Eric had played … Read Full Bio ↴Formed in 1989 by Eric Stevenson and Jonah Jenkins.
Eric had played in the Boston area thrash metal band FORMICIDE. Jonah was big fan, and had met them while working with friends on a local fanzine, LOOK AGAIN.
Eric recruited his brother Kevin, and bass player Ray Costa, both original members of Formicide .
Early practies and song writing resulted in many 4-track recordings...but the band's first studio recording took place in 1989, with Bruce Bennett, at Kashmir Studio, in Wilmington, MA.
This first recording resulted in the 1990 eponymous 4 song cassette.
3 songs of this were released on 7" vinyl, in a limited pressing of 1000 copies, by Dan McNamara, on the zine related label: LOOK AGAIN RECORDS. This was the only music released by LOOK AGAIN.
A second demo was recorded in 1991, with the songs "Liar's Den", "Meantime", and "Oblivion." This was recorded live to two-track, but the engineer recorded a broken speaker in the guitar cabinet, so the recording was never released, and the songs were dropped from the live set, with the exit of Kevin and Roy the same year, due to creative differences.
Two other songs from this period were played live, but never recorded in a studio, "Find Me Blind and Bound" and "Lung Black". One live bootleg of the band playing at the Raathskellar in 1990 exists, which includes these two songs.
Soon after the departure of Roy and Kevin, Chris Crowley and Craig Silverman (also a one time member of Formicide) were recruited to play bass and guitar respectively.
In 1992, a third, 5 song demo was recorded, "Prone Mortal Form". This demo included one ambient instrumental track that was never released otherwise, "Window 4:45".
Between 1989 and 1992 the band opened for bands such as Corrosion of Conformity, Slap Shot, Leeway, Sheer Terror, Prong, Starkweather, and playing with local bands such as Overcast, Dive, SEKA, Sam Black Church and dozens more.
In 1992, the band signed with Century Media.
to be continued...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Only_Living_Witness
Strata
Only Living Witness Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause they're not the same no more
All my hereos they let me down
And I'm no the same no more
When I said I prayed I'd die before you
I meant in front of
Back to ruin, back to ruin
Disappointment came to me
Improve on an example or it could bring me back to ruin...
The lyrics to Only Living Witness's song "Strata" explore the disappointment and disillusionment that can come with idolizing others. The lyrics express that the singer's heroes have let them down and are no longer the same as they once were. The singer, in turn, feels changed by this realization.
When the singer says "When I said I prayed I'd die before you, I meant in front of," they are expressing a desire to be seen as a hero themselves, dying heroically before their fallen idols. However, the phrase "back to ruin" suggests a fear that they might ultimately end up just as disappointing as their heroes. The line "Disappointment came to me/Disappointment came to mean/Improve on an example or it could bring me back to ruin" suggests that the singer recognizes the importance of learning from the mistakes of their heroes and striving to be better, so as not to repeat their shortcomings.
Overall, the lyrics to "Strata" are a poignant exploration of how we can be both inspired and let down by the people we look up to. The singer's words demonstrate the potential for both growth and stagnation that can arise from this experience.
Line by Line Meaning
All my heroes, they let me down
People who I looked up to and admired have disappointed me
'Cause they're not the same no more
My heroes have changed and aren't the people I once admired
All my heroes they let me down
Reiterating the disappointment I feel towards those I once admired
And I'm not the same no more
As a result of my heroes letting me down, I've changed and am not the person I once was
When I said I prayed I'd die before you
A statement made to someone else, likely about dying before them
I meant in front of
The desire to die before someone else stemmed from not wanting to witness their death, rather than dying first
Back to ruin, back to ruin
Returning to a state of ruin or destruction
Disappointment came to me
I experienced disappointment
Disappointment came to mean
Disappointment became a common experience for me
Improve on an example or it could bring me back to ruin...
I must strive to improve upon examples set by others, or else risk falling back into a state of ruin or disappointment
Contributed by Chloe N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
PANAVISION
one of the best album buys i ever made...it touches my inner core. Still listen to both albums but Innocents is something special....
Simone Tripodi
Still listening to this nowdays absolutely a masterpiece.
lonewizzard
One helluva song and all around well rounded band . I'm 38 and when this dropped I was goin' through some major shit mentally. ALL of my heroes minus my dad LET ME DOWN. This one got me through it in spades. I used to crank it and just slam shit, body included into whatever was in my way. OLW paved the way for a lotta bands and deserved far more recognition than they got.
Zeissborusse
Only Living Witness, CoC, all time Heroes
red_rogue
Only Living Witness helped me in the mental department, too.
Jonathan Barnes
Hope your still alright.
red_rogue
@Jonathan Barnes
Thanks, I'm doing the best that I can.
Same to you.
VILE BMX
Rad
T S
Kinda bushie, in a good way