to get rid of him the board finds an even better use for the protagonist: he is to do their dirty work.

In the vocal introduction to "The Evil Men Do" the members of the board aren't appalled by the murder, or at least they do not reveal it if they are. Instead they are relieved that they can no longer be blackmailed by the protagonist and they now see the opportunity to use him just as he used them. So they are sympathetic to his plight, describing their disdain for the protagonist's "angel", and give him comfort and reassurance while covering up his crime. The protagonist is stunned, expecting to go to jail for what he'd done, but he soon realizes that even more of what he naively assumed about the world, such as the sanctity of the rule of law, has been corrupted by the pursuit of power and wealth. Emotionally distraught and in a vulnerable state the protagonist protests, weakly, still clinging to what is left of his morality until he finally cracks and, in a particularly touching but dark moment, accepts his new role as the man the Firm turns to when they need to get something done, no questions asked.

The protagonist holds no illusions about his new position. He is enslaved to the Firm and must do its bidding, but his new role provides a channel for his anger and resentment and he has no sense of morality to prevent him from using his power in horrific ways. He begins by destroying the man who seduced his angel, but goes far beyond just taking an eye for an eye. In passages reminiscent of Tiglath Pilesar's soliloquy in "Written In Blood" the protagonist describes his exploits in detail, telling of the suffering he brought down upon not only the man who wronged him but upon his entire family. And in perhaps the most sinister part of all he says that none of his victims were aware of who had destroyed them or that anyone had been responsible for it at all. Now, if that doesn't repulse you, send a chill up your spine, and make you wonder how much that kind of thing goes on in the real world then I haven't done my job as an artist.

In the second verse the protagonist gets down to business, describing the ways in which the Firm corrupts the system and gains even more power and influence, which enables it to spread its tentacles even deeper into the halls of power. None of the things that I describe are made up in any way. Democracies are not immune to corruption and there are numerous examples of people in positions of power getting bought out, manipulated, coerced, or otherwise bent to the will of one of more wealthy people or institutions. The only question that remains is how deep the corruption goes in our respective governments. My favorite part of this verse is the final line, "This is no longer Democracy, this is Kleptocracy". The term "Kleptocrat" is one which is often used in reference to those who governed the former Soviet Union when it was making its transition to capitalism. In essence what happened was that those in power sold off the state's assets, such as the oil industry, at bargain basement prices to those who would give them kickbacks and other lucrative favors such as getting the enabling politicians reelected. In America this type of thing can be seen when politicians retire and end up getting large salaries for a do-nothing job in a corporation or go on speaking tours where they receive large sums of money to speak to people who, oddly enough, benefited in no small way from the politician's actions. There is also the ubiquitous "revolving door" where politicians become lobbyists and vice-versa and schemes where the friends and family members of politicians end up in high-paying positions of "friendly" companies and so on and so forth. Again, the only question that remains is how deep this sort of thing goes but the idea that someone will ride into Washington D.C. and clean the whole mess up is about as likely as Jesus returning to earth, or showing up in the first place for that matter.

The powerlessness of the people to prevent the corruption in their government and other institutions appears to contribute to the overall trend towards selfishness. When one is betrayed by those things who they trust it is natural to pull away from relationships and stop giving of oneself to groups and institutions. This is what happens to the protagonist over and over in the CD. He doesn't start off greedy or selfish, but he ends up that way and mostly against his will. In this way the protagonist is a model of society in general, forced into doing things that they abhor.

Which brings us to the chorus, which I like very much:

"No one knows the evil men do at the helm of the machine.
No one hears the cries of the fallen, the machine has only one speed.
I can't count the lives I have laid waste to.
Can't stop if I tried because the beast must feed."

Before we blame the protagonist for being evil and claiming that he is responsible for the corruption of the state it's important to look at the larger picture and the forces driving "the machine". For one there is the profit motive, and while trying to increase profits does not necessarily mean that one has to break the law, the competition between companies in the marketplace does mean that one has to match or exceed the actions of rivals in order to get ahead. So if your rivals are corrupting the government and gaining an advantage that way then you will need to do the same or worse or you will end up taking losses or going out of business. Secondly, those in charge of corporations do not act exclusively to get rich. Many have their own agendas and some are very ideologically driven. These men will often have no qualms about bending a few laws in pursuit of the greater good as they see it no matter how others view their point of view or their actions. Thirdly, many people in positions of power, especially civil servants, are quite willing to become corrupted if they get something which they desire in return. And the more that a society embraces the tenets of Capitalism and replaces the ideals of morality, honor, and decency with the pursuit of wealth the more that these forces will combine to create an environment rife with corruption. In other words, if it wasn't the protagonist who corrupted the state in the manner in which he did, it would have been someone else. Thus, it is not the individual who experiences a moral failure, it is that the system lends itself to immorality. And to make matters worse, as described in the quote above, "the beast must feed", which shows that the protagonist realizes that he is not in control any more and that the forces described previously are conspiring push things to the extreme whether he wants them to or not.

In the final verse we learn that the protagonist has been rising towards the highest position in the Firm and will soon gain such perks as having "a direct line to the president" as CEO. He ruthlessly smashes his rivals, both inside the Firm and outside, crushing another young hopeful, the "son of the chairman", for the coveted position of running the Firm. It is here where everything suddenly falls apart. The protagonist is brought before the board and, in a manner not unlike how the mafia operates, is given an offer that he cannot refuse. Perhaps my favorite line of the track is as follows:

"Accept our generous severance package
or have your sordid past turned over to the D.A."

The line is cold, calculating, and so very…corporate. Up until then the protagonist might have come to believe that he had become too important to the Firm to be blackmailed anymore and simply knew too much to be let go, but now the cold hands of fate are wrapping around him and strangling his ambitions once and for all. The machine has chewed him up and spit him out.

It is also here where we learn a few things about the antagonist in the story, the man who becomes the CEO and who later ends up interrogating the protagonist. The protagonist describes him as "strong and clever" and as "a true believer", setting the stage for the track "My Reflection" later in the CD. He also describes him as the "son of the chairman", with the subtext that perhaps the man does not truly deserve to be CEO, instead getting to the top due to his father's influence. I added that line on purpose, to portray the nepotism that is often found in corporations, and I would like to point out that in no way did I intend for the antagonist to be a rather loosely veiled portrayal of George W. Bush. Sure, George never would have gotten anywhere close to the seat of power anywhere he went in his life if performance was the standard by which he was judged. In every instance his father or someone powerful appointed him or pulled strings to get him where he was. In contrast the antagonist is modeled after a righteous crusader who both believes and lives his beliefs. Bush, on the other hand, has been accurately described as a man who is not a Christian in any real way but who believes that he is. As such Bush was never truly a danger along the lines of a Hitler, Stalin, or Torquemada, instead he is a blundering, delusional oaf who is far less clever than he thinks he is and who believes that he is strong when he is merely being stubborn. The antagonist is something that Bush can never be, a man truly committed to doing what he believes is the right thing no matter what the cost as opposed to a man who embraces half-assed measures and talks a far bigger game than he is prepared to play.

I love the music on this track as well. Of the few times that I've written a song in three-four time, such as "Beyond Zimbabwe" and "DeathMachine" I've always ended up with something that I like a lot. "The Evil Men Do" is no exception and the lightly swinging time signature mixed with the growling distorted guitars creates something that sounds like a death waltz. It matches perfectly with the theme of the song, that the dance of corruption between the corporations and the government is unstoppable, dragging you, me, and everyone else in the world down into a spiral of depravity and decadence. The spoken word sections are the darkest on the track and are backed by two guitars playing a pair of complementary rhythms. I love to sit back and listen to those parts intertwine as the protagonist lays down the ugly truth about the world. It feels like I'm being drowned in capitalistic filth. And before the third verse, when the guitar solo kicks in and rides on top of the two rhythms and finally splits into two parts as well it sounds simply amazing. These are the moments that make doing all of the recording and going through all of the trouble worth the effort. Building to such beautiful musical moments are what writing music is all about, even if such moment are mired in a track of hideousness and ugliness, but then, that is the essence of Fireaxe.