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.
Terrorform
Die Warzau Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Change your world wanna change your mind
Flow flow like a romeo
Animals dying for the rodeo
Can't speak the knees too weak
To protect the poor To protect the weak
We all give a little bit more
All wrapped in a plastic bag
Shop and shop it's the best we had
Fat break with all we make
A little bit more and a big mistake
We're all meat and we break too sweet
Stomp on the planet with our own two feet
They pay you to figure out which
Convenience they buy your loyalty with
Come inside blur your eyes
Stare at the world as it slowly dies
Pray pray everything you fear
Our ecosystem wanna disappear
Rage rage think in your mind
The end of us is the end of time
The smoke clears the war dies down
We all will die but the life goes on
We are not men
We are machines that take the breath of life away
We are not men
We are pathetic animals who kill to kill
We are not sane
We are colluding with the enemy is us
We are not sane
We are destroying things we are unfit to touch
The lyrics to Die Warzau's song "Terrorform" address the destructive nature of humanity, particularly in regard to our treatment of the environment and each other. The opening lines suggest a desire for change, but the repeated use of words like "mind" and "medication" hint at our society's reliance on quick fixes rather than real solutions. The image of animals dying for the rodeo highlights the cruelty in our treatment of other beings for our own entertainment.
The next lines address our inability to speak out against injustices, with the powerful metaphor of "knees too weak" suggesting a physical manifestation of fear or powerlessness. Despite this, we continue to consume and give in to convenience at the expense of our planet and the vulnerable. The repetition of "a little bit more" suggests that our insatiable desire for consumption will eventually lead to our downfall.
The bridge of the song paints a bleak picture of our world, with the suggestion that we are not truly human but rather destructive machines. The final lines drive this point home with the assertion that we are "colluding with the enemy" and "destroying things we are unfit to touch". Overall, "Terrorform" is a powerful commentary on the destructive tendencies of humanity and the urgent need for change.
Line by Line Meaning
Round round medicine mind
Drugs and medications are used to change our thoughts and perception of the world around us
Change your world wanna change your mind
We want to change the world but first we have to change our own mindset and beliefs
Flow flow like a romeo
We are constantly moving and changing like the lovers in Romeo & Juliet
Animals dying for the rodeo
Animals are being exploited and killed for human entertainment in events such as rodeos
Can't speak the knees too weak
We are often too afraid or weak to speak up for those who are less fortunate or oppressed
To protect the poor To protect the weak
We need to stand up for and protect those who are vulnerable in our society
We all give a little bit more
We need to give more of our time, resources, and attention to issues that affect our world
To buy our goods at the corner store
We often overlook the exploitation and harm caused by the consumer goods we purchase at convenience stores
All wrapped in a plastic bag
Our consumer culture has led to excessive waste and pollution, with many products packaged in single-use plastics
Shop and shop it's the best we had
Consumerism and materialism have become normalized and prioritized in our society
Fat break with all we make
Our excess and indulgences have led to damaging consequences for the environment and our health
A little bit more and a big mistake
Our constant pursuit of more, at the expense of others and the planet, will ultimately lead to disastrous consequences
We're all meat and we break too sweet
We are all mortal and vulnerable, yet often forget this fact and take actions that harm ourselves and others
Stomp on the planet with our own two feet
Our actions and choices, such as overconsumption and pollution, are slowly destroying the planet we live on
They pay you to figure out which
Those who profit from our consumerist culture try to manipulate and deceive us with marketing and advertising
Convenience they buy your loyalty with
Our convenience-focused culture often leads to us sacrificing ethical and sustainable practices for the sake of ease and comfort
Come inside blur your eyes
We are encouraged to turn a blind eye to the harm caused by our consumerist culture and destructive actions
Stare at the world as it slowly dies
Our planet and natural environment are suffering and deteriorating due to our actions
Pray pray everything you fear
We often turn to religion or other coping mechanisms to avoid confronting our fears and anxieties about the future of our world
Our ecosystem wanna disappear
Our planet's ecosystem is in danger and facing extinction due to our actions and choices
Rage rage think in your mind
We should be outraged and angry at the harm and damage we are causing to the planet and future generations
The end of us is the end of time
If we continue down our current destructive path, it will lead to the downfall of humanity and possibly the end of the world
The smoke clears the war dies down
Once the destructive actions of humanity come to an end, there may still be hope for the future
We all will die but the life goes on
Even though we may not be around to see it, life on our planet will continue after we are gone
We are not men
As a species, humanity has failed to live up to the standard of being truly 'human' and compassionate
We are machines that take the breath of life away
Our actions and choices have led to the destruction of life and the environment, making us more like machines than living beings
We are pathetic animals who kill to kill
Our tendency towards violence and destruction is both non-sensical and self-destructive
We are colluding with the enemy is us
Our own destructive tendencies and actions are the true enemy we need to confront and overcome
We are destroying things we are unfit to touch
Our actions and choices are having a negative and destructive impact on the planet and future generations, despite our lack of qualification or moral superiority to do so
Contributed by Mackenzie T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.