After leaving Pestilence in the early 1990s, Martin van Drunen joined Asphyx and the band signed to Century Media Records. After the release of their first album, The Rack, they went on a European tour with Entombed, followed by a tour with Bolt Thrower and Benediction in 1992. Shortly after the recording of the second album, Last One on Earth, van Drunen left the band, to be replaced by Ron van der Pol. Eventually Bagchus left the band as well and was replaced by Sander van Hoof.
In 1994, the band released its third, self-titled album, but broke up shortly afterward. In 1995, Loomans and Bagchus reformed Asphyx and recorded God Cries. Around the same time, the Embrace the Death album, recorded in 1990, was released. Nevertheless, the band split up again after the release. In 1998, Loomans died when a train hit his car. The circumstances suggest it was an act of suicide. Some time later, Soulburn was founded by Bagchus and Daniels and, together with Pentacle singer and bass guitarist Wannes Gubbels, they recorded Feeding on Angels. In 1999, they renamed the project Asphyx and recorded the On the Wings of Inferno album with the same line up. However, Asphyx disbanded again in 2000.
In January 2007, the band re-united with van Drunen, Gubbels, Paul Baayens and Bagchus. They did not intend to record a new album, but focused only on live performances. However, in January 2008, they recorded a cover of a Celtic Frost song and a new song called "Death...The Brutal Way". In July 2008, they announced that new material was being prepared. Death...The Brutal Way was released in June 2009 by Century Media. It was released in North America by Ibex Moon Records on 18 August 2009, quickly becoming the distributor's best seller.
On 30 November 2011 Asphyx finished recording on their eighth studio album entitled Deathhammer which was set to be released on 27 February 2012 in Europe and 28 February 2012 in North America via Century Media Records.
In March 2014, founding member Bob Bagchus parted ways from the band and leaving the band with no original members. He was replaced by Stefan Hüskens as the new drummer.
On 14 October 2015, Asphyx made an announcement they are working on a new album at the end of November for the long-awaited Deathhammer follow up and begin their first tour at Latin America. Their next two albums, Incoming Death and Necroceros, were released in 2016 and 2021, respectively.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphyx
Studio albums
The Rack (1991)
Last One on Earth (1992)
Asphyx (1994)
God Cries (1996)
Embrace the Death (1996; recorded in 1990)
On the Wings of Inferno (2000)
Death...The Brutal Way (2009)
Deathhammer (2012)
Incoming Death (2016)
Necroceros (2021)
Serenade In Lead
Asphyx Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From the years of corruption
I'm on the intelligence side
I have no identity or nationality
I'm the one who chances the tide
I've got no real name
Revolution is my game
I'm like the pest
I will never rest
'Til all the cleaning is done
I am the nightmare of all systems
The anger burns deep
A perfect killing machinery
Hey Mr. President get some sleep
Hijacking in the east
A murder in the west
For the good cause it's all justified
A killing in the north
A bombing in the south
Another couple of bastards died
No negotiations
Or worthless conventions
I throw over regimes by force
I'll butcher world leaders
With arms that they feed us
And no one can stop this man's war
I'll tear apart your society
Change the course of history
Time to break their passivity
End their bullshit diplomacy
Just ice, terror, reforming the world
Raging fury burning every state
Bullets, mines, explosions, bombs and guns
Gonna make them eat their nude-are waste
I am the annihilator
I control the detonator
Smiling as I push it down
I blow up your embassies
Undermine democracies
I even will hunt for the British crown
I precisely aim
At the life that I claim
The bullet will enter the head
Confusion all around
But I will not be found
World near my serenade in lead
The lyrics to Asphyx's song Serenade In Lead describe a revolutionary figure who is committed to bringing about change at any cost. The singer identifies as a heritage from years of corruption and claims to have no identity or nationality, positioning themselves as a citizen of the world who operates beyond national borders. They describe themselves as a force for revolution who will never rest until all the cleaning is done, using violent means to overthrow regimes by force.
The singer is unapologetic about their methods, dismissing negotiations and conventions as worthless and insisting that the only way to achieve real change is through "just ice, terror, reforming the world." They describe themselves as a perfect killing machinery, working to undermine democracies and even hunting for the British crown. The final line of the song, "world near my serenade in lead," suggests that the singer's mission is to create a symphony of destruction that will usher in a new world order.
Line by Line Meaning
I am the heritage
I represent the history of corruption and violence
From the years of corruption
My roots go back to times of dishonesty
I'm on the intelligence side
I belong to the smart and cunning side
I have no identity or nationality
I don't belong to any specific country or group
I'm the one who chances the tide
I'm the one who can change the course of things
I've got no real name
I don't have a real or official name
Revolution is my game
My purpose is to bring about change through revolution
And there will be mercy to none
I won't show mercy to anyone
I'm like the pest
I'm like a disease that never goes away
I will never rest
I will never stop my actions
'Til all the cleaning is done
Until I've accomplished my goal of cleansing the world
I am the nightmare of all systems
I'm the worst fear of all political systems
The anger burns deep
I'm deeply angry about the world's injustices
A perfect killing machinery
I'm a perfectly efficient killer
Hey Mr. President get some sleep
I'm a threat to the president and his peaceful sleep
Hijacking in the east
I'm capable of hijacking in the eastern world
A murder in the west
I'm capable of murder in the western world
For the good cause it's all justified
I believe my actions are justified for the greater good
A killing in the north
I'm capable of killing in the northern world
A bombing in the south
I'm capable of bombing in the southern world
Another couple of bastards died
I don't have sympathy for my victims
No negotiations
I don't believe in negotiating
Or worthless conventions
I don't believe in following conventions that I deem worthless
I throw over regimes by force
I'm capable of overthrowing political regimes through force
I'll butcher world leaders
I'm capable of killing world leaders
With arms that they feed us
I'll use the weapons that world leaders provide to their people against them
And no one can stop this man's war
No one can stop my war on the world
I'll tear apart your society
I'll destroy your society piece by piece
Change the course of history
I believe I can change the course of history through my actions
Time to break their passivity
It's time to break their passive behavior
End their bullshit diplomacy
I don't believe in their fake diplomacy
Just ice, terror, reforming the world
I believe in enforcing justice and terror to reform the world
Raging fury burning every state
My rage against the world is burning down every state
Bullets, mines, explosions, bombs and guns
I'm capable of using all kinds of weapons
Gonna make them eat their nude-are waste
I'll make them pay for their nuclear waste
I am the annihilator
I'm capable of annihilating anything
I control the detonator
I'm in control of the explosive power
Smiling as I push it down
I'm enjoying the act of pushing down the explosive button
I blow up your embassies
I'm capable of bombing embassies
Undermine democracies
I'll undermine democracies if I see them as a threat
I even will hunt for the British crown
I'm capable of even hunting for the British crown
I precisely aim
I'm capable of precise aim
At the life that I claim
I'll take aim at the life that I plan to take
The bullet will enter the head
I'm capable of killing in a brutal manner
Confusion all around
There will be confusion and chaos around my actions
But I will not be found
I won't be easily found or caught
World near my serenade in lead
The world will be close to hearing my song of death and destruction
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind