The sound of Velvet Hammer/Atlantic recording group Pulse Ultra's debut album is that of rocks amped up and taken to the next level. "HEADSPACE" is a stirring mix of cerebral and aggressive hard rock, melding complex musical constructions with dramatic melodies and harrowing, introspective lyrics.
Tracks like "Build Your Cages" and "Glass Door" reveals the Montreal-based quartet's multi-faceted sonic approach, with an array of unstoppable hooks, ethereal atmospherics, and ambitious arrangements.
Best friends since childhood, Cifarelli and bassist Jeff Feldman have spent most of their lives playing music together. Their high school band gigged at local parties and the occasional Battle of the Bands, but the band's lineup was in frequent flux, leading to a temporary parting-of-the-ways in 1997. The addition of drummer Maxx Zinno brought a new sense of direction and increased focus.
"It was a very weird time," Dominic says, "but then we got with Maxx, and the first day we jammed, we wrote three songs! It was really immediate."
While Montreal is widely regarded for the diversity of its dance and electronic-based music, it is not exactly known as a hotbed of dark and mysterious rock 'n' roll. Cifarelli, Feldman, and Zinno envisioned a band that could not be imprisoned by confinement of the city's trip-hoppin' club scene.
"Raves are huge," Cifarelli says. "There's not much room for a rock band, and the ones that are here don't usually stick together."
The band rehearsed and wrote with a fervor, going so far as to cut a few demos, but something was still missing. The missing piece of the puzzle fell into place at a 1999 Halloween party attended by the band members as well as a local singer by the name of Zo Vizza.
"Some kid put our CD on," Cifarelli recalls, "and Zo starts singing along. I'm listening to this kid's voice and I totally freaked out. The next day I called him and said, 'Let's write some songs.'" "I was about to join this French band," Vizza says, "which was like my last resort. Then Dominic called and it all started up from there."
Cifarelli and Vizza clicked immediately, penning a number of gripping, acoustic-driven songs, blending the power of Dominic's prog metal influences with Zo's evocative Doors-inspired melodies.
"We just kind of shed all the crap," the guitarist says. "We thought, 'Let's make the heavy stuff heavier and the light stuff lighter.' We want to push all the boundaries, without forgetting that it's all about the song." In the summer of 2000, the guitarist made a connection that led to the band finally getting out of the garage and into the studio. A big fan of Velvet Hammer/Atlantic recording group Taproot, Cifarelli decided to visit the band's tour bus when the Michigan-based band came to Montreal for a show.
"Taproot is very special to us," Dominic says. "So when they came to Montreal, I went over to where they were playing with a six-pack of beer and I just fuckin' knocked on the bus. (Guitarist) Mike (DeWolf) came out and I said, 'I bought you some beer, man. Congratulations on your fuckin' success and shit,' and he said 'Come on in.' I just chilled out with him and the rest of the band for a couple hours and they were fuckin' totally cool." Cifarelli passed over a CD of the latest Headspace demos, and a blown-away DeWolf handed back his manager's phone number.
"I thought, 'I'm not going to call. I don't want to ruin how special the day was,'" Dominic says. "The next day, which was my birthday, the manager e-mailed me! So I called him, we started talking, and the rest is history." Taking on the new moniker of Pulse Ultra, the band inked a deal with Velvet Hammer Management and soon found them signed to Atlantic Records. In July of 2001, Pulse Ultra left the chilly climes of Canada for sunny Los Angeles in order to work with producer Neal Avron (Everclear, Seven Mary Three).
"Neal had never done anything really heavy before," Cifarelli says, "but he was totally excited about us. When we finally met him, we loved his vibe. He was totally amazing – an amazing ear, an amazing engineer, an amazing producer, just a musical genius all around."
The sessions proved to be the most wrenching emotional experience of the band members' lives. As if recording their major label debut wasn't stressful enough, Zinno was diagnosed with an extreme hernia early into the process. Worse, Vizza's father passed away one month into the recording, sending Zo into a spiral of anxiety attacks. Pulse Ultra ultimately spent six long months in Los Angeles, but unlike many bands in a similar situation, they didn't take advantage of the many opportunities the city offers to musicians.
"We never really went out," Cifarelli says. "We were like, 'Let's work hard now, and then we'll fuckin' go crazy.' So we hid out in our rehearsal spot six days a week, practicing, and having anxiety attacks."
The resulting album – dubbed "HEADSPACE" – is fraught with the raw emotions and difficult circumstances that fuelled the recording sessions. Psychologically visceral songs like "Build Your Cages" and "Finding My Place" express Zo's refusal to sacrifice his dreams, even as the pressures built up within and without.
"I'm not a great believer in heaven and hell," he explains. "I believe you should make your heaven on earth. And a lot of people aren't doing that. They're living their lives through other people's expectations, so it's a struggle to do what you want to do. Like the fact that like I was good in school, people always kept on telling me not to sacrifice something good for music. Well, I just think you should just do what you love, period."
With their extraordinary debut about to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting world, the band are excited to take their explosive live set to the fans, starting in the summer of 2002 with a prestigious slot on the annual Ozzfest. "From the lowest lows you get the highest highs," muses Vizza.
For Pulse Ultra, things are about to get even higher...
==Band Members==
* Zo Vizza (Vocals)
* Dominic Cifarelli (Guitar)
* Jeff Feldman (Bass)
* Maxx Zinno (Drums)
Acceptance
Pulse Ultra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Denial to many faces are glowing with pride and assurance,
But it's their loss
Don't you see? The skyscrapers they're too big to bring down
Awareness of of our conditioning is slowly seeping,
Leaking the cracks that we've made in the temple of want do seem useless,
Don't you see? The skyscrapers they're too big to bring down
Step away the mind rapers
They will drown in their greed
Stop the want
Don't you see? The skyscrapers they're too big to bring down
Step away the mind rapers
They will drown in their greed stop the want
Don't let it fuck with you
Stop the want
Don't let it fuck with you.
The first verse of Pulse Ultra's song 'Acceptance' expresses the frustration and disillusionment of the singer with fighting for a lost cause. The use of the phrase "gave up our nature" alludes to the idea that human beings have strayed from their innate values and instincts. The singer sees denial in the faces of many people, who are proud and self-assured, but they are blind to the damage caused by their actions. The singer does not identify the lost cause, but it seems to be related to the destructive nature of human behavior towards the environment.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the futility of trying to bring down the towering structures and systems that have been created by human beings. The "skyscrapers" symbolize the power structures that are too entrenched to be dismantled easily. However, the singer suggests that there is hope in becoming aware of our conditioning, which can slowly erode the foundation of these structures.
The second verse uses the metaphor of a temple to suggest the value that society places on material wants and desires. The "cracks" suggest that the temple is not as strong as it appears, and that it is vulnerable to collapse. The singer sees the pursuit of wants as a useless endeavor that leads to emptiness and dissatisfaction.
Overall, the song 'Acceptance' seems to be a call for people to wake up to the destructive patterns of behavior that have become normalized in our society. By questioning our conditioning and desires, we can begin to dismantle the structures that perpetuate harm to ourselves and the environment.
Line by Line Meaning
I won't fight for a cause that's been lost when we gave up our nature
I refuse to support a cause that has been abandoned when we surrendered our inherent characteristics
Denial to many faces are glowing with pride and assurance, But it's their loss
A lot of people are rejecting reality and pretending to be okay with it, but they're ultimately missing out
Don't you see? The skyscrapers they're too big to bring down Awareness of of our conditioning is slowly seeping, Leaking the cracks that we've made in the temple of want do seem useless, But it's their loss
The structures of society are too entrenched to be dismantled easily, but we can still make small cracks in the facade by recognizing our indoctrination. Even if it seems pointless, it's still worth doing.
Step away the mind rapers They will drown in their greed Stop the want
Distance yourself from those who try to control your mind for their own gain. They will suffer the consequences of their greed. Stop the perpetual desire for more.
Don't let it fuck with you Stop the want Don't let it fuck with you.
Don't allow consumerism and societal pressure to affect you negatively. Break the cycle of constant wanting and remain true to yourself.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CIFARELLI, FELDMAN, VIZZA, ZINNO, Dominic Cifarelli, Jeffrey Feldman, Laurent Vizza, Massimo Zinno
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind