In our interview, guitarist Ben Savage explained that Whitechapel songs are usually developed from riffs the band has been working on, with the lyrics only being written at the end. "This is Exile" reflects this with prominently mixed guitars and a strong focus on melodic elements.
The lyrics offer the listener an inside glimpse of the existence of the hypothetical evil entities that are sent to destroy earth. It hints that anger at their isolation partially motivates this attack ("This is exile, we are the walking scum") while still making sure that they're established as evil ("The world is ours and you're totally f--king dead"). As part of a larger narrative told across the album, this song serves to add some nuance to the story by providing us with a somewhat sympathetic view of the beings that otherwise function as the primary villain.
The song shares its name with the album it appears on. Speaking to Run Far Off, the group's guitarist Alex Wade said that the band set out writing the record as a concept album to "make things a little more interesting for the fans and even for us writing it." It revolves around the concept of an evil god that is sent to destroy earth. Each song is part of an overarching story.
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