ThouShaltNot have built strong fanbases through their national tours and their work with acts such as The Dresden Dolls, VNV Nation, Alphaville and David J (of Bauhaus). Their club hits "Cardinal Directions," "Without Faith," "Last Comfort," and "Inside of You, In Spite of You," have been played at nearly every dark alternative and goth venue in America, while their more organic "True Love" and "When Everyone Forgets" have appeared to acclaim on high profile compilations that exceed the limits of genre.
ThouShaltNot's music, throughout its thoughtful subject matter, is hook-laden and complex in its emotional and intellectual architecture. With their latest releases, Land Dispute and the New World EP, ThouShaltNot is poised to change the way you think and feel about music.
The band consists of: Alex Reed (vocals, keyboards, guitars, programming, samples), Aaron Fuleki (percussion, programming, samples, guitars, backing vocals) and Jeremy David (guitars, backing vocals, piano, keyboards, programming).
Sand and Wax
ThouShaltNot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I decide to build again like a mountain's eye
The graphic on your palette twist
Distort like someone else's sky
Placing of a bone resulting
Fracture push your brows in deep
Leave behind the residue
In purest form of freebased sleep
Gasoline tugs at the feet
Of men with sand and wax for bile
Thick it dries and blocks the path
Of air not free but standing trial
Planted spike into a wall
And boots now fill the hole I made
Climbing upward just to see
The freakish feast and dead parade
All the steps down stair and road
Illuminate reality
But what they do not know
Is what they cannot hide from you and me
A needle opens skin but keep on
Pushing to an exit wound
Severing muscle drop and fall
To floor of sound haphazard tuned
It boils flesh in vapor form
And rises to the cramping ceiling
There condenses wait to rain
On shell of broken heartfelt feelings
Nature of inaction has been
Spurning forth this waste of life
The aiming low precipitation
Eats away so ruthlessly
And slays with twisted knife
The lyrics to ThouShaltNot's song Sand and Wax are dense and multi-layered, with several metaphorical images that come together to create a dark and haunting meditation on the human experience. The opening lines, "When I'm soaring free as a pig/When I decide to build again like a mountain's eye," suggest a sense of liberation and creative freedom that is contrasted with the darker imagery that follows. The "graphic on your palette" that "twists" and "distorts" like "someone else's sky" speaks to the idea of individual perception and subjectivity, and how each of us constructs our own understanding of the world around us.
The metaphor of "gasoline" tugging at the feet of "men with sand and wax for bile" is particularly striking, as it suggests a sense of being trapped and suffocated by one's own sense of bitterness or resentment. The image of the thick gasoline drying and blocking the path of "air not free but standing trial" suggests a sense of being trapped or confined, unable to move forward or breathe freely without overcoming some kind of obstacle. The final lines of the verse, "Planted spike into a wall/And boots now fill the hole I made/Climbing upward just to see/The freakish feast and dead parade," suggest a kind of grotesque fascination with suffering, and a sense of having to create one's own path upwards, even if it means piercing through barriers or obstacles.
The second verse continues this theme, with the image of a "needle" opening skin and creating an "exit wound" suggesting a sense of pain and violence. The lines "It boils flesh in vapor form/And rises to the cramping ceiling/There condenses wait to rain/On shell of broken heartfelt feelings" suggest a sense of intense emotional discomfort or trauma, and the idea of something being "freebased" suggests a sense of addiction or self-destructive behavior. In the final lines, "The aiming low precipitation/Eats away so ruthlessly/And slays with twisted knife," we are left with a sense of despair and hopelessness, as though the world is actively working against us and there is no way to escape its cruelty.
Line by Line Meaning
When I'm soaring free as a pig
When I am carefree and unencumbered
When I decide to build again like a mountain's eye
When I choose to start anew with a clear vision
The graphic on your palette twist
The image you create is distorted
Distort like someone else's sky
It is twisted and not true to itself
Placing of a bone resulting
A fracture caused by a misplaced bone
Fracture push your brows in deep
The pain of the fracture is intense
Leave behind the residue
There is a remnant remaining
In purest form of freebased sleep
In a state of intense relaxation
Gasoline tugs at the feet
Gasoline clings to those who handle it
Of men with sand and wax for bile
Those who are filled with bitterness and resentment
Thick it dries and blocks the path
It becomes hard and obstructs movement
Of air not free but standing trial
Of thoughts and ideas that are not free but judged
Planted spike into a wall
Having made an impact but with no progress
And boots now fill the hole I made
The space I created is now occupied
Climbing upward just to see
Striving for progress in spite of obstacles
The freakish feast and dead parade
The spectacle of destruction and death
All the steps down stair and road
All the paths we take in life
Illuminate reality
Shine a light on the truth
But what they do not know
But what they fail to realize
Is what they cannot hide from you and me
The truth that we both understand
A needle opens skin but keep on
A painful process that must be endured
Pushing to an exit wound
Leading to a new beginning
Severing muscle drop and fall
Cutting away something vital and losing strength
To floor of sound haphazard tuned
Falling into disarray and confusion
It boils flesh in vapor form
Burning and destroying physical matter
And rises to the cramping ceiling
And fills the confined space
There condenses wait to rain
There it becomes heavy and prepares to fall
On shell of broken heartfelt feelings
On the remains of emotional pain
Nature of inaction has been
The result of not taking action has been
Spurning forth this waste of life
Creating this meaningless existence
The aiming low precipitation
The lack of ambition and effort
Eats away so ruthlessly
Destroys completely and mercilessly
And slays with twisted knife
Kills with a cruel and distorted blade
Contributed by Mackenzie T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.