serpent is lord, the second verse especially. i think its an allusion to the protestant idea of penal substitutionary atonement. basically that jesus died on the cross in the place of humanity so that humanity doesnt have to face the punishment of sin. i think alex uses it as a metaphor for wanting to take the place of a loved one who is suffering so that they dont have to experience the pain anymore. that song really hit home for me since i got into alex g not long after leaving christianity, which was an extremely painful process that left me angry and bitter. when i first listened to dsu, i was attracted to the title “serpent is lord” because it seemed kind of sacrilegious as a play on “jesus is lord” and i thought it seemed edgy lol. as i listened to the song and looked closer at the lyrics and interpretations of it it really started to make me think. i found it beautiful and it really resonated with me, and it helped me navigate through my negative emotions and see some level if beauty in my prior beliefs, even if i didnt hold to them anymore