Prior to starting Assemblage 23, Shear experimented with music under the name "Man on a Stage", beginning in the early 1980s. Most of Shear's music at this point was instrumental, as he lacked the confidence to sing; the quality of the music itself was highly questionable by his own admission. Shear eventually began to add vocals to his music; at the same time, Shear was also playing bass in a punk band called the "Advocates".
Assemblage 23 got its start in 1988, when at a "Depeche Mode" concert, founder Tom Shear heard the opening DJ spinning industrial dance music. Prior to hearing this type of music, Shear had been creating primarily synthpop and post-punk type music.
Hearing industrial music for the first time proved to be something of an epiphany for Shear, as he had finally found a form of music that combined the electronic sounds he loved from his synth-pop background with the heavier, darker aggression punk represented. Even so, the project was more of a hobby for Shear at this point; it took until 1998 for Assemblage 23 to gather enough positive acclaim to attract the attention of record labels.
Shear signed a deal in 1999 with the Canadian label Gashed! for a full-length album, "Contempt" (released in November 1999). A second album, "Failure", followed in March 2001 and was released by Gashed! in North America and Accession Records in Europe. A single from "Failure", "Disappoint", was released on Accession in October 2001. The song dealt with Shear's sense of loss after his father's suicide on October 28, 1999.
After falling out with Gashed Records following "Failure", Shear signed with US label Metropolis Records later in 2001; Metropolis re-released "Contempt" and "Failure" that November. A remix release, "Addendum", was also released in November only on Accession. By this point, Assemblage 23 had become fairly popular within the ebm genre.
The third studio album, "Defiance", was released in October 2002 on Metropolis and Accession, preceded by the single "Document" in September. October 2004 saw the release of a fourth album, "Storm"; two singles were taken from the album, "Let the Wind Erase Me" in August and "Ground" in November.
Almost three years later, in March 2007, Assemblage 23 returned with a new single, "Binary", which debuted at #21 on the Billboard US singles chart. This was followed by the album "Meta" in April.
In September of that year Shear released "Early, Rare, & Unreleased [1988-1998]", which is a limited edition collection of A23 tracks taken from the years 1988 - 1998, on his own label 23db records. This was followed in February of 2009 by a second collection "Early, Rare, & Unreleased: Volume Two", which was also limited to 1000 copies.
Late 2009 saw the release of "Compass". Both regular and deluxe limited 2CD editions were released in October 2009, preceeded in September by the single "Spark".
The latest album "Bruise" was released on June 12, 2012. It is also available in both regular and 2CD versions.
Shear also has a side-project, "nerve filter", which has been running alongside Assemblage 23 since 1995. However, no more albums will be released since the project is now open for remixes only.
Official website: www.assemblage23.com
Coward
Assemblage 23 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Why are you frightened?
So quiet
I can barely hear your lies
Coward
Was it too hard for you
To simply tell the truth?
Coward
Your mask is fading
Your weakness showing
Your fatal flaw
Coward
Do your thoughts haunt you
In silent darkness
Before your fall?
The cracks in you are starting to show
You will break before you bend
Get ready for your all time low
You will get yours in the end
Coward
Why are you crying?
So you feel empty
For what you've done?
Coward
Do your pills help you
To see more clearly
What you've become?
The cracks in you are starting to show
You will break before you bend
Get ready for your all time low
You will get yours in the end
Cry me a river
Cry me a river
Coward
You cannot break me
For through your weakness
I grow strong
Coward
You can never win
Because in the end
You know you're wrong
The cracks in you are starting to show
You will break before you bend
Get ready for your all time low
You will get yours in the end
The lyrics to Assemblage 23's song "Coward" center around calling out someone who is too scared to admit the truth and is hiding behind a mask of lies. The singer is calling the person a coward and questioning if they are haunted by their actions. The repeated phrase "the cracks in you are starting to show" emphasizes that the person cannot keep up the façade forever and will eventually face the consequences of their actions.
The lyrics make use of strong imagery, such as "Your mask is fading / Your weakness showing / Your fatal flaw" and "Get ready for your all time low / You will get yours in the end." This demonstrates the singer's confidence that the person's actions will catch up to them and they will have to face the reality of their situation.
The line "Cry me a river" stands out as a reference to the well-known saying, meaning that the singer is not sympathetic to the person's tears, as they brought their hardships on themselves. Overall, the song portrays a strong sense of confidence and empowerment, with the singer declaring that the coward cannot break them and will ultimately lose in the end.
Line by Line Meaning
Coward
The singer is addressing someone who they consider to be a coward
Why are you frightened?
The singer is questioning why the coward is scared
So quiet
The coward is so quiet that the singer can barely hear their lies
I can barely hear your lies
The coward is lying and the artist can barely hear what they are saying
Coward
The artist is addressing the coward once again
Was it too hard for you
The singer is asking if telling the truth was too difficult for the coward
To simply tell the truth?
The coward did not tell the truth when they should have
You are despised
The artist does not like the coward and considers them to be worthless
Coward
The coward is being addressed yet again
Your mask is fading
The coward's facade is starting to fall apart
Your weakness showing
The coward's weakness is becoming more visible
Your fatal flaw
The coward has a fatal flaw that will lead to their downfall
Coward
The singer is addressing the coward still
Do your thoughts haunt you
The coward's own thoughts are making them feel uneasy
In silent darkness
The coward is alone with their thoughts in the dark
Before your fall?
The coward will fall soon and their own thoughts are torturing them
The cracks in you are starting to show
The coward is starting to show their weaknesses and flaws
You will break before you bend
The coward will not be able to handle the stress and will break before they give in
Get ready for your all time low
The coward is about to hit rock bottom
You will get yours in the end
The coward will get what they deserve eventually
Coward
The coward is being addressed yet again
Why are you crying?
The coward is crying and the artist is questioning why
So you feel empty
The coward is feeling empty inside
For what you've done?
The coward has done something wrong and is feeling guilty
Coward
The coward is being addressed once again
Do your pills help you
The coward is taking pills to help them cope with their situation
To see more clearly
The pills are supposed to help the coward see things more clearly
What you've become?
The coward has become something they are not proud of
Cry me a river
The artist is unimpressed with the coward's tears
Cry me a river
The singer repeats that they are not impressed with the coward's tears
Coward
The coward is being addressed yet again
You cannot break me
The coward is not strong enough to break the artist
For through your weakness
The artist is able to become stronger because of the coward's weakness
I grow strong
The artist is gaining strength because of the coward
Coward
The coward is being addressed for the final time
You can never win
The coward can never come out on top
Because in the end
At the end of the day
You know you're wrong
The coward knows that what they did was wrong
The cracks in you are starting to show
The coward's weaknesses are becoming more apparent
You will break before you bend
The coward will not be able to handle the pressure and will break before they give in
Get ready for your all time low
The coward is about to hit rock bottom
You will get yours in the end
The coward will get what they deserve eventually
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind