In 1994, 16volt skipped the industry-standard “sophomore jinx” and released the slightly more raw-sounding “Skin.” This release brought more praise and won features in Alternative Press, Kerrang!, CMJ, Industrial Nation, B-Side, and more. “Skin” reached the #2 slot on Rolling Stone’s alternative charts and charted everywhere from the United States (CMJ) to France, Germany, Ireland, and Japan. 16volt hit the road again for club shows and radio junkets and destroyed it everywhere they showed up.
16volt’s third release came in 1996 by the name of “LetDownCrush.” Co-produced by Jeff “Critter” Newell (Ministry, Filter) and featuring special guests Stella (Stella Soleil, Sister Soleil), William Tucker (Ministry), Marc LaCorte, and Bryan Black (Haloblack, Motor, Xlover), the release once again proved that 16volt was a major force to be reckoned with. Interviews and features followed in huH, B-Side, Alternative Press, Kerrang!, CMJ, Industrial Nation, Guitar Player, and many more respected national rags. LDC charted again, this time at #1 on the Rolling Stone alternative charts and globally on college and commercial radio. This release also marked the debut of 16volt’s national touring career. Vowing to stay on the road for as long as possible, Powell put together a lineup that would tour for over nine months straight in a custom van, making their way around the United States several times with the likes of Chemlab, Bile, Acumen Nation, and Korn.
The touring paid off and interest in 16volt grew. The band returned home to be wined and dined by much larger labels. In 1998, along with full-time members Mike Peoples (Skrew) on bass and Kraig Tyler (Chemlab, Crazytown) on guitar, 16volt signed with Slipdisc/Mercury/PolyGram and got to work on the band’s fourth release, “SuperCoolNothing.” Produced by Bill Kennedy (Nine Inch Nails, Megadeth, Sepultura) and Joseph Bishara (Drown, Danzig), SCN was the band’s most aggressive album to date. This time, Powell and Co. got a hand from special guest Chris Vrenna (Nine Inch Nails, Tweaker) on drums. Upon completion of the album and the most intense promotion schedule to date, they hit the road adding John "Servo" DeSalvo (KMFDM, Chemlab) on drums, playing shows with the likes of Orgy, The Flys, and Candlebox. During the first two weeks of touring, however, Mercury/PolyGram was purchased by Seagram’s, creating a ripple that would send 16volt back home and cause the firing of the entire Mercury team slated to work on the SCN record promotion.
Two weeks after the chaos, SCN was released with no promotion, no touring, and no support. 16volt quickly began to search for another label to pick up the pieces, but it was too late and the mess too large. After close to a year of fighting, lawsuits, and the inability to make something good come from the bad, Powell shut down operations and pulled the plug. Kraig moved on to join Crazytown and Mike and Servo carried on with their own side projects.
After a long and well-deserved hiatus, the band convinced an investor to buy back SCN from the dead labels; they then re-released it on their own as “SuperCoolNothing V2.0”, a.k.a. "SCN2.0." The double-disc set included remixes by Filter, Orgy, Deadsy, and Crazy Town, in addition to some demo tracks that the band had started working on. Powell gathered the troops sans Tyler and began to mount a comeback.
Shortly after the re-release, 16volt was tapped by Sony to provide the soundtrack to a new PlayStation 2 game called “Primal.” At the end of production, 16volt had furnished 12 tracks (The Official Primal Combat Soundtrack) and was actually digitized into the game as the opening-cinematics band.
To celebrate the release of “Primal,” 16volt hit the road in 2002 with KMFDM for a North American whirlwind, completing 34 shows in 36 days. Most of the dates were sold out, and by KMFDM’s own admission the tour was one of the best packages they had ever put out. 16volt returned home on the tour bus and inked a deal with Capitol Records. The band then spent 11 months working on demos and being bombarded with pressure to compromise, which ultimately forced Powell to walk away and head back underground.
In 2005, Powell inked a one-off deal with Cleopatra Records to release 16volt’s first-ever “best of” collection. The double-disc set titled “The Best of Sixteen Volt™” features fan-picked tracks on one disc and the first-ever live release of 16volt on disc two. Powell cleaned house, went into isolation, and began working on the next phase of 16volt.
In August of 2006, Powell had a new record under his belt called “FullBlackHabit” that he began shopping to indie labels. He found a new home at Metropolis Records and inked a worldwide multi-album deal. The new record, slated for release in early 2007, features guests appearances by Paul Raven (Ministry, Killing Joke, Prong); Steve White (KMFDM); Bildeaux (Necrofix, OHN); Kraig Tyler (Chemlab, Virus23, Crazytown); Scott Robison (Drøne); and Jason Bazinet (SMP).
In the Spring of 2008 16volt, with live members Steve White (KMFDM), Jason Bazinet (Chemlab, SMP), and the return of 16volt veteran Mike Peoples hit the road for a highly successful U.S./Canada tour. Playing 28 shows in 30 days the band once again set it's mark to a high level by playing to larger than expected crowds on all stops of the tour.
On September 8, 2009, 16volt released "American Porn Songs" on Metropolis Records. It has met with nothing less than very positive reviews by fans and pros alike, and is generally being heralded as their most kick butt work to date. It is yet another solid record, featuring the band's trademark layering of heavy, aggressive guitars over pummeling electronics and beats.
16volt hit the road again in the Spring of 2010 along with Chemlab and Left Spine Down on the highly energized and successful MIDI Ghetto Tour. Included was a stop at the Kinetik Festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, playing alongside Leather Strip, Imperitive Reaction, and more.
16volt released the studio album, Beating Dead Horses on May 10th, 2011. Beating Dead Horses was 16volt’s third album on industrial powerhouse label Metropolis Records. It was produced by Eric Powell and mixed by Shaun Thingvold (Strapping Young Lad, Front Line Assembly, Lamb of God).
In support of the albumm Beating Dead Horses, 16volt hit the road in the late spring 2011 for a 4-week tour of the United States with industrial legends My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, as part of the Sinister Whisperz Tour. They immediately followed up with a west coast tour with KMFDM.
The newest album, The Negative Space will be released on September 7, 2016. Joining Powell is Erik Gustafson on Guitar and Steve Hickey on Bass and Backup Vocals.
For more information, visit http://16volt.com and to get the latest news as it is announced, follow @16volt on Twitter.
And I Go
16volt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In my head little machine
In the light I'm quite transparent
In the dark, I'm such a dream
There are two sides to me
Sometimes I set the evil one free
'Cause I'm in love with the devil
And she's in love with me
Sometimes I lose myself
Sometimes in a bad way
It's never ending I'm going to hell
As long as you go with me
When your down you'll only want it more
Isn't it nature to break somebody's heart
And I go, and I go away
I won't treat you wrong
And I won't treat you bad
And in my eyes tonight
And if your all alone
I will be your only
The lyrics to 16volt's song "And I Go" explore the duality of the human psyche, particularly when it comes to love and desire. The singer acknowledges that there are two sides to them, one that can be quite evil and another that longs for connection and intimacy. They are transparent in the light, suggesting that they don't hide their true nature, but in the dark, they become elusive, like a dream. The chorus of the song emphasizes the singer's tendency to escape, to go away and lose themselves, sometimes in self-destructive ways. They acknowledge that they are in love with the devil, representing their darker, more dangerous desires, and that the devil is in love with them.
The verse that follows the chorus seems to suggest that the singer's descent into darkness is inexorable, that they are headed to hell, but they are comforted by the thought that their companion will go with them. The singer admits that when they are down, they only want their desire more, suggesting that they are addicted to it. The bridge of the song asks a question, "Isn't it nature to break somebody's heart?", implying that the singer feels a sense of inevitability or naturalness about their destructive impulses. But they reassure their listener that they won't treat them wrong or bad, and they will be their only if needed.
Overall, the song seems to be exploring the darker, more tumultuous aspects of love, particularly when it comes to those who have a strong, almost uncontrollable drive towards their desires. The singer acknowledges this about themselves, and instead of trying to resist, they embrace it, recognizing that it is a part of who they are.
Line by Line Meaning
It's become apparent
I have come to realize something
In my head little machine
There is a constant internal struggle within me
In the light I'm quite transparent
I am easily understood when everything is going well
In the dark, I'm such a dream
I am a different person when things are not going well
There are two sides to me
I have a good and a bad side
Sometimes I set the evil one free
I let my bad side take over sometimes
'Cause I'm in love with the devil
I am attracted to evil things
And she's in love with me
And those evil things are attracted to me too
And I go, and I go away
And I often distance myself from others and my problems
Sometimes I lose myself
I often get lost in my thoughts and feelings
Sometimes in a bad way
And those thoughts and feelings can be harmful
It's never ending I'm going to hell
My internal struggles seem never-ending and it feels like I'm headed towards a dark path
As long as you go with me
But as long as I have someone by my side, I feel like I can handle it
When your down you'll only want it more
When you are feeling low, you are more susceptible to wanting to indulge in bad habits
Isn't it nature to break somebody's heart
Sometimes it feels like it is natural to hurt others emotionally
And I go, and I go away
And I will keep running away from my problems and myself if I have to
I won't treat you wrong
But I promise to not intentionally hurt you
And I won't treat you bad
And I will do my best to be a good person to you
And in my eyes tonight
And tonight, at least in my eyes, everything seems alright
And if your all alone
And if you ever feel alone
I will be your only
I will be there for you
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: STEVE WINWOOD, WILL JENNINGS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@miriamuSama
It's become apparent
In my head, the little machine
In the light, I'm quite transparent
In the dark, I'm such a dream
There are two sides to me
Sometimes I set the evil one free
'Cause I'm in love with the devil
And she's in love with me
And I go, and I go away...
Sometimes I lose myself
Sometimes in a bad way
It's never-ending, I'm going to hell
As long as you go with me
When your down you'll only want it more
Isn't it nature to break somebody's heart?
And I go, and I go away...
I won't treat you wrong
And I won't treat you bad
And in my eyes tonight
And if your all alone
I will be your only...
@WongSpy
Primal was the first game i ever played
I miss Jen..
@soulminer
Totally under rated band.
@Sirdeezthedirty
Severely underrated sir
@sparksy82
Took me this long to find the song from the game primal love this song
@nightgoblin29
Ow I miss Primal :(
@Padme-pj3dm
Love that game
@actionpssthead2979
A game ahead of it's time ...wish i still owned it
@actionpssthead2979
And I go and I go away
@actionpssthead2979
Aww shit
@soulminer
Totally under rated band. Full Black Habit is one of my fave Lps. And this track is one of their best.