With the help of Mark Thompson of Tortuga and Hydra Head Records, The Hope Conspiracy headed to Godcity Studios in Norwood, Massachusetts to record their first demo in November 1999. It consisted of three songs ("Escapist", "Divinity Sickness", and "When the Doves Fly"). They produced 1000 copies of the tape, and managed to present 200 copies at their first show with black and white covers (which were quickly made on the way to the gig). Then they produced 800 more color copies of the demo cover based on a design by Aaron Turner. In early 2000, Turner brought up the idea of the demo cassette being put on CD and 7" vinyl, and the band accepted the invitation. The CD version contained one extra song, "It Meant Nothing". In both demos, the song "When the Doves Fly" was renamed to "Regret Kills". This demo is now out of print.
In July 2000, The Hope Conspiracy set out recording their debut full-length entitled Cold Blue on Equal Vision Records. The 10-song album was recorded in a week in both Godcity Studios and The Outpost in Stoughton, Massachusetts. It was released on October 23, 2000. In the next two years the band toured off of this album, contributed a cover of "Nervous Breakdown" to the Back on Black 7" Black Flag tribute on Initial Records, and released an EP called File 03 on Bridge 9 Records. File 03 was a rerelease of their original demo tracks plus two new tracks (one song of original material called "No Love Goes Unpunished" and a cover of Naked Raygun's "Treason"). The European version of "File 03" is available from Join the Team Player Records.
When it came time to record their second full-length, the band had gone through what they called "a long overdue lineup solidification." The album, entitled Endnote, was recorded during May and June 2002 in Brooklyn, New York's Atomic Studios. The 12-song album was produced by Dean Baltunosis and was released on October 17, 2002. In November 2002, Deathwish Records released a limited split 7" with The Suicide File with a song called "Failure", which was an outtake from earlier recording sessions.
The band went on a hiatus in 2004. In that time, Kevin Baker did vocals for Bars, while Jared Shavelson played drums for None More Black.
Their third album, Death Knows Your Name, was released on September 19, 2006 on Deathwish Records. The album has received favorable reviews. As a teaser, the record label released the Hang Your Cross EP in July 2006.
With high anticipation surrounding new material (recorded by Kurt Ballou at God City Studios) True Nihilist EP 7"" was released in 2009 on Deathwish Inc.
Kevin Baker - vocals
Neeraj Kane - guitar
Jonas Feinberg - bass
Jared Shavelson - drums
Jim Carroll - guitar (live appearances 2003–present; usually replaces Kane for live dates)
Departed
The Hope Conspiracy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
can always heal
by killing all I ever feel
click the hammer and let it go
jagged pieces of shattered hope
you call it love
you call it love
tear it free and pour me out.
The lyrics of The Hope Conspiracy's song Departed invoke a deep sense of pain and loss. The opening line "Open wounds can always heal" suggests a feeling of hopelessness, that the singer has tried to overcome their pain but is unable to do so. The following line "by killing all I ever feel" suggests a sense of resignation; the singer has given up on trying to heal and has decided to suppress their emotions. This is reinforced by the line "click the hammer and let it go" which suggests an act of violence, perhaps towards themselves or others.
The line "jagged pieces of shattered hope" suggests that the singer once had hope, but it has been broken into pieces. The repetition of "you call it love" suggests that the singer was once in a relationship with someone who claimed to love them, but perhaps that love was not genuine. The final line "tear it free and pour me out" suggests that the singer wants to be rid of this relationship and let go of the pain it has caused them.
Line by Line Meaning
Open wounds
The emotional pain I'm experiencing
can always heal
I have hope that it's possible to recover from this pain
by killing all I ever feel
I need to suppress my emotions to recover from the pain
click the hammer and let it go
I need to release my pain and emotions
jagged pieces of shattered hope
My optimism has been destroyed by my pain
you call it love
Even though it hurts, you claim that your actions are out of love
you call it love
Again, you claim that your actions are out of love despite causing me pain
tear it free and pour me out.
I need to distance myself from this toxic love and let my emotions flow out of me.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
David L
fuck yes! been searching my whole life for this band / album . thank you