Michael Poulsen: "It’s very primitive. I think we all heard about the hangman, but there’s a lot of different versions of the hangman. I just made my version of the hangman—a guy from the Wild West or the 1800s, and he will be walking through the valley and picking out the sinners and taking them to the gallows. When he enters the alley, people can only hear his boots. They cannot see his face; his hat is all the way down to his eyes. He cannot see, so he has this raven on his shoulder who will fly out and actually knock on the door, on the sinner’s door, and the raven will take the sinner to the gallows, where the hangman is waiting for him. So it’s just a song about the hangman, him going through the valley and picking out sinners."
(2013:Live Metal)

Leigh Kakaty: "But it's also a positive message. I know it's a morbid visual, but behind every skeleton, there's a story and something worth talking about. Overall, it's about looking at something in a positive way. And I'm excited for everyone to hear that."
(2023:girl.com)

Leigh Kakaty: "We all got ’em, right? Whether they’re the skeletons in our past or even just the bones themselves. Musically there was certainly more aggro swirling around our band for this album. It’s got very aggressive guitar tones. We wanted to make sure you could bob your head and your horns would go up. Live we don’t just sit there and play, we get in your face and try to ‘prove’ these songs to you."
(2023: Louder Sound)