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.
Tear It Down
Die Warzau Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The shame of it all
??? your house in the sand
They'll pull your house down to the ground
Tear it down. Tear it down
I can't conceive this I can't refuse the simply notion
They'll pull your house down to the ground
Tear it down. Tear it down.
I can't uphold this I can't ignore the aberrations
???
Because your errors lift up their eyes.
To pull your house down to the ground
Tear it down. Tear it down.
Down.
In Die Warzau's song Tear It Down, the lyrics describe an overwhelming feeling of helplessness, as if the singer can't even remember or conceive why they are unable to change the current situation. The repetition of "tear it down" seems to be a call to action, a desperate plea to destroy and rebuild whatever needs to be changed in order to move forward. The lines "The shame of it all" and "Because your errors lift up their eyes" suggest that the singer feels responsible for the current state of things, but doesn't know how to fix it.
The middle verse, with its reference to "feet in your shoes" and "your spot in nature," could be interpreted as a comment on individuality or social constructs. It's as if the singer is saying, "I can't understand why we're stuck in these roles we've been assigned, but I know something needs to change." The "aberrations" mentioned in the next line could refer to the ways in which people don't fit neatly into their assigned roles, or the ways in which society doesn't account for different experiences and perspectives.
Overall, the lyrics to Tear It Down seem to express frustration and a desire for change, but also a feeling of powerlessness and confusion about how to bring it about.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't remember I can't recall the indecision
I am unable to bring to mind or recollect the moments of indecisiveness and uncertainty.
The shame of it all
There is a feeling of dishonor and disgrace attached to it.
??? your house in the sand
The intended message of the unspecified lyrics is unclear or not known.
They'll pull your house down to the ground
Others may take pleasure in and seek to destroy what you have built.
Tear it down. Tear it down
There is a call for destruction and tearing down of the things being discussed.
I can't conceive this I can't refuse the simply notion
I cannot comprehend nor reject the fundamental idea.
Of feet in your shoes. Your spot in nature or nowhere you stand
The idea of putting oneself in someone's position or accepting where they are in life instead of nowhere is being presented.
I can't uphold this I can't ignore the aberrations
I cannot maintain or support the present situation nor disregard the abnormalities.
???
The intended message of the unspecified lyrics is unclear or not known.
Because your errors lift up their eyes.
Your mistakes are noticed and bring attention to your actions.
To pull your house down to the ground
Others may seek to destroy your work, symbolized as your house.
Down.
An emphasis on the destruction or downfall of the things being discussed.
Contributed by Annabelle N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Eric McCoy
Love this! thanks for posting!. Bought this so long ago, when I was loving Ebb! buying it again
Jere Kuukkanen
Found just this album from my vinyls...didnt even remember this one
Masque Irate as Prawns
like number 23