Riverside, California, situated on the desert's edge, is one of the least h… Read Full Bio ↴Riverside, California, situated on the desert's edge, is one of the least habitable places on the fringe of the Los Angeles megalopolis. Perhaps it is appropriate that such a place should have given rise to a number of industrial bands, including Penal Colony, Hate Dept., and Interzone. It is also where Ryan Gribbin and Roger Jarvis picked up their keyboards and their keen sense of social consciousness and created Kevorkian Death Cycle.

Originally working as Grid, they began their career as crusaders for the right to die, with their earliest tapes bearing many songs rallying around the Kevorkian banner.

Changing their name to Kevorkian Death Cycle (the name is politically motivated -- not merely an attempt at shock), the band released their first full length CD on the now extinct Ras Dva label, Collection for Injection, and began to appear on numerous compilations. Coupled with nationwide appearances (including a successful 1997 tour with Spahn Ranch and a sold out appearance at CMJ's New York City music marathon), the underground community was soon all abuzz about KDC. Combining social issues with throbbing synthetics and dance floor beats, this duo appealed both to the body and to the mind.

In 1998, Kevorkian Death Cycle signed to Metropolis Records, and issued their sophomore release, Dark Skies, in the fall. Still keeping with the darker side of industrial, KDC added more beats and electro attacks to their political formula, creating an astonishing sounding release. The band also had the opportunity to appear in concert with the fathers of the genre, Front 242; and embarked on a nationwide tour, culminating a series of dates with Front Line Assembly.

Kevorkian Death Cycle released their third CD in 1999 entitled A+O(M), and embarked on a two month tour of North America, loosely called the "Free Jack" tour - Jack as in Dr. Jack Kevorkian. The release explored a more electro side of KDC, and contained the dance floor favorites "Death To the Flesh", "Pulse", and a cover of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Relax".

The highly sought after debut, Collection For Injection was re-issued in 2000, and a re-mix single of "Relax" featuring mixes by KDC, Assemblage23, and Nikki Shifter, as well as a new version of "Kill For Christ" from the debut was released in 2001.

The Fall
Kevorkian Death Cycle Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Stories of light
Maddened dreams
Whispered in my ear
What can kill you across a room
The face in the mirror

Oh God please
Release the dream

It's taking over me

We've stopped the motion...

Endless deceit
Fires the flesh
Bodies multiplying
And just as we start
To see the light
We begin blistering

We've stopped the motion...

Fall, running to a crawl
A nail through my back
Another will attack
Streamline to find
What's burning inside

My body's empty and I'm
Breathing all the love I see

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Kevorkian Death Cycle's song, "The Fall" touch upon the themes of madness, fear, mortality, and the fragile nature of human existence. The opening lines of the song, "Stories of light, maddened dreams, whispered in my ear, what can kill you across a room, the face in the mirror," speak of the darkness that haunts us and the fragility of our minds. The second stanza, "Endless deceit, fires the flesh, bodies multiplying, and just as we start to see the light, we begin blistering," delves deeper into the theme of mortality, speaking of how we are mere mortals, "blistering" and wasting away in the face of the inevitable.

The chorus, "Fall, running to a crawl, a nail through my back, another will attack, streamline to find what's burning inside, my body's empty and I'm breathing all the love I see," speaks of the hopeless situation we find ourselves in, where even as we try to move ahead, there will always be something that holds us back, something that causes us to falter and fall. Even though the body might be empty, the heart still burns, and one can only breathe in the love that surrounds them.

In essence, these lyrics are a commentary on the human condition, on the fears and anxieties that plague us all, and on the inevitability of our eventual demise.

Line by Line Meaning

Stories of light
Tales of happiness and positivity

Maddened dreams
Crazed thoughts, ideas, and aspirations

Whispered in my ear
Secrets shared that only I can hear

What can kill you across a room
Something that can harm or destroy from a distance

The face in the mirror
My own reflection that I see

Oh God please
Imploring the divine for help

Release the dream
Let go of the ambitious goal that consumes me

It's taking over me
It's overpowering my thoughts and actions

We've stopped the motion...
We have ceased progress or movement

Endless deceit
Never-ending lies and betrayal

Fires the flesh
Burns the body