1. A five piece t… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least two bands with the title Tenet.
1. A five piece thrash / death metal band from Vancouver, British Columbia.
2. A five piece rock band from Hartford, Connecticut.
1. TENET is a heavy metal band formed as a side project by Jed Simon and Gene Hoglan of Strapping Young Lad and Zimmers Hole. They originally started out in the summer of 1996 for Jed Simon, founder of the band. Together with Steve Wheeler (Zimmer's Hole drummer at the time), they started getting Jed's ideas down to demo-tape form, but while both continued along with Zimmer's Hole and Strapping Young Lad, nothing much happened for Tenet apart from some casual jam-sessions, which among others also included players like Stu Carruthers (Grip Inc.). Jed then initially met guitar-partner Glen Alvelais (ex-Forbidden) way back in 1997 when SYL was touring with Testament, for who Glen was playing guitar at the time. After quickly becoming friends, Jed eventually asked Glen if he would be interested in playing together in Tenet and long years later when they re-connected, Glen’s first question was “Whatever happened to that album we were gonna record ?”. They laughed and Jed said “Soon, are you still into it ?” His response was “FUCK YEAH!”
After signing a deal with Century Media Records Jed started out working on “Sovereign” with bassist Byron Stroud (SYL, Zimmer's Hole, Fear Factory) as well as drummer Adrian Erlandsson (At The Gates, The Haunted, Cradle Of Filth, Paradise Lost, etc.), but after reviewing the fact that not enough attention could be given to the project by Adrian due to the immense geographical distance and other pending commitments, Jed turned back to his long-time partner in Gene Hoglan (Death, Dark Angel, SYL, Devin Townsend, ...) to take care of the final drum duties. Tenet was still looking for a vocalist though and after a few auditions were done, Steve “Zetro” Souza (Legacy / Exodus) turned out to be the perfect man for the album, as he instantly gave the band that 'classic' metal feel that Jed was looking for. Jed quickly flew to the Bay Area twice to first oversee a very smooth vocal recording with Zetro and then later on to mix the album with Vincent Wojno (Machine Head, Kreator, Trouble, ...). Finally, Andy Sneap (Megadeth, Opeth, Arch Enemy, ...) was recommended for the mastering of “Sovereign” and the album’s artwork comes courtesy of Travis Smith (Opeth, Death, Nevermore).
2. Tenet is an original five-man band based out of Hartford, Connecticut. Their sound covers a plethora of musical genre’s ranging from pop rock to funk jam. They have been compared to styles in the vain of Matchbox 20, 311, and Maroon 5, with vocals diversifying soulful, raspy emotion. Tenet strives to set themselves aside from the rest by generating an artistic sound that people can relate to on the most personal of levels. Furthermore, they will stop at nothing to share their music with the world.
Being And Nothingness
Tenet Lyrics
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Looking for me
Who we are, screaming here
Searching endlessly
Being... nothingness
All this time we thought we were the best
Being... nothingness
All these fucking years, nothing yet
Sorrow plays the strings, and they preen
in black
I won't take it back
Being... nothingness
One way to define this fucking mess
Being... nothingness
Our curse is nothing more than our mass
All I've said... it's been said before
How could I know... being alone
Ever going to yearn, always searching
Looking for me
Who we are, why we're here
Searching endlessly
Being... nothingness
All this time we thought we were the best
Being... nothingness
All these fucking years... nothing yet
I am nothingness
I am nothing
We are nothingness
We are human
The lyrics of Tenet's song Being And Nothingness explore the timeless human search for identity and purpose. The opening lines reveal a sense of frustration and futility in the search for the self: "Never going to find, always searching/Looking for me". The repetition of the word "searching" and the phrase "endlessly" highlights the desperation of the quest and the possibility of it never being fulfilled.
The chorus of the song, "Being...nothingness", is a direct reference to the philosophical concept of existentialism, which posits that human beings, ultimately, are nothing – there is no inherent or predetermined meaning to our existence. The lyrics suggest a sense of disillusionment with human arrogance and an acknowledgement of the limitations of our knowledge and understanding: "All this time we thought we were the best/All these fucking years, nothing yet".
The final verse brings the focus back to the individual experience of searching for meaning: "Ever going to yearn, always searching/Looking for me/Who we are, why we're here/Search endlessly". The repetition of "searching" and "endlessly" underscores the cyclical nature of the quest and the possibility that we may never find a satisfactory answer to the big questions of existence.
Line by Line Meaning
Never going to find, always searching
We are constantly searching without ever truly finding what we are looking for
Looking for me
Searching for our true selves, a sense of identity that is often elusive
Who we are, screaming here
We are struggling to understand our own existence, and this frustration is manifesting as a desperate outcry
Searching endlessly
Our search for meaning is never-ending, and we will keep searching until we find some semblance of truth
Being... nothingness
Our existence is characterized by a sense of emptiness and lack of true purpose
All this time we thought we were the best
Despite our perceived superiority, we are ultimately no better than anyone else
All these fucking years, nothing yet
Despite our efforts, we have achieved nothing significant and are still searching for something more
Sorrow plays the strings, and they preen in black
Our pain and sadness permeate our lives, darkening everything around us
I won't take it back
We cannot undo the past, and must accept our mistakes and pain as a part of who we are
One way to define this fucking mess
Our lives are confusing and chaotic, and there is no clear way to make sense of it all
Our curse is nothing more than our mass
The weight of our existence, our fears, doubts and insecurities hold us back and keep us trapped in our own suffering
All I've said... it's been said before
Our words and thoughts are not unique, and have likely been expressed by others before us
How could I know... being alone
The loneliness we feel is difficult to understand, as it is a universal experience that is often all-encompassing
Ever going to yearn, always searching
We will continue to yearn for something more, even if we are not sure what that something is
Who we are, why we're here
The fundamental questions of existence that have plagued humans for centuries, and continue to do so
I am nothingness
We are defined by our emptiness, a void that we can never fully escape
I am nothing
Our sense of self is ultimately illusory, as we are nothing more than a collection of atoms and molecules
We are nothingness
As humans, we are characterized by our emptiness and lack of inherent meaning
We are human
But despite this, we are still human, and must find our own way to make meaning in our lives
Contributed by Adam P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.