LAM has gained a large and loyal following all over the world, from the USA to Europe to Latin America (where the live band has toured extensively), and beyond. LAM has headlined and co-headlined concerts and major festivals with bands like The Cure, Green Day, HIM (HIM has cited LAM a favorite artist), Rammstein, Soft Cell and many more. LAM has performed to crowds of over 30,000 people as headliner and co-headliner on major music festivals around the world. However, London After Midnight maintains a strong underground and independent "personality" despite being a top seller (charting in the top 10 and top 20 German DAC, and other European independent charts, with each of 4 CDs released) and a major draw at music festivals year after year.
Songwriter, instrumentalist, producer and founder Sean Brennan is known for his strong stances in favor of animal rights, pro-environmental and human rights issues, anti-corporate control of media, and support for progressive and liberal political and social causes. Whatever the approach or subject matter, the music of London After Midnight is deeply touching, powerful, socially aware, romantic, emotional, disturbing, haunting, moving, and often exhibits a morbid wit with its sardonic humor (listen to the tongue-in-cheek "Your Best Nightmare" and try not to think of an Edward Gorey story).
LAM is all this, while at the same time appealing to a wide variety of people. There really is no classification that fits London After Midnight (despite LAM's "dark" image) because the music is so varied and the lyrical content (and even LAM's personality and causes) are unique and uncommon in today's music scene (often breaking boundaries- much to the outrage of people who live and die by genre labels). Sean Brennan shuns all labels (as any artist worth their salt will do) and the music he creates can really only be classified as "London After Midnight".
From 2015-2019 LAM headlined major festivals around the world, including Wave Gotik Treffen multiple times, and many other events. In 2019 Sean Brennan started his own record label, Darkride Records, and released "Selected Scenes from the End of the World: 9119", the original 1991 album remixed from the original master tapes (it is NOT A REMASTER- it's completely remixed from the multi-track master tapes). This new mix restored missing audio tracks and includes a never before released song from the 1991 sessions. Darkride Records released the "Oddities Too", similar in theme to the 1998 album "Oddities" with unreleased music, new music and much more. The all new un-named LAM album and a complete remix of "Psycho Magnet", remixed from the original master tapes, is also underway.
Main discography:
-Selected Scenes from the End of the World, 1995 CD (originally released as a cassette in 1991)
-Psycho Magnet, 1995 cassette, 1996 CD
-Oddities, 1998 cassette, 1998 CD
-Violent Acts of Beauty, 2007 CD
-Selected Scenes from the End of the World: 9119, 2019 CD (remixed from original multi-track master tapes)
- Live From Isolation, 2021 CD.
- Oddities Too, 2022 CD
Permanent line-up:
Sean Brennan: music, lyrics, vocals, most of the instruments.
Current live line-up:
Jeremy Kohnmann: guitar
Michael Areklett: bass
Pete Pace: drums.
The Beginning of the End
London After Midnight Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your halos looking dim
Hide behind hate my patience has worn thin
How can we proceed?
Just acknowledge what is true
The glutton and the guilty
THE DEMON THAT IS YOU!
You have left me cold
You don't understand
You haven't won
You've begun, it's begun
The beginning of the end!...
I will not forget I cannot forgive
You don’t understand.
You haven't won, you've begun, it's begun the beginning of the end!
You're now addicted
your futures looking dim
so hide behind fear
And watch the end begin
It's complicated, at least that's what you claim
Who forgives the unrepentant?
And the crimes done in your name?
What have we become?
If we could start all over again, where would it lead us then?
But you can't escape the truth, no matter what you want to believe, it always comes back to you.
You, you have let me down
You have left me cold
You don't understand
You haven't won
You've begun, it's begun
The beginning of the end!...
I will not forget I cannot forgive
You don’t understand.
You haven't won, you've begun, it's begun the beginning of the end!
The lyrics of "The Beginning of the End" by London After Midnight speak to a sense of disillusionment and disappointment with society and the people within it. The singer is addressing someone who has let them down, perhaps a leader or authority figure, and is urging them to acknowledge the truth of their actions and the harm they have caused. The imagery of fading colors and a dim halo suggests a loss of purity or innocence, while the use of the word "demon" implies a malevolent influence or force at work.
The second verse continues in this vein, describing the subject as "addicted" and their future as looking "dim." The singer urges them to confront their fear and accept the consequences of their actions, rather than trying to deny or escape their responsibility. The question of forgiveness is also raised; the subject has committed crimes "in your name," bringing into question the role of society as a whole in allowing such behavior to occur.
Overall, the song is a scathing commentary on the state of the world and the people within it, and a call to action for change and accountability.
Line by Line Meaning
Your colors fading
You are losing your vibrancy and energy
Your halos looking dim
Your goodness and kindness are disappearing and fading away
Hide behind hate my patience has worn thin
Your use of hatred as a shield is becoming old, and I'm running out of patience
How can we proceed?
We need to find a way to move forward despite the present obstacles
Just acknowledge what is true
Accept and acknowledge the reality of what has happened
The glutton and the guilty
Those who are greedy and guilty
THE DEMON THAT IS YOU!
Your actions make you appear like a demon
You, you have let me down
You have failed me
You have left me cold
You have hurt me deeply and made me feel alone
You don't understand
You lack comprehension of the true situation
You haven't won
You haven't achieved a true victory
You've begun, it's begun, The beginning of the end!...
Your actions have triggered the start of an inevitable downfall
I will not forget I cannot forgive
I will not forget what you have done, and I cannot find the strength to forgive you
You don’t understand.
You still lack understanding of the true reality
You haven't won, you've begun, it's begun the beginning of the end!
Your actions have only started the beginning of the end, you have not emerged victorious
You're now addicted
You have become overly dependent and fixated on something
Your future's looking dim
Your prospects for the future are bleak
So hide behind fear
You are using fear as a mechanism to protect yourself
And watch the end begin
You are observing the start of the end
It's complicated, at least that's what you claim
You assert that the situation is not straightforward
Who forgives the unrepentant?
What happens to those who do not show remorse?
And the crimes done in your name?
What about the criminal actions taken in your name?
What have we become?
What has happened to us as a society?
If we could start all over again, where would it lead us then?
If we could erase history and start anew, what would be the outcome?
But you can't escape the truth, no matter what you want to believe, it always comes back to you.
You cannot ignore the reality of the situation, no matter how hard you try to avoid it, the truth will always find you.
Contributed by Caroline T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.