Relocating to Boston, the band was not easily accepted by the local music scene due to their extreme behavior. At one show, Ironlung dislocated his shoulder and then spent the entire show trying to punch it back into place. Muzzey left the band soon after, and was replaced by Ironlung's brother Kevin J. Strongbow. They recorded their debut, 1996's "Guaranteed Kill", and found themselves getting quite a lot of press in the underground. The band followed it up with 1998's "Balls Deep", which received good reviews from mainstream publications. Their success in Boston was now quite impressive, and they signed to independent label Tortuga Recordings to release 1999's "New Hampshire". The radio play they received locally earned them a spot at the River Rave festival, where they performed with Cypress Hill and Stone Temple Pilots. They released a EP of covers entitled "Piscataqua" soon after, and were featured on MTV's "You Hear It First" segment. In 2001 the band released two albums, the original "Mantrapping for Sport and Profit" and an album of re-recorded songs to be released in Britain called "American Cloven Hoof Blues". A series of EPs ("Potential New Agent for Unconventional Warfare", "Deathchants", "Breakdowns and Military Waltzes, Vol. 2", and "Victory over Horseshit") followed, with the full-length "Jaggernaut" arriving in March 2006. Scissorfight was named "best hard rock band" at the Boston Music Awards in 2003 and 2004.
The band's name comes from the lesbian sexual practice called tribadism.
Backwoods
Scissorfight Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dynamite in hand
Hold the deer heart skyward
River of the pelts
Ammunition belts
Hold the deer heart skyward
Killing without fail
On the hell bent trail
Carnage in command
Deathlock on the land
All that was found was slaughtered
I heard a crashing in the pines
Panic screaming up their spines
Just another casuality
Of backwoods motherfuckery
Bad destructive jag
Carcasses were dragged
Death rising up skyward
Caving in the head
Of the thing half dead
Death rising up skyward
The lyrics to Scissorfight's song "Backwoods" paint a chilling picture of a violent and bloodthirsty individual in a rural community. The first verse describes the singer as a danger, holding dynamite in hand, and raising a deer heart skyward. The second verse implies that this person is on a killing spree, with carnage and death following in their wake. The chorus recounts the panicked screaming of victims in the forest and the destructive, bloody aftermath of the violence.
It's difficult to pinpoint exactly what the song is trying to say, but it paints a vivid picture of the dangers of deep-rooted violence in isolated communities. The imagery of holding a deer heart skyward is particularly striking and suggests that the killer is connected to some sort of primal or ritualistic violence. The repeated phrase "death rising up skyward" highlights the violent and death-centric themes of the song.
Overall, "Backwoods" is a chilling and intense song that shines a light on the dark and bloody underbelly of rural communities.
Line by Line Meaning
Danger is the man
The man is dangerous
Dynamite in hand
The man holds explosives in his hand
Hold the deer heart skyward
The man holds the heart of a deer up in the sky
River of the pelts
There is a river of animal skins
Ammunition belts
The man carries belts of ammunition
Killing without fail
The man kills without failure
On the hell bent trail
The man is on a dangerous path
A bear and lion dog slaughtered
The man has killed a bear and a hunting dog
Carnage in command
The man is in control of the destruction
Deathlock on the land
Death is holding the land in its grip
All that was found was slaughtered
Everything that was found was dead
I heard a crashing in the pines
The artist heard a loud noise in the forest
Panic screaming up their spines
Fear is making people scream
Just another casuality
This is just another incident where someone died
Of backwoods motherfuckery
This happened because of bad actions in a remote area
Bad destructive jag
Someone is acting destructively
Carcasses were dragged
Dead animal bodies were being moved
Death rising up skyward
Death is becoming more prevalent
Caving in the head
The man's head was caved in
Of the thing half dead
This happened to something that was already partially dead
Death rising up skyward
Death is becoming more prevalent
Contributed by Gabriella P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.