The original lineup consisted of vocalist Jason Cruz, guitarists Jake Kiley and Rob Ramos, bassist Jim Cherry and drummer Adam Austin. After releasing a self-titled 7" record, they became one of the first bands to be signed to Fat Wreck Chords, the record label owned and operated by Fat Mike of the band NOFX. Austin left the band in 1992 and was replaced by Brad Morrison who also left the band and was replaced on drums by Jordan Burns, formerly of fellow Simi Valley natives Ten Foot Pole. Their first album, Another Day in Paradise, was released in May of 1994. Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues followed in 1996. In 1998 they released The Skinny Years...Before We Got Fat, a compilation album of their pre-Fat Wreck Chords material.
The band showed notable musical growth on their 1998 album Twisted by Design, which was both speedy and technical but also punk-based and with darker overtones. The album established a mixture of the fast, poppy sound the band had established with Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues but mixed it with more atonality and more abstract song structures. Bassist Jim Cherry left the band in 1999 and went on to play in Pulley and Zero Down, but died of heart failure in 2002. He was replaced by Chris Aiken, whose musical background had a strong impact on the 2000 album The Element of Sonic Defiance, which continued in the fast, melodic punk tradition of the band while introducing more hard rock and metal elements.
In 2002 the band released their fourth full-length album An American Paradox, their first release to appear in the Billboard Top 200. The initial production run contained a bonus song entitled "Don't Look Back". A video was filmed for the song "Cemetery" and was included on several punk rock video compilations. In 2003 they recorded and released a live album as part of the Fat Wreck Chords Live in a Dive series. Exile in Oblivion, was released in 2004, with a video filmed for the song "Analog." Strung Out released their sixth full-length album, Blackhawks Over Los Angeles on June 12, 2007.
In March 2009, Strung Out released a compilation of B-sides, demos, and covers called "Prototypes and Painkillers" with material from all eras of the band's history. Many of these tracks have been on various punk compilations and/or were included in their "Live in a Dive" recording.
On September 29, 2009, Strung Out Released a their 7th studio album titled Agents of the Underground.
Blueprint of the Fall
Strung Out Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Surrounded by the wreckage of towers that could never fall
The company will avenge
Imagine the lies like bombs turn the shock and the awe
For justice in time and a land for justice never was one thief
To rule them all along the Potomac and west toward the sea
Through the ghettos past the monuments we all built to house the weak
Its the blueprint to the fall of our place in history
And I walk among the flagstones through the graves
An apocalypse is bloomin' in the sage
Dead presidents lined coffin text in biblical unrest
The blind pride home genocide
And the secret wars we all missed
It's the blueprint to the fall of the entire human race
The end to what we all believed would be the hope to save this place
The lyrics of Strung Out's song "Blueprint of the Fall" paint a bleak picture of a society where freedom is just a word on the wall, surrounded by the wreckage of towers that could never fall. The company seeks revenge and lies are like bombs, turning shock and awe into a pervading atmosphere. While justice is sought, there was never just one thief to rule them all. The blueprint to the fall of society is laid out along the Potomac, through ghettos and past monuments that were built to house the weak. It is a haunting image of a nation that has lost its way.
The song takes the listener on a journey through the ruins of what was once a great nation. The flagstones through the graves and the apocalypse blooming in the sage create a vividly surreal image. Dead presidents line coffin text in biblical unrest, juxtaposing the once-respected leaders with the religious imagery of unrest. The blind pride of home genocide and the secret wars that went unnoticed all contribute to the downfall of the entire human race. The hope to save this place seems to be slipping away, and the end is looming.
In conclusion, Strung Out's "Blueprint of the Fall" highlights the dangers of a society that has lost its way. It shows the consequences of greed, lies, and a failure to uphold justice. The image painted is haunting, and serves as a warning to all of us. It is a call to action, to take a hard look at the blueprint we are following, and to make sure that it leads us to a brighter future.
Line by Line Meaning
Imagine a place where freedoms just a word on the wall
Visualize a location where the concept of freedom is merely a decoration on the wall
Surrounded by the wreckage of towers that could never fall
With debris of indestructible towers enclosing you
The company will avenge
The corporation shall retaliate
Imagine the lies like bombs turn the shock and the awe
Picture the falsehoods exploding and causing the same horror and amazement as bombs would
For justice in time and a land for justice never was one thief
There has never been a single tyrant who created a just world
To rule them all along the Potomac and west toward the sea
To govern every location from the Potomac River to the western coast
Through the ghettos past the monuments we all built to house the weak
Traversing through the slums and past the structures constructed for the vulnerable
Its the blueprint to the fall of our place in history
This plan leads to the downfall of our historical position
The end to what we all believed to be the hope to save this place
The conclusion of the expectation that this location could be rescued
And I walk among the flagstones through the graves
I stroll amidst the gravestones laid in a row
An apocalypse is bloomin' in the sage
A disaster is developing in the desert areas
Dead presidents lined coffin text in biblical unrest
Deceased leaders displayed in coffins with prophecies of unrest
The blind pride home genocide
The ignorant arrogance leads to a massacre at home
And the secret wars we all missed
The covert conflicts that we failed to perceive
It's the blueprint to the fall of the entire human race
This strategy results in the downfall of the entire human species
The end to what we all believed would be the hope to save this place
The conclusion of the expectation that this location could be rescued
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: CHRISTOPHER TRAVIS JR AIKEN, JACOB IRA KILEY, JASON ALEXANDER CRUZ, JORDAN LIEBERMAN, ROBERT J RAMOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind