The creativity displayed by the Austrian … Read Full Bio ↴JUVALIANT - Inhuman Nature
The creativity displayed by the Austrian band JUVALIANT is suggested by the unusual band name. JUVALIANT is a word that they made up themselves and yet there is more behind it than just a bunch of letters. JUVALIANT is the combination of two words: The first part comes from the Latin name of Salzburg, Juvavum and the second part from the English word valiant. Which is very suitable for the Austrian lads' debut album, "Inhuman Nature": prepossessing, progressive, heavy, catchy and often bombastic. As far as style goes, the band is definitely in the elite class of their métier: in progressive and symphonic metal. They deserve a lot of respect and appreciation to be able to establish themselves here. And JUVALIANT have more than deserved it, for their debut album is a superb collection of excellent compositions, which will knock the socks off any discerning fan of the genre.
When guitarist Robert Schönleitner and drummer Sebastian Lanser founded the band in 2003, they had just one aim - to create progressive power metal and to write music of the kind that they themselves were enthusiastic about. As neither of them was a newbie in the Austrian scene, they used all the contacts they had to put together a competent line-up. Difficulties are regular occurrences in the young days of any band, so here too, musicians came and went until a stable constellation was established in 2006, with which the two band founders could realize their dream. But it was a stony path until that point. The Salzburgers called themselves FALLEN ANGEL at that time and they played as many live gigs as they could, even opening for The Gathering in Salzburg at one point. But because every change in their fraternity also brought new musical aspects with it, they came to the conclusion that the band name FALLEN ANGEL did not reflect their musical criteria and that they were only one band of many of the same name all over the world who were elbowing for a place on the ladder. However, at first they decided against a change of name and it wasn't until 2006 when the line-up appears to be a stable one and their musical direction became clearer, that the only possible next step was an album of their own. At the time the band comprised of guitarist Robert Schönleitner and drummer Sebastian Lanser, singer Thomas Strübler, Saso Gacnik from Slovania (keyboards) and Aleksandar Vesic (bass) from Croatia. They wrote new material and made definite plans for their first album, which came about in 2008. In the Dreamsound Studios in Munich they recorded their debut album, "Inhuman Nature" under the watchful eye of Jan Vacik (Lanfear, Visions Of Atlantis, Serenity) and decided that it was now time to change the band name. JUVALIANT was born! With the completed album in their hands, the lads from Salzburg set about finding a suitable label. In the meantime the first copies of the album were finding their way onto the desks of music journalists. In the "Up and Coming" section of the German magazine, "Heavy", the album was blessed by a fantastic review. At the same time, contact was made with Limb Music and they quickly agreed on a long-term deal with the Hamburg Label.
"Inhuman Nature" need not be ashamed of being compared with internationally known bands from the prog metal scene. With convincing artwork by the Columbian artist Felipe Machado Franco, who had already worked for Iced Earth, Rob Rock, Power Quest, Ayreon and Axel Rudi Pell, the optical aspect of the high class nature of the album has not been overlooked. On "Inhuman Nature" JUVALIANT present nine tracks of the highest quality in both composition and musicianship. The sheer variety of the tracks on which neither heaviness, melody or bombastic choruses are ignored, high recognizability has been programmed by default. Whether it is an ass-kicking track like "Doomsday Machine" with its staccato-like riffs or the eleven minute long, symphonic "Cold Distance Of The Universe", the band sparkles with an impressive dynamic. Despite the sometime involved song structures such as that of "Heroes (We Will Be)", recognizable melodies and choruses are constantly present. "On Wings Of Steel" combines classical bombastic elements with a straight riffing which does full justice to the word "Steel" in its title. JUVALIANT also clearly distance themselves from standardized mondane lyrics and do not indulge themselves in the fantasy themes common to the genre, instead facing the inhuman sides of human existence such as war, terror, discrimination, worries and pain, as well as the inhumane side of nature. Thus the title "Inhuman Nature" with its double meaning, and the cover artwork unite these two subjects. Whichever way you look at it, JUVALIANT and their debut album have come up with a very impressive statement of their musical visions.
Heroes
Juvaliant Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As I try to pretend
Dead and gone are my kin and I know
That I will follow soon
Feel no pain but I won't go on
Tell me now what is going on
They sway the purple heart
When we're gone
No such piece of metal
Will ease our families' pain
(It's always been like that. The one deelaring war
Are not the ones who fight, are not the ones who suffer,
Are not the ones who die. They are blind)
Heroes we will be, That's what they tell us
I won't belive their propaganda
For a higher goal we're used like pawns
We are the ones, ohh, ooh
Kill for life
No time to think it over
Or you're the next in line
Constant fear, but no chance to show it
No time for your last prayer
We all fight for a higher goal
What it is no one's ever told
Left behind all the former heroes
No sign of thankfulness
Can't forget waht I had to witness
I am a different man
(What were we fighting for?
Honor, glory, our country, our families?
In the end, we are alone.
Left alone with what we have witnessed and done.)
Heroes we will be that's what they tell us
I Won't believe their propaganda
For a higher goal we're used like pawns
We are the ones, ohh, ohh
(We will be forgotten, our bodies are rotting)
Offering our sons
Hoping that they'll make us proud
(Heroes in advance, it all makes no sense)
Years spent in pain
Praying to see them again
No one understands what we're going through
But everyone judges what our sons do
Better serve our country than end up in the gutter
They say and that's what they will do
The song "Heroes" by Juvaliant is a powerful commentary on the nature of war and heroism. The lyrics speak to the disillusionment of soldiers who have been sent to war, often for vague or unknown reasons, and are now grappling with the physical and emotional toll of their experiences. The opening lines express disbelief that the singer will live forever, and hint at a sense of resignation and fatalism. The singer also notes that their loved ones are gone, and that they will follow soon.
The second verse describes the ways in which soldiers are manipulated and controlled by those in power. The reference to the "purple heart" suggests that soldiers are often rewarded for their service with medals and honors that do little to ease the suffering of their families. The fourth verse touches on the senselessness of war and the ways in which soldiers are often forgotten or ignored once they return home.
Overall, "Heroes" is a potent reminder of the sacrifices and struggles that soldiers face in times of war. Through its poignant lyrics and powerful melodies, the song challenges listeners to think more deeply about the nature of heroism and the consequences of violence.
Line by Line Meaning
Can't believe I will live Forever
I don't really believe that I will live forever
As I try to pretend
But I'm trying to pretend that I do
Dead and gone are my kin and I know
My family and loved ones are dead and gone, and I know that I will soon follow
That I will follow soon
I will soon die too
Feel no pain but I won't go on
Even though I feel no physical pain, I can't continue like this
Tell me now what is going on
I'm asking for an explanation of what's happening
They all try to control our thinking
Those in power try to manipulate our thoughts and opinions
They sway the purple heart
They use the symbol of the Purple Heart medal to sway our emotions
When we're gone
After we die
No such piece of metal
That medal or any other symbol or honor
Will ease our families' pain
Will be able to ease the pain of our families who have lost us
(It's always been like that. The one deelaring war
This has always been the case; those who declare war are not the ones who fight or suffer, but rather they are blind to the true cost of war
Are not the ones who fight, are not the ones who suffer,
Those who declare war are not directly affected by it
Are not the ones who die. They are blind)
They are blind to the realities of war and its devastating consequences
Heroes we will be, That's what they tell us
They tell us that we will be heroes
I won't belive their propaganda
But I don't believe their propaganda
For a higher goal we're used like pawns
We are being used as pawns for some unknown higher goal
We are the ones, ohh, ooh
We are the ones who are being used like this
Kill for life
We are being asked to kill for our own lives
No time to think it over
We don't have time to think about our actions
Or you're the next in line
Or we will be the ones who die next
Constant fear, but no chance to show it
We are in constant fear, but we can't show it
No time for your last prayer
We don't even have time for our last prayer before killing or dying
We all fight for a higher goal
We are all fighting for some higher goal, though we don't know what it is
What it is no one's ever told
No one has ever told us what this higher goal truly is
Left behind all the former heroes
Those who were once considered heroes have been left behind
No sign of thankfulness
There is no gratitude for their sacrifices
Can't forget waht I had to witness
I can't forget what I had to witness and experience
I am a different man
I have been forever changed by my experiences
(What were we fighting for?
What is the real reason we were fighting?
Honor, glory, our country, our families?
Was it for honor, glory, our country, our families?
In the end, we are alone.
In the end, we are left alone to deal with what we've been through
Left alone with what we have witnessed and done.)
We are left alone to deal with the actions we had to take in the war
Offering our sons
We are offering our own children to fight in hopes they will make us proud
Hoping that they'll make us proud
We are hoping our children will make us proud
(Heroes in advance, it all makes no sense)
They are being called heroes, but it doesn't make sense
Years spent in pain
We've spent years in pain, physically and emotionally
Praying to see them again
We are praying to see our loved ones again
No one understands what we're going through
No one truly understands what we have experienced and are going through
But everyone judges what our sons do
Everyone judges our sons' actions without really knowing the full extent of their experiences
Better serve our country than end up in the gutter
It's better to serve our country than to end up destitute and homeless
They say and that's what they will do
This is what they say and what they will do
Contributed by Hudson T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.