Not bands, but:
Patty Griffin
John Hiatt
John Prine
Probably not everyone’s cup of tea, but I always thought Cannibal Corpse was occasionally capable of penning violently vivid and imaginative lyrics. Their songs take a variety of viewpoints, from the perspective of a maniac stalking a victim, to that of the victim himself experiencing some gruesome end. The lyrics to Rotted Body Landslide is typical:
Horrifying, right? Nevertheless, I appreciate that they could come up with such a macabre scene and describe it from a first person POV while brutal metal music plays.
Other “stories” they tell include:
-Pit of Zombies: Describes POV of victim, the captive of some evil priest, being slowly lowered into a dark pit and consumed by the zombies residing therein, starting with the feet.
-Devoured by Vermin: First person account of victim being swarmed and consumed by a large number of rodents.
-Disposal of the Body: Describes a man as he attempts to remove evidence from the scene of a murder and hide the remains of his victim.
-Raped by the Beast: Tale of some monster, possibly demon possessed, savagely attacking some hapless woman who wandered into its domain.
-Severed Head Stoning: Story of a condemned man, buried up to his waist and bound, stoned to death by the severed heads of his dead family.
-Blunt Force Castration: Describes the comprehensive mutiliation of some man’s genitals by a deranged woman.
-Submerged in Boiling Flesh: First person account of man hung upside and dipped into a vat of boiling flesh, thus becoming a part of the stew.
Please remember our policy on lyrics and don’t quote more than a verse, or five lines. For a longer section, consider linking to a lyrics site. I’ve shortened MOIDALIZE’s quote accordingly (and gave a break to make it six lines).