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.
Protect And Serve
The Unseen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That's their side, this one's ours
Blood and fists vs. total power
They didn't run, not fuckin' cowards
It's gonna blow,
it's gonna blow,
it's gonna blow,
Riot in NYC, how did this begin?
Riot in NYC, riot all the punks & skins!
Fight back, fight back we can't sit and watch
Innocent people, our friends get beat up by the cops
It's gonna blow,
it's gonna blow,
it's gonna blow,
it's gonna blow
Protect and serve,
protect and serve,
protect and serve,
protect and serve.
The lyrics of The Unseen's song "Protect and Serve" speak about the frustration and anger that builds up towards police brutality and injustice. The opening lines "hate, hate building up for hours, that's their side, this one's ours" show how the anger and hatred towards the police is reciprocal. The next lines "blood and fists vs. total power, they didn't run, not fuckin' cowards" suggest that the confrontation between the punks and skins and the law enforcement is an unequal fight where the former are fighting with physical strength while the latter holds total power over them.
The repetition of the words "it's gonna blow" throughout the song creates a sense of inevitability and anticipation of an eruption of violence. The chorus "protect and serve" is repeated four times and has a sarcastic tone to highlight the perceived failure of the police to deliver on their motto of protection and service.
The song also references a specific event, the "riot in NYC" which is not elaborated on but implies a situation where the punks and skins fight back against police brutality. The Unseen's lyrics show that they are aware of the violence but challenge people to fight back and not just watch innocent people get beaten up by the police.
Line by Line Meaning
Hate, hate building up for hours
The anger and resentment towards the authority figures have been mounting for a long time.
That's their side, this one's ours
The cops have their own agenda and objectives, and we have our own opposing goals.
Blood and fists vs. total power
Violence is the only way to fight against those who have the power and authority.
They didn't run, not fuckin' cowards
We stood our ground and fought back instead of cowering away from the confrontation.
It's gonna blow,
it's gonna blow,
it's gonna blow,
it's gonna blow
The conflict is going to escalate until it reaches a boiling point.
Riot in NYC, how did this begin?
It's unclear how the events leading up to this riot started.
Riot in NYC, riot all the punks & skins!
Everyone is coming together to fight against the oppression by the law enforcement.
Fight back, fight back we can't sit and watch
We must take action and fight back instead of being passive bystanders.
Innocent people, our friends get beat up by the cops
The police are using excessive force against innocent people and our loved ones.
Protect and serve,
protect and serve,
protect and serve,
protect and serve.
The police's promise to protect and serve the community is nothing but an empty slogan to cover up their abuse of power.
Contributed by Maria Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.