At this time, Jake was playing with a death-metal band called "Vapid" who had an incredibly talented drummer called Gustav. Since Jake and Freddy already knew him, and also knew that he would do a great job behind the drums, Gustav was asked to be the drummer of the band. Even though it wasn´t really his bag, he accepted since he thought it would be a fun thing to do.Another guitarist was also necessary so another friend called Erik,(also a member of "Vapid" ) was asked to be a part of the band. He also accepted.The guys were also searching for a bassist but they couldn´t find any so the only solution was for Freddy to take the bass as well. He had never played this instrument before, only the guitar, but after a few rehersals, this turned out quite well anyway.
From the beginning, the idea was for Nostradameus to play just for fun, and was only going to participate in two rock-competitions in their home town. But in one of theese competitions, there was a man in the jury called Magnus Lundbäck, who immediately fell in love with the music of Nostradameus. He also was the chief of a label called Gain productions, and when the gig was over, he asked the very surprised guys if they had a demo. Since they didn't, he offered them to use his studio to record one, and after a few weeks of songwriting and other preparations ( Nostradameus only had one original song at this time ), they entered the studio on the 5-6 of December -98. The result was a real killer and the guys were really satisfied with it so on the 7th, the demo was sent away, but only to five labels, all german. The answer came two weeks later, from AFM-records who offered a contract at once and after some discussion, Nostradameus decided to sign with the label and did so in April -99.
During the spring and summer -99, the band was busy with writing and preparing new songs for the forthcoming album and in November -99, Nostradameus entered the studio again to record what was going to be the "Words of Nostradameus" album. The result of this recording turned out to be so good that the label decided to use the Finnvox studio in Helsinki to do the final mix of the album. This was, once again, a dream coming true to the band and even though they had to wait for about five months for a time in Finnvox ( it´s very hard to get a time with Mikko Karmila in this studio ) they decided that it was absolutely worth it. And it really was! The final product became so much better than the guys ever would have dreamed of.
Unfortunately, at this point of time, another problem had come up. Both Gustav and Erik had deciced to leave the band. They felt that it took too much time. Well, there was not so much to say about it. After all the band was just supposed to be "a fun thing" from the beginning and was now on its way to become something much bigger than that. So, without any hard feelings, Freddy and Jake started to search for some new members during the summer 2000. The first one they got in contact with was Michael Åberg. A very talented guitarist who played together with Magnus Rosén (Hammerfall) and Michael von Knorring (ex. Yngwie Malmsteen) in a cover band called M.M.M. Freddy just happened to be to be at the pub where they were playing one night and asked Michael if he´d like to try as the guitarist of Nostradameus once they had a new drummer. He said yes an the guys decided to stay in touch. Shortly after, Jake saw a note on the wall in a musicstore in Gothenburg about a hardrock/metal drummer who was looking for a band. So he wrote down the number and later on that evening, after having shared a couple of beers with Freddy, they decided to call this guy, Jesse. He seemed very enthusiastic and a few weeks later, the four guys started to reherse on the material. It turned out quite OK and since they both fitted so good as persons in the band, Jake and Freddy decided to take them in as permanent members in the autumn 2000. At this point of time it was decided that they had to get a bassist in the band also. It was no problem for Freddy to do both the bass and the vocals in the studio but it never was such a good idea when playing live shows. Jesse then came with the idea to contact an old friend of his, Thomas, who had a lot of experience from other bands where he´d played the bass. So they tried him and after the first gig with the new line-up, on November 15, Thomas was also a permanent member of the band.
In January -01 the band, now consisting of 5 members, started to concentrate on some new material for an upcoming second release. All the materiel was already written since Freddy and Jake have had plenty of time during the spring and summer -00 while the band didn´t have any more members. So the recording of the second cd, "The prophet of evil"-album was sceduled already for May the same year. So in the beginning of that month, the guys once again entered "Gain production"´s studio.Once the recording was done, it was again time to visit Mr. Karmila in "Finnvox" and as usual, he did a great job so the "Prophet..."-album was released in August -01. Less than a year after the debut.The new album received quite good reviews, eventhough they were not excellent...
But despite this fact, the guys finally got the opportunity to hit the roads for the first time for a major european tour as an opener for their labelmates Edguy. The only problem was that Jesse at this point of time, due to personal reasons, decided to leave the band. So a new drummer once again had to be recruited. Thomas came up with an idea of a friend of his that might be worth testing. This guy was Esko Salow and he, already from the start, made a tremendously stong impression on the rest of the band, so after the gig in Wacken, he was also a permanent member of the band. The tour lasted from the 2nd of November to the 8th of December and was a huge succes for all the parties involved. The ticketsales and the reactions of the audience was way much better than anyone dared to hope for before it started.
Since things, to this point, had gone quite fast (2 albums released in just 12 months) the guys felt a bit worried when the tour started since they almost didn´t have any new ideas for the future. But propably because of the very inspiring atmosphere, with the reactions of the fans during the gigs, the creativity was on top when they returned back home so in less than 2 months, enough material for a 3rd album was written. So in February -02, the guys once again hit the rehearsing room to prepare and arrange the new material.
The recording of what was going to be "The third prophecy"-album started in the summertime -02. This time, the guys decided to use a different studio than on the previous albums. First of all to get some new impressions, but also since the new materiel was a bit different, quite much more raw and heavy, than the previous ones. The recording was made in the KEG-house studio, situated on one of the islands outside Gothenburg, almost "at home" for Freddy and Jake. It was done in a very harmonic atmosphere and most of the time was used finding the right feeling in the recordings, something the guys didn´t put that much attention to on the previous albums when the main goal was to make tecnically perfect performances on each instrument. The result, however, was something quite extraordinary.
In September, the album was mixed, not in Finnvox this time, but in Studio Fredman in Gothenburg by Fredrik Nordström. The main reason was to acheive a little bit "rawer" sound, more a la "Heavy-metal" compared to the ordinary "perfect, but a bit soft"-sound that´s quite common in the Power-metal scene today. Of course, Fredrik sure didn´t disappoint anyone.
Since Nostradameus had some really nice experiences from the european tour with Edguy, the longing for another tour to promote the new album now grew stronger every day, and in the late autumn -02 the guys finally got the confirmation for another journey across Europe. This time together with HammerFall and their labelmates Masterplan...
Cuts Like Blades
Nostradameus Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The poisoned mind of man, weakened in us all.
Manifest of rotten lies.
Satan's work? Who knows?
Right from the dawn of time
We have altered course.
There's no escape for you.
Now millions passed away for beliefs of a wicked man.
Sacrileged the human rights
With blinded eyes, too long!
[Chorus]
DIE--shoot me in my grave
The bullets cuts like blades
Armageddon has begun
DIE--shoot me in my grave
My will to live has gone
Armageddon has begun
And as I write these words,
I wonder what went wrong.
Something did, it's for sure,
'cause now it's goddamn war.
Manifest of rotten lies.
Satan's work? Who knows?
I had my part in this mocking of mankind.
Sacrileged the human rights
With blinded eyes, too long!
[Chorus]
DIE--shoot me in my grave
The bullets cuts like blades
Armageddon has begun
DIE--shoot me in my grave
My will to live has gone
Armageddon has begun
The lyrics of Nostradameus's song "Cuts Like Blades" present a dystopian view of the world in which we live, suggesting that humanity has been weakened and poisoned by the lies and manipulation of powers that be. The opening lines of the song describe the birth of the singer, who is born out of the flames of Hell and who carries within him the poisoned mind of man. This suggests that the singer is a symbol for all of humanity, and that we are all born into a world that is corrupt and dangerous. The line "weakened in us all" suggests that the singer's experiences are universal, and that we all carry the scars of our past with us.
The lyrics go on to describe the way in which humanity has altered its course over time, moving from a path of righteousness to one of sin and corruption. The line "there's no escape for you" suggests that the singer is trapped in this cycle of violence and degradation, and that there is no way out. The chorus of the song expresses this sense of helplessness and despair, with its repeated refrain of "DIE--shoot me in my grave/The bullets cuts like blades/Armageddon has begun".
Throughout the song, there is a sense of anger and frustration, as the singer rails against the injustices of the world and the powers that be. The lines "I had my part in this mocking of mankind" suggest that the singer is complicit in this system of oppression, but that he is also angry and resentful about it. The repeated references to "Satan's work" suggest that there is a supernatural element to the suffering that the singer experiences, and that the forces of evil are at work in the world.
Overall, the lyrics of "Cuts Like Blades" are a powerful reminder of the dangers of corruption and the need for vigilance in the face of evil. They speak to the universal human experience of suffering and despair, and remind us that we must always be on guard against the forces of darkness.
Line by Line Meaning
Born out of hellfire, from a burning womb.
We all come from a place of chaos and destruction.
The poisoned mind of man, weakened in us all.
The evil thoughts that breed in our minds are a weakness that we must all confront.
Manifest of rotten lies.
People often deceive one another with misinformation.
Satan's work? Who knows?
We cannot always attribute the lies people tell to nefarious influences.
Right from the dawn of time
From the beginning of civilization,
We have altered course.
We have made decisions that have led us down different paths.
From right to wrong, it's true,
Some of our choices have been misguided.
There's no escape for you.
We must all face the consequences of our actions or inactions.
Now millions passed away for beliefs of a wicked man.
Many people have died because of the evil beliefs of leaders who held power over them.
Sacrileged the human rights
Human rights have been violated.
With blinded eyes, too long!
People have been ignorant or willfully blind to the injustices around them for too long.
DIE--shoot me in my grave
I am ready to die rather than continue living in a world filled with so much pain and suffering.
The bullets cuts like blades
The damage of death is just as sharp and painful as being cut with a blade.
Armageddon has begun
The end of the world as we know it is imminent.
My will to live has gone
I have lost my desire to live in a world where so many people are capable of doing evil.
And as I write these words,
As I express my thoughts and feelings,
I wonder what went wrong.
I question how things could have gotten to such a dire state.
Something did, it's for sure,
There were definitely mistakes made along the way that led to this point.
'cause now it's goddamn war.
The conflict and violence that surrounds us is like an all-out war.
I had my part in this mocking of mankind.
I bear some responsibility for contributing to the negative aspects of human society.
Contributed by Isaiah T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.