By 2000, Archer and Lynch were moving the project in a darker electronic/dance direction, resulting in a self-released full length album entitled ‘Dragonfly’.
After a short hiatus from recording and a lengthy period of trial, error, and revision, and many regional live performances, Ego Likeness signed with Dancing Ferret Discs/ Noir Records for the release of 2004’s ‘Water to the Dead’. This album featured the band’s electronic roots while exploring a bit of a heavier rock
sound.
2005 saw the band tour Germany, Luxembourg, and the continental US with label mates The Cruxshadows, as well as performing at several festivals on the east and west coast, including Convergence 11 (San Diego CA), Dracula’s Ball (Philadelphia PA), Black Sun Festival I (New Haven CT), Freaks United (DC), Eccentrik Festival I (Raleigh NC), and others.
Their first album ‘Dragonfly’ was re-released on Dancing Ferret Discs in 2005.
In addition to The Cruxshadows, they have had the honour to share the stage with Voltaire, The Damned, Chris Connelly, Collide, Razed in Black, Bella Morte, Das Ich, Rasputina, The Start, Iris, Decoded Feedback, The Azoic, More Machine Than Man, In Strict Confidence, Combichrist, and many others.
They have also appeared on numerous compilation CDs, including several Asleep by Dawn releases and 'Where's Neil When You Need Him?' (a tribute to the work of author Neil Gaiman, DFD July 2006); released remixes for The Cruxshadows (Cassandra-Fortress in Flames), The Last Dance (Terribly When- Reflections of Rage), Thou Shalt Not (Inside of You, In Spite of You- The Projectionist), and Black Tape for a Blue
Girl (Tarnished- Scarecrow); and appeared on Voltaire's album Then and Again. EL has also been featured in publications such as Gothic Beauty, Outburn, ABD, Sideline and Sonic Seducer, to name a few.
Their third full length album, ‘The Order of the Reptile' (release date July 4th 2006, Dancing Ferret Discs) ventures back into the realms of heavy electronica, a bit of trip hop, and darkwave.
Archer and Lynch have been married since October of 1999 and currently live in Baltimore. Steven is also the creator of the atmospheric electronica project Hopeful Machines, and performs with the industrial/ power noise act Blind Till Now. All three members of EL, along with Alexx Lackey of echomatrix make up the experimental/ spoken word outfit The Trinity Project.
Former band mate Justin ‘Dingo’ Sabe also lives in Baltimore with a lovely belly dancer and some rather large cats. When not performing with EL, he spends his time on fire and robots and knitting, and can often be found at festivals that involve fire, robots, and/or knitting. He also plays the tuba and hopes to form a marching band in the very near future.
Current line up:
Steven Archer - Guitar/ Programming/ Music & Words/ Vocals
Donna Lynch - Vocals/ Piano/ Words & Music
Mike K. Johnson - Drums
Former members:
Justin 'Dingo' Sabe - Keytar/ Synths/ Noise
Official Site: www.egolikeness.com/
Steven also works on a solo project at www.hopefulmachines.net
The Breach
Ego Likeness Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So now just a stone's throw away from the edge of the hole in my life.
Tear the skin from the sky build a wall from the light cast a stone into the sickness in my heart.
So now just a fault line away from the mask on the wall in my home.
Pull the eyes from the dove drink the water from the well as it falls into the dust of my soul.
DROWN ME NOW INTO THIS OCEAN OF YOU DROWN ME NOW INTO YOU HIDE ME AGAIN
Without the solace of the night tear the candle from the light I never find hope in my dreams.
So now just an icon away where the clock on the wall turns to three one second past the hour one minute more in
time and we all fall away into the breach...
The Breach by Ego Likeness is a song that deals primarily with themes of loss, darkness, and hopelessness. The lyrics speak of being on the edge of a hole in your life, and feeling like it is just a stone's throw away. The line "tear the skin from the sky" is about tearing apart the very fabric of the world, creating a wall of light to try and block off the pain that is consuming them. However, this only adds to the suffocating nature of the situation, casting a stone into the sickness in their heart. They feel as though they are on a fault line, one step away from completely breaking apart. The imagery of pulling the eyes from the dove symbolizes the destruction of purity, and drinking the water from the well as it falls into the dust of their soul is about hopelessly trying to cling to something that is long gone.
The chorus "DROWN ME NOW INTO THIS OCEAN OF YOU DROWN ME NOW INTO YOU HIDE ME AGAIN" is about wanting to escape from the pain and be enveloped by something else that is consuming them. They want to be hidden away from the world, desperately seeking refuge in something beyond themselves. They feel as though they are just an ocean away, and that the only thing that could save them is to be lost in someone or something else.
The second verse speaks about feeling alone in the world, without the solace of the night or any hope in their dreams. The line "one second past the hour one minute more in time and we all fall away into the breach" speaks to the inevitability of destruction and loss. No matter how hard we try to hold on, everything will eventually fall away into nothingness.
Line by Line Meaning
So now just a stone's throw away from the edge of the hole in my life.
I am dangerously close to falling into a deep emotional void.
Tear the skin from the sky build a wall from the light cast a stone into the sickness in my heart.
I feel intense pain and want to shield myself from any light or hope to avoid feeling it.
So now just a fault line away from the mask on the wall in my home.
I have lost my true self and put on a fake facade to others.
Pull the eyes from the dove drink the water from the well as it falls into the dust of my soul.
I am consumed by darkness and despair, losing touch with anything pure or good.
DROWN ME NOW INTO THIS OCEAN OF YOU DROWN ME NOW INTO YOU HIDE ME AGAIN
I crave a sense of meaning and purpose, and want to be submerged in a deeper connection with something greater than myself.
So now just an ocean away from the shores of the land in my sleep.
I feel asleep or disconnected from the world around me.
Without the solace of the night tear the candle from the light I never find hope in my dreams.
Even in my dreams, I am unable to escape my pain and suffering.
So now just an icon away where the clock on the wall turns to three one second past the hour one minute more in time and we all fall away into the breach...
Time is having a profound impact on me, and I fear becoming lost in an abyss of despair and hopelessness.
Contributed by Harper L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.