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
Smoke
Assemblage 23 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A warning in the distance
An indecipherable alarm
And there we stood, our mouths agape
The deer caught in the headlights
Our minds adrift and far from harm
Can the flames be far behind?
We run for cover, but it’s too late
We are engulfed, we are
The smoke on the horizon
Nothing ventured, nothing lost
We paid the price, but at what cost?
We sold our future to the past
Accept a necessary doom
Too easily and way too soon
Ignore the wisdom we amassed
Smoke on the horizon
Can the flames be far behind?
We run for cover, but it’s too late
We are engulfed, we are
The smoke on the horizon
A smudge of ash across the ground
An undelivered message
All that remains is memory
A gust of wind across the plains
Carries away the remnants
Into forgotten history
The lyrics to Assemblage 23's "Smoke" create an eerie and ominous atmosphere, invoking imagery of possible impending doom. The song is a reflection on the dangers of ignoring warnings and potential consequences of failing to take preventative action. The opening lines portray a vague warning that is difficult to comprehend or act on, leaving those in its path feeling helpless and unprepared. The second half of the song focuses on the aftermath of the destruction, where there is nothing left but memories of what was lost.
The chorus, "Smoke on the horizon, can the flames be far behind?", implies that the warning signs were ignored, and the inevitable consequences have followed. The use of the phrase "we are the smoke on the horizon" suggests that the individuals in the song are responsible for their own downfall. The line "We sold our future to the past" implies that the characters in the song sacrificed their own future for temporary pleasure, leading to their ultimate demise. The final lines of the song are a dark representation of the aftermath of the destruction, with only remnants of the past remaining, slowly being carried away by the wind.
Overall, "Smoke" is a dark and thought-provoking song that serves to remind listeners of the importance of taking preventative action and paying attention to warning signs before it's too late.
Line by Line Meaning
A smear of grey across the sky
The sky is dark and gloomy, suggesting an approaching danger or warning
A warning in the distance
There is a signal of something to come that we should be cautious of
An indecipherable alarm
The warning is unclear or ambiguous and we do not know what to expect
And there we stood, our mouths agape
We are stunned and speechless, unable to comprehend what is happening
The deer caught in the headlights
We are frozen and paralyzed, just like a deer when it sees a car's headlights
Our minds adrift and far from harm
We are not fully aware of the consequences and are unaware of any impending danger
Smoke on the horizon
There are visible signs of an approaching threat
Can the flames be far behind?
The threat is so close that danger is almost inevitable
We run for cover, but it’s too late
We try to escape the danger, but it is already upon us
We are engulfed, we are
We are caught up in the danger and it is all around us
The smoke on the horizon
The visible threat has now become a reality
Nothing ventured, nothing lost
If we do not take risks, we cannot expect to gain anything, but we also cannot lose anything
We paid the price, but at what cost?
We may have gained something through our actions, but we may have also caused unintended consequences
We sold our future to the past
We made decisions based on outdated ideas or past experiences, instead of looking at the present and future
Accept a necessary doom
We recognize that an unfortunate outcome is inevitable and we must accept it
Too easily and way too soon
We accepted the doom without putting up a fight, and we did so prematurely
Ignore the wisdom we amassed
Despite having knowledge or advice, we chose to ignore it and suffered the consequences
A smudge of ash across the ground
There is tangible evidence of destruction or devastation
An undelivered message
Important information or warning was not received or ignored, leading to the destructive outcome
All that remains is memory
Only memories of what was lost, as there is no way to recover what is gone
A gust of wind across the plains
Life goes on, time passes, and it appears that everything is back to normal
Carries away the remnants
Whatever evidence of destruction remains is being swept away by the wind or forgotten
Into forgotten history
The event is over and will eventually become a distant memory in the past
Contributed by Mateo H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Snake Teat
I am totally buying this album
satellites1
Great Assemblage 23 , awesome group.
Imperius Vogt
Brilliant.
Jan Kühnel
♥️
Zaffie
Reminds me of Fallout