Official Bio from thevioletburning.com

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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

I See Stars
The Violet Burning Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Hold my hand in the pouring rain; I never wanna go too far
This rain coming down is the sound of your grace
The pain in my heart is gone
Heaven holds my heart, and I feel it: the palm of your hand in mine

And I never, never, I never wanted more than this
I promise, I promise, I promise this time will be alright
Yeah, I see stars every time we kiss

"Hold me close, never let me go," - I love it when you talk that way
And throw your arms all around my neck
I love you, I love you, please stay
Heaven holds my heart, and I feel it: the palm of your hand against mine

And I never, never...I never wanted more than this
You promise, you promise, I promise this time will be alright
Yeah, I see stars every time we kiss

Put your hands up
Put your hands in the sky
Yeah, I see stars every time we kiss

Every time we kiss
Yeah, I see stars every time we kiss

I never, I never, I never wanted more than this
I promise, I promise, I promise this time will be alright
Every time we kiss

I never, I never, I never wanted more than this, (yeah, I see stars every time we kiss)
Yeah, I see stars every time we kiss. (I see stars every time we kiss)

Overall Meaning

The Violet Burning's song, I See Stars, is a romantic ballad about a deep love and affection. The song opens with the singer holding hands with someone they care about deeply, even in the pouring rain. The rain is a metaphor for grace, and it washes away the pain in the singer's heart. Heaven is mentioned as a place where the singer's heart is held, and they feel the love of the person with whom they are holding hands. The chorus repeats the phrase, "I never wanted more than this," emphasizing the simplicity of the love the singer feels. They promise that this time will be alright and that they see stars every time they kiss.

The middle of the song has the beloved throwing their arms around the singer's neck, and the singer revels in the feeling of being held close. The beloved tells the singer, "Hold me close, never let me go," and the singer asks them to stay. They feel heaven's hold on their heart through the touch of the beloved's hand. The song ends with the repeated phrase, "Yeah, I see stars every time we kiss," underscoring the depth of feeling and affection between the two.

Overall, this song is a sweet and romantic tribute to love and the beauty of moments shared. The lyrics of the song are simple yet meaningful and evoke strong feelings of love, affection, and closeness.

Line by Line Meaning

Hold my hand in the pouring rain; I never wanna go too far
I want you to hold my hand tightly so we can be close, even in difficult situations. I don't want our relationship to go too far where it becomes too complicated.

This rain coming down is the sound of your grace
The rain is a symbol of your love and grace as it falls down and surrounds us.

The pain in my heart is gone
Being with you has healed the pain in my heart that I used to feel.

Heaven holds my heart, and I feel it: the palm of your hand in mine
I feel your love and the presence of heaven in my heart when we hold hands.

And I never, never, I never wanted more than this
I am perfectly content with our relationship as it is and I never desire anything more.

I promise, I promise, I promise this time will be alright
I promise to be there for you and make everything okay for us.

Yeah, I see stars every time we kiss
When we kiss, it feels like the stars align and everything is perfect in the moment.

"Hold me close, never let me go," - I love it when you talk that way
I love it when you speak intimately to me and express your desire to be close and not let go.

And throw your arms all around my neck
I love the physical closeness we share when you wrap your arms around my neck in a loving embrace.

I love you, I love you, please stay
I deeply love and care for you, please don't leave me or this relationship.

Put your hands up
Raise your hands in celebration and joy for the love we share.

Put your hands in the sky
Look up and feel the vastness of the universe, acknowledging the greatness of our love and connection.

Every time we kiss
Every time we share a kiss, it is a special moment that shines like the stars.

I never, I never, I never wanted more than this
I am so happy and satisfied with what we have and never want anything beyond our love and connection.

Yeah, I see stars every time we kiss.
When we kiss, it is a moment of heavenly perfection that makes me feel like I am surrounded by stars of love.

Contributed by Lucas F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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