The Bridgewater, NJ-based hardcore band Shades Apart formed in 1988, compri… Read Full Bio ↴The Bridgewater, NJ-based hardcore band Shades Apart formed in 1988, comprising singer/guitarist Mark V., bassist Kevin Lynch and drummer Ed Brown. After releasing their self-titled debut later that year on the Wishingwell label, the trio fell silent before resurfacing in 1992 with the Sunspot EP Dude Danger; another label change, this time to Skene, followed for the 1993 EP Neon. All members Bill Stevenson and Stephen Egerton produced Shades Apart's next LP, 1995's Save It, which scored a minor hit with its punked-up cover of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love." Following 1997's Seeing Things, the group signed to major label Universal to issue Eyewitness two years later. In addition to positive reviews, "Stranger by the Day" was featured on the American Pie soundtrack. Sonic Boom was released in spring 2001 to mediocre reviews. It featured "Got Shot Down," which received a considerable amount of radio play, and a re-recording of "Behind the Wheel."

Although Shades Apart has not released an album since Sonic Boom, they continue to play live shows on occasion.

Brutus
Shades Apart Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Here I go
Put back on trial
A chance to fall in line
A chance to change my mind
All those times
The wasted rage
That I held inside
I want to use it now

If you push to hard
You might get what you're after
Already pushed too far
Caught again
In the lines of pressure
I recognize the fear
The urge to disappear
Within I've died
Many times still living
I'm still standing here
Stand and face the crowd
I don't know about forgiving
If forgive means forget
Why these cuts are bleeding

Do you care? Aren't you scared?
Can they take your mind away?

Overall Meaning

In Shades Apart's song Brutus, the singer is reflecting on past mistakes and his struggle to withstand pressure from society. The first stanza highlights his willingness to try again, to fall back in line, and his openness to a change of heart. The next two stanzas touch on the anger the singer used to internalize and how he now wants to use it as a source of power. However, he's also aware of the risks of pushing too hard, and the anxiety of being caught or judged by others. He hints at feeling small and wanting to disappear but ultimately asserts his resilience with the line "I'm still standing here."

The song's chorus evokes a strong sense of defiance, with the singer being uninterested in forgiveness, questioning its value as it cannot erase the cuts or pain that lingers. Furthermore, he poses the question of whether our minds are truly ours if society can control us, instilling a sense of paranoia and mistrust in those in power. The song as a whole is a powerful anthem for anyone who has felt the weight of societal expectation and struggled to find their voices or place in the world.

Line by Line Meaning

Here I go
I am about to embark on a journey or undertaking

Put back on trial
Being judged or evaluated again

A chance to fall in line
An opportunity to conform to rules or expectations

A chance to change my mind
Opportunity to alter views or decisions

All those times
The numerous instances of a circumstance

The wasted rage
The anger that was unhelpful or squandered

That I held inside
That which I kept bottled up

I want to use it now
I seek to use my anger constructively

If you push too hard
When you apply too much force or pressure

You might get what you're after
There is a risk that you will attain your goal

Already pushed too far
Already gone beyond acceptable limits