The Violet Burning - The Stor… Read Full Bio ↴Official Bio from thevioletburning.com
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
The Last Ones
The Violet Burning Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How I feel when I'm down
Though I know you're right beside me
Sometimes I feel so lost
But when I look into your eyes
I know that you're true
I long for the day when I'll always
Be with you
These tears I cry for the last time
They're the last ones I cry
Sometimes it seems like forever
But I know that it's soon
I can hear the voices
I can hear the voices
Of all those who laid their
Lives at your feet
They shall live forever
Because they believe
And I'll see
These tears I cry for the last time
They're the last ones I cry
I will never feel alone again
I will never feel afraid
I will never have to cry again
I can't wait for that day
When I see you take hold of the
Ocean of tears and cast it away forever
With the pain from the years
And I'll see
These tears I cry for the last time
They're the last ones I cry
These tears I cry for the last time
They're the last ones I cry
"The Last Ones" by The Violet Burning is a song that carries a message of hope and optimism in a time of struggle. The lyrics express the inner turmoil of the singer and their fear of being lost, but acknowledges the comforting presence of someone who makes it all bearable. The lines, "I long for the day when I'll always be with you" convey a sense of longing for the future, where the struggle and tears will be no more. The phrase "these tears I cry for the last time, they're the last ones I cry" represents the newfound hope that the singer feels, believing that they will not have to face pain and heartbreak again.
The second half of the song changes tone, expressing the belief and trust in a higher power. The words "I can hear the voices of all those who laid their lives at your feet" are a reverent nod to the heroes that have fought and died for a cause, a movement, or a dream. The singer acknowledges their legacy when they say "they shall live forever because they believe." The song is a testament to the strength of human spirit, and the belief that even in the darkest of times, there is hope for a brighter future.
Line by Line Meaning
Guess I never tell you
I don't usually express my emotions to you
How I feel when I'm down
What I experience when I'm feeling low
Though I know you're right beside me
Despite having you by my side
Sometimes I feel so lost
Occasionally, I feel completely directionless
But when I look into your eyes
Whenever I gaze into your eyes
I know that you're true
I am positively sure of your fidelity
I long for the day when I'll always
I eagerly anticipate the time when I'll perpetually
Be with you
Be in your company
When I see these tears I cry for the last time
At the sight of these tears that I am shedding for the final time
They're the last ones I cry
These are the final tears I'll shed
Sometimes it seems like forever
On occasion, it seems like an eternity
But I know that it's soon
However, I'm certain that it's rapidly approaching
I can hear the voices
I can perceive the sounds of
Of all those who laid their lives at your feet
Of every person who sacrificed everything at your mercy
They shall live forever
They'll exist eternally
Because they believe
Due to their faith
And I'll see these tears I cry for the last time
Ultimately, I'll witness these tears that I'm shedding for the last time
They're the last ones I cry
These are the final tears I'll shed
I will never feel alone again
I'll never experience solitude again
I will never feel afraid
I won't feel fear ever again
I will never have to cry again
I'll never need to cry again
I can't wait for that day
I'm eagerly anticipating that day
When I see you take hold of the
At the moment when I witness you grasping the
Ocean of tears and cast it away forever
Sea of sorrow and discarding it permanently
With the pain from the years
Together with the agony from the years
And I'll see these tears I cry for the last time
Finally, I'll observe these tears that I'm shedding for the final time
They're the last ones I cry
These are the final tears I'll shed
Contributed by James T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Augustus Seeley
I can't believe that it took 101 views before someone liked this song. Is everyone deaf or something? I dig this!