Anthropoid

Album: VII: Sturm und Drang (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This track honors a group of Czech paratroopers who assassinated Reinhard Heydrich, the brutal architect of the Final Solution during World War II. Randy Blythe explained the story behind the song to Rolling Stone. "When the Nazis came into Czechoslovakia, the Czechs put up some resistance. So the Nazis sent in Reinhard Heydrich, who is the 'Young Evil God of Death,' the 'Blonde Beast,' the 'Butcher of Prague.' As you can tell, he wasn't a pleasant person."

    "He destroyed the people of Prague and crushed their will, except for a group of Czech-born, British-trained paratroopers who were like, 'OK, we need to raise the morale of the Czech people. They carried out the only successful assassination attempt on a high-ranking Nazi Party official [Heydrich]. They f---ed this dude up and then hid out in the crypt of this church in Prague, the Cathedral of Saint Cyril and the Methodius, for about a month and then somebody ratted them out. There were seven of them left, and the Nazis busted in the church and a firefight ensued. Three were killed upstairs and they retreated to the crypt for, I believe, eight hours. Four men held off 800 Nazi storm troopers and eventually when they ran out of bullets, they killed themselves in the basement of that church."

    "You can go to the basement of that church and see where they were trying to dig out of the basement into the sewer system to escape . They fought until they were out of bullets."

    "Those dudes were what I consider superior men, and I wanted to honor them with a song. So that song is about them and killing the Butcher of Prague. It's an honor."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Tim McIlrath of Rise Against

Tim McIlrath of Rise AgainstSongwriter Interviews

Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath explains the meanings behind some of their biggest songs and names the sci-fi books that have influenced him.

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)Songwriter Interviews

Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.

Donnie Iris (Ah! Leah!, The Rapper)

Donnie Iris (Ah! Leah!, The Rapper)Songwriter Interviews

Before "Rap" was a form of music, it was something guys did to pick up girls in nightclubs. Donnie talks about "The Rapper" and reveals the identity of Leah.

Stephen Christian of Anberlin

Stephen Christian of AnberlinSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.

Bill Withers

Bill WithersSongwriter Interviews

Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."

Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues

Justin Hayward of The Moody BluesSongwriter Interviews

Justin wrote the classic "Nights In White Satin," but his fondest musical memories are from a different decade.