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)
Big Brother
Pulse Ultra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But you won't let me go
You impose your point of view
And you won't let me know
You create my solitude
In independence
My fate awaits this somber mood
So justify comformity
Change chains
Before I live in vain
Pry the lid open on you
But you manage to lie low
You depose the reign of truth
Claim not to be my foe
You creat my emptiness
With false ambitions
It's hard to live alone in
This view
So justify conformity
I need to break these chains
Change chains
Before I live in vain
Change chains
I need to break these chains
Change chains
Before I live in vain
Liberate you precious
minds from the chains of
empty thoughts
The lyrics of "Big Brother" evoke feelings of entrapment and frustration towards a controlling figure who continuously imposes their views and beliefs onto the singer. The lines "Try to break away from you, but you won't let me go" and "Pry the lid open on you, but you manage to lie low" reflect the struggle of attempting to gain independence and freedom, only to be met with resistance and manipulation.
The theme of conformity is also prevalent throughout the song, with the lyrics "So justify conformity" being repeated multiple times. The singer expresses a need to break away from these chains of conformity before living in vain, acknowledging the importance of autonomy and individuality.
In the final verse, the lyrics "Liberate your precious minds from the chains of empty thoughts" serves as a call to action for listeners to break free from societal pressures and expectations that hinder personal growth and fulfillment.
Overall, Pulse Ultra's "Big Brother" is a powerful critique of oppressive systems and the importance of individuality in achieving true liberation.
Line by Line Meaning
Try to break away from you
Wanting to escape from the hold of Big Brother
But you won't let me go
Unable to escape the control of Big Brother
You impose your point of view
Big Brother forces their own beliefs onto others
And you won't let me know
Hiding information and manipulating situations
You create my solitude
Isolating individuals to control them
In independence
Falsely claiming to promote individuality
My fate awaits this somber mood
Feeling trapped, without hope or a way out
So justify conformity
Trying to rationalize the oppressive system
I need to break these chains
Desiring freedom and to escape Big Brother's control
Change chains
Wanting a different system, not just new leaders
Before I live in vain
Realizing the importance of breaking free before it's too late
Pry the lid open on you
Attempting to expose the truth about Big Brother
But you manage to lie low
Keeping the truth hidden and avoiding detection
You depose the reign of truth
Suppressing the truth to maintain control
Claim not to be my foe
Feigning a friendly relationship while maintaining control
You creat my emptiness
Making individuals feel purposeless or unfulfilled
With false ambitions
Promoting goals that only serve the interests of Big Brother
It's hard to live alone in
Feeling isolated and alone within the system
This view
The perspective perpetuated by Big Brother
Liberate your precious
Encouraging others to free themselves
minds from the chains of
Break away from the mental imprisonment
empty thoughts
Breaking free from the false ideas promoted by Big Brother
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DOMINIC CIFARELLI, JEFFREY FELDMAN, LAURENT VIZZA, MASSIMO ZINNO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind