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.
Paradise City
Eighteen Visions Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
livin' under the street
I'm a hard case
that's tough to beat
I'm your charity case
So buy me somethin' to eat
I'll pay you at another time
Take it to the end of the line
Ragz to richez or so they say
Ya gotta-keep pushin'
for the fortune and fame
It's all a gamble
When it's just a game
Ya treat it like a capital crime
Everybody's doin' their time
Take me down
To the paradise city
Where the grass is green
And the girls are pretty
Take me home
Strapped in the chair
of the city's gas chamber
Why I'm here I can't quite remember
The surgeon general says
it's hazardous to breathe
I'd have another cigarette
but I can't see
Tell me who you're gonna believe
So far away
So far away
So far away
So far away
Captain America's been torn apart
Now he's a court jester
with a broken heart
He said
Turn me around and
take me back to the start
I must be losin' my mind
"Are you blind?"
I've seen it all a million times
The lyrics to Paradise City by Eighteen Visions describe a person who is living on the streets and looking for help in order to survive. The singer describes himself as an "urchin" who is "hard to beat" and is asking for some charity in the form of a meal. He assures the person who helps him that he will pay them back later. The chorus is a yearning for a better life where the grass is green and the girls are pretty, a paradise city that is far away from his current situation.
The second verse depicts the singer in a gas chamber, not sure how he got there, but aware of the danger he is facing. He references the surgeon general's warning about smoking, indicating that he may be there due to his addiction. The chorus repeats, and then the third verse references Captain America, suggesting that even superheroes are not immune to heartbreak and that sometimes we may feel like we're going crazy. The song ends with the singer expressing a feeling of weariness and a sense of having seen it all before.
Line by Line Meaning
Just a' urchin
livin' under the street
I'm a hard case
that's tough to beat
I'm your charity case
So buy me somethin' to eat
I'll pay you at another time
Take it to the end of the line
I am a poor person, living on the street with no home. I am a difficult person who is hard to overcome. I am someone who needs your help, so please give me food and I will repay you later. Let's go to the limit.
Ragz to richez or so they say
Ya gotta-keep pushin'
for the fortune and fame
It's all a gamble
When it's just a game
Ya treat it like a capital crime
Everybody's doin' their time
They claim that one can go from rags to riches, but you must work hard and strive for success. Life is a continuous gamble, especially when playing by somebody else's rules. However, people still harshly judge others for not being fortunate enough to have established their fame or wealth yet. We're all just trying to survive.
Take me down
To the paradise city
Where the grass is green
And the girls are pretty
Take me home
Take me to a place where life seems perfect and easy with beautiful people and scenery. Take me home, where everything makes sense and I feel safe.
Strapped in the chair
of the city's gas chamber
Why I'm here I can't quite remember
The surgeon general says
it's hazardous to breathe
I'd have another cigarette
but I can't see
Tell me who you're gonna believe
I am stuck in a gas chamber with no recollection of why I am here. The surgeon general warns us that the air is poisonous but I still want to smoke. Who should we trust when faced with overwhelming evidence and vague warnings?
So far away
So far away
So far away
So far away
I feel so distant and removed from everything that I cannot find my place in the world.
Captain America's been torn apart
Now he's a court jester
with a broken heart
He said
Turn me around and
take me back to the start
I must be losin' my mind
"Are you blind?"
I've seen it all a million times
Even our superheroes have been broken and dismantled, and are now mocked and shamed for their failure. He just wants to go back to the start and fix his mistake, but he cannot believe that nobody else can see the obvious problems with society. The problems we see in the world have been apparent for far too long and yet still remain unaddressed and unresolved.
Contributed by Colton K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.