Die So Fluid first surfaced in 2001, touring the country in the wake of their debut e.p. ‘Operation Hypocrite’, released on Sanctuary. They released a further single, ‘Suck Me Dry’ with Sanctuary before forming their own label, Cartesian, and releasing their third single ‘Disconnected’.
In 2004 Cartesian released the band’s debut album, ’Spawn of Dysfunction’ in the UK. The album was universally well received and is still selling through the major chains of the UK and iTunes worldwide. Promotion of ’Spawn of Dysfunction’ almost solely relied on the band touring the UK which they did tirelessly, turning up for over 300 shows between 2003 and 2006.
Apart from pursuing a campaign of playing their own shows off the beaten track Die So Fluid supported bands like Drowning Pool, Vex Red, Clawfinger, Boy Hits Car, Feeder and The Wildhearts.
Further promotion of the album came from a single release of the title track licensed to Retinue records which was supported with a video featuring the babes and the fighters of a metal wrestling event.
Recording for ‘Not Everybody Gets a Happy Ending’ started in 2005 with the album’s opening track ‘Gang Of One’. The finished recording was so good it actually caused a crisis within the band as they mutually agreed the song was the pinnacle of what they had been trying to achieve musically on ’Spawn Of Dysfunction’. But in the end it was this realization that freed them to explore a wider range of influences and styles. So, songs like ‘Existential Baby’ and ‘Test Confessional’ draw on Al’s ska background and ‘Throw you away’ features an Egyptian string arrangement thanks to one of Drew’s colleagues in, Gypsy troupe, The Death Orchestra. The finished record is the product of multiple sessions scattered over a two year period. This ungainly recording schedule was adopted because the record was being financed by royalties from ‘spawn’ - as they trickled in. For ‘Not Everybody Gets a Happy Ending’ Mark Williams was back in the producer’s chair at his new premises in the legendary Battery studios building in north west London. The title track was partly fuelled by the long drawn out recording process and, at the time, no prospect of a release.
That changed in 2007 when the band crossed paths with George Jackson, ex tour manager to the likes of Bad Company, he had been exiled in Finland since 1975 after a row over a drinks bill with, his then employer, David Essex. Now a label boss George still had a decent set of screwdrivers and was hungry for revenge. Sharing the band’s maverick approach and willingness to exploit a record industry in freefall, a new backer was found and finally ‘Not Everybody Gets a Happy Ending’ got permission to step out of the transporter beam and materialize as flesh and blood.
First single ‘Happy Halloween’ was released worldwide on iTunes on November 2nd and coincided with a Halloween festival appearance in Helsinki and Die So Fluid’s portrait by Paul Harries appearing on Finnish postal stamps. The esteemed rock photographer, and long time associate of the band, also directed the video for the single ‘Existential Baby’.
The album ‘Not Everybody Gets a Happy Ending’ was released on 25th February 2008.
'The World Is Too Big for One Lifetime' was released in June 2010 on the Global Music DR2 label. As with previous releases it received very strong reviews from the alternative press whilst mostly slipping under the radar of the mainstream media. The album has kept a steady presence in specialist sales charts, such as Amazon's alternative metal chart, and in a diverse selection of territories thanks mainly to consistent touring, word of mouth and support from the alternative press and webzines. They have also proven themselves to be very adept at crossing over to quite different music audiences whether it be the goths of the Wave-Gotik-Treffen or the classic rock fans of Hard Rock Hell or the indie pop fans when supporting Mindless Self Indulgence. Two singles were drawn from The World Is Too Big for One Lifetime - Mercury and What a Heart Is For. The singles were available for download only and accompanied by videos shot by director David Kenny.
The Opposites Of Light was released on 5 May 2014. The release of the album is staggered to coincide with tours in various territories. Writing and pre-production was completed in early 2012 and recording started in earnest in December 2012. Drums, Bass and Strings were recorded at Unit 2, West London, Guitars recorded at Drew's studio in North London and Vocals were recorded by Grog at home in Los Angeles. Initially scheduled to be a double album 18 songs were recorded but this was reduced to 16 tracks for the final cut. Still described as an album of two halves tracks 1-8 are grouped under the name 'Shakura’ and tracks 9-16 are‘Pah’. These are the Solar and Lunar deities of the matriarchal Pawnee Native Americans. Shakura encompasses the hard rock sounds traditionally associated with Die So Fluid whilst Pah delves into more demure, slower tempo songs. This is the first album entirely produced by the band. Mixing was divided between Mark Williams and Drew Richards and also one track being mixed by Sylvia Massy and Ian Rickard. On 6 November a video for the first track to be released from this album, entitled 'Black Blizzard' was released on YouTube.
In April a second video off the album for 'Comets' was released. In August, the video for 'Landslides' was uploaded to YouTube. The video for the opening track to The Opposites of Light, 'Nightmares' was released in early November. In January 2015 the band embarked on a long overdue tour of the USA in support of Wednesday 13 and followed it up with a shorter west coast tour in support of The Dreaming. A more extensive June tour with The Dreaming had to be shelved due to budget constraints. The band returned home and began writing songs for their fifth album. In October 2015 an announcement was made via the band's website of the retirement of their long-time manager George Jackson and the appointment of their new manager Gordon Biggins at Strata Music.
On 25 July 2016, drummer Al Fletcher died from "double pneumonia followed by sepsis in a rare reaction to an infection".
According to a 2017 press release, the remaining band members Grog & Mr Drew stepped back to contemplate not only the meaning of life; but the meaning of their band, their music and their future. Al had been a huge part of Die So Fluid's sound. He'd won a Grammy for his drumming and his finesse, thunder, power, enthusiasm & creativity always enhanced the band's rough, tough, soaring, bittersweet rock songs.
At the time of his death Grog and Mr Drew had written a bunch of songs for a new album but nothing had been recorded. After a period of reflection, they went back to the drawing board. They had a lot more to say.
They wrote new songs. No holds barred. Harder, heavier, faster, punkier. No filler. No fat. No f*cking around. Life is short. Why wait for tomorrow?
To paraphrase the lyrics from new song Tomorrow Doesn't Always Come:
'You could sleepwalk all your life
And never learn how to run
Don't say tomorrow.
Tomorrow doesn't always come'
They asked Justin Bennett (Skinny Puppy, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult) to play drums on the new album, announced as ONE BULLET FROM PARADISE. Grog recorded bass & vocals in LA, Mr Drew recorded guitars, synths, loops and noises in London and Justin recorded the drums in Bologna, Italy.
The single 'Bittersweet' was released on 7 April 2017. The band also shared an early version of a song from the upcoming album 'Born to Kill'.
In August 2017, the band announced a limited edition pre-order for fifth album ONE BULLET FROM PARADISE. The special edition includes a previously unreleased live album DRAW A LINE AND CROSS IT. Two songs from the new album can be also be heard on the pre-order page at Pledge Music.
Raven
Die So Fluid Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Balance my crimes
Themis made flesh
Under the strip light
Show me the cliff from which I’ll be pushed
Show me the rocks on which I’ll be crushed
It’s the wrong century to run away to sea
Doesn’t it …doesn’t it? Oh
At the place where the sea swallows the sun,
A firefly extinguished by the closing of a fist
The sea turns black and my heart turns blue
Left here all alone with a ghost of you
It’s the wrong century to run away to sea
But that’s where your mind goes...
Doesn’t it …doesn’t it? Oh
And I’ll hold my breath
‘til the tide brings you in
Return to me, return to me,
Take your place beneath my skin
Return to me
"Raven" by Die So Fluid is a song built around a metaphor of the mythological Raven acting as a omen, predicting the future, and as Death's messenger. The lyrics, "You hold the scales, balance my crimes, Themis made flesh, under the strip light," refer to the Greek goddess of Justice Themis, as she weighs the deeds of the dead after they pass over the threshold. The Raven acts as a reminder of the inevitability of death and the balance of justice that weighs every action. The song delves into themes of loneliness and loss as the singer is left alone with the ghost of a past lover when they’re gone with emphasis on how the mind turns to thoughts of death and isolation during times of heartbreak.
The lyrics, "It’s the wrong century to run away to sea, but that’s where your mind goes…" evoke a sense of longing to escape the world and start anew, wishing for a new beginning. However, there’s a sense of defeat present in it as well, indicating that it's too late to take a leap of faith, as it's an increasingly difficult task in modern times. The song's narrator suggests they will hold their breath until the tide brings their loved one back, not wanting to move on until they return. The song's chorus repeats the phrase "Return to me" like a prayer, allowing the audience to feel the character's desperation to reunite with their beloved.
Line by Line Meaning
You hold the scales
You are the judge that measures and judges my actions.
Balance my crimes
Account for all my wrongdoings with fairness and impartiality.
Themis made flesh
You embody the Greek goddess of justice and divine law, Themis.
Under the strip light
In the harsh and revealing light of reality.
Show me the cliff from which I’ll be pushed
Reveal to me the danger I must face with transparency and honesty.
Show me the rocks on which I’ll be crushed
Show me the obstacles that will cause my downfall or ruin.
It’s the wrong century to run away to sea
It is no longer fashionable to escape one's problems or responsibilities by running away to a life at sea.
But that’s where your mind goes...
Despite its impracticality, your mind is drawn to the concept of leaving everything behind and starting anew at sea.
Doesn’t it …doesn’t it? Oh
Isn't this desire to run away to sea so alluring and tempting?
At the place where the sea swallows the sun,
At dusk, where the sun appears to disappear into the ocean's horizon.
A firefly extinguished by the closing of a fist
A small, helpless creature that is easily crushed and destroyed by an oppressive force.
The sea turns black and my heart turns blue
My emotions and mood darken in response to the bleakness and despair of the setting.
Left here all alone with a ghost of you
Left in isolation with only memories of our past together to haunt me.
And I’ll hold my breath
I will anxiously and impatiently wait for your return.
‘til the tide brings you in
Until the natural forces of the ocean carry you back to me.
Return to me, return to me,
Come back to my life and my heart, fill the void that you left.
Take your place beneath my skin
Become a vital and inseparable part of my being once again.
Return to me
Come back to me.
Contributed by Lillian K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@ignazioatzori7033
Super grog love
@vacantlot
🖤🖤🖤
@acidsakura2770
WHERE IS EVERYONE? THIS IS A BOP
@karthikaiselvan8495
Upside
@LeftyPencil
mTurk