The Word Alive was founded in 2008 by Craig Mabbitt (lead vocals) with Zack Hansen (lead guitar) and Tony Pizzuti (rhythm guitar) who were former members of the bands Calling of Syrens and Clouds Take Shape. As a side-project of Mabbitt during his part in Escape the Fate, the remaining required members he recruited to start The Word Alive were chosen to be Nick Urlacher (bass), Dusty Riach (keyboard) and Tony Aguilera (drums). The group recorded songs with the intention of releasing them as a self-titled EP, despite that it never surfaced. Later on, the band forced Mabbitt to leave due to their dissatisfaction with Escape the Fate's schedules, which required Mabbitt to work as a full-time member.
The day after, Mabbitt posted a blog to his fans via his Myspace account explaining that leaving the band was not his decision and that "[The Word Alive] pretty much replaced me while I was on the road due to the fact that they wanted to tour and couldn't until I was available, I started that band with those guys and I'm very hurt at how they replaced me while I was touring...it's bullshit." On December 3, the band officially announced that Tyler "Telle" Smith, who was formerly one of the vocalists for In Fear and Faith and bassist for Greeley Estates, joined The Word Alive as their new frontman.
Feeling somewhat stagnant in their progression beforehand, the addition of Smith catapulted the band’s ambitions to the forefront. With this initiation, their goals and aspirations were much more a reality, and they set to work on what would become their record label debut, Empire.
During March 2009, the band were taken in with a contract by a new label, later on during the 26th of that month the group officially confirmed that the label they were then signed to was Fearless Records. Smith stated "We hope to just keep touring, touring, touring... we couldn't be happier or more appreciative to be on tour right now, I think despite having some of the worst luck in the early beginnings of being a touring band yet never missing a show, we always have a positive attitude and that will make us a stronger band." The band set out to create an EP to be released through the label wherein it was titled Empire and was recorded with producer Andrew Wade in Ocala, Florida. It was released on July 21, 2009 where it reached #15 on the Billboard Heatseeker chart.
During February the band reached an agreement to leave founding drummer, Tony Aguilera out of the group. Both parties (Aguilera and the rest of the band) shared their concerns and reasoning for the matter publicly. It was overall described that the band wanted to pursue a different percussionist of alternate talent than the founding member. Aguilera was replaced with Justin Salinas, whom previously was a part of the bands Scars of Tomorrow and Catherine as well as serving as a past live drummer for MyChildren MyBride.
In April 2010, The Word Alive entered the studio in Ocala, Florida with Andrew Wade to record their debut full-length album, Deceiver. By June, Deceiver was fully mastered and engineered. On June 23, 2010 the band premiered their first single from the album, “Epiphany” as streaming media online.The following day, Fearless Records released their 2010 Summer Sampler which also featured the track "Epiphany". A week later, the album's album art and track listing was released. Guitarist Zack Hansen explained upon this premiere that "We all felt like that was going to be the best choice considering how comfortable the recording process is with Andrew. The tracking was a lot of fun and everyone had a good time. We got the opportunity to stay in a house while we recorded and surprisingly we didn't party as much as I thought we would haha." Hansen later followed along explaining that his favorite track on the record is “The Hounds of Anubis”, which was written by him and Pizzuti and stated that he "wrote this song with an 'Egyptian feel' to it and I think we got our point across." Smith described that its lyrics describe the times of when The Word Alive overcame their hardships that they face with the help and support from their fans. "The Hounds of Anubis" was released as the album's second single on July 26, 2010. It premiered on the official Revolver website.
By November of 2011, the band made plans to return to the studio on February 7, 2012 with Joey Sturgis to begin recording their next album, with an expected recording session lasting from that time until mid-March. However by February (and before the date of entering the studio), the announcement of two members leaving occurred; keyboardist, Dusty Riach and drummer, Justin Salinas were simultaneously confirmed to no longer be a part of the band. Salinas stated his reason was because he grew tired of touring, although Riach's reason was preferred to be kept silent.
In regards to the band's second studio album, it was reported that 17 songs were recorded in its process. 13 of those will be on the standard edition of the album, while the another three will be included on the deluxe edition. The name of the album will be Life Cycles and both editions will be released the same day.On March 23rd of the year, the group issued a statement that 18-year old Arizona resident Luke Holland has joined as the new drummer, however, Holland was not included for the recording sessions of Life Cycles. The drumming for the record was done by a friend of the band named Matt Horn wherein Holland joined after these sessions were already completed.
On March 18, 2014, the band released a new single entitled "Play the Victim." Along with the song, they also announced their third full-length album Real. would be released on June 10. The album would be the first to feature Luke Holland on drums.
The band released their fourth album, Dark Matter, on March 18, 2016. The band also revealed the tracklist and a headlining North American tour with support from Fit for a King and Out Came the Wolves. The album's lead single, "Trapped", was released January 8.
In November 2016, Luke Holland announced he would be leaving the band at the end of 2016 after finishing their last tour of the year to pursue other musical endeavors. In February 2017, the band announced that Matt Horn would be taking Holland's place as drummer. Shortly after, a new single "Misery" was released.
On August 7, 2017, The Word Alive and Daniel Shapiro mutually announced they were parting ways due to a "new musical adventure" of Shapiro's. The next day, The Word Alive announced that they would be joining I Prevail on their Rage on the Stage Tour along with We Came as Romans & Escape the Fate.
Mercy
The Word Alive Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴
It is a weeping and a mourning and a gnashing of teeth
It is a when it comes to my sound which is the champion sound
Believe (believe!)
Okay Lamborghini Mercy, your chick, she so thirsty
I'm in that two-seat Lambo with your girl, she tryna jerk me
Whoa, make the ground move, that's an ass quake
Built a house up on that ass, that's an ass state
Roll my weed on it, that's an ass tray
Say Ye, say Ye, don't we do this every day-day
I work them long nights, long nights to get a pay day
Finally got paid, now I need shade and a vacay
(And niggas still hating) so much hate I need an AK
Now we out in Paris, yeah I'm Perriering
White girls politicking, that's that Sarah Palin
Gettin' high, Californicating
I give her that D, cause that's where I was born and raised in
Okay Lamborghini Mercy, your chick, she so thirsty
I'm in that two-seat Lambo with your girl, she tryna jerk me
Yeah it's prime time, my top back, this pimp game ho
I'm red leather, this cocaine, I'm Rick James ho
I'm bill dropping Ms. Pacman, this pill popping-ass ho
I'm popping too, these blue dolphins need two coffins
All she want is some heel money, all she need is some bill money
He take his time, he counts it out, I weighs it up, that's real money
Check the neck, check the wrist, them heads turning, that's exorcist
My Audemar like Mardi Gras, that's Swiss time and that's excellence
Two-door preference, roof gone, George Jefferson
That white frost on that pound cake so your Duncan Hines is irrelevant
Lambo, Murcie-lago, she go wherever I go, wherever we go, we do it pronto
Okay Lamborghini Mercy, your chick, she so thirsty
I'm in that two-seat Lambo with your girl, she tryna jerk me
Well, it is a weeping and a mourning and a gnashing of teeth in the dancehall
And who no have teeth gwan rub pon them gums cause
When time it comes to my sound, which is the champion sound
The bugle has blown fi many times, and it still have one more time left
Cause the amount of stripe weh deh pon our shoulder
Let the suicide doors up
I threw suicides on the tour bus
I threw suicides on the private jet
You know what that mean, I'm fly to death
I step in Def Jam building like I'm the shit
Tell 'em give me fifty million or I'm-a quit
Most rappers taste level ain't at my waist level
Turn up the bass 'til it's up-in-your-face level
Don't do no press but I get the most press, kid
Plus, yo my bitch make your bitch look like Precious
Something about Mary, she gone off that Molly
Now the whole party is melted like Dalí
Now everybody is movin' they body
Don't sell me apartment, I'll move in the lobby
Niggas is loiterin' just to feel important
You gon' see lawyers and niggas in Jordans
Ok, now ketchup to my campaign, coupe the color of mayonnaise
I'm drunk and high at the same time, drinkin' champagne on the airplane (Tell em)
Spit rounds like the gun range, beat it up like Rampage
100 bands, cut your girl, now your girl need a bandaid
Grade A, A1, chain the color of Akon
Black diamonds, backpack rhyming, co-signed by Louis Vuitton (Yup!)
Horsepower, horsepower, all this Polo on I got horsepower
Pound of this cost four thousand, I make it rain, she want more showers
Rain pourin', all my cars is foreign
All my broads is foreign, money tall like Jordan
Okay Lamborghini Mercy, your chick, she so thirsty
I'm in that two-seat Lambo with your girl, she tryna jerk me
It is important to note that the lyrics provided are from two different songs. The first set of lyrics is from The Word Alive's song Mercy and the second set is from Kanye West's song Mercy.
In The Word Alive's song Mercy, the lyrics "It is a weeping and a moaning and a gnashing of teeth" come from the Bible and are used in reference to a scene of judgment and punishment. The song is about feeling the weight of the world and wrestling with one's own inner demons. The repeated line "Believe (believe!)" can be seen as a plea to hold onto hope despite the darkness.
The second set of lyrics from Kanye West's song Mercy are about living a lavish lifestyle and indulging in excess. The lyrics paint a picture of luxury cars, expensive jewelry, and substance abuse. The chorus "Okay Lamborghini Mercy, your chick, she so thirsty / I'm in that two-seat Lambo with your girl, she tryna jerk me" is a boast about stealing someone else's girlfriend and flaunting wealth.
Overall, the two sets of lyrics have very different meanings and themes. The Word Alive's song is focused on personal struggles and finding hope in difficult times, while Kanye West's song is all about materialism and living life to the fullest, consequences be damned.
Lyrics © THE ROYALTY NETWORK INC., Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHERRIE ANDERSON, HAL ST. JOHN, ROLAND FABER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind