1. The history of the band begins in 1990, when Andre Fischer, Sven Böge an… Read Full Bio ↴1. The history of the band begins in 1990, when Andre Fischer, Sven Böge and Thorsten Thrunke (with two other musicians) founded the combo under the name AX'N SEX and soon advanced to one of the bright new metal hopes in and around northern Germany. Their self-produced CD "Victim of Time" of four original works (playing time: 32 mins) received a very positive reception, not only in Germany , but also in Europe as well as overseas. Numerous international music magazines waxed lyrically over the album. These were followed by several reviews in Scandinavia, Greece and even in the USA and Brazil. It did appear , however, that the band name did not entirely suit their melodic power metal and conjured up visions of sleaze metal. The musicians were quick to react. After some deliberation the musicians changed the name of the band to the more suitable IVORY TOWER.
They further polished their style, and made some changes in the line-up. After having been with the band since it´s formation, two of the musicians left their ranks and were soon replaced by Stephan Laschetzki (Bass) and Stephan Machon (Keyboards). This line-up is responsible for all the material on the "Ivory Tower" and the "Beyond the stars" Album. Initial discussions between the band and Limb Music Products and Publishing (LMP) were held in December 1997. LMP had been quick to recognize the enormous potential of the band and offered them a contract. IVORY TOWER present ambitious and high-quality progressive power metal. Their sound is modern, gripping and varied. In March and April 1999 IVORY TOWER supported the album on tour through Germany with "Mob Rules" and "Murder One".
The recordings for the second album "Beyond the stars" started in summer 1999. IVORY TOWER produced again a monster-piece, released 17th of April 2000. A brilliant album that contains 10 tracks and 63 minutes played music. IVORY TOWER turned to classical, orchestra arrangements, a lot of hard riding guitar riffs and melodic refrains. During that time there were extensive promotional activities all over the world but especially in Paris for the French release under the license label NTS. In 2001 there was the introduction of new band members on bass, drums and keyboards. Stephan M., Stephan L. and Thorsten left the band due to personal reasons. In 2001 we started extensive promotional activities in Sao Paulo/Brasil with the license label "Rock Brigade". The band quited the contract with LMP in 2002.
The band quitted the contract with LMP in 2002. After that, they started the pre-production of the new album with the working title "IT". The recordings started in the new founded Ivory Tower Music Production Environment. The luxury circumstance to record in their studio and so to ignore the time/money factor creates some unexpected effects. The band recorded the music in a relaxed atmosphere and tried different things. The new songs were harder than ever, got orchestral arrangements and breathtaking choirs. Catchy melodies were packed into a interesting concept. A compelling story was embedded within richly diverse power progressive metal. After the recordings IVORY TOWER were searching - again- for a new label. In 2006 Flo Tabbert on drums and Björn Bombach on Bass joined the band. In that year IVORY TOWER rocked the "Headbanger's Open Air" and the "Metal Bash". In 2007 IVORY TOWER were signed by the metal label Pure Steel Records and the actual album" Subjective Enemy" (former known as "IT") were launched worldwide in 2008. After that IVORY TOWER started the pre production for a further
album. Now after a hard time in their studio: IVORY TOWER MUSIC ENVIROMENT
will still produce a complete different album than those before."IV" is the name of the new monster. It is released in Germany, Switzerland and Austria on the 28th october 2011, all other countries 6 weeks later.
In 2012 a line-up change welcomed Marco Matthies to the band, who plays guitar and keyboards in the band. Now they are 5 weird metal prayers confusing the world around. "Be surprised" thsy said.

2. Melodic Hard Rock band from USA, lead by Mike Wilson. They released "Heart of the City" in 1988 and "Little Bits Of Dreams" in 2004.

A Distant Light
Ivory Tower Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I don't know why I have to look at the sky
Always strive to reach that high

I don't know why everybody tries to fly
Do we need to be so high

From all directions the warnings are drawning near
Close to the bring of ruin

It's getting dark and lost souls
Don't know where they belong
Or where they are
Or where they're from

But somewhere there's a distant light
It's warm and nothing shines so bright
The moment is now to realize
No hope anymore when the light burns out

The spring of fame everyone is searching for
Is just a legend of a dreamer

The sense of life
A mystery like stars above
Borderland of mankind's mind

From all directions the warnings are drawning near
Close to the bring of ruin

It's getting dark and lost souls
Don't know where they belong
Or where they are
Or where they're from

The signs are here
The meaning is clear
We do wrong
We do right

A constant inner fight
Look somewhere beyond, look somewhere within

Overall Meaning

The song "A Distant Light" by Ivory Tower is a powerful commentary on the human condition, exploring the eternal struggle to find our place in the world and achieve purpose and fulfillment. The lyrics speak to the deep, often unanswerable questions of our existence, such as why we feel the need to constantly strive for greatness and the meaning of life itself. The opening lines, "I don't know why I have to look at the sky / Always strive to reach that high," suggest a restlessness and yearning for something more, even if we don't quite know what that is.

The chorus of the song is particularly poignant, with the refrain "But somewhere there's a distant light / It's warm and nothing shines so bright / The moment is now to realize / No hope anymore when the light burns out." This speaks to the idea that we all have a guiding light, a purpose or passion that gives our lives meaning, and that we must seize the opportunity to pursue it before it's too late. The imagery of the lost souls in the darkness, unsure of their place in the world, is a powerful metaphor for the often-chaotic nature of life and the need for guidance and direction.

The verses of the song continue to build on this theme, with references to the dangers of losing our way and the struggle to find our purpose. The lines "The spring of fame everyone is searching for / Is just a legend of a dreamer" suggest that we may be chasing an elusive idea of success that will ultimately leave us unfulfilled. However, the final lines of the song, "The signs are here / The meaning is clear / We do wrong / We do right / A constant inner fight / Look somewhere beyond, look somewhere within," hold out hope that despite the challenges we face, we can find the answers we seek within ourselves.

Line by Line Meaning

I don't know why I have to look at the sky
I'm not sure why I feel compelled to gaze at the sky above

Always strive to reach that high
I always aspire to reach lofty heights

I don't know why everybody tries to fly
I don't understand why everyone is so eager to fly

Do we need to be so high
Do we really need to be up so high?

From all directions the warnings are drawning near
Warnings are coming from all directions

Close to the bring of ruin
Dangerously close to destruction

It's getting dark and lost souls
The darkness is enveloping us, and we feel lost

Don't know where they belong
We have no idea where we are supposed to be

Or where they are
We don't even know where we are existentially

Or where they're from
We don't know where we come from

But somewhere there's a distant light
Somewhere out there is a faraway light