The demo attracted the attention of Leviathan Records, but activity was put on hold when Gus was hired by Dream Evil and Mystic Prophecy.
After the release of his other bands' debut albums, Gus' attention returned to the Firewind project. Only he remained from the original formation - Leviathan owner David T. Chastain brought in vocalist Stephen Fredrick and drummer Brian Harris (both ex-Kenziner), while Gus enlisted the help of bassist Konstantine, a fellow Greek. this line-up recorded the debut album Between Heaven and Hell.
In 2003, new changes were instituted as Norwegian drummer Stian Kristoffersen and Greek bassist Petros Christo joined the band. Harris and Konstantine had been replaced as Gus was looking for a more permanent rhythm section that was prepared to tour. This line-up recorded Burning Earth and went on a tour of Japan with Rob Rock, but without vocalist Stephen Fredrick, who was not prepared to go on the road (despite prior guarantees to the contrary). His replacement on the Burning the Earth Tour, the Sri Lankan singer Chitral 'Chity' Somapala, was given the job full-time. Fellow touring member Bob Katsionis was also hired permanently to play keyboards. Firewind got a worldwide deal with Century Media by the end of that year.
This line-up recorded the album Forged By Fire, but a few months after the release, Chity left due to personal and musical differences with the rest of the band. When his replacement, Apollo Papathanasio of Time Requiem, was found, it was also announced that Stian Kristoffersen would be leaving, to be replaced with the veteran Mark Cross. The reason for the split was that Gus wanted to have a set of Greek-based musicians willing to make Firewind their number one priority (probably to end the virtual revolving door of members) and Stian's main band was the Norwegian outfit Pagan's Mind. Gus also left his roles in Dream Evil, Mystic Prophecy and Nightrage between 2004 and 2006.
This new line-up recorded the album Allegiance, which was released in July 2006.
During November - December 2006, they toured the UK supporting Dragonforce with All That Remains.
In 2009, Gus G. became Ozzy Osbourne's guitar player.
In 2010 Apollo became the new Spiritual Beggars frontman.
In 2010, Michael Ehre replaced drummer Mark Cross.
In 2010, Michael Ehre left and was replaced by Johan Nunez (also Nightrage)
Line-up
* Herbie Langhans - Vocals (also Avantasia and Radiant)
* Gus G. (Kostas Karamitroudis) - Guitars (formerly Keyboards)
* Petros Christo - Bass
* Johan Nunez - Drums (also Nightrage)
Former members
* Brandon Pender - Vocals (1998)
* Stephen Fredrick - Vocals (2001-2003)
* Chitral Somapala - Vocals (2004-2005)
*Apollo Papathanasio - Vocals (2005-2013)
*Henning Basse - Vocals (2015-2020)
* Bob Katsionis - Keyboards, live Guitar (2004-2020)
* Konstantine (Kostas Exarhakis) - Bass (2001-2003)
* Matt Scurfield - Drums (1998)
* Brian Harris - Drums (2001-2003)
* Stian L. Kristoffersen - Drums (2003-2005)
* Mark Cross - Drums (2005 - 2010)
* Michael Ehre - Drums (2010)
Discography
* Nocturnal Symphony (Demo, 1998)
* Between Heaven and Hell (2002)
* Burning Earth (2003)
* Forged By Fire (2005)
* Allegiance (2006)
* The Premonition (2008)
*Days of Defiance (2010)
*Few Against Many (2012)
*Immortals (2017)
*Firewind (2020)
The Silent Code
Firewind Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cut me in two
Pain is carved in deeper
But I will get through
The insanity
I heard it all before
Picking up the pieces
That I spilled over you
We just obey
The silent code
I'm sick and tired
We're floating in the endless cloud
And I'll cry for you
And I'll smile for you
I can do what you want
I can be who you want me to be
Wont you set me free?
Hate me
I'm sick of it all
One can't make the difference
Because it's not in my control
Steer me
Can't do a thing
I follow your direction and I will obey the code
We just obey
The silent code
I'm sick and tired
In an endless love
And I'll cry for you
And I'll smile for you
I can do what you want
I can be who you want me to be
Won't you set me free?
(Instrumental)
And I'll cry for you
And I'll smile for you
I can do what you want
I can be who you want me to be
Do what you want
And I'll cry for you
(Cry for you)
And I'll smile for you
I can compromise
But you must realize
That one day I will break free
The lyrics to Firewind's song The Silent Code speak of a person who is being controlled by someone else. They are being broken down piece by piece and the pain they feel is being carved deeper into them. However, they are determined to get through it and pick up the pieces that they have spilled. The person who they are being controlled by has a certain code that they obey, yet they are sick and tired of it all. They feel as though they are floating in an endless cloud and are unable to break free from this situation.
The person is willing to do anything for the one who is controlling them. They will cry and smile for them, and be whoever they want them to be. But the person is begging to be set free. They are tired of being hated and sick of not being in control of their own lives. They are being told what to do and they must follow the silent code.
The instrumental break in the middle of the song allows the message of the lyrics to sink in deeper. The person is in a constant state of being controlled and the code they must follow seems to be unbreakable. However, they are determined to break free, even though they are willing to compromise and do what the other person wants.
Overall, the lyrics to The Silent Code speak to the struggle of being controlled by someone else and the desire to break free from that control.
Line by Line Meaning
Break me
I am feeling broken and overwhelmed
Cut me in two
I feel fragmented and torn apart
Pain is carved in deeper
The hurt I feel is only getting worse
But I will get through
Despite the pain, I will persevere
The insanity
The craziness of it all
I heard it all before
I've been through this before
Picking up the pieces
Trying to put the broken parts of myself back together
That I spilled over you
The damage to me spilled over onto you
We just obey
I am being forced to go along with something I don't want to do
The silent code
The unspoken rules and expectations that I am expected to follow
I'm sick and tired
I am tired of this situation
We're floating in the endless cloud
Feeling lost and unsure of what to do
And I'll cry for you
I feel sadness and pain because of you
And I'll smile for you
Trying to hide my true feelings and emotions
I can do what you want
I am going along with what you want, even if it's not what I want
I can be who you want me to be
I am trying to be who you want me to be instead of who I really am
Won't you set me free?
Please let me be myself and free me from this situation
Hate me
Feeling like I'm being hated and blamed
One can't make the difference
I feel like my actions won't change anything
Because it's not in my control
I can't control what's happening to me
Steer me
Trying to find a way out of this situation
Can't do a thing
Feeling powerless and helpless
I follow your direction and I will obey the code
I am following your lead and doing what you want me to do
In an endless love
Feeling stuck in a never-ending cycle of love and pain
Do what you want
Resigned to do whatever someone else wants
I can compromise
I will try to find middle ground
But you must realize
You need to understand
That one day I will break free
I will eventually find a way out of this situation
Contributed by Harper P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jamila Andersson
SOOOO AMAZING
KICK ASS SONG
\m/
w7class
I LOVE "the premonition"!
trogdor93
Damn, Firewind's vocalist actually fits with the music just like Iron Maiden. Kick ass song
Αρης Μακρης
trogdor93 or dio
Dan Michaels
love it!
Johan Daemonus
Awesome song
Bengt Steinvåg
I love them wathever they plays. Love it
Sage
I will stay silent for this amazing song. ;)
Bradford DeLaura
This tune rips!!!!!!
AaronMetallion
SO AWESOME!! I wish i was greek now :( !!!