Members:
Jaap van Duijvenbode (Guitar), Ruben Bandstra (Drums), Daniel de Jongh (Vocals), Wiebe van den Ende (Raps/Vocals), Jeroen Bax (Bass), Arno Dreef (Guitar).
Winner of a much-coveted Essent Award and triumphant shows at internationally renowned festivals such as Ozzfest and Lowlands – these are just some of the achievements of Dutch Xplocore band Smogus. In May they will release No Matter What The Outcome, which could very well be the band’s big break.
Smogus was founded in 1995 by Jaap, Ruben, Daniel and Jeroen. During the recording of their debut album Everybody’s Fucked Up Twice the four school friends met with Arno and Wiebe. The six of them hit it off immediately and quickly after the release of the debut album, both Arno and Wiebe decided to complete the band’s line-up. They released two tracks on a split EP (also featuring the band Griffin from Leiden, NL) on vinyl on the WOTNXT label, the SmoguS/Griffin EP. Then, Smogus started to conquer all the major Dutch venues, soon establishing themselves as one of the most popular Dutch live-acts.
Besides performing relentlessly – as headliner, as support act (Ill Nino, Disturbed) and at festivals (Ozzfest, Lowlands) – Smogus continuously worked very hard on writing new songs. In 2002, the band signed a deal with BMG and released a 6-track Smogus EP. The band seemed to have finally found their niche with a sound of their own: Xplocore. A fusion of explosive (nu)metal, hiphop and funk, combined with a large dose of energy and humour. Songs with heavy guitars, groovy rhythms, cool rhymes and catchy choruses that have their roots in bands like Anthrax, Faith No More and Cypress Hill.
Unfortunately, the cooperation with BMG came to an end when the band found themselves competing with Idols, the nation-wide craze that conquered The Netherlands in 2003. Smogus refused to sit at the sidelines and see how other, more commercial artists from the Idols TV-show got priority over them, so they decided to start working on their new album without the help of a record label. In March 2003 the band entered the studio and guitarist Arnd-H was appointed as producer. He is mainly responsible for the heavy sound on the new album, significantly titled No Matter What The Outcome. The band has clearly matured in two years time, both musically and personally. Singer Wiebe emphasizes that the band regards this album as their real debut: “We are very proud of the album’s incredible sound, especially since we have done everything ourselves, from the recording to the final mixing. It is an album to be proud of, particularly for a Dutch production.”
The songs on the album are well-structured and characterized by powerful dynamics, an impressive, well-balanced mix of melodic vocals and heavy rap, and a wide range of styles. Smogus is both in-your-face and melodic, aggressive and happy, heavy and commercial, but always extremely energetic. The opening track Don’t Care immediately sets the tone for what’s to come. Other highlights include the groovy and lyrically uplifting Just For Me, the sensitive semi-ballad The Game, the uncompromising and personal Changing Fate and the complex Good Intentions. The highly contagious hiphop bonus track Flush Your Life again has that typical Smogus humour. However, it is not all laughing matters on the album. The lyrics cover a wide range of emotions, as Wiebe explains: “The lyrics are very much about ourselves, about things we go through in life. We sing about love, but also about the need to be free and strained relationships.”
On May 15, 2004 the album was released in the Melkweg, Amsterdam. It has been distributed by a small Dutch oriented label, The Electric Co. which has ties with Universal Records. Although the single and video of Don't Care were fairly popular on vote-based music channel The Box, it turned out that, mainly because the Nu-Metal hype blew over, the album wasn't the big break they had hoped for. This led to Mojo cancelling the contract with the band for the live acts.
Smogus then decided to take a completely different direction with an acoustic tour. A DVD named Live & Unplugged was released in 2005 covering the tour. It turned out to be the last recorded achievement. In 2006 the band decided to split up and on July 7, 2006 they played their last gig on their home stage of Fascinus in Sassenheim.
Stop Running
Smogus Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can run but you can't hide your feelings
Are you absorbing your shit until you fucking burst
And when that happens I can't stop the bleeding
Why can't you see, do you really believe
You can't solve it tomorrow
It is coming back to hunt you, it'll confront you
I asked you please I'm down on my knees
You're slipping away through my fingers like grease
You didn't lie to me, you just denied what's true
Just open up that's what I want from you
I can't keep up with you, you break me in two
But I can't leave you alone
I am here so start to use me, please abuse me
You now that I'll be gone
You know I opened up why can't you see I cry
Don't ricochet my fire can't you see I try
I showed you mine now show me yours
One last chance for I change my course
Tell me, 'cause I can't understand
You're running away for the troubles in your life
Ain't it easier to share it with a friend
Or is ignoring your way to survive
You know I love you, I told you several times
I'm always there for you, I wrote you millions of rhymes
I won't leave you alone so don't ask me to retreat
'cause I am here to get you back at your feet
The song "Stop Running" by Smogus is a poignant and empathetic plea to someone who is struggling to confront and process their emotions. The lyrics are a call to action for the person to face the pain they're experiencing instead of running away from it. The chorus repeats the phrase "Stop running, come on admit it hurts" like a mantra, imploring the person to stop avoiding their emotions.
The first verse describes the consequences of avoiding emotions and suggests that the person is holding in their feelings until they "fucking burst." The singer acknowledges that they can't stop the bleeding once the person reaches a breaking point. The second verse begins with the question, "Why can't you see?" which could be interpreted as a frustrated query as to why the person can't see the harm they're doing to themselves by not facing their emotions. The verse also reinforces the idea that avoiding emotions is not a sustainable solution because they will eventually "come back to haunt you."
The bridge of the song is a plea for vulnerability and honesty. The singer confesses that they can't "keep up" with the person and that they "break me in two," but still assert their commitment to helping and standing by the person. The bridge concludes with the phrase "I showed you mine now show me yours/One last chance before I change my course," which is both a request for the person to be vulnerable and a warning that the singer can't continue to stay in this place of emotional limbo forever.
Overall, "Stop Running" is a powerful and emotive piece of music that explores the complexities of emotional avoidance and the importance of facing one's emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Stop running, come on admit it hurts
Stop avoiding your problems, acknowledge the pain.
You can run but you can't hide your feelings
You can try to ignore your emotions, but they'll always be there.
Are you absorbing your shit until you fucking burst
Are you holding onto your problems until they become unbearable?
And when that happens I can't stop the bleeding
When you finally break, it will be hard to recover.
Why can't you see, do you really believe
Can't you see that ignoring the problem won't make it go away?
You can't solve it tomorrow
You can't keep putting off dealing with the issue.
It is coming back to hunt you, it'll confront you
The problem will keep coming back until you face it.
So get up, stand your ground
Stand up for yourself and face the issue.
I asked you please I'm down on my knees
I'm begging you to open up to me.
You're slipping away through my fingers like grease
I feel like I'm losing you.
You didn't lie to me, you just denied what's true
You're not being honest with yourself about your problems.
Just open up that's what I want from you
I just want you to be honest with me.
I can't keep up with you, you break me in two
You're hurting me by shutting me out.
But I can't leave you alone
I care about you too much to give up.
I am here so start to use me, please abuse me
Lean on me, take advantage of my support.
You now that I'll be gone
I won't be here forever.
You know I opened up why can't you see I cry
I've shared my vulnerabilities, can't you do the same?
Don't ricochet my fire can't you see I try
Don't deflect my attempts to help, I'm doing my best.
I showed you mine now show me yours
I've been honest with you, now it's your turn.
One last chance for I change my course
This is your last opportunity to be honest before I give up.
Tell me, 'cause I can't understand
Help me understand why you're running away.
You're running away for the troubles in your life
You're avoiding your problems by running.
Ain't it easier to share it with a friend
Wouldn't it be easier to talk to me about it?
Or is ignoring your way to survive
Are you ignoring your problems as a means of survival?
You know I love you, I told you several times
I care about you deeply.
I'm always there for you, I wrote you millions of rhymes
I'm always here to support you.
I won't leave you alone so don't ask me to retreat
I won't give up on you.
'cause I am here to get you back at your feet
I'm here to help you get back on track.
Contributed by Declan G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.