1) A German progressi… Read Full Bio ↴At least four bands have been called Superior:
1) A German progressive metal band existing from 1992 - 2007
2) An American Progressive Hardcore Band
3) British artist Su Goodacre
4) Dutch Hardcore band
1) German progressive metal band:
Founded in 1992, Superior is one of the few bands over ten years old that still has the same line-up. A mere eight months after Superior was founded, they released their demo "Timeshift". This demo contained an early version of the song "Tomorrow's Eve", which was to be included on their first album "Behind". "Timeshift" is a documentary of the changes that Superior underwent, who are, to this day, open to all kinds of musical influences. Until the middle of 1994 the band toured mainly in southwestern Germany and the more they toured the more they were convinced that it was due time for them to release their first self-produced CD. It took them a year to work on the compositions, arrangement and the concept of the album. In 1995 they recorded "Behind" in the Roko Soundstudios, close to Frankfurt/Main. The album consists of 10 songs that are progressive heavy rock. The lyrics are about the bigotry of society, the media, politics and reflections of personal everyday-life experiences of the individual members of Superior. Due to the themes the sound is heavy and aggressive, including epic and very melodic passages. The most important elements are heavy, driving guitars, complex piano and string arrangements and the powerful voice of Michael Tangermann. When the album was completed the band signed a contract with Hamburg label L.M.P., which got in touch with various record companies. In the fall of 1996 Superior signed a contract with Modern Music/Noise, which has the rights for the entire world, excluding France, where ARCADE/C.N.R. Music takes care of the band's interests. Shortly after signing with Noise Records, Superior toured Germany supporting Virgin Steele and Angra in such well-known venues as Hamburger Markthalle, Zeche Bochum and various others. Unfortunately after the fifth show, keyboardist Jan-Marco Becker hurt his hand severely and even had to be operated on during the tour. Angra's frontman Andre Matos spontaneously offered to rehearse some of the keyboard parts and Superior was able to continue touring, even though somewhat handicapped. After the tour Superior was forced to take a prolonged break, waiting on their keyboardist to recover. They couldn't join several tours offered to them by their record company and just didn't have the chance to promote their newly released album properly. In the middle of 1997, when their keyboardist had recovered, they began touring again, starting of with a short tour through France, where they also did some unplugged sessions, once again proving their diversity of musical styles. Following this, they did several shows in Germany, while already working on the material for their new album. In the midst of getting ready to record they did a tour through France with Vanden Plas and then got ready for the pre-production of "Younique". Finally, from the middle of March through the middle of May 1998 they recorded, mixed and mastered "Younique", once again in the Roko Soundstudios. The new album was neither a duplicate of "Behind" nor was it entirely different. It was the further development of their musical style; heavy riffing, typical for SUPERIOR, diverse keyboard arrangements and sounds, very complex and individual instrumentation, acoustic guitars, sitar-sounds, brass arrangements and saxaphone solos, everything that makes rock interesting. Very diverse musical influences, ranging from Latin, Funk and Classical music all the way to Jazz were arranged in the extremely heavy and powerful sound. To sum it up, "Younique" was an album that kept on going where "behind" ended. Although most important magazines worldwide celebrated “Younique” as a milestone in progressive music, the album divided fans into two camps, one being fascinated and the other one shocked. Immediately after the album´s release Superior started to perform live again. In 1999 several great shows followed in Germany, France, Netherlands and in Belgium. Definite highlights were the concert with Angra and Stratovarius at the Parisian “Zenith”, celebrated by 5.000 fans, and their liveshow at Progpower festival in the Netherlands. Another great event `99 has been the acoustic tour through France, where Superior once again proved their receptiveness to various musical influences. In the following months Superior and Noise records agreed that the style of the band´s music just didn´t match together with the company´s politics and their strict adherence to true metal style. At the same time the musicians and their French label NTS records decided to cooperate for a further SUPERIOR-album, which turned out to be a concept album about religious fanatisism with all its consequences down to terrorism. At the time the guys didn´t know how close they would come to truth. From January 2000 until May 2001 Superior worked on lyrics and music for “ULTIMA RATIO”. The recordings at the ROKO soundstudios took the following six months. They`ve been only interrupted by the ProgPower Festivals in the Netherlands and the USA, where the band presented some of their brandnew songs, which have been welcomed enthusiastically by the audience. “ULTIMA RATIO” is less experimental than “Younique”. The arrangements are clearly structured, and the dominating characteristics are the extremely heavy guitars, beautiful piano playing combined with the great melodies coming from Michaels powerful and emotional voice. But most of all the band’s members fulfilled a dream they shared since Superior was founded: to bring a soundtrack to reality, to create a movie for the ears by composing and arranging a concept album transformable into a cinematographic thriller. “ULTIMA RATIO” is the exposure of crime, complex images, agitation and suppression as cloaked by welfare and graze.
2) An American progressive Hardcore band
Formed in Omaha, Nebraska
3) British artist Su Goodacre signed to Virgin Records in 1997
This Superior consisted of Su 'Superior' and Lee Knott (ex It bites) and released 3 singles Coma (known for its Karl Bartos (ex kraftwerk) remix), Faster Than You and Being You. An album Germ Free was recorded but remains unrelased. Their song Polaroid Millenium was featured on the The Saint soundtrack.
Until the End
Superior Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Then) my stomach turns into a heavy wall
My head is like an empty hole.
When I see you smiling
Flames of sadness burn me down.
(And) you can hear me cryin'
'Til the end of time.
Just empty phrases falling -- down.
If I just could hate you.
If I just could make you cry like you have done
To me, so cold, so merciless.
I can't even find out
How to throw my thoughts away.
'Cause I just can't forget your face
When you turned away.
My mind is bleeding. Eternal fate.
Rain until the end of time
And no more reason to believe
In you and me - A killing tale.
Forever gone. It's over.
Waiting at my window.
Looking at myself to watch how thoughts can eat
A mindless soul away from you.
Not that I would miss you.
You're with me much more than all the time
Before you left me
And still your words are haunting me.
Too fast for me to comprehend - this fatal change
The song "Until the End" by Superior depicts the emotions and thoughts that arise from a failed relationship. The lyrics talk about the conflicting feelings of love and hate towards the person who has caused the suffering. The opening lines mention how just the sound of the person's voice makes the singer feel physically sick, highlighting the extent of the emotional turmoil. The use of metaphors, such as the head being an empty hole and flames of sadness burning, further emphasise the mental state of the singer.
The chorus of the song talks about how there is no longer any trust between the two people, and the phrase "Trust in you and trust in me" has become an empty cliche. The singer wishes they could hate the other person as much as they hate them. However, they cannot seem to let go of the memories or forget the person's face, which causes eternal suffering. The singer feels like their mind is bleeding, and the rain is a metaphor for the tears they shed.
The song's structure also highlights the emotions conveyed in the lyrics, with a heavy emphasis on the chorus. The use of minor chords throughout the song further emphasises the melancholic and sad nature of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
When I hear your whisper
The sound of your voice makes me feel uneasy.
My stomach turns into a heavy wall
I feel nauseous and my anxiety overwhelms me.
My head is like an empty hole
My thoughts become jumbled and unfocused.
When I see you smiling
Your happiness fills me with despair.
Flames of sadness burn me down
My heart aches with unbearable pain.
And you can hear me cryin'
My sorrow is so profound that it echoes audibly.
'Trust in you and trust in me'
Hollow words that have lost their meaning.
Just empty phrases falling -- down
Words no longer have any significance.
If I just could hate you
I wish I could feel anger towards you.
If I just could make you cry like you have done
I want to make you feel the same pain you've caused me.
To me, so cold, so merciless
You showed me no mercy when you hurt me.
I can't even find out
I don't know how to figure out.
How to throw my thoughts away
I don't know how to forget the memories of you.
Cause I just can't forget your face
I can't erase the image of you from my mind.
When you turned away
When you left me and didn't look back.
My mind is bleeding. Eternal fate
My pain is unbearable and seems endless.
Rain until the end of time
A metaphorical storm of sadness and heartbreak.
And no more reason to believe
There's no hope left to hold onto.
In you and me - A killing tale
Our love story has ended tragically.
Forever gone. It's over
Our relationship has come to a permanent end.
Waiting at my window
Looking out and waiting for something to change.
Looking at myself to watch how thoughts can eat
Observing how my thoughts can slowly destroy me.
A mindless soul away from you
My heart and soul feel empty without you.
Not that I would miss you
I don't need you in my life anymore.
You're with me much more than all the time
Even though you're gone, you still haunt my every thought.
Before you left me
Before you ended our relationship.
And still your words are haunting me
Your words continue to cause me pain and suffering.
Too fast for me to comprehend - this fatal change
The sudden end of our relationship was too shocking for me to understand or accept.
Contributed by Lauren L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
H. J. C. A.
Belíssima música. Emocionante, com um solo de guitarra lindo.
jose toledo criticas-musica
los vengo escuchando desde hace mas de 20 años , me pregunto porque no triunfaron como dream theater y otras bandas progresivas ...son alemanes y la verdad son buenos ....la unica que queda es pensar que las letras sean malas ..no se
jose toledo criticas-musica
es emotivo y tremendo... teatral emocionante , suave y descarnado ...
Cody Allsup
Possibly my favorite undiscovered band.
Gustavo Giuliani
excelente tema , muy emotivo
jose tolleto
DEMASIADO BUENOS ERAN
jose toledo criticas-musica
este disco para m i es el mejor de esta banda no se porque tanta diferencia entre los otros discos y behind
harold urdaneta
one of the most beautiful song I´ve ever heard.
Mαναριτζής1967
VERY NICE SONG!
Lino Kurtz Marriott
SUPERIOR, meravigliosi e sfortunati ...