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.
Insectica
Crystal Castles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fly thru dimensia
You give me more than meets the eye
You give me more than I can't deny
A thousand eyes thru your soul
A thousand eyes over me
Your power eclipses me
I want to be in your colony
I want to serve your queen
For the venom through iron wings
Still beats in symmetry
Deathray deathray you're gay deathray
Straight to my heart
She tears apart
You have the right to remain in pieces
You have the right to own my heart
Now I am a part of your colony
Now I live to serve your queen
As the venom through iron wings
Still beats in symmetry
The song "Insectica" by Crystal Castles explores the idea of being drawn to someone or something that has a powerful effect on you. The opening line "I, insectica, fly thru dimensia" suggests the singer is in another realm, possibly intoxicated or under the influence of their attraction. The imagery of flying insects and a distorted reality adds to the idea of being lost in a consuming obsession. The second line, "You give me more than meets the eye," implies that this attraction goes beyond just physical appearance.
The description of "A thousand eyes thru your soul, a thousand eyes over me" is a metaphor for the connection the singer feels with their obsession. They feel as if they can see into the very core of the person or thing they are drawn towards, while also feeling as if they are being watched themselves. The next line, "Your power eclipses me, as I take my place beneath thee," further emphasizes the idea of being overwhelmed and controlled by this force. The last stanza is a repetition of the singer's desire to be part of this entity's "colony" and serve them. The final lines, "As the venom through iron wings, still beats in symmetry," suggests that this powerful effect is both destructive and beautiful.
Line by Line Meaning
I, insectica
I am filled with the power and influence of the insect world.
Fly thru dimensia
I feel like I am flying through different dimensions of reality.
You give me more than meets the eye
You provide me with a greater depth and understanding of the world around me.
You give me more than I can't deny
I cannot ignore or deny the influence you have on me.
A thousand eyes thru your soul
Your soul is complex, with many layers and perspectives.
A thousand eyes over me
There are many eyes watching and observing me.
Your power eclipses me
Your power is greater than my own, and I am overshadowed by it.
As I take my place beneath thee
I submit myself to your power and authority.
I want to be in your colony
I desire to be a part of your community and share in your strength.
I want to serve your queen
I am willing to serve and follow your leader.
For the venom through iron wings
Your strength and influence is dangerous and powerful.
Still beats in symmetry
Your power continues to be consistent and balanced.
Deathray deathray you're gay deathray
This line is nonsensical and does not have a clear meaning or purpose within the song.
Straight to my heart
You have a direct and profound impact on my emotions and desires.
She tears apart
Your influence brings about destruction and upheaval.
You have the right to remain in pieces
You have complete control and power, even over my own destruction.
You have the right to own my heart
You have complete authority over my emotions and desires.
Now I am a part of your colony
I have become a member of your community and am influenced by your power.
Now I live to serve your queen
My entire purpose is to follow and please your leader.
As the venom through iron wings
Your power and influence remains as dangerous and intense as ever.
Still beats in symmetry
Your strength and power remains consistent and balanced, despite any destruction or chaos you may bring.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ALICE GLASS, ETHAN KATH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@abelgutierrez4339
I, insectica
Fly through dimensions
You give me more than meets the eye
You give me more that I can't deny
A thousand eyes through your soul
A thousand eyes over me
Your power eclipses me
As I take my place beneath thee
I want to be in your colony
I want to serve your queen
For the venom through iron wings
Still beats in symmetry
Deathray deathray deathray deathray
Straight through my heart
She tears apart
You have the right to remain in pieces
You have the right to own my heart
Now I am a part of your colony
Now I live to serve your queen
As the venom through iron wings
Still beats in symmetry
@SLUGVI
i, insectica
fly thru dementia
u give me more, than meets the eye
u give me more, that i cant deny
a thousand eyes thru ur soul
a thousand eyes, all on me
your power, eclipses me
as i take my place beneath
i wanna be in your colony
i want, to serve your queen
for the venom thru iron wings still beats, in symmetry
death ray
death ray
death ray
death ray
ur gay
death ray
death ray
death ray
straight to the heart
she tears it apart
u have the right to remain in pieces
u have the right to own my heart
now im a part of your colony
now i live to serve ur queen
for the venom of iron wings still beats,
in symmetry
@alexanderparis9077
All of the older songs have this attitude that's so much more interesting. Don't get me wrong, I still love (III), but nothing beats their older stuff.
@Clawpek
Because the older stuff was pretty much stolen like this one above... : http://cdm.link/2008/05/chiptune-music-theft-continues-crystal-castles-abuses-creative-commons-license/
@volkova6209
@Clawpek um no it's not
@zyorus8092
@@Clawpek bro thats sucha stretch they were mislead to believe it was feree use samples, which at the time they were, dont click that dumbassl ink if you read this, just save your timeand enjoy the next CC song..............
@KatietheKreator
@@Clawpekbro actually check the song that crystal castles sampled from in this song, they just sampled chunks out of it, it’s not like they stole the melody or something, plus all the vocals are original so it’s at most a remix
@abelgutierrez4339
I, insectica
Fly through dimensions
You give me more than meets the eye
You give me more that I can't deny
A thousand eyes through your soul
A thousand eyes over me
Your power eclipses me
As I take my place beneath thee
I want to be in your colony
I want to serve your queen
For the venom through iron wings
Still beats in symmetry
Deathray deathray deathray deathray
Straight through my heart
She tears apart
You have the right to remain in pieces
You have the right to own my heart
Now I am a part of your colony
Now I live to serve your queen
As the venom through iron wings
Still beats in symmetry
@makocalamity
Dementia
@royaljelly7157
Beautiful
@seagreen9264
Straight through my heart 💜
@anabel6141
Dementia