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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
Underwater
The Violet Burning Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lately, it's a little bit hard
So breathe in deep
Let's float here for a while
Is it healing me or drowning me?
The more I live, the less I know
When we walked on water
Decided to go
Have I gone too far?
Lately, it's more than just a little bit hard
Cause I'm caught underwater breathing
Breathing is hard
Have I gone too far?
It's all I know
More than just a little bit hard
Caught in the undertow, reaching
It's pulling me down
Have I gone too far?
Can you reach me?
I've gone too far
Just a little bit helpless
Just a little bit helpless
The lyrics to The Violet Burning's song "Underwater" convey a sense of emotional drowning or being overwhelmed by life's challenges. The singer asks if their lover would join them in the depths, indicating that they feel alone and struggling to stay afloat. The lines "Is it healing me or drowning me? The more I live, the less I know" suggest a sense of confusion about the effects of their situation, and the chorus repeats the question "Have I gone too far?" as if wondering if they've reached a point of no return.
The lyrics convey both a sense of despair and a glimmer of hope. The singer seems to find solace in their lover's presence and the act of floating together. The imagery of walking on water adds to the sense of the impossible becoming possible, and the final lines "Just a little bit helpless" suggest that the singer is not ready to give up entirely.
Overall, the lyrics to "Underwater" are evocative and poignant, painting a picture of someone struggling to keep their head above water but still seeking connection and love.
Line by Line Meaning
Can I hold you under with me?
Asks if the person he is singing to wants to share his pain and stay underwater with him.
Lately, it's a little bit hard
He's been struggling recently and things have become difficult.
So breathe in deep
Take a deep breath and try to relax.
Let's float here for a while
Take some time to hang out and exist underwater.
Is it healing me or drowning me?
He's unsure if his time underwater is beneficial or detrimental to him.
The more I live, the less I know
The longer he lives, the more questions he has and the less he understands.
When we walked on water
Refers to a time when he felt on top of the world and everything seemed perfect.
We were perfect
At that moment they were flawless and untouchable.
Decided to go
They made a choice to leave that perfect moment and move forward.
Have I gone too far?
He questions if he's gone too deep into his depression and if there's a way back out.
Lately, it's more than just a little bit hard
Things have gotten progressively worse and he's really struggling now.
Cause I'm caught underwater breathing
He feels like he's drowning and struggling to breathe while trapped underwater.
Breathing is hard
He's having trouble with the basic function of breathing.
It's all I know
His current situation has consumed his entire reality.
Caught in the undertow, reaching
Being sucked under by the current and trying to reach for help.
It's pulling me down
The force of the water is too strong and he's losing his strength to fight it.
Can you reach me?
Asking for help from someone outside of his own struggle.
I've gone too far
He's reached a point where he no longer sees a way out and feels like he's gone too deep.
Just a little bit helpless
Feeling helpless and powerless, even if it's just a little bit.
Just a little bit helpless
Repeating the previous line to emphasize the feeling of helplessness he's experiencing.
Contributed by Isaac H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.