Even though the four metallers have different origins (Lithuanian, German, Portuguese and Italian), they were born and raised in Brazil and started activities in 2001 the sunny beach of Santos with the release of an independent EP, followed by a national tour that included opening for bands like Nightwish and Primal Fear.
The hype generated about the band created very high expectations for their official debut full length Theatre of Shadows, released in 2006, an instant national success. They were chosen to support Helloween in their Brazilian tour in 2006. Since then, they have been on the road frequently, having toured Spain twice, USA five times and packed venues in Brazil. Other artists they have performed with are Iron Maiden, Kittie, Divine Heresy, Daath, Temple of Brutality (featuring David Ellefson of Megadeth) and Sepultura.
August 2009 saw the release of Dare to Dream, Shadowside's second album, in Brazil only. The band took a big risk and dared to go for a raw and direct sound. The idea was immediately accepted and embraced by the fans and the album immediately hit position 4 in the Roadie Crew album charts (the most important Brazilian Metal magazine), only below Heaven and Hell, Iron Maiden and Blaze Bayley.
Shadowside is currently being described by the media as “the best band Brazilian band in activity” (Novo Metal website) and as the band that rescued attitude in Rock music (Roadie Crew Magazine). Dare to Dream also received high praise, being picked album of the year by the vast majority of the press in Brazil, top 3 albums by nearly every website and magazine in the country, voted by readers of the Portuguese magazine Horns Up! as the best Brazilian band and by readers of Roadie Crew as best female singer and top 3 overall, top 3 albums, top 3 bands, top 10 guitarists and top 10 live concerts.
Dare to Dream was released worldwide released in June 2010. The rising stars of the Brazilian Metal and Rock music scenes, Shadowside's last album title reflects what they always knew they should do: Dare to Dream. The band said goodbye to 2010 after an almost 2 months long tour with legendary rock band W.A.S.P. through Europe and entered the studio again in early 2011 to record new material, titled Inner Monster Out produced and mixed by Fredrik Nordström (Arch Enemy, Evergrey, Dimmu Borgir, Bring me the Horizon and many more). The raw energy on all the 11 tracks show a band that are not afraid to try and grow even more mature after every release, despite the young average age – late 20's – of the band members.
A Smile Upon Death
Shadowside Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No trace of it is left
To die is gain
Will not cry anymore and in vain
What should we wait for?
Colder than her lifeless heart
Tranquil eyes
Looking at us, he says a prayer
Life goes on
He questions not her torment
He fears not how it ends
Thoughts of his bride
Will dry all his tears
Colder than her lifeless heart
He smiles, celebrates
Tranquil eyes
Looking at us, he says a prayer
Life goes on
What should we wait for?
It's party time
Colder than her lifeless heart
He smiles, celebrates
Tranquil eyes
Looking at us, he says a prayer
Life goes on
Colder than her lifeless heart
He smiles, celebrates
Tranquil eyes
Looking at us, he says a prayer
Life goes on
The lyrics to Shadowside's song "A Smile Upon Death" can be interpreted in a few different ways. One interpretation is that the song is about a person who has lost their faith in God or any sort of higher power. The "Angel he claims he once felt, no trace of it is left" could refer to someone who used to believe in angels or some sort of divine intervention, but now feels abandoned or let down by that belief. The line "to die is gain, will not cry anymore and in vain" could suggest that the person finds comfort in the idea of death and no longer believes in the value of tears shed in vain.
Another possible interpretation of the song is that it's about a person who has lost a loved one and is trying to come to terms with their death. The lines "he questions not her torment, he fears not how it ends" suggest that the person is at peace with their loved one's passing and is not consumed by thoughts of their suffering or their own mortality. The person's thoughts of their bride help them to cope with their grief and "will dry all his tears."
Overall, "A Smile Upon Death" can be seen as a song about coming to terms with the idea of death and finding comfort in the face of loss.
Line by Line Meaning
Angel he claims he once felt
He claims to have felt the presence of an angel once.
No trace of it is left
However, there is no sign of that angel now
To die is gain
Death is better than life
Will not cry anymore and in vain
There's no point in crying any further
What should we wait for?
What are we waiting for?
Colder than her lifeless heart
He is colder than her lifeless heart
He smiles, celebrates
Despite this, he smiles and celebrates
Tranquil eyes
His eyes are calm
Looking at us, he says a prayer
He looks at us and offers up a prayer
Life goes on
Despite everything, life continues
He questions not her torment
He doesn't question her suffering
He fears not how it ends
He is not afraid of how it will all end
Thoughts of his bride
He thinks about his bride
Will dry all his tears
Thinking about her will make him stop crying
It's party time
It's time to celebrate
Contributed by Logan J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.