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.
The Error
16volt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No more angels, it's just decay
Just the dark
And what's to come a never ending isolation
Trapped inside this shell of you
No escape from live suffused
Withered through no light remains
You're destitute and dust again
We're messed up anyway
We don't deserve a thing
Our end is underway
The error that will come down
We mess up everything
We have a hell to pay
Our end is underway
The error that will come down
No more light to clear the way
No more chances, just the prey
Just the evil in the gun
It's loaded up with retribution
All those days you had to live
It's way too late now to forgive
All the things you could have been
It's justified to end your sin
We're messed up anyway
We don't deserve a thing
Our end is underway
The error that will come down
We mess up everything
We have a hell to pay
Our end is underway
The error that will come down
You, the deficiency
You are the enemy
You mean nothing to me
I'll erase you
You, the deficiency
You are the enemy
You mean nothing to me
I'll just end you
We're messed up anyway
We don't deserve a thing
Our end is underway
The error that will come down
We mess up everything
We have a hell to pay
Our end is underway
The error that will come down
Into nothing (x4)
The lyrics of 16volt's "The Error" deal with themes of decay, isolation, and the consequences of our actions. The first few lines introduce a sense of hopelessness, with the singer stating that there is no more faith to rely on and that all that remains is decay and darkness. They also mention a never-ending isolation, hinting at a sense of being trapped and unable to escape the bleakness of their situation. The next verse is a reflection on one's life choices, with the singer lamenting that they are trapped inside their own self-destructive behavior and that there is no escape from the consequences they face.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the idea that we as humans are flawed and will eventually be punished for our mistakes. The phrase "We mess up everything" speaks to the idea that humans are consistently making mistakes and harming others, and the "hell to pay" highlights the fact that there will be consequences for these actions. The line "The error that will come down" can be interpreted as the reaping of the consequences of our mistakes, with the word "error" suggesting that these are not simply consequences for individual actions, but rather a systemic flaw in our way of living.
The bridge of the song takes on a more confrontational tone, with the singer addressing someone else as the "deficiency" and the "enemy". The lyrics suggest a sense of anger and frustration, with the singer stating that the other person means nothing to them and that they will "erase" or "end" them. This could be interpreted as the singer taking revenge or justice into their own hands, or perhaps as a reflection on how we view others and assign blame for our own problems.
Overall, "The Error" is a song that deals with heavy themes of decay, isolation, and the consequences we face for our actions. It portrays a bleak, hopeless worldview in which we are ultimately doomed to fail and suffer, yet also highlights the importance of taking responsibility for our actions and recognizing the harm we cause others.
Line by Line Meaning
No more faith to fade away
I have run out of hope, and I am slipping away into nothingness.
No more angels, it's just decay
There are no more guardians or protectors, only a decaying world.
Just the dark
All that remains is a bleak and empty darkness.
And what's to come a never ending isolation
The future holds only perpetual loneliness and isolation.
Trapped inside this shell of you
I am confined within my own self and my limitations.
No escape from live suffused
I cannot escape the pain and misfortune that engulfs me.
Withered through no light remains
All hope has been exhausted and there is no glimmer of light to be found.
You're destitute and dust again
You are left with nothing and will crumble back into the earth.
We're messed up anyway
We are flawed beyond repair.
We don't deserve a thing
We are unworthy of any blessings or mercy.
Our end is underway
Our downfall is imminent and already in motion.
The error that will come down
Our own mistakes and shortcomings will ultimately bring about our ruin.
We mess up everything
We ruin and destroy everything we touch.
We have a hell to pay
We will suffer greatly for the consequences of our actions.
You, the deficiency
You are the flaw, the imperfection.
You are the enemy
You are the one who stands in the way of progress and success.
You mean nothing to me
You are insignificant and have no value in my eyes.
I'll erase you
I will remove you completely and utterly.
I'll just end you
I will put an end to your existence.
Into nothing (x4)
There is nothing left, only emptiness and despair.
Contributed by Carter K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@imppress
Awesome song, ijs.
@daddysbabe17
hard to say, but this may be my favorite song from them :)
@lbroolz
That riff gives me goosebumps.
@Becken95
This was one of the first 16volt songs I heard and it's still one of my favorites! Awesome beat, I think some parts are a little KoRn-ish, but not like it's plagarized. It sounds awesome, never heard anything quite like it. :)