Secret Discovery is a dark rock act from the heart of Germany's Ruhr area, … Read Full Bio ↴Secret Discovery is a dark rock act from the heart of Germany's Ruhr area, chose that end for themselves towards the close of the last millennium. And parted "as friends", as the saying goes.

Roughly half a decade later, in 2004, that end turned out not to be a permanent one. Secret Discovery were back, with a new prayer up their sleeves. "Pray" was the title of their … let's call it "comeback album", which went down extremely well with the public. The band presented themselves more mature in terms of their song-writing, as well as their stylistic elements, mixed by the quintet to develop their very own Secret Discovery sound.

Little wonder, you might be tempted to think, after all Secret Discovery, alongside acts such as Project Pitchfork, Deine Lakaien, Das Ich, Lacrimosa and Goethes Erben, were not only a strong motor for the renaissance of the German gothic scene in the early Nineties, but also forerunners of gothic metal made in Germany, and their 1993 offering, "Into The Void" is still considered a genre classic. The more years that passed, the more the band opened themselves to new ideas and different styles. "Question Of Time" manifested their status on the Mount Olympus of rock, metal and crossover, "Slave" being the final and definitely worthy swansong of this unique act.But why waste time on all this background information?

Secret Discovery have tasted blood again. The success of "Pray" and the thoroughly enthusiastic reactions to their hand-picked gigs motivated the band further, inspiring them to work on their latest release, "Alternate".

"Alternate" is aptly entitled, because Secret Discovery's sonic update alternates, too. Their guitars rock heavily, the keyboards caress Kai Hoffmann's constantly progressing vocals, and then there are those hook lines! Secret Discovery have come up with their very own version of contemporary pop music, and that's a real compliment.
"We're used to falling between the stools, and we don't want to be categorized in a single pigeonhole," frontman Kai Hoffmann explains, adding with a smug undertone: "We've always enjoyed helping ourselves to various genres, to be honest. We're open to different musical directions, and looking at it in a positive way, we may end up creating a new pigeonhole, just for ourselves." Right he is. In terms of their lyrics and their music, "Alternate" is Secret Discovery's coming of age. And what a coming of age!
"Our lyrics are always marked by our own personal experiences, the highs and lows in our lives. Dreams and fears, love or hate can be found in the themes of our lyrics," Kai adds, "and we always strive for a lyrical style that's not overly clear, but subtle instead. There should always be enough room for personal interpretation. Our musical influences still stem from the Eighties, the early days of new wave and gothic, particularly when it comes to our songwriting, but pop acts such as Coldplay, R.E.M. or Placebo have also left their traces." And it's still good to be back, isn't it?

"Oh yes," Kai replies, "'Pray' was important in that it helped us collect our thoughts, musically. In terms of sound, it's a fairly typical Secret Discovery recording, sounding a little like a journey in time through the tracks on our first albums, only in a modern outfit. Looking at it this way, 'Pray' was a statement first and foremost: 'We're back, we still sound like Secret Discovery – we are Secret Discovery!'"

"'Alternate' was different. This time around, it was our aim to develop the overall sound, we wanted to do something that still sounds like Secret Discovery, but is different at the same time; contemporary in true SD style on the one hand, and at the same time different enough to make it impossible to compare to its predecessors. When it came to the songwriting, we freed ourselves of all parameters, it materialized in the process which direction we were going to take. We definitely didn't want any templates to restrict our creativity in any way." Mission accomplished. "Alternate" is Secret Discovery Mark 2006.

Without limits, without pigeonholes, without parameters, more from the gut, with more authenticity and even more amazing hooklines.
Thomas Thyssen (Winter 2005)

Pray
Secret Discovery Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

nothing will be the same, everything's gonna change,
I will never forget your face.
I won't forget the time, such moments hard to find,
hand in hand with you into the light.
so many things to feel, but which of them are real,
what are words, when you lose your aim?
so many things to do, but which of them are true?

nothing will start again, everything's got an end,
in my heart you will ever last.
I won't forget the days, in my memories sleeps the trace
of a wonderful, wonderful past.
so many ways to talk, so many ways to walk
just to carry away the dark.
so many things to do, but which of them are true?

leave me here and go away for the last time,
leave me now and let me pray for the last time...

Overall Meaning

In Secret Discovery's song "Pray", the lyrics describe the feeling of change and the uncertainty of what is real and true. The opening lines, "nothing will be the same, everything's gonna change, I will never forget your face," set a tone of finality and acceptance towards the inevitability of change. The singer reflects on memories of a past relationship, describing it as "a wonderful, wonderful past" and acknowledging that it has come to an end.

The chorus of the song, "leave me here and go away for the last time, leave me now and let me pray for the last time," conveys a sense of closure and longing. The singer is asking the other person to leave and let them be alone to process their feelings before moving on. The use of the word "pray" adds a spiritual element to the song, as if the singer is seeking guidance or strength from a higher power to get through this difficult time.

Overall, "Pray" is a bittersweet reflection on the nature of change and the complexity of human emotions.

Line by Line Meaning

nothing will be the same, everything's gonna change,
The past is gone and the future will bring change.

I will never forget your face.
The memory of your face will always stay with me.

I won't forget the time, such moments hard to find,
The special moments we shared will never be forgotten.

hand in hand with you into the light.
Together, we faced the world and its challenges.

so many things to feel, but which of them are real,
There are many emotions, but only some are truly genuine.

what are words, when you lose your aim?
What good are words when you've lost your direction?

so many things to do, but which of them are true?
There are many actions to take, but only some are sincere.

nothing will start again, everything's got an end,
All good things must come to an end eventually.

in my heart you will ever last.
You will always hold a special place in my heart.

I won't forget the days, in my memories sleeps the trace
I'll never forget the days we spent together, and their memories are forever etched in my mind.

of a wonderful, wonderful past.
Our relationship was incredibly special and it's something I'll always cherish.

so many ways to talk, so many ways to walk
There are many ways to communicate and many paths to take in life.

just to carry away the dark.
Sometimes it's necessary to take action to overcome the hardships we encounter in life.

leave me here and go away for the last time,
It's time for us to part ways for the final time.

leave me now and let me pray for the last time...
This is my final chance to pray and reflect on our relationship before we say goodbye for good.

Contributed by Kaylee E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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