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.
Seed
Crystal Castles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Scars, in you, son
you shrug it off
except that you don't
better, it surely
it don't fall out
said,
i lisp, i die
sugar shooting
bled with deadbeats
only crawl
so your sad eyes
quite christian
blood
drop it, it's dead
we drop it
and took the body home
sad eyes
scars, i'm chopping dagger
see you'll never walk
only stagger.
sad eyes
quite christian
blood
The lyrics of Crystal Castles' song "Seed" are complex and enigmatic, but they convey a sense of pain, struggle, and resilience. The opening line "Scars, in you, son" suggests that the singer (or the singer) is addressing someone who has been scarred in some way, either physically or emotionally. The second line "you shrug it off, except that you don't" indicates that the scars are not easily dismissed, even though the person tries to act tough or indifferent. This ambivalence is further underscored by the next line "better, it surely it don't fall out said," which suggests that the scars are somehow better than the alternatives, but not necessarily desirable.
The following lines "i live low i lisp, i die sugar shooting bled with deadbeats only crawl" are somewhat cryptic and ambiguous, but they suggest a sense of isolation, vulnerability, and addiction. The phrase "sugar shooting" is a reference to injecting drugs, while "bled with deadbeats" implies a sense of decay and hopelessness. The next lines "so your sad eyes quite christian blood drop it, it's dead we drop it and took the body home sad eyes scars" are even more obscure, but they seem to suggest some kind of violent or traumatic incident involving a dead body, sad eyes, and Christian blood. The final lines "i'm chopping dagger see you'll never walk only stagger" convey a sense of desperation and aggression, as if the singer is trying to overcome the limitations (and scars) that have been inflicted upon him or her.
Line by Line Meaning
hi
Greeting or acknowledging someone's presence
Scars, in you, son
Referring to emotional and physical scars within someone
you shrug it off
Acting as if the scars don't affect them
except that you don't
Implying that the scars are still there even if they try to hide it
better, it surely
Things might improve eventually
it don't fall out
The scars won't go away on their own
said,
Implying that someone else spoke or gave advice previously
i live low
Living without many privileges or luxuries
i lisp, i die
Feeling trapped and having no voice or influence
sugar shooting
A reference to drug use and addiction
bled with deadbeats
Surrounding oneself with other troubled individuals
only crawl
Feeling stuck and unable to make progress
so your sad eyes
Noting the sadness in someone's eyes
quite christian
Possibly criticizing someone for their religious beliefs while not embodying those beliefs
blood
A reference to violence or pain
drop it, it's dead
Implying that there's no use dwelling on something that cannot be changed
we drop it
Working together to let go of something painful
and took the body home
Taking responsibility for the scars and difficult experiences
sad eyes
Emphasizing the theme of sadness and pain
scars, i'm chopping dagger
Scars are reminiscent of sharp cuts or wounds
see you'll never walk
Feeling crippled or held back by one's experiences
only stagger.
Struggling to keep moving forward
sad eyes
Reiterating the sadness in someone's eyes
quite christian
Repeating the criticism of those who claim certain beliefs but don't embody them
blood
Once again emphasizing pain and violence
Contributed by Daniel S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Emre Yavuz
Hi
Scars, in you, son
You shrug it off
Except that you don't
Better, it surely
It don't fall out
Said,
I live low
I lisp, i die
Sugar shooting
Bled with deadbeats
Only crawl
So your sad eyes
Quite christian
Blood
Drop it, it's dead
We drop it
And took the body home
Sad eyes
Scars, i'm chopping dagger
See you'll never walk
Only stagger.
Sad eyes
Quite christian
Blood
Endless Oceans
still the best version of this song
ANNIQUEthatsRiGhT
If this song was about 6 minutes longer i'd probably love it 100 times more.
thescaryman
Ive seen this photographer somewhere, I forgot her name though, but I love her works. The song went very wel with it too both great artists here
NeonHologram666
OMFG I LOVE THIS SONG!
ah hh
I love this song so much
Zaon Wright
My goodness This is so good. Feels like having a seizure.
H Mason
love the little whistle at the end.
Marie-Julie Robin
♥♥♥♥IN THEM WE TRUST♥♥♥♥ unique love all song's all shows what they do, touch me, means a lot for me
Marie-Julie Robin
give up your seed, im lonely ill be the seed in your heart i will rip out your spine, eat flesh resection in you, are you still alive? in the body inside, in the body inside, in the body inside, in the body i fall give up your seed, for us ill be the seed in your heart ohh, give me your name, wont you, send me a letter, are your still around?
Superposition
Want this to be on Crystal Castles III.