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...
Hellbound
Nostradameus Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We all learn from the star,
We had love in our hearts,
Wrought from our father: Almighty God,
As long as you're faithful to him,
He will forgive every sin,
Believers(?) will make it to paradise,
[Bridge]
How can you believe what they say,
"Rule the world by these fairytales,"
Kill the ones who refuse to believe,
In the holy word,
[Chrous]
Deep, in my heart I'll never believe,
Just look at the world where they kill in the name of the lord,
I'm hellbound..
And there'll be no salvation for me!
[Verse 2]
They say it's important (?) now look,
I've been reading those books,
Meant for salvation for all mankind,
We know so much better today,
And we should just throw it away,
Make our own planet a better place,
For us to live!
[Bridge]
How can you believe what they say,
"Rule the world by these fairytales,"
Kill the ones who refuse to believe in the holy word,
[Chorus]
Deep, in my heart I'll never believe,
Just look at the world where they kill in the name of the lord,
I'm hellbound. [x2]
And there'll be no salvation for me!
[Verse 3]
You think you are so much better than me,
(?) (?) from what is rightful,
You had your plagues with (?) and sanctity,
They're same,
They're the same,
[Chrous]
Deep, in my heart I'll never believe,
Just look at the world where they kill in the name of the lord,
I'm hellbound..
And there'll be no salvation for me! [x3]
Nostradameus's song "Hellbound" is a commentary on the dangers of religious fanaticism and blind faith. The lyrics discuss the belief in a forgiving God and the idea that being faithful to him will lead to salvation. However, the song also points out the hypocrisy and violence that can arise from these beliefs. The idea of "ruling the world by these fairytales" highlights the idea of using religion as a means of control and power, while "killing the ones who refuse to believe" speaks to the real danger of extremist actions taken in the name of religion. The singer declares himself "hellbound" and without salvation because of his rejection of the harmful aspects of these beliefs.
Line by Line Meaning
We all learn from the star,
We gain knowledge and wisdom from the universe above us.
We had love in our hearts,
We possessed compassion and empathy for others.
Wrought from our father: Almighty God,
Our nurturing and caring nature were instilled in us by a divine creator.
As long as you're faithful to him,
If you remain loyal to God, then He will always be forgiving towards your sins.
He will forgive every sin,
All of our mistakes will be pardoned by God if we ask for His forgiveness.
Believers(?) will make it to paradise,
Those who have faith in God will ultimately end up in heaven.
That's what he will give to you,
God promises us eternal life in heaven if we follow His teachings.
How can you believe what they say,
Why should you trust what others tell you to believe without questioning it?
"Rule the world by these fairytales,"
The idea of governing people through fictional stories is absurd and dangerous.
Kill the ones who refuse to believe,
To harm others for holding different beliefs is morally unjustifiable.
Deep, in my heart I'll never believe,
Despite what others may say or do, I will never accept something that goes against my values.
Just look at the world where they kill in the name of the lord,
The senseless violence and cruelty committed by those who claim to act in God's name is a clear indication of how misguided they are.
I'm hellbound..
I choose to reject an oppressive system of beliefs that aims to control and manipulate individuals.
And there'll be no salvation for me!
I am willing to face the consequences of rejecting such a system and will not seek redemption within it.
They say it's important (?) now look,
Authorities claim that following a particular religion is crucial, but upon examination, it is not.
I've been reading those books,
I have been studying religious texts and have come to the conclusion that they are flawed and inadequate.
Meant for salvation for all mankind,
These texts were created to provide a guide to salvation for all people, but they fall short of doing so.
We know so much better today,
Today, we possess greater knowledge and understanding of the world than those who wrote religious texts in the past.
And we should just throw it away,
Instead of relying on outdated doctrines, we should abandon them and develop new ways of living that are grounded in empathy, rationality, and compassion.
Make our own planet a better place,
We should focus on healing the earth and improving the lives of all living beings on it.
For us to live!
This is our collective responsibility if we want to create a better world for ourselves and future generations.
You think you are so much better than me,
Religious authorities claim to be superior to others who hold differing beliefs.
(?) (?) from what is rightful,
They derive their self-righteousness from subjective and arbitrary principles that they deem to be morally correct.
You had your plagues with (?) and sanctity,
Religious institutions have a history of enabling oppression, violence, and corruption while claiming to promote purity and sanctity.
They're same,
The power structures and corruption that exist in religious institutions are no different from those that occur in other institutions.
And there'll be no salvation for me! [x3]
I reject the idea of salvation through obedience to religious authorities and am willing to face the consequences of my convictions.
Contributed by Eva E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.