1) Face Down (formerly … Read Full Bio ↴At least two bands share the name Face Down.
1) Face Down (formerly known as Machine God) is a post-thrash/death metal band from Sweden.
In 1993 bass player Joakim (Harju) Hedestedt and drummer Richard Bng started a band called Machine God along with guitarist Alex Linder. The band was soon joined by vocalist Marco Aro.
After the first gig in spring 1994, guitarist Joacim Carlsson (Afflicted, General Surgery) joined up and they decided to change the band name to Face Down. Later that year, Linder was replaced by Niklas Ekstrand (ex-Tiamat) due in part to his basic lack of interest. With this line up, the first demo was recorded and duplicated in over 800 copies. These were widely spread and given away and none were sent out to record companies.
Through word of mouth, the demo was picked up by Soundfront Music. After a gig in Stockholm in spring 1995 the band signed a contract with Roadrunner Records (through Soundfront Music.) That was also the last gig with Ekstrand, who didn't seem as eager to work as hard as the rest of the band, who in turn doubled their efforts in order to make a great debut album. The album "Mindfield" was recorded in summer 1995 at Soundfront Studio, with acclaimed producer Daniel Bergstrand. Shortly afterwards, Bng left the band. He was soon replaced by drummer Peter Stjrnvind (Unanimated, Merciless) and Face Down was ready for action.
After the release of "Mindfield" in January 96, the band went on an European tour supporting Napalm Death and Crowbar. Around this time the "Kill The Pain" video was shown several times on MTV's Headbangers Ball and the band also appeared in a live interview on the show. This tour also included a couple of gigs with the legendary At The Gates. The European tour was shortly followed by a co-headline tour in the UK with London thrashers Above All and culminated with a magic gig at London Astoria (Metal Hammer's 4-play Night), supporting Cathedral. Back home in Sweden, Face Down attended the awesome Hultsfred Festival and completely devastated the crowd. After lots of problems with Soundfront Records the band stood without a record deal, but was quickly signed on to Nuclear Blast Records. In Autumn of 1996 the band started to work on their second full-length record.
In February of 1997 the band entered Sunlight Studios with producer Tomas Skogsberg. A total of 15 tracks were recorded for their second release in six weeks time. Upon completion of the recording, the band submitted the masters to Nuclear Blast, who in turn, didn't accept the production. The band was forced to re-record the album at Daniel Bergstrand's Dug Out Productions studio in two weeks in July 1997. After the release of "The Twisted Rule The Wicked" in late 1997, Peter Stjrnvind left the band to join Entombed. Hkan Ericsson (from local act Godblender) was quickly brought in to replace him. Tough times lay ahead. The departure of Peter and even more problems with Nuclear Blast made the morale of the band low. The band played some local shows, got promised a couple of tours but nothing ever materialized. The band decided to set up their own tour in the territory where they were best known, the UK, along with HC band Soulquake System from Kristinehamn.
After completing the UK tour in early 1998 with Soulquake System, the band took a break for a few months. Work was resumed during autumn '98, and the band recorded a three track demo-tape at Sunlight Studio.
At this point the relationship with Nuclear Blast was disintegrating completely and further co-operation was impossible. The band once again found themselves without a record deal, with almost all material written for their third album.
In early 1999, Marco decided to leave the band as The Haunted had made him an offer he could not refuse. Face Down was at its lowest point ever. Facing a bleak future with no record label or lead vocalist, Joakim, Hkan and Joacim tried to hold on a couple of weeks but it was pointless. Face Down was dead... The remaining members went their separate ways in spring of 1999.
Over five years later Joakim (Harju) Hedestedt (who was playing base for Construcdead) felt that it was time to reunite the band. He'd heard about Marco Aro's departure from The Haunted and started making some phone calls to his old band mates. The reaction was very positive. To take on the heavy burden of drummer, Joakim asked his good friend Erik Thyselius (also of Construcdead and Terror 2000). Erik gladly accepted the task and the new Face Down was created. Shortly after the band was signed on to Black Lodge Records.
After successfully recording a 3 track demo in the summer of 2004, the band were invited to appear at 'Sweden Rock', the country's largest and most renouned music festival, and also the legendary 'Decibel 2000' festival. Hard work was resumed as the band once again hit the 'Fear and Loathing' recording studio in order to put down tracks for their long awaited third album, 'The Will To Power.'
Produced by Jocke Skog, the album took the band in new directions whilst maintaining the sheer aggression, brutality and impact of their former releases.
Final line-up:
Marco Aro - Vocals
Rickard Dahlberg - Guitar
Joakim Hedestedt - Bass
Christofer Barkensjö - Drums
Former members:
Joacim Carlsson - Guitar (1994-2006)
Erik Thyselius - Drums (2004-2006)
Håkan Ericsson - Drums (1997-1999)
Peter Stjärnvind - Drums (1995-1997)
Richard Bång - Drums (1993-1995)
Niklas Ekstrand - Guitar (1994-1995)
Alex Linder - Guitar (1993-1994)
Henrik Blomquist - Audio Warfare (1994-1996)
Discography
One Eyed Man (Demo, 1994)
Mindfield (1996)
The Twisted Rule the Wicked (1997)
Demo (2004)
The Will to Power (2005)
Demo (2006)
2) Face Down is also a French southern-metal band.
http://www.myspace.com/facedownattitude
Life Relentless
Face Down Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Will it humble our thinking
or laugh in our face
Beaten and torn on bruised knees crawling,
It decomposes my soul
Fall - constantly falling,
Call - I'm forever just calling,
Numbness takes control
Fall - constantly falling,
Fear - I'm forever just running,
Cry - I'm pathetically crying, When I...
Feel and feed the foetus in my mind,
Seeking refugee where pain resides
I am the foetus of my time,
Born to this life relentless
Rattle the chains,
To this mental enslavement,
Charismatic abuse
Solitude hands me my tool of destruction,
Darkness fills the room
Crawl - on bruised knees crawling,
It's dark - I'm forever just fumbling,
Cry - I'm pathetically crying, When I...
Feel and feed the foetus in my mind,
Seeking refugee where pain resides
I am the foetus of my time,
Born to this life relentless
The lyrics to Face Down's song "Life Relentless" speak to the struggles of life and the toll it can take on our mental and emotional states. The opening lines ask whether this moment will humble us or laugh in our face, conveying the uncertainty and unpredictability of life. The singer is beaten, torn, and crawling on bruised knees, a physical representation of the emotional turmoil they are experiencing.
The chorus repeats the themes of falling, calling, fear, and crying, communicating the singer's sense of helplessness and desperation. They feel numb and lack control, making it difficult to cope with the pain and suffering they are enduring. The lines "Feel and feed the foetus in my mind, seeking refugee where pain resides" suggest that the singer is trying to find some sort of escape from their troubles, but they are struggling to do so.
The lyrics also touch on the topic of abuse and mental enslavement, as well as the darkness and solitude that can come with it. The singer is struggling to cope with their situation and is using destructive coping mechanisms. The final lines, "I am the foetus of my time, born to this life relentless," suggest that despite the hardships, the singer is still fighting to survive and overcome the challenges life has presented to them.
Line by Line Meaning
This fraction of time,
The present moment that we are living in
Will it humble our thinking
Will it make us realize our insignificance and lack of control in the grand scheme of things
or laugh in our face
Or will it mock us for trying to resist the relentless passage of time
Beaten and torn on bruised knees crawling,
We are physically and emotionally defeated and powerless, reduced to crawling on our knees
It decomposes my soul
This experience is breaking us down and destroying our spirit
Fall - constantly falling,
We are continuously descending, both physically and emotionally
Call - I'm forever just calling,
We are constantly reaching out for help, but no one answers
Get no answer, No relief,
Our attempts to seek help or relief are unsuccessful
Numbness takes control
We become emotionally desensitized and disconnected from our surroundings
Fear - I'm forever just running,
We are constantly fleeing from our fears, but they seem to catch up with us
Cry - I'm pathetically crying, When I...
We are reduced to tears by our overwhelming emotions, even in situations where we feel powerless to do anything else
Feel and feed the foetus in my mind,
We focus on the negative thoughts and emotions that are growing within us
Seeking refugee where pain resides
We try to escape from our pain by retreating into our own minds
I am the foetus of my time,
We are a product of the time we live in, and the experiences that come with it
Born to this life relentless
We were brought into a reality that is unforgiving and relentless
Rattle the chains,
We are trapped by our own thoughts and emotions, like a prisoner rattling the chains on their shackles
To this mental enslavement,
Our thoughts and emotions are controlling us, like a form of mental bondage
Charismatic abuse
The negative thoughts and emotions that we are feeding are taking on a life of their own, becoming more powerful and charismatic over time
Solitude hands me my tool of destruction,
When we are alone with our thoughts, we tend to focus on the negative and destructive aspects of our lives
Darkness fills the room
The negativity envelops us, both metaphorically and literally
Crawl - on bruised knees crawling,
We are still defeated and powerless, forced to crawl even though it hurts us
It's dark - I'm forever just fumbling,
We can't see clearly because of the darkness, causing us to fumble around aimlessly
Feel and feed the foetus in my mind,
Again, we are focused on and consumed by our negative thoughts and emotions
Seeking refugee where pain resides
We try to escape from our pain by hiding within our own minds
I am the foetus of my time,
Once again, we are a product of the time we live in and the experiences that come with it
Born to this life relentless
We were brought into a reality that is unforgiving and relentless, and we are struggling to cope with it
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOACIM MATHIAS CARLSSON, JOAKIM HANS HARJU, MARCO MICHAEL ARO, PETER STJAERNVIND
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
marcelo chiari
This band don't have the recognizing that deserves.... This band is fucking great... My band is called THEREISNOGOD. In the "WILL TO POWER" album I heard my band's name on intro....hahahahaha....great...
cmm98
fucking sick stuff!!!
blodhemn667
awesome... just fakin AWESOME!!!
Jackie Nihil
Hell Yeah!
Haesty
I LOVE THEM! I Have his album ''THE TWISTED RULE THE WICKED'' sounds pretty hard BTW: I am in a world of shit... (Intro from Napalm Death?)
Simon H.
"Contemptuous" from Napalm Death features exactly the same sample from FMJ
Bjørn
How come no one knows of this band anymore ? ;)_ DAMN WEAK PPL TODAYS.
steve gillam
IS THAT GUY SINGING OR IS HE GETTING A COLONOSCOPY?