Formed in 2001 a year after the break-up of The Swarm aka Knee Deep in the Dead (three members' previous band), the founding lineup was originally split between different parts of Quebec and Ontario, Canada, but (following Moumneh's sudden move home to Lebanon), shifted to Toronto and Hamilton. Known for their trademark nihilistic and dystopian lyrical themes, stark classic horror imagery and loud, abrasive live shows, the band have toured worldwide and released records on Boston's Deathwish Inc, Ontario's Goodfellow Records, Syracuse's Hex Records and Providence's Trash Art. Cursed's debut One made immediate impact in their scene and garnered wide cult support. It was followed up with Cursed Two, and the picture-disc EP Blackout at Sunrise in between, in the same year that also saw a release of a 180gr vinyl only gatefold reissue of 2003's "I" on the Providence RI label Trash Art. In 2007 they finished up their third LP, III: Architects of Troubled Sleep, which was released in 2008 through Goodfellow Records in North America, Howling Bull in Japan and in Europe through Dutch label Reflections. "III" was produced at Toronto's Hallamusic studio, mixed by long-time friend and collaborator Donny Cooper, and mastered by Alan Douches at WestWestSide (NJ), with cover art by Baroness' John Dyer Baizley. For its release, as opposed to the international touring they had come to spend a lot of time doing, the band played six weekends of strictly Southern Ontario DIY shows in as many houses, basements, record stores, bedrooms and Anarchist / DIY spaces as possible. The official Toronto release show was at a sold out Lee's Palace, with friends Fiftywatthead, Career Suicide and Living Darkness.
On May 22, 2008, singer Chris Colohan announced on the band's blog that the band had been robbed on the last morning of their European tour, losing their passports, all of their money and tour expenses in the night, from within a purportedly secure building in a German squat. The band had reportedly gone their separate ways and were finished. Colohan described the robbery from within their own community as a "bullet in the head" for the band. For certain members, the band's hectic final show at Bitterzoet in Amsterdam would be the last they would ever see each other.
M.Maxymuik subsequently joined the band Quest for Fire and was a touring drummer for Pink Mountaintops. D.Dunham continued to play in Crux of Aux, and more recently in the bands Skull and Limitoids. C.Colohan continues to tour and play in Burning Love and Mature Situations, and run the vinyl-only High Anxiety label. Colohan, as stated in an interview, has written several unreleased books, Other Peoples' Girlfriends (2002) and Nine Lives (2011). He does photography and music related graphic design for his own and friends' bands on the side of his musical endeavors, and he works on the production end of live music in Toronto as one of several jobs. R.Moumneh went on to open Hotel 2 Tango recording studio in Montreal's Mile End with partners from Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Constellation Records. He still works as a producer, engineer and co-owner of the studio, teaches production technique and is involved in various film and installation art projects, as well as his own ongoing performance art project "Jerusalem in My Heart".
Colohan released the band's final UK radio session (their last recording) as a 7" EP on High Anxiety. Deathwish Inc is currently in the process of reissuing Cursed I on LP. There has long been word of a comprehensive box set covering all 3 LPs, all 3 EPs plus the demo and unreleased songs, which was caught up in copyright ownership issues and has remained a mystery since. Also, there may yet be a Cursed DVD mainly of the footage of the final tour (and the disintegration and last moments of the band), as well as various interviews and live videos from 2001-2008.
Chris Colohan - Vocals
Christian McMaster - Guitar
Dan Dunham - Bass
Mike Maxymuik - Drums
• Cursed Demo Recording (Self-Released, 2002)
• One LP (Deathwish Inc., 2003)
• Hell Comes Home EP (Hex Records, 2004)
• Two LP (Goodfellow Records, 2005)
• Blackout at Sunrise EP (Goodfellow Records, 2007)
• III: Architects of Troubled Sleep LP (Goodfellow Records, 2008)
• The Last Session EP (High Anxiety, 2010)
Music Videos: Fatalist (2006)
http://yourfuckingfuneral.blogspot.ru/
Promised Land
Cursed Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Followed their moves to the last detail.
And all that they sold you was death, on the five year plan,
And left you to rot in their promised land.
And what made you think that the life on the screen could be you?
No returns for your broken dreams when you get it home and it's not what it seems.
This is not the promised land.
The lyrics to Cursed's song Promised Land criticize those who blindly follow the path set by society without questioning it. The first line "You bought their lines and you staked their trail" refers to people following the established norms and trends set by powerful entities such as the government or corporations. The next line "Followed their moves to the last detail" emphasizes how we imitate others in a way that we lose our creativity and individuality.
The following lines criticize the lack of reliability of our pursuits when they are based on external influence rather than internal motivation. "And all that they sold you was death, on the five year plan, And left you to rot in their promised land" highlights how blindly following these external paths can lead us to ultimate destruction, dissatisfaction, and disillusionment. The lyricist argues that our happiness and fulfillment cannot be derived from external sources such as the confines of the societal norms or material things.
The third stanza, "And what made you think that the life on the screen could be you? No returns for your broken dreams when you get it home and it's not what it seems," continues this idea that the picture we see in the media cannot be our reality. It advises us to reconsider our goals and values since they cannot be simply borrowed from the society or media. The final line "This is not the promised land," serves as a metaphor for how the external paths only lead us to a false sense of hope and security, not the land we've been looking for.
Line by Line Meaning
You bought their lines and you staked their trail,
You believed their words and followed their path,
Followed their moves to the last detail.
You imitated their every action precisely.
And all that they sold you was death, on the five year plan,
Their only offering was a limited time spent in futile pursuit.
And left you to rot in their promised land.
After death, they abandoned you in an unfulfilled and desolate place.
And what made you think that the life on the screen could be you?
Why did you believe that the superficial existence portrayed on the screen was attainable?
No returns for your broken dreams when you get it home and it's not what it seems.
You cannot recover from disappointment when your expectations are shattered upon arrival home.
This is not the promised land.
The reality you face is a far cry from the imaginary utopia they advertised.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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