BAND HISTORY
South Florida, a region once known for its humidity and magnetic pull for retirees from across the nation. Now this region is known for its high occurrence rate of hurricanes and home to socio-politico rage-core unit, Remembering Never. This five man unit composed of Mean Pete (vocals), Grease (guitar), Norm (guitar), Aldo (bass) and Danny (drums) is uncompromising hardcore with a message. From a cynical eye towards those who govern in all realms to messages of a vegetarian lifestyle, Remembering Never isn’t afraid to ruffle feathers. Incorporating metallic speed and ire into their guitars, shards of melody and chaotic arrangements that threaten to collapse their sound is a combination of technical skill and primal aggression.
Forming right out of High School around the turn of the millennium, Remembering Never originally had Mean Pete on guitars and Justin Daily on vocals. According to Pete, the band originally sounded like every other band in South Florida and was more based on personal songwriting. The members who were in other bands, including Pete who was a vocalist in Until The End didn’t take Remembering Never too seriously. The group admits at first no one cared for the band and they ended up playing a lot of bad shows. After a year of playing locally, the band recorded an eight song demo that Carl Severson of Ferret Music caught wind of. Severson was impressed enough to want to put the album out, but at the time Ferret was stretched thin on releases. Severson turned the demo over to Chris Tzompanakis of Ferret band, SkyCameFalling who had started his own label, One Day Saviour and was looking for artists. One Day Saviour released the demo in 2001 which went on to sell close to 20,000 copies (it has just been re-released with new artwork).
Shortly thereafter, Daily quit the band to focus on other pursuits. Pete reluctantly picked up the microphone and put down the guitar, a decision he wasn’t entirely comfortable with. At the time of the member switch, Remembering Never had composed a great deal of their first full-length album She Looks so Good In Red and Pete had almost no time to compose lyrics. Musically the album which was released on Ferret Music in 2002 was angrier and more severe than the demo sessions. Lyrically Mean Pete claims it was a joke that only the band members got, as over the top narratives talked about violence against loved one’s and severing of relationships, much like Glassjaw’s first album. Like the aforementioned band, who has since taken a much different approach in their lyrics, Pete regrets anyone thinking that he was serious about any of those lyrics or believing that he advocated abusive acts towards women.
Tour-wise Remembering Never was finally getting out on the road including a stint with Suicide Note as well as tours with On Broken Wings, Evergreen Terrace, Between The Buried and Me, Alexisonfire, and Every Time I Die. When working on material for their next album Women And Children Die First, Pete decided to focus on issues that not only affected him but that would be hardcore anthems. As he wrote in the album’s liner notes “Being in a hardcore band, it is my privilege and my responsibility to share ideas.” As Carl Severson of Ferret claims “That album is really their defining moment. The demo and the first album might as well have been a different band. This album was more extreme, more pissed and more potent.” The second full-length was released in 2004, the significance of the title Women And Children Die First was supposedly the working title of a Slayer album that they were forced to drop by their label. Remembering Never’s album became their signature statement and went on to sell over 70,000 albums worldwide within two years. The album was included in the “Best Of 2004” list for Decibel Magazine as well as coverage in places such as Sirius Satellite Radio, Revolver, Alt Press and other media sources. This album also marked the first time that Remembering Never became a full time band and toured fully behind the album. Tours included co-headlining a PETA sponsored tour with Most Precious Blood as well as tour with Throwdown, The Acacia Strain, ZAO, Terror, Scarlet, Eighteen Visions and It Dies Today.
Several hurricanes and tattoos later, Remembering Never has emerged as one of the most respected voices of the metal-core scene. As of Fall 05, the band entered Planet Z Studios in Massachusetts with wonder producer Zeuss (Hatebreed, Throwdown, Shadows Fall) to record their forthcoming full-length for a spring 06 release titled God Saves Us. It promises to be the most savage and heaviest sounding record to date. It also does a good job of balancing personal lyrics with the worldly messages of the band. The Goddamn Busy Signal is a song that deals with Gay rights. As Mean Pete says “This is not just someone’s opinion on someone else’s lifestyle, it’s about religion and government sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong.” The ironically titled White Devil is about Pete and other members of the band who grew up broke, stealing to get by. “It’s really about an circle of life that it is difficult to break out of, being born into poverty and how it places a limit of what you can accomplish.” Selma named for the character in the film Dancer In The Dark is about the power that women have that is underestimated every day. Pete comments “We are the most negatively positive band out there. We’re really positive but we present it in a negative way.” With the release of God Saves Us 2006 promises to be the year that mainstream takes notice of the band who live by their underground roots.
Slaughterhouse Blues
Remembering Never Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where you'd get a chance to taste your blood so heartless.
See the torture through the eyes of the predetermined dead.
Murder is a family value in almost every home.
Murder is a family value three times a day.
Beaten senseless to a bloody mess. Burned alive and completely drowned to death.
Throat cut ear to ear. Suffocate. There's no waking up from this nightmare.
Bare witness to this nightmare.
I'd just like to reverse the roles just for a day or forever. It'd be a day to remember.
You can watch your loved ones meet their maker.
Single filed death march. You would sing a different tune if this happened to you.
Murder is a family value almost every day.
Murder is a family value three times a day.
There will be no more blood the day (the day) injustice dies.
The lyrics to Remembering Never's "Slaughterhouse Blues" deal with the theme of revenge and a desire to make those who have caused harm or committed violent acts experience the same pain that they have inflicted on others. The singer wants to reverse the roles, to make the violent perpetrators feel the same pain that their victims have felt. The description of murder as a "family value" implies that violent acts have become normalized and accepted in society, even in the sanctuary of the home.
The lyrics go on to describe violent acts in detail, such as being beaten to a bloody mess, burned alive, drowned to death, and throat cut ear to ear. The singer implores the violent perpetrators to feel the fear, pain, and guilt of their actions, to take it with them to their graves. The desire for vengeance is palpable, and the lyrics make it clear that the singer wants those who have caused harm to suffer for the rest of their lives.
The final line, "there will be no more blood the day (the day) injustice dies," implies that the violence and harm being inflicted is a result of the underlying injustice and oppression that exists in society. Until this injustice is addressed and remedied, violent acts will continue to be committed in the name of power and control.
Line by Line Meaning
I'd just like to reverse the roles just for a day or forever. It'd be a day to remember.
The singer wants the oppressors to experience the suffering of their victims, even for just a day, in order to gain empathy and understanding.
Where you'd get a chance to taste your blood so heartless.
The oppressors have been so ruthless in their killings that they have lost their humanity and now crave to experience the pain they inflict on others.
See the torture through the eyes of the predetermined dead.
The victims are predetermined to suffer and die, and the singer wants the oppressors to understand the horror of this fate by witnessing it from the victim's perspective.
Murder is a family value in almost every home.
Violence and killings have become so normalized and accepted in society that it's seen as something intrinsic to family values.
Murder is a family value three times a day.
Murder is so prevalent that it's happening multiple times a day, indicating a society that is engulfed in violence.
Beaten senseless to a bloody mess. Burned alive and completely drowned to death.
The singer lists different forms of torture and killing that the victims are subjected to by the oppressors, further emphasizing the brutality of their actions.
Feel the fear. Taste the pain. Take the guilt to your grave.
The singer wants the oppressors to experience the fear, pain, and guilt of their actions and carry it with them for the rest of their lives, knowing the horror they have inflicted on others.
Throat cut ear to ear. Suffocate. There's no waking up from this nightmare.
The different ways in which the victims are killed are mentioned again, and the final line emphasizes the inescapable reality of the oppression and violence that they face.
Bare witness to this nightmare.
The artist wants everyone to see the horror of the violence and oppression happening around them, hoping to evoke a change in society.
You can watch your loved ones meet their maker.
The oppressors should experience the pain of losing their loved ones through murder and understand the gravity of their actions and the suffering caused by them.
Single filed death march. You would sing a different tune if this happened to you.
The singer imagines the oppressors walking towards their death in a single file, experiencing the fear and powerlessness that their victims go through, hoping to change their attitude towards violence and oppression.
There will be no more blood the day (the day) injustice dies.
The artist hopes for a future where the violence and oppression will come to an end, and there will be no more bloodshed caused by these unjust actions.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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