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
Sideways
The Birthday Massacre Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Interesting Facts ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As light moves away
We'll leave tonight on empty highways
There's no coming back here
The painted hallways
Forever and always
Are lost to you
When you're not here to compromise?
Words fade as time goes by
Without you, without you
Fall to the floor
We're watching sideways
As day turns to night
Ghosts in the walls
Through empty doorways
Like we've always been here
The painted hallways
Forever and always
Are lost to you
How can you criticize
When you're not here to compromise?
Words fade as time goes by
Without you, without you
Without you, without you
Without you, without you
Without you, without you
The Birthday Massacre's song "Sideways" is a haunting and melancholic track that speaks about the longing for someone who is no longer around, creating a feeling of emptiness and loss. The first two lines of the song suggest the desire to hold on to a moment before it fades away like light. The next lines convey the sense of leaving everything behind and moving forward, perhaps indicating that the singer has lost something or someone important and feels a need to leave the past behind. The line "There's no coming back here" reinforces this idea, suggesting that there's no way to go back and regain what's lost.
The chorus "The painted hallways forever and always are lost to you" signifies that things that once meant something significant to the singer are now nothing but a fading memory. The line "How can you criticize when you're not here to compromise?" implies the unseen presence of someone who is perhaps criticizing from afar, without understanding the consequences of their absence. The references to "ghosts in the walls" and "empty doorways" add to the feeling of emptiness and loss. The repetition of "Without you, without you" emphasizes the sense of longing and emptiness, then fading into a void with nothing to hold on to.
Interesting facts about the song "Sideways:"
Interesting Facts
Note: This section uses generative AI, which can be inaccurate.
Line by Line Meaning
It's not enough to find a moment
A fleeting moment is not sufficient to cling onto. It’s not enough to make a permanent impact.
As light moves away
Life constantly moves on and changes, like flickering light.
We'll leave tonight on empty highways
We'll depart from our present situation feeling empty, without any direction or destination.
There's no coming back here
Once we leave this place, there’s no turning back. It's final.
The painted hallways
The brightness and colors of our past memories.
Forever and always
Those memories are attached to us permanently and unconditionally.
Are lost to you
Those memories are now out of reach and disconnected from you.
How can you criticize
It's not fair to pass judgment when you aren't present and active in the given situation.
When you're not here to compromise?
It’s unfair to voice an opinion when you aren’t willing to negotiate or contribute to a resolution.
Words fade as time goes by
Memories and words lose their vibrancy and strength, becoming muted and distant with the passage of time.
Without you, without you
An acknowledgment that life moves on without people and situations that were once meaningful and important to us.
Fall to the floor
The feeling of being powerless, small, or helpless amidst changing circumstances.
We're watching sideways
Feeling removed from the present and observing it from afar, rather than actively participating.
As day turns to night
The transitions of life from one moment to the next, symbolized by the shift between day and night.
Ghosts in the walls
The past continues to haunt us, residing largely in the spaces we've inhabited before.
Through empty doorways
The doors that are now closed and empty, inaccessible and unattainable, serve as portals to memories of the past.
Like we've always been here
Describing the sense of familiarity that we feel being in a certain place, a reminder of the past that still exists within us.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: SARA TAYLOR, MICHAEL HANMER, MICHAEL RAINBOW
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind