Daïtro's style was akin to a chaotic emotional hardcore sound that closely resembles that of the original screamo movement of the 1990s but with Funeral Diner/City of Caterpillar-styled post-rock build-ups and song lengths that contrasted the emoviolence approach of Orchid, Pg.99, Shikari, Neil Perry, Comadre, Joshua Fit for Battle, The Kodan Armada or Saetia. They also shared many stylistic similarities with other bands from the European screamo scene such as Aussitôt Mort, La Quiete, Sed Non Satiata, Raein, Gantz, Mihai Edrisch (with whom they shared members), Amanda Woodward, Viva Belgrado and Kaospilot. Their brand of epic screamo was also comparable to Asian bands 49 Morphines, Envy and Heaven in Her Arms.
Daïtro was and still remains as one of the pivotal musical groups in the development of the French emo underground. Their music was rooted in the strong tradition of French screamo, with lyrics exclusively sung in French and distinctively punctuated by a French accent that conveyed and carried intense emotions which in turn transcended language barriers and formed strong bonds with music fans all over the world thus rendering it timeless.
Their main three releases comprise a debut EP entitled "Des Cendres, Je Me Consume" that was already very musically realised and condensed, proposing a mix of emo-hardcore and post-rock with screamed vocals. Their debut album entitled "Laisser Vivre Les Squelettes" put forth even more epic elements with some longer songs and rich dynamics. Their second and final record, entitled simply "Y" forwent much of these aspects rather focusing on less violent or epic atmospheres and going for something more heartfelt, uplifting and melodic instead with even some clean vocals but still possessing screamo elements.
They broke up in 2012 and members moved on to Bâton Rouge and various other bands. Guitarist Samuel Moncharmont died in late 2021 from cancer.
• Daïtro 7" (Alchimia. 2002)
• Des Cendres, Je Me Consume CD (Alchimia. 2004)
• Split w/ Raein 10" (ApeMustNotKillApe and Purepainsugar. 2004)
• Split w/ Raein and Lhasa CD (Oto Records and Satire Records. 2004)
• Laisser Vivre Les Squelettes LP/CD (Last Day of June and Purepainsugar. 2005)
• 02-05 Retrospective CD (Beneficial self-release on the 2006 UK/Japan tour. 2005)
• Split w/ Ampere 7" (Clean Plate and Purepainsugar. 2007)
• US Tour 7" (Clean Plate. 2007)
• 2002-2005 Discography (Alchimia. 2007)
• Split w/ Sed Non Satiata LP/CD (Flower of Carnage, Puzzle and Adagio830. 2007)
• Discography Tape (Utarid Tapes. 2008)
• Y LP/CD (Purepainsugar. 2009)
• Des Cendres, Je Me Consume 10" (Music Fear Satan, Re-Release 2010)
• Vinyl Collected LP (Adagio830. 2010)
Bandcamp
Laissez Vivre Les Squelettes
Daïtro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
vieux, rouillés et dangereux.
Je les entends hurler comme des damnés à travers des portes honteuses, l’animosité d’un amour éteint entre les mâchoires tandis que mes mains déjà trop vieilles pour être les miennes se fatiguent sur les serrures.
Les vestiges de ceux qui sont passés avant moi sont les moulures de ce meuble hermétique et imperméable aux gémissements et aux implorations des vivants.
Il faut pourtant ouvrir ces portes et laisser vivre les squelettes, que je puisse enfin dormir en paix et trouver la sérénité d’une âme apaisée des fantômes du passé qui hantent son chemin, sa maison et son sommeil.
N’ai-je pas été suffisamment bon pour mériter pareil tourment ?
Pour voir mes mains devenir squelettes et ma fiancée un pâle souvenir d’une jeunesse gâchée.
Mon corps est un squelette, mon corps est un placard, mon corps est un fusil.
(Skeletons in my closet playing Russian roulette with the guns of our anger; old, rusted and dangerous.
I hear them screaming like the damned through these doors of disgrace.
The hostility of faded love locked within their jaws, hands way too old to be mine straining every nerve to reach the keyhole.
The last remnants of those who were here before me are nothing but mouldings on this hermetic piece of furniture, impervious to the moaning and pleas of the living.
But still we have to open these doors and let the skeletons live, so that I can sleep peacefully, so that I can find the calmness of a soul free from the ghosts of the past haunting its way, its house and its sleep.
Guess I have not been good enough.
Did I deserve such torment?
Did I deserve to watch my hands turn into bones, to see my girl turn into a faded memory from a wasted youth?
My body is a skeleton, my body is a closet, my body is a gun.)
The song "Laissez Vivre Les Squelettes" by French screamo band Daïtro is a poignant reflection on the weight of the past and the struggle against the ghosts that haunt us. The lyrics center around the metaphor of skeletons in a closet playing Russian roulette with the guns of our anger. The singer is tormented by these skeletons of the past, who seem to be trapped in a hermetic closet that resists all attempts at opening.
The imagery of the skeletons playing Russian roulette with the guns of anger suggests a destructive cycle of violence and trauma that repeats itself across generations. The singer hears the skeletons "screaming like the damned through these doors of disgrace," suggesting a deep sense of shame and guilt that accompanies this cycle of violence. The "animosity of a faded love locked within their jaws" represents the pain of broken relationships and the failure to heal past wounds.
The singer recognizes that in order to find peace and serenity, they must confront the skeletons of the past and "let them live." This means opening the closet and facing the painful memories and traumas that have been trapped inside. The final lines of the song - "my body is a skeleton, my body is a closet, my body is a gun" - tie the metaphor back to the singer's own body and suggest that the past is not just something external to be confronted, but something deeply embedded within the self.
Line by Line Meaning
Les squelettes dans mon placard jouent à la roulette russe avec les fusils de nos colères; vieux, rouillés et dangereux.
The things from my past that I've kept hidden away, are like dangerous old guns being used in a deadly game, only getting older and more unstable.
Je les entends hurler comme des damnés à travers des portes honteuses, l’animosité d’un amour éteint entre les mâchoires tandis que mes mains déjà trop vieilles pour être les miennes se fatiguent sur les serrures.
I can hear those memories screaming in agony behind those shameful doors, the remnants of a love that's now dead and gone trapped within them. I struggle to open them with my hands, which feel old and weak, almost like they aren't even mine.
Les vestiges de ceux qui sont passés avant moi sont les moulures de ce meuble hermétique et imperméable aux gémissements et aux implorations des vivants.
The only remnants left of those who came before me are the imprints left on this sealed-up, soundproof furniture that can't even hear the cries and pleas of the living.
Il faut pourtant ouvrir ces portes et laisser vivre les squelettes, que je puisse enfin dormir en paix et trouver la sérénité d’une âme apaisée des fantômes du passé qui hantent son chemin, sa maison et son sommeil.
Despite that, I know I must open up the doors and let these memories live, so that I can finally sleep soundly and find the peace and serenity that comes with an untroubled soul, free from the ghosts of the past that haunt my thoughts, my home, and my dreams.
N’ai-je pas été suffisamment bon pour mériter pareil tourment ?
Have I not been good enough to deserve better than this torment?
Pour voir mes mains devenir squelettes et ma fiancée un pâle souvenir d’une jeunesse gâchée.
To see my hands go from being strong and supple, to bony and fragile, and to see the girl I loved turn into nothing more than a faded memory of a youth that's no more.
Mon corps est un squelette, mon corps est un placard, mon corps est un fusil.
My body is like a skeleton, my body is like a closet where all my hidden secrets are kept, my body is like a gun, constantly threatening to harm me.
Contributed by Sophia W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.