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The Violet Burning - The Story of Our Lives:
Liebe über Alles, Black as Death and The Fantastic Machine
by Jocelyn Aucoin
It's that ache in your heart.
That place inside you where all the stuff collects and collides like junk in a drawer.
Except it's not junk. It's real and it matters and it's the matter that makes you. It’s that ache that makes you want to fight and surrender, scream and sigh. It's decaying and it's beautiful and it's full of these awkward opposites. So full that sometimes you don't understand. You can't understand.
But then someone or something comes along to give it shape, a voice. Someone whose ability to capture this space is so pure, so precise, that it springs hope within us and legs to stand on.
Something like The Violet Burning.
The Violets (affectionately called) have been making music under the direction of creative mainspring, Michael J Pritzl, since 1990. A prolific songwriter, Pritzl's story is one of endurance, endurance manifested in a plethora of albums and relentless touring throughout the US and Europe. Endurance resulting in an absolute rabid
following of fans. Though Pritzl has surrounded himself with different musicians through the years, the music has never been compromised and the fans keep coming back for the powerful, guitar-driven rock The Violets never fail to deliver. This time that rock is enlivened with the drumming virtuosity that is Lenny Beh. A stunningly emotive addition.
Nothing proves The Violets bring the rock better than their latest effort, their 9th full-length studio album, The Story of Our Lives: Liebe über Alles, Black as Death and The Fantastic Machine, an audio triptych of sorts. The album's 34 songs are divided into three parts: Liebe über Alles, Black as Death and The Fantastic Machine. Although asunder, the album rages with rock and drips with beauty, all the while shaking it's figurative fist at a digital age wherein, despite the abundance of material available, artists still feel beholden to the 10-song album format restrictions of the past.
The Violets didn't feel this restriction and because of that, The Story of Our Lives is not just an auditory experience, it is a multi-sensory aesthetic experience. These songs didn't take a week to write or two days to record. The artwork wasn't thrown together in an hour in Photoshop. This is a complete body of work that began as a spark of an idea and has now been seven years in the making. In this way, it defies the unspoken and mediocre standards of today, offering up an incredible sonic experience in addition to a riveting lyrical journey.
And the journey is a familiar one. In fact, it reads like some of the greatest novels ever written. The Fantastic Machine sets the tone for this journey as "Where It All Begins" climbs from a pensive, pretty melody to an all out blur of frantic guitars, over which "my heart and soul are wired in!" it screamed wild and breathy. It's the definition of epic, and songs like “Machine Beat Sabbatha” and “Imminent Collapse” follow suit, allowing the listener in on the chaos that's brewing in the heart of our character. “The Letting” and “Leaving” tell a quieter story, one that will course through your veins with their beautiful sadness. And in the end, our character leaves The Fantastic Machine behind, giving up on a life that has been selling him lies.
Black as Death picks up where this sadness leaves off, descending on ears like a bat out of hell--an almost mindless storm of sound and distortion. “My Name is Night” is case and point of this, heavy and teeming with Sabbath-like drumming. “Maelstorm” expands into this chaos, the entropy of its opening guitars hitting like the explosion of tides. Pritzl's delicate falsetto dancing atop the water. And then there is “Rock Is Dead”, which exists not only as the definition of pop song perfection, but shows our character gaining strength. Shivers run down your spine when he screams, "I'm going on, going on!" "In Ruin" leaves a sweet taste in our mouths with it's swirly delays, rhodes bells and sweeping cello.
Enter Liebe über Alles, The Story of Our Lives' graceful and exquisite counterpart. Our character has chosen death, but now lives to continue his journey home. A beautiful relenting, “Mon Désir” is honest in both melody and lyric as Pritzl’s broken voice sings, "All I want is you." "Arc" has a driving rhythm that climaxes with an explosion of spirited strings. "I am coming home!" The dreamy and romantic ballad, "I Caught Fire", is encased in a haze of fuzz guitar, pulsing drums and the descending piano, "…in all the songs of men and angels, if I have no love, I'm blank." And finally “through a life, blessed and cursed, love and only love goes on and on…” the true rest of “Liebe über Alles” and the final acknowledgement that our character has made it home.
This is not just another album by another band. This is a realization. A realization that this story--the struggle and the heartache, feeling lost and so alone--belongs to each one of us. It’s the way we feel when we are sad and broken and it’s the way we feel when we are so complete and content, at home and at rest within ourselves and with others and with “The Lord of Song.” It’s knowing we’re not alone in this big, messed up machine of a world. It’s the hope of “every corner of our heart and soul” being made for someone who loves us more than we will ever understand.
This is the story of our lives.
The Violet Burning is Michael J. Pritzl, Daryl Dawson and Lenny Beh. THE STORY OF OUR LIVES: Liebe über Alles, Black as Death,and TH3 FANT^5T1C MACH1N3 was written and recorded by Michael Pritzl at Nowhere, CA studios (various closets, garages, entry ways, and bedrooms in Southern California) and features Eleanor Beh on Cello and Jeff Schroeder of Smashing Pumpkins (lead guitar on 3 songs).
The Story Of Our Lives was released digitally at thevioletburning.com March 5, 2011. The triple album will be coming worldwide one part at a time via iTunes, Amazon, and other online digital resellers throughout 2011. The triple album will also be available in it’s physical, beautiful, limited edition, 80-page packaging via thevioletburning.com beginning April 4, 2011. The Violet Burning are now planning US and European tour dates.
-Jocelyn Aucoin – 2011
Fever
The Violet Burning Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Would you hold me?
If I fall apart on you now
Would you cave in, too?
I am afraid
And I just can't seem
To reach out and touch you
Fall apart
So when you gonna make up
Your mind?
Are you hearing me
Cause if I fell apart on you now
You would cave in, too
My heart is empty
I need to be filled
Come take these tears
Just one last time
Within your wings
Help me to fly
I'm waiting for you
I'm ready for you to be real
I'm ready
To fall apart
Feel me slipping
Fall apart
It's time to let go
Time to be real
I'm taking my hands off
The steering wheel
I'm ready to fall apart
Ready to fall apart, baby
It'll break your fucking heart
Your miserable heart
Oh, I got your fever
I got your fever
I feel it inside me, sickened
Sickened
Temperature rising, sickened,
Sickened
I got your fever
The lyrics to The Violet Burning's song Fever are emotional and heartfelt, reflecting an inner struggle to find a deeper connection with someone who may not fully understand or reciprocate those feelings. The opening lines, "If I fall apart on you now, would you hold me? If I fall apart on you now, would you cave in, too?" suggest a sense of vulnerability and a desire for support during difficult times. However, there is also a fear that the person being addressed may not provide the needed comfort, which is highlighted with the lines "Because you still don't believe, fall apart." This suggests that the singer has been seeking this connection for some time, but has been met with resistance or disbelief.
The chorus of the song addresses the need for the other person to make a decision, asking "When you gonna make up your mind? Are you hearing me?" This highlights the frustration of wanting a deeper connection, but feeling like the other person is not fully present or engaged. The line "My heart is empty, I need to be filled" further emphasizes this need for mutual understanding and intimacy. The singer is ready to let go of control and "take their hands off the steering wheel" in an effort to find a deeper connection.
Line by Line Meaning
If I fall apart on you now
Asking if the person will hold the singer if they break down emotionally
Would you hold me?
Asking if the person is emotionally supportive
Would you cave in, too?
Asking if the person is strong enough to support the singer
I am afraid
The singer is scared and looking for support
And I just can't seem
The singer is struggling to reach out for help
To reach out and touch you
The singer wants physical and emotional comfort
Because you still don't believe
The person being asked for support may not take the singer's fear seriously
Fall apart
The singer is feeling overwhelmed and falling apart emotionally
So when you gonna make up
Asking when the person being asked will decide if they will support the singer
Your mind?
Questioning the person's thoughts on the situation
Are you hearing me
Asking if the person is truly listening
Cause if I fell apart on you now
Eliciting the other person's reaction if the singer breaks down
You would cave in, too
Assuming that the person being asked will also fall apart
My heart is empty
The singer's emotional state is depleted and requires comfort
I need to be filled
The singer is seeking to fill the emotional void within themselves
Come take these tears
The singer wants someone to take away their pain and tears
Just one last time
Asking for one last chance to find comfort from the person being asked
Within your wings
Referring to the person being asked as a source of protection and safety
Help me to fly
The singer wants to overcome their emotional state and move forward
I'm waiting for you
The singer is waiting for the person to come through
I'm ready for you to be real
The singer wants the person being asked to be genuine and provide support
To fall apart
The singer is ready to let their emotions out fully
Feel me slipping
The singer is losing control of their emotional state
It's time to let go
The singer is ready to let go of their fears and emotional stress
Time to be real
The singer wants to be truthful and raw about their feelings
I'm taking my hands off
The singer is relinquishing control
The steering wheel
Referring to the control one has over their life
Ready to fall apart, baby
The singer is prepared to break down emotionally
It'll break your fucking heart
The singer's emotional turmoil will be hard for the person being asked to handle
Your miserable heart
Highlighting the negative impact the singer's emotional state has on the person being asked
Oh, I got your fever
Referring to the emotional turmoil felt by both the singer and the person being asked for support
I feel it inside me, sickened
The singer is consumed and overwhelmed by the emotional affliction
Temperature rising, sickened
Expressing the intensity of the emotional turmoil
I got your fever
Referring to the shared emotional state between the two people
Contributed by Liliana H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.