They are named after the lyrics "The fate of the world is safe in Crystal Castles" and "Crystal Castles, the source of all power" both from the theme song for She-Ra's fortress. They are known for their melancholic lo-fi sound and their explosive live shows. Their debut album was included in NME's "Top 50 Albums of the Decade".
Initially the band was intended to be a solo project started by Ethan Kath in December 2003. Ethan later discovered Alice Glass singing in a noise-punk band, and thought he had found the "missing ingredient" to his music.
In 2004 Kath gave Alice 60 instrumental tracks and in April 2005 she recorded vocals over five instrumentals. The limited vinyl release of the band's first single Alice Practice sold out in only three days.
The track was a microphone test by Glass and she was not aware that the recording existed until London UK's Merok Records asked to release the track on vinyl, according to now ex-bandmate Kath. However, Glass declared over a decade later that this story was not true.
On the 18th March 2008 they released their debut album entitled Crystal Castles. This album reached #47 on UK Albums Chart, #6 on US Top Electronic Albums, #13 on US Top Heatseekers, and #32 on US Independent Albums. Crystal Castles received great reviews and ranked #39 on NME Magazine "Top 50 Albums of the Decade". They issued four singles: Alice Practice (1 June 2006), Crimewave (Crystal Castles vs HEALTH) (13 August 2007), Air War (17 December 2007), and Courtship Dating (31 March 2008).
Crystal Castles are known not only for their own efforts as a band, but also for commissioned remixes for number of groups, including Hunting For Witches by Bloc Party, and Atlantis to Interzone by friends and label mates, Klaxons.
In mid-2008, Crystal Castles were involved in two controversies related to artwork permissions and samples in their earliest unreleased songs. Crystal Castles used Trevor Brown's artwork (depicting singer Madonna with a black eye) without permission.
Furthermore, in one of Kath's earliest, unreleased demos, he incorporated a sample without permission. The track, "Insectica (CC vs Lo-Bat Version)", uses clips chopped out of a song by Lo-bat called "My Little Droid Needs a Hand", released under a Creative Commons license. Another track called "Love and Caring", samples the kick and snare from Covox's "Sunday".
In 23 April 2010 the duo released their second album Crystal Castles (II). This album reached #48 on UK Singles Chart, #8 on UK Dance Albums Chart, #24 on US Digital Albums, #6 on US Top Electronic Albums, and #3 on US Top Heatseekers. Crystal Castles (II) has been met with mostly positive reviews from critics. To date, four singles were issued: Doe Deer, Celestica and Baptism, and a new version of the track Not In Love which featured Robert Smith of The Cure on vocals.
This became their biggest hit to date, charting in a great amount of countries including a #3 in Belgium (Flanders), a #31 in Denmark and various notable placements on official alternative music charts. "Not In Love", which is a cover of a Platinum Blonde song of the same name, was also featured in various television shows (including "Degrassi") and the popular football simulation videogame FIFA 12.
The band toured throughout 2010 in the US and abroad and played the Reading and Leeds Festivals and Glastonbury Festival in the UK and Big Day Out in Australia. In February 2011, the band will perform on the NME Awards Tour
The band's third album, (III) was released on November 21, 2012. The album contains the singles "Plague", "Wrath of God", and "Sad Eyes".
On October 8th 2014 it was announced on then lead singer Alice Glass' Twitter that she was leaving the band, and that the group would end. However, Crystal Castles' manager immediately reported that the band would continue, and on April 15th, 2015, Ethan Kath shared a new track titled Frail on SoundCloud, writing 'this is Edith on vocals', implying that fellow musician Edith Frances was Crystal Castles' new lead vocalist, which was in fact the case.
On 2 July 2015, another new song, Deicide, was released as a single. A new version of Deicide was later released on the album under the title Their Kindness is Charade.
In late November 2015, Edith Frances played her first show as the other half of Crystal Castles in South Africa.
In the last week of June 2016, the track Concrete was leaked on Korean website MNet. The track was later released as a single on July 6 with an accompanying video Video on the same day on YouTube.
On June 29, the band previewed a new track Femen with a teaser of the music Video showing birds caught and struggling in mist nets via Vimeo.
On July 11, the band announced the new record, Amnesty (I) along with its cover art and track list and also premiering Char as Annie Mac's Hottest Record on BBC Radio 1.
The single and pre-order for the album were made available a day later on July 12.
The fourth, and last pre-order single Fleece was made available on August 16 at the band's iTunes page.
Another single titled Sadist was released on August 18, followed by the official release of the album on August 19, 2016. Track Sadist was followed by Edith's message announced on CC official Facebook page.
On their official website CC announced that all band's proceeds from Amnesty (I) album will be donated to Amnesty International. New album Vinyl and CD includes bonus track Kept.
http://www.crystalcastles.com
Various sources have reported that, as of 2018, Crystal Castles remains in a hiatus with no signs of new material coming in the near future.
Deicide
Crystal Castles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's used to sedate
They remain unashamed
If you are being used
You should remain confused
To keep them amused
Flourishing the fire with embers that won't fade away
Day of deicide, the deity will hear you pray
For the final time, lay a sympathy bouquet
Inhale their chloroform
What you're longing for
You claim to abhor
Against all progression
Become a possession
Never learn your lesson
Flourishing the fire with embers that won't fade away
Ethics have expired, dissolved to no one's dismay
Day of deicide, the deity will hear you pray
For the final time, lay a sympathy bouquet
The lyrics in Crystal Castles's song Deicide seem to focus on the idea of being used and controlled by others. The first verse talks about the kind and friendly facade that people put on to sedate others, while the second verse speaks about inhaling chloroform, a metaphor for willingly giving up control in exchange for what one desires.
The chorus suggests a bleak outlook on society, implying that ethics have expired and people no longer care about the consequences of their actions. The day of deicide, or killing a god, is mentioned, perhaps referring to the idea of people playing God and manipulating others for their own gain. The final line about laying a sympathy bouquet could be interpreted as a last, desperate attempt to show compassion in a world full of manipulation and control.
Overall, the lyrics in Deicide convey a sense of hopelessness and despair in the face of a society that values power and control above all else.
Line by Line Meaning
Their kindness is charade
The kindness shown by certain people is just an act
It's used to sedate
They use this act of kindness to pacify and calm others
They remain unashamed
These people have no guilt or remorse regarding their use of fake kindness
If you are being used
If someone is taking advantage of you
You should remain confused
It's best to stay confused and keep these people entertained so as not to lose their attention
To keep them amused
In order to continue to entertain these people
Flourishing the fire with embers that won't fade away
Keeping the fire blazing with remains that refuse to diminish
Ethics have expired, dissolved to no one's dismay
Morality has ceased to exist, but no one seems to care
Day of deicide, the deity will hear you pray
The day of reckoning, when the god(s) will hear your cries
For the final time, lay a sympathy bouquet
For the last time, offer condolences to those harmed by the fake kindness
Inhale their chloroform
Breathe in their toxic methods
What you're longing for
Your deepest desires
You claim to abhor
You pretend to detest these actions
Against all progression
Despite any advances or improvements
Become a possession
You become a mere object under their control
Never learn your lesson
You continuously fall victim to their manipulations without ever learning from past experiences
Writer(s): Ethan Kath
Contributed by Chase W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@nakiinflame1824
[Verse 1: Edith]
Their kindness is charade
It's used to sedate
They remain unashamed
If you are being used
You should remain confused
To keep them amused
Flourishing the fire with embers that won’t fade away
Ethics have expired
Dissolved to no one’s dismay
Day of deicide
The deity will hear you pray for the final time
Lay a sympathy bouquet
Inhale their chloroform
What you’re longing for
You claim to abhor
Against all progression
Become a possession
Never learn your lesson
Flourishing the fire with embers that won’t fade away
Ethics have expired
Dissolved to no one’s dismay
Day of deicide
The deity will hear you pray for the final time
Lay a sympathy bouquet
@kleinergrashupfer
Kabuchipomf oh thanks, lyrics make all sense now! but Ethan post this on soundcloud: Their kindness is charade
It's used to sedate
They remain unashamed
and I find shis in Genius lyrics:
Their kindness is charade
It's used to sedate
They remain unashamed
If you are being used
You should remain confused
To keep them amused
@sukkiebe
This song is like standing between many people but clearly you are alone, just you and your mind.
@self6190
<3
@Joy_Dvzn
Been feeling alot like that the past couple of years now
@saissy6016
❤️
@theRealzombiejesus
Like being at a party with a lot of people around but your alone
@therealb1zzness
Here I am searching for the band Deicide only to stumble upon this awesomeness. Time for a trip down a new rabbit hole.
@Scarletpimpanel73
Oh boy - what a trip you have waiting for you!
@zyorus8092
it happens
@noahanderson3556
You will give praise… To Satan
@hectortorres8188
The same happened to me, I'm a metal head since I'm 9, 41 now. Once I was looking for the band suffocation, opened a videoclip and I entered the world of this band. Amazing.