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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
Love Is The Loaded Gun
The Violet Burning Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Love is the gun.
Love sweet love
Your sweet love
Tears down the mountains
Love sweet love
Your sweet love
Sometimes, sometimes I feel all alone
Let your, let your love rain on me
Love is the loaded gun
Let me point it at everyone
Your sweet love
Washes off the tears
Love sweet love
Heals my soul
From the painful years
Though I sing
With the tongues of angels
Let love, let love
Begin with me
Love is the loaded gun
Let me point it at everyone
The lyrics of The Violet Burning's "Love Is The Loaded Gun" can be interpreted in multiple ways. The title of the song itself is a metaphor, suggesting that love can be as dangerous as a loaded gun. The opening lines further emphasize this by asking if the listener has a gun, immediately followed by the declaration that love is the gun. This could be seen as a call to action, urging the listener to use love as a powerful tool to make changes in the world.
The rest of the lyrics explore the healing power of love, using images of tearing down mountains and washing away tears. The lines "let your love rain on me" and "let love begin with me" suggest that in order to truly make a difference, one must first experience love and allow it to transform them. The final lines of the song, "love is the loaded gun, let me point it at everyone," could be seen as a challenge to the listener to use love to make a positive impact on the world and those around them.
Overall, "Love Is The Loaded Gun" can be interpreted as a song about the power of love to change the world and the importance of using that power to create a more positive and compassionate society.
Line by Line Meaning
You got the gun?
Do you have the power of love?
Love is the gun.
Love has the power to cause great change and is just as dangerous as a weapon.
Love sweet love
Love that is pure and good.
Your sweet love
The love that is given by the person in question.
Tears down the mountains
Love has the power to overcome the biggest obstacles.
Love sweet love
Love that is pure and good.
Your sweet love
The love that is given by the person in question.
Put you on the tree
This line may refer to a biblical reference of Jesus Christ dying on the cross. The idea is that love is powerful enough to sacrifice one's self for another person.
Sometimes, sometimes I feel all alone
Even with all the power of love, there will still be moments of loneliness.
Let your, let your love rain on me
The person in question is seeking love and compassion from others.
Love is the loaded gun
Love should be treated with the same level of caution as a loaded weapon.
Let me point it at everyone
The person in question wants to share their love with as many people as possible.
Washes off the tears
Love has the power to heal and cleanse one from their pain.
Heals my soul
Love has the power to cure one's spiritual wounds.
From the painful years
Love has the power to negate the pain of the past and provide healing for the future.
Though I sing
Even with all the good that love brings, there will still be a sense of uncertainty and doubt.
With the tongues of angels
This line may refer to the biblical passage in Corinthians where the idea is that even with the ability to speak eloquently and charismatically, without love it is just noise.
Let love, let love
The importance of choosing love over hate or malice.
Begin with me
The person in question wants to be the catalyst of change and begin spreading love towards others.
Contributed by Brooklyn S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.