Originally signed to Chris Parry's Fiction Records, the band released Disco Rigido in the late 1980s (distributed in the United States by Atlantic Records), which featured "Welcome To America", "Land of the Free" and "I've Got To Make Sense". Though the album falls solidly into the EBM genre, it contains hints of the experimentation and genre-bending that later recordings would feature (e.g. "Y Tagata en Situ").
A second album, Big Electric Metal Bass Face, built on the foundation laid with Disco Rigido and upped the ante with excursions into funk (listen to "Funkopolis" as well as the live take of "Coming Down"). Contributors to the band at the time included Chris Vrenna and James Woolley, who both served time in Nine Inch Nails during the mid-Nineties.
Marcus and Christie then teamed up with Jane Jensen to form Oxygiene 23, and released an album ("Blue") on Fifth Column Records.
Engine, a 1995 release on WaxTrax!, was a huge jump forward and found critical acclaim for its decimation of genre boundaries. Die Warzau could no longer be simply pigeonholed into the "industrial" category, as their music became more organic, rounder on the edges yet still retaining their trademark knack for insistent rhythm and pure, unrefined electronic noise. "Liberated" and "All Good Girls" became trademark songs for the group. Fellow WaxTrax! act Sister Machine Gun "inherited" an unused song from this period ("Hole In the Ground"), which they included on their Burn album.
Die Warzau as a group then went on hiatus for a number of years, with Marcus and Christie working on other projects--Jim Marcus founded the pure funk group Everplastic while Van Christie worked on Eco-Hed.
By 2005, though, the duo had reconvened and released Convenience (on their Chicago-based Pulseblack Records). A continuation of the path they started on with Engine, songs like "Radiation Babies", "Kleen" and "Linoleum" further blur any genre lines and leave something truly original. More output is expected from the group in 2006, including a collaboration with funk pioneer George Clinton.
All Cut Up
Die Warzau Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're be sitting by a fire, you would be much higher in some TV fantasy
Walking in the door, you know you're home once more, but it's a home where you've never been
Up the stairs there's nothing to fear; can't you see her, she's fast asleep
Step by step, up the stairway crept, and it fueled your imagination
Right is right, but when you have the knife, that's the point of the violation
You cover her face - the ripe disgrace give you shivers of anticipation
You dream to be, you're in ecstasy, your eyes hold a fascination
When you're all cut up
Bright as the sun and you're the only one she dreamt of night and day
All things ready, she'd have had you already; don't you know if she'd had it her way
Preparations and warm sensations, don't you feel like you can't get enough -
Don't you like a body hot, don't you like a body cold, don't you like all that fancy stuff
Push her to her knees, don't you like that please; now you're through with the sweet emotion
And the terror in her eyes is a real surprise while you're feeling her wet devotion
You hold her by the hair, she's soft and fair, and you hold her down underneath you
There's pale white skin where your fingers been; you let the pain of the world release you
When you're all cut up
Back by the fire, you can feel her kiss and it's warm by the glow of a night like this
Free and open, there's nothing to hide; you hold her in your arms as you stick it inside - the knife
Stick it inside, the knife
When you're all cut up
The lyrics to Die Warzau's song "All Cut Up" describe a violent and disturbing scene of sexual assault and murder. The singer seems to be relishing in his power and control over his victim, describing his excitement and anticipation as he climbs the stairs towards her. The violent acts that follow are described in graphic detail, with the singer taking pleasure in the terror and pain he is inflicting. The final line of the song "Back by the fire, you can feel her kiss and it's warm by the glow of a night like this/ Free and open, there's nothing to hide; you hold her in your arms as you stick it inside - the knife" is a disturbing suggestion that the singer continues to violate his victim's body even in death.
The song is a commentary on the objectification and violence against women, and the dark and twisted desires that can motivate such horrific acts. The lyrics capture the disturbing psychology of a serial killer or rapist, delving into the twisted fantasies that can drive a person to commit such atrocities. The grim and unsettling nature of the song is made even more powerful by the juxtaposition of the violent acts with descriptions of warmth and comfort, suggesting that the singer is able to compartmentalize his violent impulses and see his victim as nothing more than an object to be dominated and controlled.
Line by Line Meaning
Walking is a strain in the pouring rain, but you know where you want to be
Walking through the rain is painstaking, but you have a destination in mind
You're be sitting by a fire, you would be much higher in some TV fantasy
You imagine yourself sitting by a fire, living in a TV fantasy world, but in reality, you're not there yet
Walking in the door, you know you're home once more, but it's a home where you've never been
As you enter the house, you feel like you're home, but it's still unfamiliar to you
Up the stairs there's nothing to fear; can't you see her, she's fast asleep
You climb the stairs without any fear, as she's sleeping soundly
Step by step, up the stairway crept, and it fueled your imagination
Each step you take fuels your imagination
Right is right, but when you have the knife, that's the point of the violation
Although you know what is right, the possession of a knife makes you feel like you're committing a violation
You cover her face - the ripe disgrace give you shivers of anticipation
You cover her face, giving you a feeling of anticipation that is disturbing yet exciting
You dream to be, you're in ecstasy, your eyes hold a fascination
You're in a state of euphoria, fascinated by the disturbing dream you're living
When you're all cut up
The chorus which signals the recurring theme throughout the song
Bright as the sun and you're the only one she dreamt of night and day
She has an infatuation with you and thinks about you all the time
All things ready, she'd have had you already; don't you know if she'd had it her way
She's ready for you, and if it was up to her, she would have taken you already
Preparations and warm sensations, don't you feel like you can't get enough
The feelings of warmth and excitement are addictive and you can't get enough of them
Don't you like a body hot, don't you like a body cold, don't you like all that fancy stuff
You enjoy all kinds of sensations, whether it's hot or cold, and you're into trying new things
Push her to her knees, don't you like that please; now you're through with the sweet emotion
You enjoy the feeling of power by making her kneel, but afterward, you're through with the feeling of intimacy
And the terror in her eyes is a real surprise while you're feeling her wet devotion
Although you're feeling her love, the fear in her eyes is still surprising and exciting to you
You hold her by the hair, she's soft and fair, and you hold her down underneath you
You're dominating her, holding her by the hair and holding her down, enjoying her vulnerability
There's pale white skin where your fingers been; you let the pain of the world release you
As you touch her pale white skin, the pain of the world disappears and you feel a sense of relief
Back by the fire, you can feel her kiss and it's warm by the glow of a night like this
After the disturbing act, you're back by the fire, experiencing warmth as you feel her kiss
Free and open, there's nothing to hide; you hold her in your arms as you stick it inside - the knife, stick it inside, the knife
With nothing to hide, you hold her close and experience an intimate moment as you plunge the knife into her
Contributed by Benjamin T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ian Brill
So good. Thank you!
Jake Martin
killer track
Alfred Light
This is the sample InSoc took!