Welcome to the Island [Official] The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

"Welcome to the Island" is the seventh track off of the 2017 album "The Dukes of Alhazred" by Vancouver-based rock band The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Formed in 1992 the band is known for their Lovecraft-inspired music and general nerdiness. Other albums include "Cthulhu Strikes Back," "The Shadow Out of Tim" and "Spaceship Zero: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack."

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Artwork by Chris Woods

I have nothing...nothing to give, and I have not a single reason left to live.
I take a boat into the open sea. I am adrift, I am debris.
I am lulled by the ocean’s rhythmic splash, when I’m beset by a tempest in a flash.
My craft is rent, my fate is clear: my body washed up here.

What I was disappears;
I see my future here.
Time is clawing at my fate.

There is no fauna -- no sound of life; the jungle’s darkness as oppressive as a vice.
Upon the mountainside I find some human tracks, and when I hear the drums there is no turning back.

Welcome to the island.

They writhe around the fire as if a dying snake, their flesh impaled, the mountain’s bloody thirst to slake.
The altar glistens with the latest sacrifice before a toad-like idol with a thousand eyes.
The native cries seem to feed the flame. Their eyeless faces turn to me and call my name.
Curtains of smoke recede, reveal a blackened throne, and I...
I am home.

Iä Tsathoggua!

WELCOME TO THE ISLAND - Dedicated to Aaron Ashley

[thedarkestofthehillside]

Where can you get Thickets merchandise like shirts, hoodies, tote bags, mugs, pillows, cell phone cases?

[DoktorWeasel]

Very heartwarming song. Depressed guy goes on a trip as a potential suicide, and instead find love and acceptance with a tribe of human-sacrificing Tsathoggua cultists. Very uplifting.

[randallpcrittenden]

I don't think I can accurately put into words just how much I love this album.

[ClockworkOuroborous]

The secret power of ADHD is that I can put this song on repeat and listen to it for days and it's like hearing it for the 1st time over and over again.

[wynne]

This song casts a beautiful spell over my brain. The vocal harmonies, lyrics, and music are just overall spellbinding.

[moongem]

I usually have music vdeo/storyboards in mind when I listen to music and the one I imagine for this one is so vivid, except I imagine an ending where after the narrator sits on the throne, thinking he's become some kind of ruler or deity, vines begin to emerge from the throne and wrap around him as the final chorus plays. He's coated in oil and the oil is spread down a long trail where it's set on fire and the flames begin to rush towards him. His triumph turns to terror during the final words of the song as he realizes why the throne is blackened and that he is yet another sacrifice.

[Hugmir]

This is a.... really powerful song. There is some great resonance and expression in this album overall, too, but this track stands out in a bit of a different way.

[freemushrooms]

This, I think, has become my favorite song - so much so that I had a dream about it, and here I am, listening to it at four in the morning.

[TheDiabeticGameMaster]

Is the singer just trying something a bit different in this song or is this a different guy? I assume it's the same guy as the chorus sounds normal but, at first, I was SHOCKED by bow different the opening lines were. And then it just kept going. I LOVE IT! What a great way to add something new and change things up, just a bit. Love this, love you, I LOVE THE ISLAND!

[xanzax]

If this had a music video it'd be cool

[Echosinfireify]

Perfect for the lovecraftian d&d campaign

[averyguilbert]

I enjoy this song but as a caustic soda fan it was very strange to hear Toren pronounce debris like a normal person

[btrenninger]

Got a hint of Nomeansno in there. Good show.

[gamerman]

Very glad my friend introduced me to this amazing song and band

[MrRipper]

Love this album. My brother showed me math song and now I've been listening to this album alot. The outro of vorcalac inspired me to learn to whistle. For sure the next time I'm bringing a speaker to the field next time, because next time we roll into a thunderstorm in our tank column im going to be blasting it must be the wind.

[Shadowrunner]

If I ever play an WarCry WarBand of The Unmade, this is the song I will hum while brutalizing my foes.

[jasonthatjason]

It seems like this should go with a Clark Ashton Smith, H.P. Lovecraft story - much like "Warren is Dead" goes with the Statement of Randolph Carter - but I can place which one. So far the only Tsathoggua reference that links with an Island is something that sounds like it's from Song of Ice and Fire. Was there an already written inspiration for this bard's-tale-in-song-form?

[harmonlanager]

Does anyone know which story this is based on?

[srevenmckone]

The only thing i hate about this album, is it took me till last fall to 1st hear it!😂

[Butt_sects]

i got a serious Robert E. Howard vibe from this song