Catching onto the then-noteworthy idea of touring , the band gained notereity through repeated exposure in the skateboarding world, which helped on tour, and which helped create a national fanbase. Thrasher Magazine's MoFo compiled the first Skate rock tape, which featured several Faction songs, as well as songs by JFA and the Big Boys, the two other most established skate punk bands. Other bands included were Riot .303, Minus One, Los Olvidados, Skoundrelz, featuring Tony Alva, Anvil Chorus, Free Beer, featuring San Francisco's Tony and Tommy Guerrero, and others.
The Faction recorded two 7" records, an LP, an EP, and a posthumous EP, and contributed songs to a 7" compilation single, From The Valley Within. Their song Skate and Destroy was also featured in the first skateboarding video, Powell-Peralta's "Bones Brigade Video Show." Except for the Thrasher Skate Rock tapes and the posthumous "Epitaph" EP, which was released on Mystic Records, all the Faction's music was released on IM Records. This label was owned by guitarist Adam Segal, and financed by Arly. Primarily due to musical evolutional differences in the band, they broke up in 1985. In 1989 they reformed with pro skateboarder Jeff Kendall on guitar instead of Adam Bomb. They played two shows, recorded "Accelerate" (used in the "Stoked: The Gator Story") and for whatever reason it didn't go any further.
In 1994, Mark Waters, of Goldenrod Records, approached the band with the idea to compile the Faction's musical history into one complete CD package. The resulting "Collection" gathered most of the band's studio recordings along with some live and radio recordings, along with Gavin's complete list of every show the band ever played, complete lyrics, and what most of the band called their first good artwork. In 2001, the band started playing shows here and there, with original guitarist Russ Wright on guitar. One show led to more, and between 2001 and 2005 the band played a handful of shows, including gigs in Dortmund and Munster Germany, Vancouver B.C., Aberdeen Scotland, Seattle (with X), San Diego and Anaheim with the Adolescents and Strung Out, Sacramento, and numerous San Jose and San Francisco shows.
The Faction's song 'Skate And Destroy" is featured in the Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 video game.
Deathless
The Faction Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We grow old it is strong
We die like flies as its death goes on it's deathless
Take a look and you're breathless
One more step, one more year
Take another look and you're gone forever, you're deathless
Take a look and you're lifeless
One last step, one last year, one last look and you're gone.
The Faction's song Deathless captures the essence of the inevitable force of time and its impact on human mortality. The opening line, "No use to try at all, I can't stop what is going on" suggests the futility of attempting to defy the natural order of things which is the cycle of life and death. As we age, time becomes an increasingly powerful force, and though we may try to resist its effects, we all eventually succumb to it. The line "We die like flies as its death goes on it's deathless" emphasizes the sheer magnitude of time and its endless continuity, in contrast to our own fleeting existence.
The chorus of the song, "Take a look and you're breathless, one more step, one more year, take another look and you're gone forever, you're deathless" creates a bleak and ominous mood that conveys the inevitability of our own mortality, and the idea that no matter how much we may try to cling to life, we are ultimately powerless to escape death. The repeated phrase "one last step, one last year, one last look and you're gone" reinforces this idea, suggesting that death is always close at hand and that we are constantly marching towards our own final moment.
Line by Line Meaning
No use to try at all, I can't stop what is going on
Despite my efforts, I cannot prevent the inevitable.
We grow old it is strong
As we age, the unstoppable force grows more powerful.
We die like flies as its death goes on it's deathless
The force causes us to die easily and continuously, never faltering itself.
Take a look and you're breathless
Merely observing the force can take away one's breath.
One more step, one more year
Every step and year brings us closer to our inevitable end.
Take another look and you're gone forever, you're deathless
A second glance can lead to a permanent departure, but the force lives on.
Take a look and you're lifeless
Observing the force can lead to the loss of one's vitality.
One last step, one last year, one last look and you're gone.
Final moments bring us closer to the end, even with no further effort.
Contributed by Madison P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.