NOTHING MORE – CHRIST COPYRIGHT
Nothing More are an American alternative metal band, and I only recently found out about them. They’re relatively new and I found out about them as they were a support band at a Halestorm concert. I was really impressed by their energy and unique sound.
I really love the meaning to this song, as the song focuses on political leaders who tell people how to live, and people who live their lives following texts. This includes religious texts, as many people blame their actions or strong beliefs on guidelines of sacred texts without fully considering the logic of them.
“To think you know who goes to heaven
Is just one big misconception
Like God hates fags and communism”
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THREE DAYS GRACE – IT’S ALL OVER
Three Days Grace are one of my favourite bands, and I love the song ‘It’s All Over’ as it has a lot of meaning and is also very catchy. This song is the first song on Three Days Grace’s second album, ‘One-X’, and it’s a great opening to the album. I love the way sound gradually builds up, getting louder as it passes between your ears through earphones.
Adam Gontier (lead singer until 2013)’s voice seems so genuine and the lyrics are heartfelt. It focuses of Adam’s worries about someone suffering with alcohol and drug addictions, as is clear from the lyrics.
“I know what runs through your blood
You do this all in vain
Because of you my mind is always racing
And it gets under my skin
To see you giving in”
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MEMPHIS MAY FIRE – NO ORDINARY LOVE
I’ve had this song in my head for the past few days so it’s definitely catchy. Although the lyrics and arrangement of the song aren’t anything new or unique I still love the song and think that Matty Mullins does a great job of the clean and unclean vocals.
Although of course the studio version of a song is bound to be spot on for all vocals as it’s easy to edit and redo parts, I watched a recent live video of the band performing this song and it was spot on and I feel as though the band has improved in their live performances.
This metalcore song has a good, fast tempo to keep it upbeat and energetic.
“I tried to save myself but I failed,
But I failed.”
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THE AMITY AFFLICTION – PITTSBURGH
This song was released in the most recent album, ‘Let The Ocean Take Me,’ being one of the singles. I really like the tune and message, as well as the meaning for the band as it is named after the place where the lead singer had a seizure from alcohol withdrawal and was close to death.
I hadn’t listened to much Amity Affliction before, but this song got me more into them and I bought this album when it was released. The chorus of this song is catchy and the mixture of clean and unclean vocals go well together and add to the sad and meaningful feel of the song as well as the dark lyrics which can perhaps be related to by listeners in one way or another and are open to interpretation.
I love the inclusion of a choir at the end as it makes the song sound darker yet peaceful and gloomy, adding to the emotions felt in the song.
“I’ve been searching for an exit, but I’m lost inside my head;
Where I spend every waking moment wishing I was dead.”
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KORN – ALONE I BREAK
Korn are a really great band, many of their songs being moving and full of raw emotion. Although they were formed in 1993 they have continued to bring out new great music, their most recent album being ‘The Paradigm Shift,’ released in October 2013.
The song, ‘Alone I Break’ is from the 2002 album ‘Untouchables’. I’ve chosen to write about this song as I really love the lyrics and way you can feel what Jonathan is saying and feeling. I remember having days when I’d just listen to this song on repeat and not get bored of it, as you can tell how much meaning the song holds for the band. This song is pretty good to listen to if you’re in a bad mood, and the tune is really memorable, so easy to get stuck in your head!
Jonathan Davis (lead vocalist) has said that the song was written when he was depressed and is about expectations of being tough and able to deal with problems, so not feeling strong and ‘manly’ enough if he feels upset.
“All this shit I seem to take
All alone I seem to break
I have lived the best I can
Does this make me not a man?”
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HALESTORM – LOVE BITES (SO DO I)
This song was published on Halestorm’s 2012 album ‘The Strange Case Of…’ a great album which I would say has many of Halestorm’s best songs. I really enjoy the lyrics as Lzzy sings them with such attitude and force, and her voice is so recognisable and suitable for a rock band.
Also, Arejay’s drumming is amazing, especially in the video. So goddamned sexy. The high tempo given by the drum beats picks up the pace of the song and drives it forward, emphasising the energy and attitude. You’ve gotta love it and the catchy tune.
Although the music video is pretty straight forward and basic, I also like it a lot as it focuses on each member of the band and is a fairly classic style, not having an over-the-top video lots of songs nowadays have, and totally suiting the style.
“It checks you in and kicks you down,
And chews you up and spits you out.
It messes with your sanity by twisting all your thoughts around.
They say it’s blind they say it waits but every time it seals your fate.”
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EPICA – THE ESSENCE OF SILENCE
Epica, the Dutch symphonic metal band, have brought out their sixth studio album ‘The Quantum Enigma’ this month and so I’ve started listening to them recently, and The Essence Of Silence is a song which I’ve had in my head for the last couple of days (which is also pretty annoying as it’s often too high to sing). Nevertheless, this song has a great tune, catchy chorus and I love the mix of Simone Simons’ beautiful clean vocals and the aggressive grunts.
“When a persistent memory
Penetrates deep in your mind
Allow the silence to destroy
Your thoughts in every kind”
This song is memorable and the lyric video is also great, capturing the aggressive tone and clean vocals well.
“Retrieve your balance
Use your senses to observe
(The essence of silence)
Search for essence
Find the silence within you”
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FOREVER IN COMBAT – CATACLYSM
I’ve done blogposts about Forever In Combat before, and I love their music. Although some of the lyrics are a tad generic, Timo’s screams are freaking amazing and it’s impressive how far they’ve come since forming their band in 2013, having now released an EP and having many fans across the world. It’s also interesting how they’re all from different places, communicating via Skype, etc. and recording parts separately to put into YouTube Covers.
Cataclysm was one of the first songs they released, and although the lyrics don’t seem to hold much meaning the tune is very catchy.
“It’s getting colder now in here
(I’m feeling like I’m nearly dead)
And I suppress all my tears
I’m made of glass so I can’t break here through the walls
So now I’m crashing through”
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EVANESCENCE – EVERYBODY’S FOOL
I’m gonna start off this music page, so I’ll start off with a good ol’ Evanescence classic, as you can’t really go wrong with that. So I’ll talk about ‘Everybody’s Fool’ from the 2003 album ‘Fallen’ as I feel that this song has a lot of meaning and personal meaning for the lead singer Amy Lee as she has explained it to show her thoughts on celebrities building false images. She explained in an interview that she wrote this song to target celebrities such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera as her sister became interested in them as idolised them.
“Never was and never will be
Have you no shame? Don’t you see me?
You know you’ve got everybody fooled”
The music video is pretty fun and interesting, and I like it as it clearly illustrates the meaning behind the song (although in an NMEtv interview Amy said that it was “probably [her] least favourite” as it is silly but was fun to make.
I’ve got to say that Evanescence are my favourite band as Amy’s voice is so powerful and pure, and although the other members have changed over time they’re all pretty great – I especially love Will’s drumming 🙂 .
“Without the mask, where will you hide?
Can’t find yourself, lost in your lie
I know the truth now,
I know who you are
And I don’t love you anymore”
Pure Destruction 