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
There Is No One Like You
The Violet Burning Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All I am
I lay it down before you
With my heart, I give
Anything for you
Everything, I lay it down for you
I am nothing
I am nothing
So I lay down and cry for mercy
O mercy
Everything I am
I lay, I give
I cast my crowns
Down to the ground
I am nothing
And I have nowhere to turn
I am nothing
So I lay down
And there is
There is no one
There is no one like you
The lyrics to The Violet Burning's song "There Is No One Like You" possess powerful and poignant sentiments of devotion and surrender. The singer earnestly lays down their whole being before a higher power, acknowledging their insignificance and unworthiness. The lyrics create a sense of the singer being lost and in despair, but finding solace and salvation in this divine presence that they are submitting themselves to.
The chorus repeats twice, emphasizing the essence of the lyrics. The lyricist emphasizes that there is no one else in the universe like this power, that is helping them navigate through their difficulties, and that they are willingly giving everything away for this higher being. The vulnerability in these lyrics creates a connection to the listener, allowing them to resonate with the emotions of fear, doubt, and an overwhelming sense of surrender.
In conclusion, the song "There Is No One Like You" is a plea of surrender and devotion from a place of vulnerability and hopelessness. This song is not only emotionally stirring, but it is also a wake-up call for people to surrender to a higher power.
Line by Line Meaning
All I have
I surrender everything I possess
All I am
I surrender my entire self
I lay it down before you
I submit all to you unconditionally
With my heart, I give
I give with all my heart
Anything for you
I am willing to do anything for you
Everything, I lay it down for you
I give up everything for you
I am nothing
I humbly recognize my insignificance
And I have nowhere to turn
I have no other options
So I lay down and cry for mercy
I ask for forgiveness and grace
O mercy
Please show me mercy
Everything I am
My whole being
I lay, I give
I lay down and give it all up
I cast my crowns
I relinquish my honors and achievements
Down to the ground
I humbly acknowledge your supremacy
And there is
There exists
There is no one
No person
There is no one like you
You are incomparable
Contributed by Hunter S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
bkdguitarist
The guitar solo puts a grin on my face every time...the great Shawn Tubbs 🙏
Harris Rosenberg
the violet burning I can remember when I first got saved I was trippin really hard on acid and I was praying to Jesus and asking him for help in the violet burning was playing and I was crying and all the pain was being given to the cross Jesus was taking my pain and the music of the violet burning was so soothing and helped me to release my pain to Jesus the lover of my soul Jesus he's so precious thank you Lord Jesus for the violet burning and for soft gentle moving music that rivals anything that Pink Floyd or the Moody Blues could ever dream of doing
Timothy Thompson
I remember I tripped on some A D L Acid made by the government "Blue Felix the Cat" and I've done lots and lots of acid before. Anyways took a whole hit of Felix the Cat and Almos lost my mind like a light bulb popping! So I prayed and asked Jesus to help me and then next thing I knew I was sober and the Acid high disappeared and I will never forget that God intervention.
Timothy Thompson
I had a bad trip on blue Felix the cat blotter and it was called ADL... Anyways very powerful and gov approved I was told, Anyways I almost lost it and felt like a light bulb about to blow up! So I started praying one of jail prayers, please help me out of this bad trip and he did and I was sober immediately. Afterwards I was totally stoked and will never forget the power of prayer! Thank you Jesus for keeping me alive 🙏 🙌
John Mullen Jr
Shawn Tubbs is absolutely bringing heaven to earth. Great toon great arrangement .
David Fleuchaus
One of my life's great memories is seeing Shawn Tubbs sitting down in front of me, leaning forward with elbows on on his knees, staring at my left hand as I played solo guitar before my friend Tony got married. I had just worked out a bunch of amazing chords for some classic and modern jazz tunes that captured the complex textures more accurately but required some hand contortions. These were not standard voicings at all. These voicing were new and frankly kind of cool. But I was never as musical as Shawn. Not even close. He flowed in the stream of music and guided his way deftly through rapids while I typically sat on a rock making my boat better and better. This was back in 1992 I think.
Shawn Tubbs
You're very kind.
Justin Thyme
no effin way. LOVE these guys. just got rediscovered altar boys, undercover, and was scratching my head to remember these guys and found them! amazing band!!
★Erin★
:)
1968Celeste
Its been a long time since I last heard this song. Thank you for posting!! By the way, great audio.