After two successful albums and several singles as essentially a solo artist, musician/producer and friend Kelly Shaffer joined the lineup for Armageddon. Additional live members Matt Berger, Rob Wentz and later Tyler Newman joined the band for the recording of Light it Up.
Newest member Dan Clark (Null Device, The Dark Clan) joined the band officially in Reverence '07. Dan adds additional guitar support and backup vocals.
Paradise
Stromkern Lyrics
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Dissolving in defiance of what I have found
Searching for today
Evading all the memories
The voice of time defines
Open the system to me
And I'll show you what I mean
Is something so serene
And as the paradigm breaks
I'm still trying to escape
From a heaven that is burning
Leaving beauty in its wake
Why can't I ever believe
In the paradise I've seen?
Dissolution of illusion
Is something so serene
And as the paradigm breaks
I'm still trying to escape
From a nightmare that is burning
Leaving nothing in its wake
I've dreamt of dreaming
Too many times
Fractured and wasted
Too many lives
I've never been so wrong
And with my chances gone
I find I'm drowing once again
This endless network
Of blood and wires
Connects the city
Of blood and spires
The dream of memory
It's just a dream for me
I trusted everything
And now I'm burning up inside
Tonight, making up for lost time
All the failings forgiven
Just come on inside
This journey
You will never arrive
And while I know
What we must have called upon
All the illusions, my confusions
Have been idolized
To live and dream forever
In the cracks between the networks
Watching constellations rise and fall away
A synthesized perfection
High-speed connection
Where I can disappear for days
Well I doubt now
And I'm praying for a time
Where conditions of existance
Can be forever mine
In perfect simulation
Some hallucination
Of a silent Paradise
And we invade tonight
And I'm just waiting to fall
And we're searching for something
To convince us all
Of reality's persistance
Dreaming the existance
Of a virtual Babylon
Tonight, making up for lost time
All the failings forgiven
Just come on inside
This journey
You will never arrive
The lyrics to the song "Paradise" by Stromkern are reflective of the ongoing struggle of living in a world that is increasingly technologically advanced. The song speaks of the singer's realization that the construct that they have surrounded themselves with through technology is beginning to dissolve. They are attempting to escape from memories and move on with their life by living in the present. However, the voice of time is defining their experiences, and they cannot escape the perceived nightmare of their world burning.
As the chorus repeats, the singer questions their inability to believe in the paradise they have seen. They have come to understand that the dissolution of illusions is serene, and yet they continue to try and escape the nightmare that surrounds them. They have lost count of the number of times they have dreamt of dreaming and are experiencing too many failures in their life. They are drowning and feeling helpless, with a sense that all chances have been lost.
The lyrics are an insightful commentary on the consequences of living in a technologically-dependent world. The song reflects the struggle between wanting to escape from the constant barrage of information the world has to offer and the desperate attempt to hold on to the illusion of a paradise that is just out of reach. The lyrics ultimately question whether it is possible to ever truly escape the nightmare of the virtual world that we have created for ourselves.
Line by Line Meaning
A reference to denial brings the construct down
Denial of reality leads to the collapse of the system
Dissolving in defiance of what I have found
Going against what I have discovered leads to chaos
Searching for today
Looking for the present moment
Evading all the memories
Avoiding all past experiences
The voice of time defines
Time shapes and determines our lives
Open the system to me
Allow me to access and understand the system
And I'll show you what I mean
I will demonstrate my point to you
The persistence of resistance
Continued resistance is surprisingly calm
Is something so serene
It is oddly peaceful
And as the paradigm breaks
And as the old way of thinking is shattered
I'm still trying to escape
I am still trying to get away
From a heaven that is burning
From an idealized world that is falling apart
Leaving beauty in its wake
Despite the destruction, there is still beauty
Why can't I ever believe
Why can I never trust
In the paradise I've seen?
In the utopia that I imagine?
Dissolution of illusion
Breaking down of false beliefs
And as the paradigm breaks
And as the old way of thinking is shattered
I'm still trying to escape
I am still trying to get away
From a nightmare that is burning
From a horrible situation that is falling apart
Leaving nothing in its wake
Leaving only destruction and emptiness
I've dreamt of dreaming
I have dreamed of having dreams
Too many times
Too many instances
Fractured and wasted
Broken and ruined
Too many lives
Too many existences
I've never been so wrong
I have never been more incorrect
And with my chances gone
And with no more opportunities
I find I'm drowing once again
I feel like I am suffocating and failing once again
This endless network
This never-ending system
Of blood and wires
Of organic material and technology
Connects the city
Links the urban area
Of blood and spires
Of organic life and tall structures
The dream of memory
The desire to remember things
It's just a dream for me
It is just a fleeting desire for me
I trusted everything
I relied on everything
And now I'm burning up inside
And now I am suffering greatly inside
Tonight, making up for lost time
Tonight, catching up for time lost in the past
All the failings forgiven
All the faults are absolved
Just come on inside
Just enter
This journey
This exploration
You will never arrive
You will never reach the destination
And while I know
And although I am aware
What we must have called upon
What we have to invoke
All the illusions, my confusions
All the false beliefs, my doubts
Have been idolized
Have been praised as if they were gods
To live and dream forever
To exist and imagine perpetually
In the cracks between the network
In the tiny spaces between the system
Watching constellations rise and fall away
Observing groups of objects that appear and disappear
A synthesized perfection
An artificial form of perfection
High-speed connection
Fast link
Where I can disappear for days
Where I can vanish for extended periods
Well I doubt now
Well, I am skeptical now
And I'm praying for a time
And I'm hoping for an era
Where conditions of existance
Where the circumstances of existence
Can be forever mine
Can be mine for all eternity
In perfect simulation
In an idealized reproduction
Some hallucination
Some imagined experience
Of a silent Paradise
Of a peaceful utopia
And we invade tonight
And we attack tonight
And I'm just waiting to fall
And I am just waiting for catastrophe
And we're searching for something
And we are looking for something
To convince us all
To persuade each and every one of us
Of reality's persistance
Of the endurance of reality
Dreaming the existance
Imagining the existence
Of a virtual Babylon
Of a simulated utopia
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind