The Unseen formed in Boston 1993 and released the demo EP Too Young To Know...Too Reckless To Care in 1994. Two other 7" EPs followed, before the release of their debut full-length, Lower Class Crucifixion on A-F Records. Another two albums followed on the same label before they signed to BYO Records, and then, Hellcat Records. Each of their albums have sold moderately better than previous releases.
The quintet also released a best-of compilation for the European market in June 2000 titled Totally Unseen: The Best Of The Unseen, which contained two previously unreleased tracks.
For the release of their 2001 album The Anger And the Truth, "Chainsaw" re-accompanied the band in the studio to record the song No Evacuation, a song he originally wrote.
After being a member of the band for nearly ten years and writing most of the material on Lower Class Crucifixion, So This is Freedom?, and The Anger and the Truth, Paul Russo left the band after only contributing vocals to one track on their fourth album Explode. Citing differences in direction, he is now the leader of The Strings, an indie rock/folk band. He remains friends with his former bandmates.
Mark Unseen, the lead singer, formed and currently runs ADD Records. He also briefly joined the Maine street punk group A Global Threat as a second singer, and recorded the full-length What the Fuck Will Change? and Until We Die before deciding to concentrate on his duties with The Unseen.
There has been some controversy concerning the band, including allegations that in recent years they have "sold out". Most widely cited is the fact that The Unseen have produced music videos to air on commercial music video channels such as MTV2, an avenue looked-down upon in the underground streetpunk scene. The band reacted to this perception with the song "So Sick of You."
They have toured Europe, North America, Australia, Japan, and Mexico with many punk heavyweights from The Bouncing Souls and Rancid to decidedly more hardcore outfits like Hatebreed and Sick Of It All. Since the departure of Paul, the band has used many replacements on tour such as members from The Virus, Strike Anywhere, and F-Minus, however, recently, on their MySpace page The Unseen have included a fifth band member, Jonny, an ex-guitarist of A Global Threat who was in the band at the same time as Mark.
2006 also saw the release of Tripp's book So This Is Readin'?, which details the life and hardships of being in an underground band with dry comedy. It started as a lengthy band history on the band's website, but after a few amusing "chapters" he was contacted by a publishing company to release it in book form.
In May 2006, The Unseen announced on their official website that they would begin writing their sixth studio full-length album during the summer of that year. The album, titled Internal Salvation, came out on July 10, 2007. The first song released from that album is a track titled "Right Before Your Eyes". In support of the new album, the band has joined the thirteenth Warped Tour.
Hit And Run
The Unseen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The blood is all that you can see
Young body on cold concrete
But you don't want to take the heat no
Was it due to that last drink?
Scared and confused and you can't think
Help me Christ what should I do?
Blood level reads too high
Carelessness will get you life
Well pray to God for what you've done
Misery has now begun
Call 911 as you leave
It's a D.O.A. at the crime scene
No one can change what you did
You killed somebody's kid!
Look! what have you done? what have you done?
On that cold night, it was a hit and run
Look! what have you done? what have you done?
On that cold night, it was a hit and run
Manslaughter is what you did
That hit and run accident
A tragic and to that life
Drive away, wash up and hide
I hope you've got an alibi
You'd best make up a great lie
The angry parents want the truth
Justice is after you
Look! what have you done? what have you done?
On that cold night, it was a hit and run
Look! what have you done? what have you done?
On that cold night, it was a hit and run
License plate lies next to the dead
It fell off before away you sped
The clues add up, tire tracks are red
Matching indents on his fucking head!
Tracks on his head!
Away you fled!
And now he's dead!
Gone!
The Unseen's song Hit and Run paints a vivid picture of a hit and run accident. The lyrics describe the aftermath of a fatal accident where a young person has been killed and the driver responsible is attempting to flee the scene without being caught. The chorus, "Look! What have you done? What have you done? On that cold night, it was a hit and run," repeats throughout the song, emphasizing the gravity of the situation and relentlessly calling out the culprit.
The song also describes the driver's internal monologue, with lines like "Scared and confused and you can't think" and "Help me Christ what should I do? If God exists he don't like you." These lyrics show that the driver is grappling with the reality of their actions and is aware of the repercussions they may face. The song ends with a powerful outro, "Tracks on his head! Away you fled! And now he's dead! Gone!" which serves as a direct call-out to the driver and paints a tragic picture of the victim's fate.
Line by Line Meaning
Deadly skid marks stain the street
The devastating marks made on the road have left a permanent scar on this place, marking the end of a person's life
The blood is all that you can see
The bloodshed and brutality has left no place for anything else to be seen at this scene
Young body on cold concrete
The victim was a young person who met an untimely demise lying on the cold, hard concrete
But you don't want to take the heat no
Even though the culprit is to blame for this terrible event, they're now unwilling to face the consequences for their actions
Was it due to that last drink?
Could the reason for this tragedy be attributed to the last drink that the drunk driver had before getting behind the wheel
Scared and confused and you can't think
The culprit seems to be too scared and confused to take responsibility and find a way to rectify the situation they've created
Help me Christ what should I do?
The culprit is so desperate that they're taking the Lord's name in vain and hoping for a miracle cure to the situation alone won't fix
If God exists he don't like you
The individual is now questioning their religious belief as a result of their sinful, immoral actions
Blood level reads too high
The blood-alcohol level of the culprit is far too high by the law's standard
Carelessness will get you life
The careless actions of getting behind the wheel drunk can cost someone's life, but also the life of the individual themselves
Well pray to God for what you've done
The only way the culprit can make amends for their sinful transgressions now is to ask forgiveness from a higher power they still believe in
Misery has now begun
The situation the culprit has created has now brought in untold misery for themselves and others involved
Call 911 as you leave
The culprit must call for emergency services as they dump the victim and flee the scene of the crime
It's a D.O.A. at the crime scene
The victim is declared dead on arrival at the crime scene
No one can change what you did
Nobody can take back the actions the culprit has made and the sad consequences that followed
You killed somebody's kid!
The song explicitly reminds the listener that the victim wasn't just another statistic but an actual human being whose life was taken away too soon
Look! what have you done? what have you done?
The song proclaims how terrible the situation the drunk driver has created and the personal responsibility they alone bear for it
On that cold night, it was a hit and run
The song reinforces that the crime occurred late at night and that there wasn't any concern shown for the victim by the driver by fleeing the scene thereafter
Manslaughter is what you did
The drunk driver's crime is identified by name as manslaughter
That hit and run accident
The song relays that the accident was caused by a hit and run, and the consequences that followed
A tragic and to that life
The song paints a clear picture of just how tragic the end of life was for the victim
Drive away, wash up and hide
The singer laments how even though the driver should've stayed at the scene of the crime and called for help, they instead chose to drive away, wash their car up, and hide from the culpability of their actions
I hope you've got an alibi
The singer knows that the driver will deny responsibility and guilt and instead find a convenient excuse to justify their actions
You'd best make up a great lie
The singer advises the driver to concoct a great lie, knowing fully that they'll need one if they ever want to escape punishment for their crime
The angry parents want the truth
The victim's parents are upset and want answers for what happened to their child
Justice is after you
The law's pursuit of justice for the tragic circumstances caused by the culpable driver is inevitable
License plate lies next to the dead
A piece of evidence has been left behind by the driver that can tie them directly to the accident
It fell off before away you sped
The singer implies the driver was probably driving way too fast, leading to the license plate falling off in the first place
The clues add up, tire tracks are red
Crucial evidence at the scene of the crime will be collected by law enforcement, including tire tracks that give away the driver's escape route
Matching indents on his fucking head!
The song states that the matching indentations on the victim's head can link the driver's car to the crime scene and incriminate them
Tracks on his head!
The brutal hit-and-run has left unprecedented tracks on the victim's head, leading to their untimely death
Away you fled!
The culprit chose to flee the scene of the crime instead of helping the victim or calling for medical assistance and law enforcement
And now he's dead!
The song reminds the listener that the victim met with an untimely death for actions that weren't theirs
Gone!
The final statement of the song summarizes the tragedy that has occurred and the irreparable damage that has been done
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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