So far, TBM have released eight studio albums: Nothing and Nowhere (2002), Violet (2005), Walking With Strangers (2007), Pins and Needles (2010), Hide and Seek (2012), Superstition (2014), Under Your Spell (2017), and Diamonds (2020). They have also issued the DVD Blue (2005), the live album/DVD Show and Tell (2009), and the EPs Violet (2004), Looking Glass (2008), Imaginary Monsters (2011), and Imagica (2016).
The group originated in London, Ontario under the name Imagica, inspired from the novel "Imajica" by Clive Barker. The band's original lineup consisted of: Chibi, Rainbow, Michael Falcore, and Aslan (bass). Dank played live keyboards and O.E. joined the group on live drums. A seven-song limited edition demo was released.
In 2001, Dank left the group, and the others relocated from London to Toronto, Ontario, to begin recording. There, they recorded another limited edition demo, this time with five songs. In 2002, the band adopted the name The Birthday Massacre in order to avoid confusion with a metal band. They chose the name "The Birthday Massacre" since people were already familiar with the song of the same title. The song was later retitled as "Happy Birthday".
In July of 2002, The Birthday Massacre independently released their debut album entitled Nothing and Nowhere. In 2003, Adm joined the band on live keyboards and Rhim on drums.
On 20 July 2004, The Birthday Massacre released a nine song EP entitled Violet and at the end of the year, re-released Nothing and Nowhere with new sleeve artwork. Adm soon left thereafter to explore his own projects.
In the fall of 2004, the band was signed to Repo Records in Germany, and released a remastered and expanded version of Violet in Europe. The expanded version of Violet included four re-recorded and slightly reworked tracks from Nothing and Nowhere.
In 2005 the band signed to Metropolis Records and released Violet in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and most of South America. Owen joined on live keyboards and in August, the band began a series of international tours taking them to Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Belgium.
Also in August 2005, a DVD consisting of a video for the song "Blue" was released. It also included behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, a studio performance of "Nevermind" as well as live performances of "Violet" and "Video Kid". The centerpiece of the DVD was the Dan Ouellette-directed video for "Blue".
In early 2006, the Birthday Massacre toured North America, playing across Canada, the United States, and Mexico on their "Broken Minds" tour. They also played Europe in the summer of 2006.
In June 2007, it was announced that the band was working on a new record with Canadian producer/engineer Dave "Rave" Ogilvie (producer of many industrial acts such as Skinny Puppy), and that bass player Aslan had left the band for his own project named Aslan Osiris. Aslan was replaced on bass by former drummer O.E. .
On 11 September 2007 the band released their third album Walking With Strangers in North America, entering at #10 on the Billboard "Top Heatseekers" chart for 29 September. The album was released in Europe on 21 September and in the UK on 22 October. Walking With Strangers included the singles "Kill the Lights" and "Looking Glass". An EP, Looking Glass followed in 2008.
In spring 2009, The Birthday Massacre issued their first live album, Show and Tell. It was recorded in Hamburg, Germany in Autumn 2007. A DVD with the Hamburg show and extra video content was released later in Europe (2009) and North America (2010).
The band's fourth studio album, Pins and Needles was issued on 14 September 2010 in North America, debuting at #152 on the Billboard 200, #6 on the heatseekers, and #34 on independent. O.E. left the group and was replaced by Nate Manor.
On 9 August 2011 the band released the EP Imaginary Monsters. In 9 October 2012, TBM released the fifth studio album, Hide and Seek.
Superstition is the sixth studio album by Canadian electronic rock band The Birthday Massacre, released on November 11, 2014 through Metropolis Records. The album was funded through PledgeMusic. To promote the album, a subsequent North America tour and music video for "Beyond" followed the album's release.
Under Your Spell is the seventh studio album by Canadian electronic rock band The Birthday Massacre, released on June 9, 2017 through Metropolis Records. The album was funded, once again, through PledgeMusic.
Official site: www.thebirthdaymassacre.com
Crush
The Birthday Massacre Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So relative, if you see through me
Jealousy a persistent whisper
A gentle wind through a hollow tree
Who are we, adrift and naked?
You hold my breath
I save you a seat
Fantasy of a quiet separation
We rise, then we dissolve
It's a deep black crush
It′s a pale blue love
And we know we've become
It's a pale blue love
It′s a deep black crush, oh
A new world oddity
Meets the commoner
Impulse
White blood
So high
Too soft, oh
Try to meet halfway
Now we′re up against a stone wall
We crash
Twin fire
Blue ash
Pink smoke, oh
Spirals in decline, one tied against the other
Impulse
White blood
So high
Too soft, oh
Dissolving in the sky
Swallowed in time
We crash
Twin fire
Blue ash
Pink smoke, oh
Soft to tell in an instant, fleeting
Put to rest in the deep blue sea
Separate in the dark white winter
Melted back with a hollow plea
What are we but a storm of sorrow?
Broken eyes and a mouth of bone
Feel your heart beating slow like thunder
Bleeding out through the fire and stone
We rise, then we dissolve
It's a deep black crush
It′s a pale blue love
And we know what we've become
It′s a pale blue love
It's a deep black crush, oh
A new world oddity
Meets the commoner
Impulse
White blood
So high
Too soft, oh
Try to meet halfway
Now we′re up against a stone wall
We crash
Twin fire
Blue ash
Pink smoke, oh
Spirals in decline
One tied against the other
Impulse
White blood
So high
Too soft, oh
Dissolving in the sky
Swallowed in time
We crash
Twin fire
Blue ash
Pink smoke, oh
The lyrics to The Birthday Massacre's song "Crush" explore the delicate and tumultuous dynamics of a relationship. The first verse sets the tone by describing the fragility of the singer and the way jealousy creeps in like a gentle wind through a hollow tree. The chorus talks about how the two lovers rise and dissolve into each other, creating a deep black crush and a pale blue love. The second verse talks about the struggles the couple faces when trying to meet halfway and how they ultimately crash and burn like twin fire, creating blue ash and pink smoke.
The lyrics in "Crush" paint a vivid picture of the highs and lows of falling in love. The chorus in particular captures the intensity of the couple's feelings as they rise and dissolve into each other, creating a deep black crush and a pale blue love. This duality is emphasized throughout the song, with contrasts between delicate and relative, a storm of sorrow and a mouth of bone, and so on. The lyrics also explore the struggle to find balance in a relationship, with the couple crashing against a stone wall and spiralling in decline.
Line by Line Meaning
Delicate like an infant
Fragile and vulnerable, like a newborn baby.
So relative, if you see through me
My existence is subjective and dependent on another's perception.
Jealousy a persistent whisper
The constant and insidious feeling of envy.
A gentle wind through a hollow tree
A soft breeze passing through an empty and lifeless object.
Who are we, adrift and naked?
Questioning our identity, lost and vulnerable without protection.
You hold my breath
You take my breath away, emotionally or physically.
I save you a seat
Making room for someone in my life or heart.
Fantasy of a quiet separation
A desire for a peaceful break or distance from someone or something.
A double edge on the devil's seam
Something with both good and bad consequences or outcomes.
We rise, then we dissolve
Life's cycles of growth and decay or creation and destruction.
It's a deep black crush
An overwhelming feeling of love or attraction.
It's a pale blue love
A tender or delicate form of love.
And we know we've become
Acknowledging a change in ourselves, often due to an experience or relationship.
A new world oddity
Something strange and unknown that challenges our understanding.
Meets the commoner
Encountering something ordinary, familiar, or mundane.
Impulse
An urge or sudden desire to do something.
White blood
A metaphorical reference to a pure or innocent state of being.
So high
Feeling elated or ecstatic.
Too soft, oh
Being overly emotional or sensitive.
Try to meet halfway
Making an effort to compromise or find a common ground.
Now we're up against a stone wall
Encountering an obstacle or challenge that seems insurmountable.
We crash
Colliding or failing in a dramatic or chaotic way.
Twin fire
The intensity of passion or love felt by two people towards each other.
Blue ash
A reference to something that has been burned or destroyed.
Pink smoke, oh
A colorful but fleeting representation of something that has disappeared.
Spirals in decline, one tied against the other
A downward spiral or negative trend that is interconnected or interdependent.
Dissolving in the sky
Disappearing or fading away like a mist or cloud.
Swallowed in time
Lost or forgotten in the past.
Soft to tell in an instant, fleeting
Something that appears or disappears quickly and is difficult to define or understand.
Put to rest in the deep blue sea
Something that has been forgotten or buried deeply.
Separate in the dark white winter
A time of emotional separation or loneliness.
Melted back with a hollow plea
Returning to something or someone with an empty or insincere request.
What are we but a storm of sorrow?
Questioning the nature of humanity and the inevitability of sadness.
Broken eyes and a mouth of bone
A physical representation of fragility and mortality.
Feel your heart beating slow like thunder
An intense but slow and steady emotional or physical sensation.
Bleeding out through the fire and stone
Losing something valuable or meaningful in a tragic or painful way.
Writer(s): Michael Rainbow, Michael Hanmer, Matthew O'halloran
Contributed by Alexandra A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.