Their debut release was the "Lifeless" EP on Life Sentence Records. They followed this with a full-length album titled "Yesterday Is Time Killed" on Cedargate Records. Upon switching to Trustkill Records, they recorded their 2000 album Until The Ink Runs Out. For their next album, "Best Of", the band re-recorded much of their earlier, out of print, material. The music style of the band changed a lot since their 2002 debut "Vanity", which birthed a music video single for "You Broke Like Glass" which played in heavy rotation via MTV2's Headbangers Ball. Eighteen Visions then released "Obsession" in 2004 which would be their last album for Trustkill Records.
On July 18 2006 they released a self-titled album through Epic Records. Their single "Victim" climbed the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, and was the official theme song of WWE Vengeance that year.
Eighteen Visions broke up in April 2007.
On February 9, 2017, an official Instagram account of the band was launched, with James Hart, Keith Barney, and Trevor Friedrich being tagged on the first picture which contained the message, "the countdown begins..." All three members uploaded the same picture onto their respective private accounts as well. They continued to share studio footage and a teaser of a new song. Mick Kenney (Anaal Nathrakh) was revealed to be producing, mixing, and mastering the band's comeback record at his Huntington Beach, CA studio The Barracks.
On April 20, 2017, ten years from the day of their farewell show at Chain Reaction in Anaheim, the band confirmed details surrounding their comeback album XVIII, which would be released on June 2 via Rise Records. They also released a full stream and music video for "Oath." They released a second single, "Crucified," on May 9 with a lyric video. Both songs are under 2 minutes in length and marked the return of heavy screaming as a prominent element of the band's sound. The band also confirmed that one of the album's tracks, "Live Again," is a tribute to the late former bassist Mick Morris. The third single released was "The Disease, the Decline, and Wasted Time" on May 25.
In June 2017, it was revealed that Ken Floyd couldn't take part in the reunion due to his full-time job as a tour manager for Zedd. It was also reported that the band decided not to replace Mick Morris with another bassist out of respect for him. Instead, his bass tracks will be used at live shows for the songs released prior to 2017. Keith Barney, however, ruled out the possibility of any extensive touring in the near future due to full-time jobs that band members have.
XVIII was released as planned on June 2, 2017, coinciding with the release of a music video for "Live Again" and a show at The Observatory in Santa Ana with Retox and Seizures.
Burned Us Alive
Eighteen Visions Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To crash and wash your life away
It strapped you down
And made you a slave to the taste
You've messed it up
Made a mistake
And now I think it's time to pay
In these flames you've burned us alive now
You could've been someone
In these flames you've burned us alive now
Now you've left your impression
I, I think it's coming back again
And I can't fake the way I feel inside
I don't want you, I don't need you
You burned me once but you won't burn me again, yeah
You motherfucker, you've lost all you loved
And all the friends you've made
I picked you up
Gave you another chance to waste
You point your finger at me
But you still won't
Assume any blame
You, think your conspiracy's lead you astray, yeah
In these flames you've burned us alive now
You could've been someone
In these flames you've burned us alive now
Now you've left your impression
I, I think it's coming back again
And I can't fake the way I feel inside
I don't want you, I don't need you
You burned me once but you won't burn me again, yeah
Your misery tears away
At your lungs
With its sharpest teeth
Your misery has got you down now
You can't come crawling back
Now running your mouth
Sick of all the games
All of those years they seem like yesterday, yeah
In these flames you've burned us alive now
You could've been someone
In these flames you've burned us alive now
Now you've left your impression
I, I think it's coming back again
And I can't fake the way I feel inside
I don't want you, I don't need you
You burned me once but you won't burn me again, yeah
The lyrics of Eighteen Visions' "Burned Us Alive" speaks of a person who has caused harm to those around them by continuously making mistakes and breaking promises. The lines "You've messed it up, made a mistake, and now I think it's time to pay, for all the promises you start to break, yeah" show that the person has created significant damage, but continues to refuse to take responsibility for all the wrong that they have done. They have been given multiple chances but have continued to waste them, as mentioned in the lines "I picked you up, gave you another chance to waste, you point your finger at me but you still won't assume any blame."
The chorus "In these flames you've burned us alive now, you could've been someone, now you've left your impression" metaphorically represents the destruction and the impression left on the people that the person has hurt. The feeling of betrayal and hurt is evident in the lines "You motherfucker, you've lost all you loved, and all the friends you've made" and later, "Your misery tears away at your lungs with its sharpest teeth." The singer has reached a point where they cannot take any more of the person's behavior, as expressed in "I don't want you, I don't need you, you burned me once but you won't burn me again, yeah."
Line by Line Meaning
You feel the waves as they begin
To crash and wash your life away
you're experiencing the initial effects of the consequences of your actions, which are intense and destructive
It strapped you down
And made you a slave to the taste
it has pinned you down and now you're living to satisfy your addiction or craving
You've messed it up
Made a mistake
And now I think it's time to pay
For all the promises you start to break, yeah
you've made a grave error and you must now face the repercussions of failing to keep your promises
In these flames you've burned us alive now
You could've been someone
In these flames you've burned us alive now
Now you've left your impression
you've caused damage that will alter our lives forever, and you could have been a great person, but instead you used your abilities to destroy us
I, I think it's coming back again
And I can't fake the way I feel inside
I don't want you, I don't need you
You burned me once but you won't burn me again, yeah
I have a feeling that your actions are going to have consequences again, and I cannot pretend that I'm okay with you anymore. I have lost all desire for you and I refuse to let you hurt me again.
You motherfucker, you've lost all you loved
And all the friends you've made
I picked you up
Gave you another chance to waste
you've ruined your relationships with everyone who cared about you, and even though I helped you out and gave you another opportunity, you still managed to squander it
You point your finger at me
But you still won't
Assume any blame
You, think your conspiracy's lead you astray, yeah
you're blaming me for your mistakes but you won't take any responsibility for yourself. You believe that some plot or scheme is responsible for your downfall, but you're mistaken.
Your misery tears away
At your lungs
With its sharpest teeth
Your misery has got you down now
your suffering is making it hard for you to breathe and it's cutting into your very being like the sharpest teeth of a predator. The misery you're experiencing is overwhelming you.
You can't come crawling back
Now running your mouth
Sick of all the games
All of those years they seem like yesterday, yeah
you can't return to me now and expect me to listen to your complaints, since I'm tired of your lies and manipulations. I'm done playing your games, and even though it seems like only yesterday, it has been years since we were close.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: James Hart, Keith Barney, Ken Floyd, Mick Morris, Trevor Friedrich
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind