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...
Never Turning Back
Nostradameus Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It made me become what I am
It'll make me become what I want to be
Experiences gained from the past
The scars never heal but will help me see
Coldhearted souls in a coldhearted world
Their rules or to live their normal kind of life
My spirit is free, don't you see?
[Chorus]
That I'm never turning back
Back to those times again
I'm never turning back
Back to those years
No, I'll never be turning back
Back to those times again
Never turning back
Back to those years--No way!
It makes you a slave once you're born
It'll make you a person without a heart
A beast, always there from the start
That in the end will be tearing your soul apart!
Coldhearted souls in a coldhearted world
Are holding you back, do you want to follow
Their rules, or live their normal kind of lives
Your spirits are free, don't you see?
[Chorus]
That you'll never be turning back
Back to those times again
You'll never be turning back
Back to those years
No, you'll never be turning back
Backt o those times again
Never turning back
Back to those years--No way!
The lyrics of Nostradameus's song Never Turning Back describe the singer's journey towards self-discovery and embracing their individuality. The song talks about how life experiences have shaped the singer, and even though the scars might never heal, they have helped the singer to see clearly. The first stanza is all about how the singer broke free from the conventional way of life and rules set by cold-hearted people. The singer believes that their spirit is free, and they can never turn back to the times when they weren't in control of their life.
The second stanza talks about how society has a way of shaping people into individuals who lack emotions and free will. The singer believes that if you follow society's rules, you may forget to be human and lose touch with your emotions. Society may turn you into a beast that eventually tears your soul apart. The chorus reiterates that the singer and the listener will never go back to the times when they lived as slaves, following society's rules. They have embraced their free spirits, and that is a path they will never turn back from.
Nostradameus's Never Turning Back is a powerful song that encourages individuality and self-reflection. The lyrics promote being true to oneself and breaking free from the shackles of societal norms. The song is a metal anthem that inspires listeners to be resilient and true to themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
It made me become what I am
Past experiences shaped me into who I am now
It'll make me become what I want to be
Continuing to learn and grow will help me achieve my goals
Experiences gained from the past
What we learn from the past informs who we are today
The scars never heal but will help me see
Past hurt can still guide us and make us wiser
Coldhearted souls in a coldhearted world
People can be cruel and unfeeling
Were holding me back, didn't want to follow
The negativity of others can deter us from our path
Their rules or to live their normal kind of life
Others may try to impose their beliefs and way of life on us
My spirit is free, don't you see?
I refuse to conform and choose to live by my own values
That I'm never turning back
I am committed to moving forward and not dwelling in the past
Back to those times again
The negative experiences of the past are not worth revisiting
It makes you a slave once you're born
Society can impose oppressive structures upon us from birth
It'll make you a person without a heart
Conforming to societal norms may require us to sacrifice our values and empathy
A beast, always there from the start
The animalistic and violent tendencies of humanity are always present
That in the end will be tearing your soul apart!
Living a life contrary to our core values will bring internal pain
Are holding you back, do you want to follow
Others may try to keep us from realizing our full potential
Your spirits are free, don't you see?
We need to embrace our individuality and resist societal pressure to conform
That you'll never be turning back
We need to stay focused on growth and not repeat past mistakes
Back to those years
The past is not worth revisiting if it keeps us from progress
No, you'll never be turning back
Committing to progress means rejecting a return to past negativity
Never turning back
Our determination to grow and improve is unwavering
Back to those years--No way!
We refuse to dwell on the past and will always look forward
Contributed by Jackson C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
El Chirigua
god, i really miss this band, so unique sound and vocals