After several lineup changes, the band acquired Billy Hamilton, a local fan who learned of the band's need for a bassist on the Internet message board "The 905 Board" (an Ontario area outreach board which used to be for local musicians). In Christmas of 2001, he joined the band after Shane Told helped him learn the music for the songs. Following a rehearsal on Boxing Day (December 26) in 2001, he officially debuted with Silverstein. The next spring, original guitarist Richard McWalter left the band to move to Victoria, British Columbia to study engineering. He was then replaced by Neil Boshart, childhood friend of Shane Told. The new lineup recorded a second EP, When the Shadows Beam, in preparation for their first tour in Eastern Canada.
The band then signed to Victory Records in October of 2002 with a complete lineup as Hamilton attempted to complete his secondary education one semester early. The January after, the band recorded their full-length debut CD When Broken Is Easily Fixed, released on the Victory Records label.
In August 2005 the band's second studio album, Discovering the Waterfront, was released through Victory Records. It was the first album to be produced by Cameron Webb, and marked the beginning of a long relationship between the band and the American producer. It also marked a shift in sound from When Broken Is Easily Fixed, with faster paced and more energetic songs, and with the band also incorporating more punk rock aspects into their music. Told's clean and unclean vocals had matured since their previous effort. Discovering The Waterfront opened the band up to a wider audience, with the music video for the first single "Smile in Your Sleep" receiving airplay on stations such as FUSE and IMF. The album sold 26,229 copies in its first week.
The band's third full-length album, Arrivals And Departures, was released on July 3, 2007, and was designated by AP Magazine as one of the most eagerly anticipated CDs of 2007. Mark Trombino (Jimmy Eat World, Blink-182, Finch) produced the CD. The album sold 27,000 copies in its first week. Silverstein also contributed a new acoustic version of their song "Red Light Pledge" to the Punk Goes Acoustic 2 compilation, released May 8, 2007 through Fearless Records.
On December 14, 2008, the band announced by Myspace bulletin that their fourth album would be released by March 31, 2009. The name of the new album, A Shipwreck in the Sand, was announced on January 29, 2009, when the band concluded a viral marketing campaign by announcing the track listing via an album website, also revealing it would be a concept album. Along with the demo of "Broken Stars", which the band had been performing during their final U.S. tour in support of "Arrivals and Departures", short clips of the songs "Vices", "Born Dead" and "American Dream" were made available on MySpace On March 17, the band filmed a music video for "Vices" with director Robby Starbuck. Later, on March 23, 2009, the band posted the full album to stream on their official MySpace page.
A Shipwreck in the Sand was released on March 31, 2009 and sold nearly 17,000 copies in its first week. The iTunes version of the album includes four bonus cover songs, "Help!" (The Beatles cover), Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac Cover), Three Miles Down (Saves The Day cover), and Total Bummer (NOFX cover).
Silverstein contributed a cover version of "Apologize", originally recorded by OneRepublic, to the Punk Goes Pop 2 compilation album.
On October 8, 2010, online rumors spread about their new album reportedly being titled Set This All Ablaze, and that it would again be released through Silverstein's long time label, Victory Records. The band later rejected the rumor that the new album will be titled Set This All Ablaze, although they did confirm their departure from Victory. However, as of the first week of October 2010, Silverstein's official website contained a banner stating Set This All Ablaze.
On November 15, Silverstein announced on Facebook that they have signed with Hopeless Records in the USA/Europe/Japan and with Universal Music in Canada. They also said that a new EP entitled Transitions will be released December 7 and will feature two songs from their new album coming out next year as well as three additional b-sides. In response to a fan on Tumblr, Shane Told described the new music as "a cross between Discovering the Waterfront and A Shipwreck in the Sand". On December 3, 2010, the band posted the first single, Sacrifice, off of the new EP. On February 9, 2011, Silverstein confirmed on their Facebook and Tumblr that their new album will be called Rescue. On February 15, 2011, the band posted the album artwork for Rescue on their official Facebook page. On February 19, 2011, 89X Radio aired a new song from the band named "Burning Hearts". On February 22, 2011, in response to a fan on Facebook, the band stated that they were not releasing a traditional lead single from the new album, and that they had made three music videos so far. They then went on to state that the new record has "tons of screaming and breakdowns". The album, Rescue, was released on April 26, 2011. Silverstein has also recorded a song featuring Ryan Key of Yellowcard called "Stay Posi" (Stay Positive) for the Take Action! Vol 10. Compilation.
On October 17, 2011, the band posted a new video on their YouTube channel about an upcoming release. They announced that are in process of recording a new album called Short Songs with producer Jordan Valeriote, scheduled for release on February 7, 2012. They also said that the EP will contain 22 songs under 90 seconds with half songs being covers of punk songs that influenced them. Silverstein contributed a cover version of "Runaway", originally recorded by Kanye West, to the Punk Goes Pop 4 compilation album, released in November 21, 2011. On December 1, 2011, the band streamed two songs off Short Songs, "SOS" and "Brookfield", as well as their covers of Green Day's "The Ballad of Wilhelm Fink" and NOFX's "It's My Job to Keep Punk Rock Elite" on PunkNews.
On the SHORT TOUR, the band began announcing that they would have a new album in 2013. On September 25, 2012, the band announced that Neil Boshart was no longer a member of the band, after 11 years together. He was replaced by former I Am Committing A Sin guitarist Paul Marc Rousseau. Told later revealed that Boshart's replacement was due to many years of growing apart, stating there was very little contribution to Short Songs from Boshart.
On November 26, 2012, the band announced that their seventh studio album would be titled This Is How the Wind Shifts and would be released on February 5, 2013. A few hours later they also released the first single, titled "Stand Amid The Roar". On January 15, 2013 the band released the lyric video for the song "Massachusetts" from their seventh album.
The band's eighth studio album I Am Alive In Everything I Touch was released on May 19, 2015. Coinciding with the album's announcement, Silverstein released a music video for the track "A Midwestern State of Emergency." On March 4 the band released the second single from the album, Milestone, with a lyric video to accompany the release. On March 16, 2016, Silverstein released the third music video from the album, "The Continual Condition." Later, on July 27, 2016, they released a music video for "Toronto (Unabridged)".
On October 13, 2016, Silverstein announced the streaming "Ghost" on SiriusXM. Later that day, they released the music video on YouTube and the song on iTunes. Silverstein said on social media that the upcoming studio album will be released in 2017. On Thursday, May 18, 2017, Silverstein released the second single from the record, "Retrograde", as well as announced the track listing and title of the record, "Dead Reflection", which was released on July 14, 2017. Dead Reflection was released worldwide on July 14, 2017.
I Am the Arsonist
Silverstein Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How could you do this?
My best friend with my bride
Now you tell me you are leaving
They'll see your fire through the dark night sky
I hope you're home when I arrive
If the there's a fire in the afterlife
Gasoline and fire
Is the perfect combination
Light it up, burn it down
Burning my addiction
They'll see your fire through the dark night sky
I hope you're home when I arrive
If there's a fire in the afterlife
I'll be there again to light the match
I am the light that warms up your body
And sets free the demons inside
I am the one that never ignores you
That never will let you down
They'll suspect but they'll never prove I was there
In my fate I feel the wrath of adrenaline
I am the light that warms up your body
(It's too hard to run away when I watch you stay)
That sets free the demons inside
I am the one that never ignores you
(To watch it burn, watch it churn into dust)
That never will let you down
The lyrics to Silverstein's song "I Am The Arsonist" tell a disturbing story about a person who is deeply hurt and angry due to the betrayal of their friend and partner. The first stanza describes the singer's intense disgust and anger towards the two people who have betrayed them. The singer feels physically ill because of their actions, and is devastated at the thought of losing their partner to their best friend.
The second stanza goes on to describe the arsonist's desire for revenge. They want to burn everything down and punish those who have hurt them. The arsonist believes that gasoline and fire are the perfect combination to achieve their goal. The chorus speaks of the arsonist's desire to see the fire in the sky and to have their former partner see it too. The bridge of the song suggests that the arsonist wants to be caught, but at the same time, wants to be seen as powerful and feared.
Overall, the song is a disturbing yet powerful portrayal of someone consumed by their desire for revenge. It highlights the destructive and dangerous nature of anger and hurt. The song ends with the arsonist becoming something like a god, a light that sets free demons but also never lets you down.
Line by Line Meaning
Throwing up with the thought of you two
Feeling nauseous and sickened by the thought of your betrayal
How could you do this?
Expressing disbelief and shock at the actions of his friend and bride
My best friend with my bride
Referring to the unfaithfulness of his best friend and bride
Now you tell me you are leaving
Adding insult to injury, his bride is also leaving him
They'll see your fire through the dark night sky
The destructive consequences of their actions will be visible to all
I hope you're home when I arrive
Expressing the arsonist's desire to witness the destruction he has caused
If there's a fire in the afterlife
Even in the afterlife, he will continue to indulge his destructive tendencies
I'll be there again to light the match, burn
He is obsessed with setting things on fire and causing destruction
Gasoline and fire
The deadly combination the arsonist uses to start fires
Is the perfect combination
This combination perfectly suits the arsonist's destructive goals
Light it up, burn it down
Encouraging and celebrating the destruction he has caused
Burning my addiction
The arsonist feels an irresistible craving to start fires
I am the light that warms up your body
He is personifying fire and sees it as a source of warmth and comfort
And sets free the demons inside
He feels his destructive tendencies are a result of his own inner demons
I am the one that never ignores you
He sees fire as always present and never ignoring its destructive capabilities
That never will let you down
For him, fire is a constant source of comfort and destruction
They'll suspect but they'll never prove I was there
The arsonist is aware that people will suspect him but he is confident he won't get caught
In my fate I feel the wrath of adrenaline
Despite the risk of getting caught, the arsonist indulges in his addiction to fire and the rush of adrenaline it provides
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: Neil Boshart, Paul Koehler, Shane Told
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind