More than one artist shares this name:

1) A Norwegian black metal ba… Read Full Bio ↴More than one artist shares this name:

1) A Norwegian black metal band, now known as Hades Almighty.
2) A thrash metal band from New Jersey
3) A death metal band from China
4) A Norwegian prog rock group
5) An English Holy Terror influenced hardcore band.
6) A Polish solo hip hop act of a HiFi Banda member
7) A minimal electronics/oldschool ebm group from Brazil
8) A hard rock/gohic rock band from Poland.
9) A Heavy Metal band from Madrid, Spain.
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(1) Hades is a Norwegian band, founded in 1992 by Erstwhile Immortal guitarist Jorn Inge Tunsberg along with ex-Dark drummer Remi, adopted the addition of their home country to their name after their 1993 demo 'Alone Walkyng' appeared following protests from the American Hades. This opening session saw the founding duo joined by Janto Garmanslund on bass and vocals with Nagel on guitar. 'Alone Walkyng' saw a commercial issue through the Vantgarde subsidiary Wounded Love Records. The band's debut album, issued in December of 1994 and finding Stig usurping Nagel as second guitarist, had the group offering familiar Norwegian Black Metal based around Viking and pagan themes.

With the release of the 1997 album 'Dawn Of The Dying Sun' the record company took the opportunity to reacquaint the public with the 1994 debut, releasing both albums together as a double vinyl album set limited to 1'000 copies. To back up this release the band put in extensive touring, which saw a burst of dates across not only Europe but also Mexico and the USA. The transition from HADES to HADES ALMIGHTY was marked in September of 1998 as the band entered the Prolog Studio in Dortmund, Germany to record the exceptionally dark and ominous album 'Millenium Nocturne', released under license from Nuclear Blast by Hammerheart Records. A Benelux tour allied with MAYHEM and PRIMORDIAL preceded a further campaign across Europe in league with IMMORTAL and BENEDICTION.

(2) Hades is a thrash metal band formed in New Jersey in 1978. The original members were still in high school when the band was formed and it wasn't until the '80s that Hades made it to a wider audeince, touring heavily and opening for bands such Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax and Nuclear Assault.

After having songs appear on Metal Blade's Metal Massacre VI and Megaforce's Born To Metalize compilation albums, Hades released their debut album, Resisting Success in 1987 and the follow-up, If At First You Don't Succeed in 1989.
After a tour of Europe in 1989 they broke up, with members moving on to other bands.

Hades re-formed in 1999, releasing three albums for the Metal Blade label.

In 2008, the CruzDelSur label released the Hades live DVD, filmed at a show in Boston in December 1988, where the band opened for Manowar and Nuclear Assault. Also included was the 'Behind The Metal' documentary, filmed during the recording of the 2000 - The Downside album featuring interviews with the bandmembers as well as old video clips, TV appearances and live footage.

(3) Hades is a death metal band from China

(4) Hades was a Norwegian prog rock group, hailing from the county of Vestfold. Their music has been described as a blend of Cream and Jethro Tull, with a distinct flute that makes up the melody lines together with the occasional strong bluesy guitar licks. Although they only released one vinyl/Mini LP (LP Colours COMLP 007, 1992, originaly recorded live in 1974) on Colours records in 1992 they sound remarkingly experienced on this recording. They sang in norwegian. The original vinyl is only in a 1000 ex., and must be quite rare nowadays.

Thomas Karlsen -Guitar, vocals
Karl Øyri -Guitar, vocals
Fredrik Møystad -Flute
Terje Brendsrød -Bass Guitar
Per Eriksen - Drums

(5) Hades is a hardcore band from the UK. Influenced by Holy Terror. http://www.myspace.com/hadesdurham

(6) Hades is a stage name of a member of a prominent hip hop group from Poland - HiFI Banda. His debut album 'Nowe dobro to zło' is to be released in October 2011 for Prosto label.

Damnation
Hades Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

They're gonna win most popular forever
Vote or award does it even matter?
The politician or actress
Such a mess
Who is who?
Cause I can't tell the difference
So what's the poor boy to do?
Except be sick of you

In total obfuscation, this damn nation
Starstruck, stripped of our stripes
In total obfuscation, this damn nation
Dumbstruck guttersnipes
The camera loves their every grin
Such a sin
Beat the drums till
The whole country wakes up
That'd be a wonderous, thunderous day
Dream away
We're enraptured
Captured by the linelight
So what's the poor boy to do?
Except be sick of you
In total obfuscation, this damn nation
Starstruck, stripped of our stripes
In total obfuscation, this damn nation
Dumbstruck guttersnipes

[solo: Ed]

They get away with murdering
In vain I sing
With stupid smiles
We'll grant THEM all a pardon
So what's the poor boy to do?
Except be sick of you
In total obfuscation, this damn nation
Starstruck, stripped of our stripes

In total obfuscation, this damn nation
Dumbstruck guttersnipes

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Hades's song, DamNation speaks about the flawed system of politics and showbiz in the US. The opening lines, "They're gonna win most popular forever. Vote or award does it even matter?" suggest that in politics and showbiz, even though there is competition, the real winners are those who have already achieved popularity. The lines, "The politician or actress. Such a mess. Who is who? Cause I can't tell the difference," point out the fact that there is no real difference between politicians and actors in terms of persona and how they do their jobs. The phrase "So what's a poor boy to do? Except be sick of you" suggests that the singer is fed up with the system and has no power to change it.

The chorus "In total obfuscation, this damn nation. Starstruck, stripped of our stripes" echoes the feeling of disillusionment and confusion that comes with living in a society where people are enamored with celebrities and their achievements. The following lines "Dumbstruck guttersnipes" further illustrate how powerless the common people are in front of the people in power.

The lyrics get more cynical towards the end, "They get away with murdering. In vain I sing. With stupid smiles, we'll grant THEM all a pardon." The singer is suggesting that people in power get away with anything, even murder, and they are pardoned because the masses are too caught up in the fascination of the media to care.

Line by Line Meaning

They're gonna win most popular forever
The people who are popular will always remain popular no matter what.

Vote or award does it even matter?
Does it really matter if we vote or if someone wins an award?

The politician or actress
It's hard to differentiate between politicians and actresses.

Such a mess
It's a chaotic situation.

Who is who?
It's difficult to distinguish between people.

Cause I can't tell the difference
I can't differentiate or recognize individuals.

So what's the poor boy to do?
What can a poor person do in this situation?

Except be sick of you
The only option is to become disgusted with everyone.

In total obfuscation, this damn nation
This country is completely confusing and unclear.

Starstruck, stripped of our stripes
We are so enamored by celebrities that we lose our own identity.

Dumbstruck guttersnipes
We are so awestruck that we lose sight of reality.