The Crüxshadows
One of the most enduring acts of the entire darkwave subculture is the Flor… Read Full Bio ↴One of the most enduring acts of the entire darkwave subculture is the Florida, USA, based group The Crüxshadows. Originally formed in 1992, The Crüxshadows have consistently delivered their positive message through the portal of synth pop hooks and dark electronics to a massive international fan base of followers. From their self-released debut, the 1993 album Night Crawls In, right through to the present, The Crüxshadows have formulated their success out of old fashioned hard work. They have logged an impressive one thousand plus performances in over thirty countries via their many marathon-like tours.
With the release of the seminal Telemetry of a Fallen Angel (existing in a few incarnations prior to Dancing Ferret Discs' version in 1997), The Crüxshadows enjoyed their first defining moment courtesy of the infinitely catchy dance floor anthem "Marilyn My Bitterness." With additional strong releases including The Mystery of the Whisper (1999), Until the Voices Fade (1999) and Paradox Addendum (2000) backed by lengthy tours, The Crüxshadows were able to build a legion of diversified fans consisting of everything from jarheads to gamers to anime & role playing enthusiasts.
While the lineup has indeed changed over the years, one constant has remained the same; Rogue, the vocalist, leader and mastermind of The Crüxshadows has directed his troupe towards an unconventional and lofty goal. "I want to change the world with music, I want people to find hope within themselves. I want them to know that anything is possible if you believe and follow through. I think that music has the power to inspire and move people to do amazing things" he muses. He is not alone in his belief. Their fans seem to believe it too. The bands motto "live love be believe" is everywhere, and many of their supporters will tell you that the lyrics have changed their lives in some way. This isn't exactly typical for a band most often identified as gothic or dark-wave. The Crüxshadows are not concerned. "Goth isn't about being a stereotype" the front-man complains, "its about being who you want to be... about not running from yourself or your emotions." The charismatic singer/songwriter/producer understands an audience and tends to deliver his dramatic croon right in their laps. Nothing they do is exactly new, but how they do it is completely unique. The lyrics are deep and meaningful, the stage show is dynamic and entertaining, and the music is hooky and inspired by pop. But pop it is not. It is a hybrid music that exists in a place just left of everyday, and just right of never-ever.
The band has maintained a surprising consistency despite the personnel turnovers that have plagued it in recent years. Jessica Lackey, a singer/dancer who married Rogue in 2007, and keyboardist Jen Jawidzik, who was once Rogue and Jessica's roommate, have stuck with it for the better part of the last decade. "When we have to find someone new, I feel like sometimes they don't understand all the hard work that was necessary for us to get to that point" Jessica states flatly, "It is not difficult to under-appreciate everything the band has accomplished, so people move on because they have not invested the same energy into the project." While the shows and the music continues to get better, that magically 'permanent' combination of personalities has continued to elude them. The band has had a difficult time keeping guitar players and dancers in particular, but has seen turnover in almost every position. These days Crüxshadows has Rogue backed by a mostly female band of new wave latex clad gypsies, and boasts an original mix of violins, dancers, guitars, and electronics. Tight and well-practiced, the seven performers interact on stage with clockwork like precision. The audience is captivated. Some of them scream. Some of them sing along. A few others stare at the stage dumbfounded.
Although The Crüxshadows maintain a strong fan base in their native United States, their most perceptible success seems to be focused in Europe. It is not uncommon for the band to share stages with the likes of Ladytron, Prodigy, The Cure, or even Bjork. The 2002 Tears EP topped the Deutsche Alternative Charts for months, a practice that has continued with all subsequent releases soaring to the DAC's Top 10. "I don't think we're actually more popular there (In Europe)" says Rogue, "It just seems like there is more access to our fans. What we do has more acceptance by the powers that be. In America it feels like all of our victories are covered up or are unacknowledged by the media." 2002 also saw the release of their fifth full-length album Wishfire; a fan favorite that featured the Euro hit "Tears" and a number of other dark dance mainstays. Similarly the follow-up album Ethernaut (released in 2003) brought the band what has become one of its most notable tracks, the European club anthem entitled "Winterborn (This Sacrifice)."
Remixes and special versions of songs have kept there fans satiated when no new traditional album lay on the horizon. In 2004 Fortress In Flames was released featuring a cover by the popular American artist Chad Michael Ward. There The Crüxshadows' material was remixed by peers like the Dutch legends Clan of Xymox and German industrial giants In Strict Confidence. Each year has seen some new disc from the band, and they come in a variety of formats. The year 2005 witnessed the release of their first DVD Shadowbox. The DVD is highlighted by a 2004 performance before a rabid crowd of 15,000 at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig Germany, where the ‘call and response' raw energy the band delves out is served right back by an adoring audience.
In 2006 the band would seem to breakaway from their underground moniker. The addictive single "Sophia" impressively debuted on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales Charts in September at position #1, replacing Beyoncé in the top spot while landing #7 on the Hot 100 Singles Sales Chart. "We couldn't believe it, doors began to open. It was as if we couldn't be ignored anymore, after a decade and a half we seemed to be getting some respect. The local news in Florida even put us on the nightly news to get our take on the whole thing", the frontman recalls. The following year was pivotal for The Crüxshadows; in May the band successfully toured China performing at the Midi Open-Air Festival in Beijing, in the presence of many thousands of new fans. Later that year the band released the highly anticipated Dreamcypher album that contained yet another Billboard #1 Dance Single with the song "Birthday." This time the band climbed into the #2 spot on the Hot 100 Singles Sales Chart. With Dreamcypher, The Crüxshadows melded their fondness for 1980s Synth Pop/New Romantic sounds with modern Euro dance nuances into perfection. Dreamcypher joins the aforementioned shimmering "Sophia" and "Birthday" with the guitar fronted "Defender" and the majestic sounding "Eye of the Storm." The infectious disc would become The Crüxshadows' best selling album to date both in the United States and abroad.
The following year witnessed another single marching up the Billboard charts. "Immortal" continued the bands musical string of hits, despite the loss of violinist Rachel McDonnell. David Wood and JoHanna Moresco stepped in as an electric violining duo who not only safe-guarded the signature instrument of the band, but expanded it by way of rich layering and counterpoint melodies impossible in previous years. 2008 also saw the band's label Dancing Ferret Discs, withdraw from actively releasing new material. This left the band to deal with a large number of new and unforeseen issues, and delayed their plans to release a new full length album.
While The Crüxshadows spent most of 2009 touring in Europe, the band still managed to release yet another successful Billboard charting single in America. "Quicksilver" debuted just in time for their annual appearance at Atlanta's famed Dragon*Con Convention before an impressive capacity crowd of several thousand of their most loyal fans. "I think the new single, and really the most recent releases in general, are our most polished and well written work" says Rogue, "but there are still those in the scene, and in the business in general, that just think the whole thing is just dumb luck." The single was the first release from Wishfire Records, a new label founded by the band, and eventually reached #1 on The Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales Charts and #2 on The Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales Charts. Seemingly too pop for many critics and too underground for the industry, the band has apparently found the perfect balance for the people who matter the most to them; their fans.
The Crüxshadows have played by their own rules, and who is to say in a world of declining sales and illegal internet downloads that they haven't gotten the balance right. Time will tell. For now, The Crüxshadows continue to defy as well as define the odds, and their dark yet positive machine continues to roll.
With the release of the seminal Telemetry of a Fallen Angel (existing in a few incarnations prior to Dancing Ferret Discs' version in 1997), The Crüxshadows enjoyed their first defining moment courtesy of the infinitely catchy dance floor anthem "Marilyn My Bitterness." With additional strong releases including The Mystery of the Whisper (1999), Until the Voices Fade (1999) and Paradox Addendum (2000) backed by lengthy tours, The Crüxshadows were able to build a legion of diversified fans consisting of everything from jarheads to gamers to anime & role playing enthusiasts.
While the lineup has indeed changed over the years, one constant has remained the same; Rogue, the vocalist, leader and mastermind of The Crüxshadows has directed his troupe towards an unconventional and lofty goal. "I want to change the world with music, I want people to find hope within themselves. I want them to know that anything is possible if you believe and follow through. I think that music has the power to inspire and move people to do amazing things" he muses. He is not alone in his belief. Their fans seem to believe it too. The bands motto "live love be believe" is everywhere, and many of their supporters will tell you that the lyrics have changed their lives in some way. This isn't exactly typical for a band most often identified as gothic or dark-wave. The Crüxshadows are not concerned. "Goth isn't about being a stereotype" the front-man complains, "its about being who you want to be... about not running from yourself or your emotions." The charismatic singer/songwriter/producer understands an audience and tends to deliver his dramatic croon right in their laps. Nothing they do is exactly new, but how they do it is completely unique. The lyrics are deep and meaningful, the stage show is dynamic and entertaining, and the music is hooky and inspired by pop. But pop it is not. It is a hybrid music that exists in a place just left of everyday, and just right of never-ever.
The band has maintained a surprising consistency despite the personnel turnovers that have plagued it in recent years. Jessica Lackey, a singer/dancer who married Rogue in 2007, and keyboardist Jen Jawidzik, who was once Rogue and Jessica's roommate, have stuck with it for the better part of the last decade. "When we have to find someone new, I feel like sometimes they don't understand all the hard work that was necessary for us to get to that point" Jessica states flatly, "It is not difficult to under-appreciate everything the band has accomplished, so people move on because they have not invested the same energy into the project." While the shows and the music continues to get better, that magically 'permanent' combination of personalities has continued to elude them. The band has had a difficult time keeping guitar players and dancers in particular, but has seen turnover in almost every position. These days Crüxshadows has Rogue backed by a mostly female band of new wave latex clad gypsies, and boasts an original mix of violins, dancers, guitars, and electronics. Tight and well-practiced, the seven performers interact on stage with clockwork like precision. The audience is captivated. Some of them scream. Some of them sing along. A few others stare at the stage dumbfounded.
Although The Crüxshadows maintain a strong fan base in their native United States, their most perceptible success seems to be focused in Europe. It is not uncommon for the band to share stages with the likes of Ladytron, Prodigy, The Cure, or even Bjork. The 2002 Tears EP topped the Deutsche Alternative Charts for months, a practice that has continued with all subsequent releases soaring to the DAC's Top 10. "I don't think we're actually more popular there (In Europe)" says Rogue, "It just seems like there is more access to our fans. What we do has more acceptance by the powers that be. In America it feels like all of our victories are covered up or are unacknowledged by the media." 2002 also saw the release of their fifth full-length album Wishfire; a fan favorite that featured the Euro hit "Tears" and a number of other dark dance mainstays. Similarly the follow-up album Ethernaut (released in 2003) brought the band what has become one of its most notable tracks, the European club anthem entitled "Winterborn (This Sacrifice)."
Remixes and special versions of songs have kept there fans satiated when no new traditional album lay on the horizon. In 2004 Fortress In Flames was released featuring a cover by the popular American artist Chad Michael Ward. There The Crüxshadows' material was remixed by peers like the Dutch legends Clan of Xymox and German industrial giants In Strict Confidence. Each year has seen some new disc from the band, and they come in a variety of formats. The year 2005 witnessed the release of their first DVD Shadowbox. The DVD is highlighted by a 2004 performance before a rabid crowd of 15,000 at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig Germany, where the ‘call and response' raw energy the band delves out is served right back by an adoring audience.
In 2006 the band would seem to breakaway from their underground moniker. The addictive single "Sophia" impressively debuted on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales Charts in September at position #1, replacing Beyoncé in the top spot while landing #7 on the Hot 100 Singles Sales Chart. "We couldn't believe it, doors began to open. It was as if we couldn't be ignored anymore, after a decade and a half we seemed to be getting some respect. The local news in Florida even put us on the nightly news to get our take on the whole thing", the frontman recalls. The following year was pivotal for The Crüxshadows; in May the band successfully toured China performing at the Midi Open-Air Festival in Beijing, in the presence of many thousands of new fans. Later that year the band released the highly anticipated Dreamcypher album that contained yet another Billboard #1 Dance Single with the song "Birthday." This time the band climbed into the #2 spot on the Hot 100 Singles Sales Chart. With Dreamcypher, The Crüxshadows melded their fondness for 1980s Synth Pop/New Romantic sounds with modern Euro dance nuances into perfection. Dreamcypher joins the aforementioned shimmering "Sophia" and "Birthday" with the guitar fronted "Defender" and the majestic sounding "Eye of the Storm." The infectious disc would become The Crüxshadows' best selling album to date both in the United States and abroad.
The following year witnessed another single marching up the Billboard charts. "Immortal" continued the bands musical string of hits, despite the loss of violinist Rachel McDonnell. David Wood and JoHanna Moresco stepped in as an electric violining duo who not only safe-guarded the signature instrument of the band, but expanded it by way of rich layering and counterpoint melodies impossible in previous years. 2008 also saw the band's label Dancing Ferret Discs, withdraw from actively releasing new material. This left the band to deal with a large number of new and unforeseen issues, and delayed their plans to release a new full length album.
While The Crüxshadows spent most of 2009 touring in Europe, the band still managed to release yet another successful Billboard charting single in America. "Quicksilver" debuted just in time for their annual appearance at Atlanta's famed Dragon*Con Convention before an impressive capacity crowd of several thousand of their most loyal fans. "I think the new single, and really the most recent releases in general, are our most polished and well written work" says Rogue, "but there are still those in the scene, and in the business in general, that just think the whole thing is just dumb luck." The single was the first release from Wishfire Records, a new label founded by the band, and eventually reached #1 on The Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales Charts and #2 on The Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales Charts. Seemingly too pop for many critics and too underground for the industry, the band has apparently found the perfect balance for the people who matter the most to them; their fans.
The Crüxshadows have played by their own rules, and who is to say in a world of declining sales and illegal internet downloads that they haven't gotten the balance right. Time will tell. For now, The Crüxshadows continue to defy as well as define the odds, and their dark yet positive machine continues to roll.
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The Crüxshadows Lyrics
... Only Sleep In this fading realm of silent dreams All falls quiet in…
...Only Sleep In this fading realm of silent dreams All falls quiet in…
A Stranger Moment The wind has wrenched all hands away And ripped and torn…
Adrift I lost sight of the raging waters Below the surface where…
Africanus Is this the way we let it in Our legacy erased Invaders…
After All Hear the voice of the unremembered heart Hear the silence be…
Afterall Hear the voice of the unremembered heart Hear the silence b…
And I Believe The world is forever changing, Evolving, and growing. Ever…
Angelus Everlasting Dum vita est spes est (-LATIN- While life is, hope…
Annabel Lee It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom…
Ariadne He cast you to this isolation Without the spark that made…
Aten-Ra (rise Akhetaten) I made this monument by his hand a drifting…
Avalanche The lines are clear with tomorrow standing against me And…
Ave Maria dreams lie shattered shards endure now the wraiths her mind…
Ballrooms on Mars You gonna look fine & primed for dancing You're gonna…
Before the Fire I have made life and experience from the imaginations of…
Binary Stand behind me and above me with voices plaguing my…
Birthday Roll out of bed, look in the mirror And wonder who…
Black Heart & A Hammer I see my black heart Black heart and a hammer Come and…
Bloodline Drag down - feel this fatal heart beat So deep -…
Breathe (Ka): God is silent, only eyes from where I stand…
Burning Shivering, shimmering Shivering, shimmering cold See our b…
Carnival If you're very very quiet And do not make a sound I'll…
Cassandra Watching backwards as life like pictures Stinging thoughts, …
Chains These mortal thoughts They bind me up They shackle me…
Children in Black The day is withering Broken by the weight of the…
Citadel Languid waves of desperation Fall before the rains A vanguar…
Clerestory Where the light burns a little brighter Where the shadows d…
Confusion I am the Angel you are the hands that grab me I…
Cruelty Mother of motion, the eyes can't capture time, falling emoti…
Dance Floor Metaphor Something falls on the horizon I see a silhouette disappear …
Dark Matter Can you tell me how she closed the Gorgon's eyes? Where…
Deception She cries, children often do When they're cold, and hungry t…
Defender By vigil's light this night to keep Watching eyes fall over…
Dido's Reply and if you find your Illium and if you build your…
Do You Believe... Do you believe in angels?…
Dragonfly "Don't ask me to surrender" Her voice fell tired and spent "…
Dream Yourself Awake Hold tight to the path you're walking Don't let your resolve…
Earthfall I don't understand why this is happening Despite of it al…
East Go go east Go go east Go Too many the questions Where …
Edge Of The World "I walk alone at night, Raindrops and streetlights Reflectin…
Elissa Voicing back from frozen moments The aching words I never s…
Eurydice A focused voice reigns down like a firestorm you know…
Even Angels Fall Sorrow sings her kisses in silence and adjusts the blind…
Exile Fragments of my life Are slipping through time In washed o…
Eye of the Storm The trials you now are facing they are not greater than…
Fallen Angel {Instrumental}…
Flame Sleeping moments giving birth To a world of my own inventio…
Foreverlast You've played this hand, refused to stand Has dignity disso…
Foreverlast / Foreverlast You've played this hand, refused to stand has dignity dissol…
Fortress "Sometimes our lives descend, insnared as storms upon the so…
Fortress (Eyes to Heaven) Words scribbled on the underside of an old envelope Becoming…
Go Away falling together in the cold grass holding hands on the hill…
Halo A broken prayer for inspiration God be with me on this…
Hanged Man Call the card left to lay just a path against our future day…
Heart on My Sleeve Your eyes they often lie and leave me feeling misunderstood …
Heaven's Gaze Shades of feelings my heart denies bathing in shadows hidden…
Helen The sounds of yesterday still echo in my head Distant confl…
Here Comes The Rain Again Here comes the rain again Falling on my head like a…
Home I've seen the terrible hand of struggle and felt the pain…
I Shot Tomorrow Sample: Usually I get real pissed off and wonder if…
Immortal I do not know the mind of God And I can…
Indivisible Cold, unmoving Frozen in place Is this the way the future …
Insomnia You're lying awake The room is different the walls dissolve …
Into the Ether (oo chak-kah) A-khay-do, he cha-mo-neh-ya Hey-ma kayo-maneh-…
It's a Sin When I look back upon my life It's always with a…
Jabberwocky Twas Brillig and the slithy Toves Did gyre and gimble in…
Jackal-Head Shifting inside patterns the division multiples echoing the …
Kisses 3 before i fade into a dream I will leave these kisses…
Last Breath Somewhere in the darkness I stand Watching and waiting aga…
Leave Me Alone Leave me alone- I'm a freak leave me alone- make it…
Love & Hatred Can you hear the breath of the observer Can you hear…
Love / Tragedy Scented pain and separation defies the physics and the form…
Love and Hatred Can you hear the breath of the observer Can you hear…
Love/Tragedy Scented pain and separation Defies the physics and the for…
Marilyn My Bitterness I don't understand how you've done These things to me I cann…
Marilyn My Bitterness v2.0 I don't understand how you've done these things to me I ca…
Matchstick Girl Silent empty streets Forsaken to the cold Moonlit, her sha…
Memorare slipping between us, the ghost & the mourning prayers spent…
Monsters Hide the window watching give hands that push the faces back…
Monument I never wrote you a love song somehow words could not…
My World This room is screaming emptiness silence breaks the air it l…
Nothing I find you, lying fetal, knees pulled beneath your chin, al…
Only Sleep In this fading realm of silent dreams All falls quiet in…
Orphean Wing The doubt that madness breeds feeds this eternity perhaps th…
Perfect It's getting difficult Each moment here alone And it's getti…
Porcelain How fragile it resonates against my shoulder Fragments of o…
Pornography The thirst is getting angry All she's wanting touch A…
Prometheus Your window closes I am crucified there shall be no…
Purgatory I see you watching looking back at me these hellish eyes the…
Pygmalion's Dream The hand creates And chiseled stone Rises from beneath the…
Quicksilver I should be ashamed for what you've done to me…
Regrets this beautiful saint is bleeding, fall poi- son words as arr…
Resist/R striking back for the last heart attack first you tip the sc…
Return (Coming Home) I've seen the terrible hand of struggle And felt the pain…
Roland Opportunities are lost in a starving shade of silence and …
Roman Who knows what kind of reality the soul occupies, And where…
Satellite Rolling back towards the continent Instrumental forces die S…
Sentinel It flashes before my eyes like a neon sign (a…
Seraphs My body's made of fire Black and deep and cold Burning for…
Seraphs (Revox Lost Souls Mix) My body's made of fire Black and deep and cold Burning for…
Sinking Stranger the darkness a hint of perfume Rising from your lip…
Siren Song Cover your ears Disguise the sound Change your course …
Sleepless La la-la la la la-la-la La la-la la la la-la-la A secret…
Sleepwalking Life detaches much less loved a taste familiar but watere…
Solus and so it happens. my thoughts grow meaningless and forgott…
Sophia When life has slipped behind this isolation Cruelty and hat…
Spectators down on the other side of things the triggers fast and…
Spiral So I am lost And I am found With contradictions I can't…
Spiral (Don't Fall) so I am lost and I am found with contradictions I can’t reso…
Sympathy I'm not asking for favors Not tonight I look up in the…
Täuschung Sie weint, wie kinder öfters auch Wenn sie frieren und hung…
Tears Reaching out in dead of night Emptiness by candlelight Memo…
Tears (Apoptygma Berzerk Remix) Reaching out in deadened night, Emptiness by candlelight, Me…
Tears (Robbie Tronco/Knobhead remix) Reaching out in dead of night Emptiness by candlelight Memor…
The 4th Phase If your love is marred by anger perhaps it wears…
the 8th square The trial is set before us And its hard to understand The…
The Dying Song Dear Angel, Where are your warming wings tonight? It's so …
The Infinite Tear She whispers her apologies Her eyes shining stars in the sk…
The Sentiment Inside Rewind, I only want to listen to you sleep Do you…
The Seraphs My body's made of fire Black and deep and cold…
There Are Some Secrets... There are some secrets that no one understands...…
Titan A soul of pure mechanics A sentinel to this edge Battle br…
Touch Master, Master, Master Who can it be? A portrait of…
Untrue My eyes resign dissolving vision To vividness of sense and s…
Valkyrie The definition of truth Is lost in the telling Objectivel…
Waiting to Leave With watching eyes You see dreams dissolving Distant voice…
Wake The White Queen Little girl running away from the world Don't blame yoursel…
Walk Away In this fading image we'll carve our destiny sometimes life …
white rabbit One pill makes you larger And one pill makes you small And…
Windbringer A hidden voice beneath the Thunder Cascades whispers reachi…
Winter Born Dry your eyes Dry your eyes Dry your eyes Dry your eyes Dry …
Winter Born (This Sacrifice) Dry your eyes and quietly bear this pain with pride For…
Within Yesterday with eyes away the briefness of a moment As in…