Having disbanded in 1998, they reunited briefly in 2005 for a world tour and reformed in 2011, releasing a new album (Anastasis) and embarking on several tours.
Dead Can Dance formed in Melbourne, Australia in August 1981 with Paul Erikson on bass guitar, Lisa Gerrard (ex-Microfilm) on vocals, Simon Monroe (Marching Girls) on drums and Brendan Perry (also of Marching Girls) on vocals and guitar. Gerrard and Perry were a couple who met as members of Melbourne's little band scene. In May 1982, the band left Monroe in Australia and moved to London, England, where they signed with alternative rock label 4AD. With the duo, the initial United Kingdom line-up were Paul Erikson and Peter Ulrich.
The group's debut album, Dead Can Dance, was released in February 1984. The artwork, which depicts a ritual mask from New Guinea, "provide a visual reinterpretation of the meaning of the name Dead Can Dance", set in a faux Greek typeface. The album featured "drum-driven, ambient guitar music with chanting, singing and howling", and fit in with the ethereal wave style of label mates Cocteau Twins. They followed with a four-track extended play, Garden of the Arcane Delights in August. AllMusic described their early work as "as goth as it gets" (despite the group themselves rejecting the label), while the EP saw them "plunging into a wider range of music and style".
A shift in sound followed for the Spleen and Ideal album, with more emphasis on strings, brass and drones being used. A quasi spiritual element also emerged on this album, notably on the opening tracks "De Profundis" and "Ascension". Its worth noting that around this time Lisa and Brendan had been doing tours of European Cathedrals, absorbing the ambience which in turn was reflected in the work.
The highlights of the bands career followed with the genre defining album Within The Realm of a Dying Sun, featuring fan favorite "Cantara", which is where the bands Arabic and World music influences began to appear, and the double whammy of "Summoning of the Muse" and "Persephone (The Gathering of Flowers)." Critics at the time were undecided about the album, mainly due to the fact that the pieces were split according to the vocals. Brendan had the first side of the album, where Lisa took over for the latter half.
The Serpent's Egg was the next album and built on the premise set by the previous album, although the album is slightly uneven in quality and a short listen at around 40 minutes. The album is redeemed by the opening and closing pieces "The Host of Seraphim", and Perry's epic "Ullyses".
For the next album Aion, the band slipped back several centuries and recreated working medieval instruments such as the Sackbut, Viol and Hurdy Gurdy for the distinctly Medieval flavor. Included on the album is "Song of the sibyl" a text from 14th century Spain and now a live favorite. Another text appears in the song "Fortune Presents Gifts Not According To The Book".
Into the Labyrinth was the follow up album and was the album that saw Brendan mastering the use of samples and synthesizers and also the album that brought the band's music to American audiences selling over a million copies worldwide. The track "The Ubiquitous Mr Lovegrove" was played across on college radio and was instrumental in the albums success.
Spiritchaser was the seventh studio album for the band and brought about an abrupt upturn in musical style, instead of drawing on the historical past the band drew upon South American and African influences which gave the album a very rhythmic ambience. Considered by some to be the bands weakest album, it features highlights such as the percussive "Nierika" which was the most played track on American college radio for that year, and the epic 9 minute trance inducing "Indus".
A 3 CD retrospective simply called 1981-1998 was issued by 4AD and compiled a comprehensive overview of the bands career, and provided diehard fans with the only finished track from the Spiritchaser follow-up sessions called "The Lotus Eaters".
As a live band is probably where Dead Can Dance have gained their reputation. To put it simply, they were phenomenal. The concerts often featured many improvised pieces that to date have never been recorded in the studio. A live album entitled Toward the Within was released in 1994 and allowed fans unfortunate enough to have not attended concerts the chance to hear a few of these songs. A companion video/DVD of the concert was also released allowing people to see these highly ethereal concerts.
After Dead Can Dance ceased to be a functioning band both Perry and Gerrard embarked upon solo careers. To date, Brendan has released one solo album The Eye of the Hunter and has completed work on a new album, 'Ark', to be released in June 2010, whilst Lisa has been more prolific but with mixed results, releasing two solo albums The Mirror Pool and The Silver Tree. Lisa has also collaborated with other artists, namely Pieter Bourke of the band Soma and Irish composer Patrick Cassidy on the respective albums Duality and Immortal Memory. Lisa has also become a sought after soundtrack artist too after a wave of publicity for the Ridley Scott film Gladiator and continues to release work on a regular basis including soundtrack work on Ali, Layer Cake, and Whale Rider. Peter Ulrich, former percussionist of the band has also released two solo albums, Pathways and Dawns and more recently, Enter the Mysterium.
A series of 31 reunion concerts took place in 2005 in both Europe and North America including two memorable sell out concerts at The Hollywood Bowl and Radio City accompanied by 40 piece orchestras. Many of these concerts were professionally recorded and released as a double CD.
In late 2011, the band announced a reunion World Tour, in order to promote their new album, fittingly titled Anastasis, as it was released on August 9, 2012, 16 years after the group's previous album. Anastasis was well received by critics and is also the first album of the band not released by 4AD Records.
The name "Dead Can Dance" is often misleading. Although this group is quite popular among the goth sub-culture with the name appearing to be inspired by the Danse macabre allegory, it should instead be interpreted as 'giving life to something that was previously inanimate' as Perry said:
"The album artwork [of our self titled first album], a ritual mask from New Guinea, attempted to provide a visual reintrepretation of the meaning of the name "Dead Can Dance." The mask, though once a living part of a tree is dead; nevertheless it has, through the artistry of its maker, been imbued with a life force of its own. To understand why we chose the name, think of the transformation of inanimacy to animacy.... Think of the processes concerning life from death and death into life. So many people missed the inherent symbolism, and assumed that we must be 'morbid gothic types,' a mistake we deplored and deplore...".
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Opium
Dead Can Dance Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I feel like I want to live
Far from the metropolis
Just walk through that door
Sometimes
I feel like I want to fly
Reach out to the painted sky
A prisoner to the wind
Sometimes
I feel the ocean in my blood
See rain from the sky above
Her salt brined tears
And now
Those tears leave taste on my tongue
Like the warm rush you get from
Black opium
Black opium
Sometimes
I feel like I want to leave
Behind all these memories
And walk through that door
Outside
The black night calls my name
But all roads look the same
They lead nowhere
They lead nowhere
The lyrics of Dead Can Dance's song "Opium" speaks about the desire to break free from the chaos of the city and live a simple life, closer to the natural world. The singer of the song wants to live in isolation, away from the metropolis and fly like a bird. The lyrics are inspired by the freeing experience of being in touch with nature where one can breathe the sea air, feel the rain on one's face while enjoying the stillness of the countryside.
The lyrics of "Opium" also evoke how powerful the natural world can be. The feeling of having the ocean in one's blood and the warm rush the singer gets from black opium is used to contrast how the singer desires a powerful experience, like those provided by nature, as opposed to the mundane experiences of living in the city. The black opium could also represent the temptation of indulging in something that provides a quick escape from stress, which is similar to the way that getting away from the city can be a cathartic experience to transform oneself.
All in all, "Opium" is about seeking emancipation and liberation from the drudgery of life, and how nature can provide us with a sense of rejuvenation, which otherwise seems impossible to attain in the concrete jungle.
Line by Line Meaning
Sometimes
At times
I feel like I want to live
I desire to live and exist
Far from the metropolis
Away from the city
Just walk through that door
To exit life's current state
Sometimes
At times
I feel like I want to fly
I wish to soar high above
Reach out to the painted sky
Extend towards the adorned heavens
A prisoner to the wind
One restrained by the winds of fate
A bird on the wing
A flying creature
Sometimes
At times
I feel the ocean in my blood
The sea courses through my veins
See rain from the sky above
View precipitation from the heavens
Her salt brined tears
The ocean's salty tears
And now
Currently
Those tears leave taste on my tongue
The tears leave a tangible, salty sensation
Like the warm rush you get from
Similar to the comforting, euphoric feeling
Black opium
The narcotic substance
Black opium
The narcotic substance
Sometimes
At times
I feel like I want to leave
I have the urge to depart
Behind all these memories
Leave the past behind
And walk through that door
Enter a new phase
Outside
Outdoors
The black night calls my name
The darkness beckons me
But all roads look the same
All paths seem equivalent
They lead nowhere
They do not lead to a destination
They lead nowhere
They do not lead to a destination
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: BRENDAN PERRY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sioux Violett
Sometimes
I feel like I want to live
Far from the metropolis
Just walk through that door
Sometimes
I feel like I want to fly
Reach out to the painted sky
A prisoner to the wind
A bird on the wing
Sometimes
I feel the ocean in my blood
See rain from the sky above
Her salt brine tears
And now
Those tears leave a taste on my tongue
Like the warm rush you get from
Black opium
Black opium
Sometimes
I feel like I want to leave
Behind all these memories
And walk through that door
Outside
The black night calls my name
But all roads look the same
They lead nowhere
They lead nowhere
Артем Тришкин
Порой
Я чувствую к жизни вкус
Вне крепких столичных уз.
Лишь выйти за дверь...
Порой
Я чувствую страсть летать,
Картину небес достать,
Себя ветром пленить
И птицей парить.
Порой
В моей крови жив океан;
Дождь слёз, видишь небом дан-
Соль горькая.
Но вот
Тех слёз горечь на языке,
Тонешь ты в тёплой реке
Грёз опия.
Грёз опия...
Порой
Я чувствую к жизни вкус
Без воспоминаний уз.
Войду в дверь тогда...
А там
Ночь зов свой снова шлёт,
Но мой путь ведёт
Вновь в никуда.
Вновь в никуда...
Настя Фролова
My dad was always being inlove with Dead Can Dance.
He has had a great taste in music, he was a military pilot.
when i was a child he showed me a lot of beautiful things in music, in physics.
He was my soul arbitrator.
He died of aortha rupture in 29.11.2020
want to worry you - please be careful. And take your parents to medical survey
Life is beautiful but death is always unexpected.
Miss you, Dad
Thank you for all
Irys Irys
.
♪❦
Czasami
czuję, że chcę żyć
Daleko od metropolii
Po prostu przejdź przez te drzwi
Czasami
czuję, że chcę latać
Sięgnij po malowane niebo
Więzień wiatru
Ptak na skrzydle
Czasami
Czuję ocean we krwi
Zobacz deszcz z nieba nad
Jej solankowe łzy
I teraz
Te łzy zostawiają smak na moim języku
Jak ciepły pośpiech, z którego pochodzisz
czarne opium
czarne opium
Czasami
czuję, że chcę odejść
Za tymi wszystkimi wspomnieniami
I przejdź przez te drzwi
Poza
Czarna noc woła moje imię
Ale wszystkie drogi wyglądają tak samo
Nie prowadzą donikąd
Nie prowadzą donikąd
♪
.....
Carla Oliveira
[ Qualche volta ]
Mi sento come se volessi vivere
Lontano dalla metropoli
E attraversare quella porta
Qualche volta
Mi sento come se volessi morire
Raggiungere il cielo dipinto
Un prigioniero del vento
Un uccello in volo
Qualche volta
Sento l'oceano nel sangue
Guardo la pioggia dal cielo
E adesso
Quelle lacrime mi lasciano il sapore sulla lingua
Oppio nero
Oppio nero
Qualche volta
Mi sento come se volessi andarmene
Dietro tutti questi ricordi
E attraversare quella porta
Fuori di qui
La notte nera chiama il mio nome
Ma tutte le strade sembrano uguali
Non portano da nessuna parte
Non portano da nessuna parte
leftjabrighthook
this entire album is a 100% masterpiece
Nina Music@11
True, but it goes without saying All albums and the Band Themselves are True Masterpieces.
dope anime scenes
@Nina Music@11 not a single bad song, i agree <3
Irrelevance of Jibbering Absinthgut Jabber
Master is this album
Iwona Boszko
Beautiful song ❤️ Beautiful voice ❤️ I love it ❤️
Sioux Violett
Sometimes
I feel like I want to live
Far from the metropolis
Just walk through that door
Sometimes
I feel like I want to fly
Reach out to the painted sky
A prisoner to the wind
A bird on the wing
Sometimes
I feel the ocean in my blood
See rain from the sky above
Her salt brine tears
And now
Those tears leave a taste on my tongue
Like the warm rush you get from
Black opium
Black opium
Sometimes
I feel like I want to leave
Behind all these memories
And walk through that door
Outside
The black night calls my name
But all roads look the same
They lead nowhere
They lead nowhere
Jose Mansilla
Tanx
skywatcher1972
Yes, thx; for the Words carry the weight of this composition as much as the incredible instrumentation. For me, the words lead like Steps, into the threshold of some spiritual Temple.
Scroto
Hi, its fly not die.
LOLA LOLA
Nicht die er hat fly gesungen