Originating in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1998, Maroon was one of the premier … Read Full Bio ↴Originating in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1998, Maroon was one of the premier vegan straight edge metal bands in the 90's and 2000's. They split in 2014 because they didn't see a future for the Band.

Heavily influenced musically and politically by mid-1990s vegan straight edge metal/hardcore acts such as Earth Crisis, Day of Suffering, Loxiran and Morning Again, their music also displays influences from metal acts such as At the Gates, Metallica, Sepultura and Slayer.

The year of 1999 saw Maroon releasing a demo cassette entitled The Initiate, signalling a new era of vegan straight edge culture in Germany. All four of the songs were to be found on later releases.

Their first cd, Captive in the Room of the Conspirator, was recorded at Headquarters Studion in Berlin in spring 2000 and released that year on the now-defunct Kerosene Recordings label, featuring songs like The Solution strongly advocating a vegan lifestyle and support for animal liberation and earth liberation. The band began touring Europe, opening for many hardcore acts including their idols Earth Crisis and Morning Again.

Later in the year Maroon released an untitled split 7" with Absidia on the Crap Chords label, featuring the song Wasted. That winter the band went back to the studio to record a split CD with Self Conquest entitled The Key, this time using 101 Studios, also in Berlin. On the heels of this recording, released by Beniihana Records the band went back on the road once more, touring Europe and opening for bands including Heaven Shall Burn and Caliban.

In November 2001 Maroon entered Rape of Harmonies Studios to record their debut full-length, Antagonist, released on legendary US vegan straight edge hardcore label Catalyst Records (http://www.xcatalystx.com). Catalyst is run by Kurt Catalyst, frontman for defunct hardcore legends Birthright and a newer band, Risen. Antagonist featured Maroon's best work to date both musically and lyrically, delivering a number of hard-hitting songs including the vegan straight edge anthem Still Believe in What Has Fallen Apart and a cover of Canon's classic animal liberation rallying call Declaration. The album soon became one of Catalyst's biggest sellers in both the US and Europe, leading to more European tours.

After some line up changes Maroon switched labels to Alveran Records in 2003, who then re-released Antagonist. February 2004 saw the band at Denmark's Antfarm Studio recording a new full length album entitled Endorsed by Hate. Following the recording, original guitarist Marc Zech left the band, and was replaced by Sebastian Rieche. The album was released in Europe in June, and between June and December of 2004 Maroon played 60 shows across Europe, including major festivals such as With Full Force and Pressure Fest. In October the band switched labels again, signing to Century Media Records. In early 2005 Century Media/Abacus released Endorsed by Hate in North America.

Many of Maroon's die-hard vegan straight edge fans felt let down by Endorsed by Hate due to its general lack of overtly topical lyrics, especially after the inspiring "Antagonist". As opposed to previous releases, the new album makes no mention of veganism, straight edge, animal liberation or earth liberation in the lyrics, liner notes or artwork. Another disappointment for these fans was the change of Maroon's website address from "http://www.xmaroonx.com" to "http://www.maroonhate.com", leading many fans to believe that Maroon have "sold out" on straight edge.

2006 saw the release of the new Maroon CD entitled When Worlds Collide which lead to some back-to-the-roots changes a least regarding the lyrics. 24 HourHateor Wake Up In Hell (one of the disco-smashers 2006, deal with animal liberation, while
Like Sword And Bullet advises a life without drugs.
Regarding the music, the new album is more diverse than any of the others. Maroon combine both their old trademarks with some new features (even featuring clean metal-style vocal on Annular Eclipse, even though it somehow lacks the spirit of the older Maroon releaes due to its very clean and sterile production.

In 2009, they released their fifth and last album, called Order.

They announced that they will play their last Tour in 2014, with their last show at the Summerbreeze (15th of August).

Bleak
Maroon Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

She sang as she dealt the blow and fell
And the telephone rang
As she wrote some words on a piece of paper
And jumped into the dark
To free himself

Don't save me!
Please set me free!

Release me!
From misery!

Hold your breath and close your eyes
They will never let you sleep at night

She slept as her soul left and no one realized
She was dead
He cried as he looked into her eyes and died
As she sang him
A lullaby

Don't save me!
Please set me free!
Don't save me!
Don't save me!

Release me!
From misery!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Maroon’s song “Bleak” present a dark and haunting story that involves themes of death and suicide. The first stanza depicts a woman singing as she falls to her death, while simultaneously writing some final words on a piece of paper. The telephone rings, as if it is too late to save her, and she jumps into the unknown to find freedom from the misery of her current existence.

The following stanza repeats the plea of the woman to not be saved, but instead to be released from her sufferings. The lyrics suggest that her misery is so deep that death is the only way to escape it. The last lines of the stanza depict a sense of despair as the woman asserts that they will never let you sleep at night.

The final stanza reveals that the woman has successfully committed suicide and that no one around her realized she was dead until it was too late. The man in the story cries over her lifeless body as she sings him a lullaby, possibly suggesting that death was the only way to soothe the pain and that the woman’s spirit is now free from the burdens of life.

Overall, the lyrics to “Bleak” present a powerful but heart-wrenching story of a person’s struggle with internal suffering and their ultimate escape through death.

Line by Line Meaning

She sang as she dealt the blow and fell
As she took her own life, she sang a sad song

And the telephone rang
The phone rang but nobody answered

As she wrote some words on a piece of paper
She left behind a note before ending her life

And jumped into the dark
She committed suicide by jumping into darkness

To free himself
She wanted to free herself from the pain and misery

Don't save me!
She didn't want anyone to save her

Please set me free!
She wanted to be set free from the burden of life

Release me!
She begged for release from the suffering

From misery!
She sought liberation from the misery

Hold your breath and close your eyes
The pain won't let you sleep peacefully

They will never let you sleep at night
The torment and anguish won't let you sleep at night