One of the most enduring acts of the entire darkwave subculture is the Flor… Read Full Bio ↴One of the most enduring acts of the entire darkwave subculture is the Florida, USA, based group The Crüxshadows. Originally formed in 1992, The Crüxshadows have consistently delivered their positive message through the portal of synth pop hooks and dark electronics to a massive international fan base of followers. From their self-released debut, the 1993 album Night Crawls In, right through to the present, The Crüxshadows have formulated their success out of old fashioned hard work. They have logged an impressive one thousand plus performances in over thirty countries via their many marathon-like tours.

With the release of the seminal Telemetry of a Fallen Angel (existing in a few incarnations prior to Dancing Ferret Discs' version in 1997), The Crüxshadows enjoyed their first defining moment courtesy of the infinitely catchy dance floor anthem "Marilyn My Bitterness." With additional strong releases including The Mystery of the Whisper (1999), Until the Voices Fade (1999) and Paradox Addendum (2000) backed by lengthy tours, The Crüxshadows were able to build a legion of diversified fans consisting of everything from jarheads to gamers to anime & role playing enthusiasts.

While the lineup has indeed changed over the years, one constant has remained the same; Rogue, the vocalist, leader and mastermind of The Crüxshadows has directed his troupe towards an unconventional and lofty goal. "I want to change the world with music, I want people to find hope within themselves. I want them to know that anything is possible if you believe and follow through. I think that music has the power to inspire and move people to do amazing things" he muses. He is not alone in his belief. Their fans seem to believe it too. The bands motto "live love be believe" is everywhere, and many of their supporters will tell you that the lyrics have changed their lives in some way. This isn't exactly typical for a band most often identified as gothic or dark-wave. The Crüxshadows are not concerned. "Goth isn't about being a stereotype" the front-man complains, "its about being who you want to be... about not running from yourself or your emotions." The charismatic singer/songwriter/producer understands an audience and tends to deliver his dramatic croon right in their laps. Nothing they do is exactly new, but how they do it is completely unique. The lyrics are deep and meaningful, the stage show is dynamic and entertaining, and the music is hooky and inspired by pop. But pop it is not. It is a hybrid music that exists in a place just left of everyday, and just right of never-ever.

The band has maintained a surprising consistency despite the personnel turnovers that have plagued it in recent years. Jessica Lackey, a singer/dancer who married Rogue in 2007, and keyboardist Jen Jawidzik, who was once Rogue and Jessica's roommate, have stuck with it for the better part of the last decade. "When we have to find someone new, I feel like sometimes they don't understand all the hard work that was necessary for us to get to that point" Jessica states flatly, "It is not difficult to under-appreciate everything the band has accomplished, so people move on because they have not invested the same energy into the project." While the shows and the music continues to get better, that magically 'permanent' combination of personalities has continued to elude them. The band has had a difficult time keeping guitar players and dancers in particular, but has seen turnover in almost every position. These days Crüxshadows has Rogue backed by a mostly female band of new wave latex clad gypsies, and boasts an original mix of violins, dancers, guitars, and electronics. Tight and well-practiced, the seven performers interact on stage with clockwork like precision. The audience is captivated. Some of them scream. Some of them sing along. A few others stare at the stage dumbfounded.

Although The Crüxshadows maintain a strong fan base in their native United States, their most perceptible success seems to be focused in Europe. It is not uncommon for the band to share stages with the likes of Ladytron, Prodigy, The Cure, or even Bjork. The 2002 Tears EP topped the Deutsche Alternative Charts for months, a practice that has continued with all subsequent releases soaring to the DAC's Top 10. "I don't think we're actually more popular there (In Europe)" says Rogue, "It just seems like there is more access to our fans. What we do has more acceptance by the powers that be. In America it feels like all of our victories are covered up or are unacknowledged by the media." 2002 also saw the release of their fifth full-length album Wishfire; a fan favorite that featured the Euro hit "Tears" and a number of other dark dance mainstays. Similarly the follow-up album Ethernaut (released in 2003) brought the band what has become one of its most notable tracks, the European club anthem entitled "Winterborn (This Sacrifice)."

Remixes and special versions of songs have kept there fans satiated when no new traditional album lay on the horizon. In 2004 Fortress In Flames was released featuring a cover by the popular American artist Chad Michael Ward. There The Crüxshadows' material was remixed by peers like the Dutch legends Clan of Xymox and German industrial giants In Strict Confidence. Each year has seen some new disc from the band, and they come in a variety of formats. The year 2005 witnessed the release of their first DVD Shadowbox. The DVD is highlighted by a 2004 performance before a rabid crowd of 15,000 at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig Germany, where the ‘call and response' raw energy the band delves out is served right back by an adoring audience.

In 2006 the band would seem to breakaway from their underground moniker. The addictive single "Sophia" impressively debuted on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales Charts in September at position #1, replacing Beyoncé in the top spot while landing #7 on the Hot 100 Singles Sales Chart. "We couldn't believe it, doors began to open. It was as if we couldn't be ignored anymore, after a decade and a half we seemed to be getting some respect. The local news in Florida even put us on the nightly news to get our take on the whole thing", the frontman recalls. The following year was pivotal for The Crüxshadows; in May the band successfully toured China performing at the Midi Open-Air Festival in Beijing, in the presence of many thousands of new fans. Later that year the band released the highly anticipated Dreamcypher album that contained yet another Billboard #1 Dance Single with the song "Birthday." This time the band climbed into the #2 spot on the Hot 100 Singles Sales Chart. With Dreamcypher, The Crüxshadows melded their fondness for 1980s Synth Pop/New Romantic sounds with modern Euro dance nuances into perfection. Dreamcypher joins the aforementioned shimmering "Sophia" and "Birthday" with the guitar fronted "Defender" and the majestic sounding "Eye of the Storm." The infectious disc would become The Crüxshadows' best selling album to date both in the United States and abroad.

The following year witnessed another single marching up the Billboard charts. "Immortal" continued the bands musical string of hits, despite the loss of violinist Rachel McDonnell. David Wood and JoHanna Moresco stepped in as an electric violining duo who not only safe-guarded the signature instrument of the band, but expanded it by way of rich layering and counterpoint melodies impossible in previous years. 2008 also saw the band's label Dancing Ferret Discs, withdraw from actively releasing new material. This left the band to deal with a large number of new and unforeseen issues, and delayed their plans to release a new full length album.

While The Crüxshadows spent most of 2009 touring in Europe, the band still managed to release yet another successful Billboard charting single in America. "Quicksilver" debuted just in time for their annual appearance at Atlanta's famed Dragon*Con Convention before an impressive capacity crowd of several thousand of their most loyal fans. "I think the new single, and really the most recent releases in general, are our most polished and well written work" says Rogue, "but there are still those in the scene, and in the business in general, that just think the whole thing is just dumb luck." The single was the first release from Wishfire Records, a new label founded by the band, and eventually reached #1 on The Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales Charts and #2 on The Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales Charts. Seemingly too pop for many critics and too underground for the industry, the band has apparently found the perfect balance for the people who matter the most to them; their fans.

The Crüxshadows have played by their own rules, and who is to say in a world of declining sales and illegal internet downloads that they haven't gotten the balance right. Time will tell. For now, The Crüxshadows continue to defy as well as define the odds, and their dark yet positive machine continues to roll.

After All
The Crüxshadows Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Hear the voice of the unremembered heart
Hear the silence between each word
Black and white divided grays that cut between us
Filled with broken shards of promised days

I'm standing far ahead
Always looking backwards
I'm standing far behind

With eyes fixed on tomorrow

Breathe in deep, and open your heart again
The fire burns where the embers fall
So love, in spite of the pain you feel
For the lives we live - follow after all

Where are the artists and the prophets?
Lost below the wheels of this machine..
Because money drives the vanity of human culture
But emotion fuels our hope and feeds our dreams

They dance upon the water
They dance upon the fire

They dance upon the stony ground
With palms turned to the sky

Overall Meaning

The song "After All" by The Crüxshadows speaks directly to the unremembered heart - that which has been buried and forgotten, but still beats within. The opening lines implore us to listen, not just to words, but to the silence between them, where the true message lies. The chorus of the song further emphasizes the importance of looking beyond what is seen at face value, reminding us that life is not black and white, but rather shades of gray.

The song highlights the yearning for positive change, for the re-emergence of artists and prophets who have been buried under the weight of materialism and consumer culture. The line "emotion fuels our hope and feeds our dreams" is particularly poignant, as the song encourages us to keep searching for that which stirs our hearts, even in the face of great adversity. Despite the pain we feel, the song urges us to continue to love, to continue to strive for the lives we want to live.

In the final verse, the lyrics take on a more mystical tone, urging us to look beyond the physical realm and embrace the power of dance, of moving in harmony with the elements. The image of dancers on water, on fire, on stony ground, with palms turned to the sky, speaks to the transcendent nature of art and the importance of connecting with the divine.

Line by Line Meaning

Hear the voice of the unremembered heart
Listen closely to the emotions and feelings that have been forgotten or dismissed

Hear the silence between each word
Pay attention to what is not being said or communicated

Black and white divided grays that cut between us
There are complex issues that divide us, and it is difficult to navigate them

Filled with broken shards of promised days
Disappointment and unfulfilled expectations have left us with fragments of what could have been

I'm standing far ahead Always looking backwards
I try to move forward, but my past experiences keep holding me back

I'm standing far behind With eyes fixed on tomorrow
I am trying to look forward and plan for the future, but I am still held back by the past

Breathe in deep, and open your heart again The fire burns where the embers fall So love, in spite of the pain you feel For the lives we live - follow after all
Take a deep breath and let your heart open up again. Even though loving someone can be painful, we should still pursue it because it makes life worth living

Where are the artists and the prophets? Lost below the wheels of this machine..
Artistic and prophetic voices are often ignored or overshadowed by commercial interests or societal norms

Because money drives the vanity of human culture But emotion fuels our hope and feeds our dreams
While society values material wealth and status, it is our emotions and passions that give us hope and make life meaningful

They dance upon the water They dance upon the fire They dance upon the stony ground With palms turned to the sky
Despite the challenges we face, we can still find joy and celebration in life. We reach out, hoping for something greater than ourselves

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: BILLY STRAYHORN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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