Dreadlight is a female, alternative, hard rock duo from Portland, Oregon. S… Read Full Bio ↴Dreadlight is a female, alternative, hard rock duo from Portland, Oregon. Songwriters Kandra Tolvstad (Bass/Vocals) and Toria Beck (Guitar/Vocals) met in high school and began collaborating musically at 14 and 16. Coming from different musical worlds, the duo are developing a unique sound where sweet harmonies soar over heavy instrumentation, an experience pleasantly headbangable.

They have been making their mark in the Northwest scene, placing as semifinalists at Sound Off! 2018 and playing festivals such as Portland Pride.

The two write from their own experiences, whether that be the dramas of growing up or their struggles with anxiety and depression. They find it important to write about the deeper, more personal topics of life to show people, along with themselves, that they are not alone. Dreadlight strives to inspire people to be mindful of themselves, their mental health, and their communities.

With these topics being a lot to cover in a single album, they're releasing a self produced, triad of themed EPs and music videos in 2019 that each focus on an aspect of growing up. The first of the series, a dark perspective titled Limbo, along with a music video for the single Grenadine.

Zero
Dreadlight Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You turned away
But when you left, you left stains
You weren't meant to stay
But broke me in your wake
Maybe now I'm free
But how can I live freely
With all the memories
And all of you I see in me

Zero trace of my
Peace now, you left me
Wrung out, cause I see your
Shadow on everything
I, I can't even lie
In my bed at night
Without the window tight
Hey, I can't hear your name
Or hear Audioslave
With my head on straight
Zero trace of my
Peace now, you left me
Wrung out, cause I see your
Shadow on everything
I shouldn't even give you
The time of day but I do
Only because I think it's
Half past your turn
Zero trace of my
Peace now, you left me

Wrung out, cause I see your
Shadow on everything

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Zero" by Dreadlight speak of a painful break-up where the singer is left with nothing but memories that haunt them. They address the person who left them and acknowledge that they were not meant to stay, but their departure has left stains on the singer's life. It seems that the singer has mixed feelings about the break-up; on the one hand, they feel free from the relationship but, on the other hand, they are weighed down by the memories of it. The person who left has left a lasting impact on the singer's life and they feel like they cannot escape their shadow. The lyrics are raw and vulnerable, capturing the pain and confusion of a difficult break-up.

The chorus of the song repeats the line "Zero trace of my peace now, you left me" which seems to suggest that the singer's peace of mind and inner calm have been disrupted by the break-up. They feel wrung out, as if their emotional energy has been sapped by the experience. The mention of not being able to even hear Audioslave (presumably a band the couple enjoyed listening to together) without feeling weighed down, adds a layer of emotional depth to the lyrics.

Line by Line Meaning

You turned away
You left me alone

But when you left, you left stains
You left a permanent mark on me

You weren't meant to stay
Our relationship was temporary

But broke me in your wake
But your departure destroyed me

Maybe now I'm free
Maybe now that you're gone, I'm free from the pain you caused

But how can I live freely
But how can I move on from the memories you left behind?

With all the memories
With all the memories of you still haunting me

And all of you I see in me
And all of your flaws and mistakes I see in myself

Zero trace of my
I have no more

Peace now, you left me
Peace, now that you've left me, is hard to come by

Wrung out, cause I see your
I'm emotionally drained, because everywhere I look, I see you