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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Xavier
Dead Can Dance Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fraught with danger, the lives you led were judged profane.
Hatred enfolds us, inculcates our minds with it's heresy.
Laymen enfold us, clemency arise to set you free.
Fate, although Xavier has prayed that life giving waters may rain
Down on the souls of men to cure them of their ways.
These were the sins of Xavier's past, hung like jewels in the forest of veils.
Eve bears the stigma of original sin.
Freedom's so hard, when we are all bound by laws
Etched in the scheme of natures own hand, unseen by all those who fail
In their pursuit of fate.
Although Xavier has prayed that life giving waters may rain
Down on the souls of men to cure them of their ways.
And as the night turns into day will the sun illuminate your way,
Or will your nightmares come home to stay.
Xavier's love lies in chains.
These were the sins of Xavier's past,
Hung like jewels in the forest of veils.
The lyrics of Dead Can Dance's song Xavier are vivid in imagery and dense in meaning. The opening lines seem to address a woman named Rosanna, whose life has been deemed profane and dangerous. The second stanza introduces Xavier, whose prayer for life-giving waters to redeem mankind of their sins serves as a contrast to the "jewels" hung in the "forest of veils." In this sense, the song speaks to the idea of the dual nature of mankind, both capable of great evil and great good.
The mention of Eve bearing the "stigma of original sin" is a reference to the Biblical story of Adam and Eve and the concept of inherited sin. The lyrics that follow continue to explore the idea of fate and the struggle for freedom within the laws of nature. The final lines bring the focus back to Xavier's personal story, with his love being imprisoned by the sins of his past.
Overall, the song seems to be a meditation on the human condition and the struggle between good and evil within each individual. It draws upon themes from religion, mythology, and philosophy to create a complex and evocative narrative.
Line by Line Meaning
Fair Rosanna your vagrancy's a familiar tale.
The singer addresses Rosanna, pointing out that her wandering lifestyle is nothing new or unusual.
Fraught with danger, the lives you led were judged profane.
Rosanna's previous way of living was considered sinful by others and involved a lot of risks.
Hatred enfolds us, inculcates our minds with it's heresy.
The singer describes how hatred can surround us and corrupt our thoughts with its false beliefs.
Laymen enfold us, clemency arise to set you free.
The artist calls on regular people to surround and help Rosanna, hoping that mercy may come to her and she can escape her difficult situation.
Fate, although Xavier has prayed that life giving waters may rain
Xavier has been hoping for some sort of change, represented by rain, to wash away negative aspects of life caused by destiny.
Down on the souls of men to cure them of their ways.
Xavier desires this rain to heal the souls of all humanity and guide them towards a more positive lifestyle.
These were the sins of Xavier's past, hung like jewels in the forest of veils.
Xavier has committed many sins in the past with each one acting as an obstacle to his spiritual growth, like beautiful but hidden jewels in a dense, mysterious forest.
Deep in the heart where the mysteries emerge
The secrets of our souls come from a deeper part of our being that we can't easily access.
Eve bears the stigma of original sin.
The artist refers to the biblical character Eve, who represents how humanity carries a mark of their first wrongdoing.
Freedom's so hard, when we are all bound by laws
Even though rules are in place to protect us, they can also restrict our freedom.
Etched in the scheme of natures own hand, unseen by all those who fail
The laws that govern us are as natural as the forces that shape our world, but people who can't see them are likely to suffer the consequences.
In their pursuit of fate.
In trying to discover their fates or destinies, people can unwittingly bring hardship upon themselves.
And as the night turns into day will the sun illuminate your way,
This line expresses hope that the light of a new day will bring clarity and understanding to the path forward.
Or will your nightmares come home to stay.
Alternatively, it's possible that someone's struggles and fears might continue and lead them down a dark path.
Xavier's love lies in chains.
Xavier is trapped in a loveless or unfulfilling situation, perhaps due to his past sins.
These were the sins of Xavier's past,
Repeating the line from earlier in the song shows that Xavier's sins continue to have a hold on him even now.
Hung like jewels in the forest of veils.
This is repeated from earlier in the song and signifies once more that Xavier's sins, though beautiful, are difficult to access or resolve.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BRENDAN MICHAEL PERRY, LISA GERMAINE GERRARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind