1. Tragedy is a crus… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least five artists with this name:
1. Tragedy is a crust band, originally from Memphis, Tennessee, but currently residing in Portland, Oregon. The band formed in 1999 and was born from the ashes of influential and legendary sludge/crust band His Hero is Gone. With this new band, 3/4 of the aforementioned His Hero Is Gone took crust towards a less metallic direction and added lots of melody to their overall sound. Additionally, during the band's final shows, they often played several future Tragedy songs that ended up being released as part of the debut.
The reason for their chosen name is revealed on the closing track "No Words" from "Vengeance": "Telling tales of tragedies for which we find no words. For which there are no words". Humanity is a sad and pathetic tragedy.
Tragedy's music is characterized by its unrelenting, heavy crust punk sound and d-beat galloping, often punctuated by melodic interludes and downshifts in tempo. The use of dual male vocals should also be noted. They are in the form of a shouted hardcore bark provided by their bassist/co-vocalist Billy Davis and crust-styled harsh vocals provided by guitarist/lead vocalist Todd Burdette. Billy's crass delivery (Very inspired by Cal from Discharge and his infamous off-key hardcore bark) is the perfect contrast to Todd's guttural delivery.
The band remains strongly aware of its roots but often takes the genre in newer, more innovative directions, pioneering a new breed of crust punk along with close friends and contemporaries From Ashes Rise, as well other bands residing in Portland and throughout the world. (See: Ekkaia, Fall of Efrafa, Ictus, Madame Germen, Alpinist, Downfall of Gaia and Remains of the Day).
Though most of these bands maintain a progressive attitude as to the nature of their sound (Remains of the Day actually includes a violinist among its members and early Fall of Efrafa was very cello-driven), there is a staunch refusal to separate themselves categorically from their crust punk provenances. Tragedy draw from many various early hardcore and crust punk bands as influences, most prominently in the vein of d-beat, ranging from Discharge themselves to Japanese d-beat groups such as Deathside and kängpunk.
They are often cited as originators of what was known to become "neocrust" and most notably, they are specifically credited with bringing melody into crust and giving the subgenre its signature epic and emotional leads in nature with heavy use of pick slides to signal the transition into those sections as well as utilising dual vocals. Their riffing style was derived from the aforementioned His Hero Is Gone. This became the basis for this hardcore sub-genre; a style that is so permeated in the crust scene nowadays as well as reached and influenced many bands throughout the years. Their debut album, Tragedy, had some acoustic elements and experimental interludes, this is something else from which they differed with His Hero Is Gone, aside from their melody sense. Many bands also took cues from this.
Tragedy's first and subsequent albums have been met with critical acclaim within the DIY hardcore community, and many see the band as at the forefront of a modern hardcore renaissance of sorts. Nevertheless, despite the band's cult following and near celebrity status among underground hardcore circles, they remain largely mysterious, refusing thus far to utilize the internet and including minimal information in album inserts.
Their 2012 record entitled "Darker Days Ahead" was met with some controversy in the hardcore scene as the album was a departure from their traditional sound into a more metallic (still not in the same sense as HHIG) and Swedish old school death metal/stenchcore-styled direction that somehow still kept their melodic sensibilities; which at the time, did not sit well with some fans. However, the record has since then carved out a niche of its own as a Tragedy album. Albeit their latest EP, "Fury", forwent these aspects. Therefore, they regressed to their previous/original style.
They are melodic and offer a different dimension of "emotional" because Todd is suffering less now, he feels more realised. Even though he suffers with others' suffering. They all do, that is empathy. Tragedy is the sound of all of them being free whilst watching the rest of the world burn for schemers that do not care about them. People stay in their hole because they like it, it is easier and do not know any better.
What happened to His Hero Is Gone/Tragedy members has happened before, still happens and will keep happening to others and we allow it. Tragedy is the sound of being free and feeling deeply sorry for everyone else still in Hell. Sorrow. Lamenting. A Terminal Spirit Disease. "All Hell is here".
Tragedy are still angry and furious as their latest EP simply states. They still have much to say. They will die mad at everything and everyone. Someone else brave enough will take their place. They won the war within themselves and inspired a new movement in hardcore. To them, it is a Tragedy people cannot fight like they did and still do. "Peace is a privilege reserved for those who can afford not to fight" (...) "The end... the ending fight".
"Never knowing silence. Never knowing peace".
2. Tragedy was a Hollywood band formed in 1993. Two members of the band would stick together through many line-up changes, they were Jamie Shane on vocals, and Traci Michaelz (RIP)on drums....
At different time's the lineup would feature members of the Hollywood bands Never On Sunday, Willow Wisp, and God Zoo. This strong knit community of musicians would form a very tight bond,...a family, a posse, whatever you want to call it, if you messed with one you had to go through all...In 1994 Tragedy released the 3 song EP Tragedy in L.A.
3. Tragedy is a heavy metal tribute to the Bee Gees, based in the Tri-State area.
4. Tragedy (also Trazedy, トラジェディー) is a Japanese indie visual kei band formed in 2004 and disbanded in 2006. Included the bassist and support drummer of kanuak～カナック～, 26 (Niro) and Yasu.
5. Tragedy is an American Hip-Hop artist from Baltimore, Maryland on the DarkSide Records label.
The Waiting
Tragedy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Consumed with fatigue
Acquired from years of crawling
Closer to the edge of the abyss
Only to be kicked in the knees
Dismantled again
Our eyes strained, their muscles stretched taut
Teased by visions of escaped
Of missed opportunity
And windscreens of regret
Disabled by morality imposed
By those who would dispose of us
Except that our last ounces of energy,
Our last hopes generate their wealth
Our last hopes keep us i wait
And our waiting is our incarceration
The waiting is our imprisonment
The lyrics of Tragedy's song The Waiting paint a picture of a world where the marginalized are disenfranchised and trapped in a cycle of hopelessness. The first stanza describes a repeat of suffering, where we are handcuffed, gagged, and bled until dizzy, perhaps a metaphorical description of oppression and violence. The fatigue acquired from years of crawling seems to imply that there is a constant struggle to break free from this imposed cycle of oppression, but one always seems to come closer to the edge of the abyss. Just when there is a glimmer of hope, we are metaphorically kicked in the knees and dismantled again, which culminates into a feeling of frustration and despair.
The second stanza highlights that the ones who are rendered helpless are those who face a moral dilemma imposed upon them by those who would dispose of them. Here, it seems like wealth-generation is at the expense of the marginalized, rendering them powerless and imprisoned in their waiting for change to happen. The constant waiting, although the only hope they have, becomes a cage of imprisonment. Here, Tragedy seems to be condemning the rigid societal structure that perpetuates oppressive systems, and how the romanticized 'last bit of energy and hope' is used to fuel the wealth of the 'elites' at the top. All in all, the lyrics of The Waiting beautifully encapsulate the sense of helplessness and captivity that can arise from a systematic lack of social justice and how it is a vicious cycle that is hard to break.
Line by Line Meaning
Handcuffed and gagged, bled until dizzy
We are restrained and have lost consciousness due to excessive bleeding
Consumed with fatigue
We are exhausted and drained
Acquired from years of crawling
Our fatigue has been earned through years of struggling and fighting
Closer to the edge of the abyss
We're getting dangerously close to a point of no return
Only to be kicked in the knees
Our efforts are thwarted by adversaries
Dismantled again
Our progress has been undone
Our eyes strained, their muscles stretched taut
We're constantly scrutinized and tense
Teased by visions of escaped
We're tempted by glimpses of freedom
Viewed trought narrow windows
Our opportunities are limited
Of missed opportunity
We've already lost chances that might never return
And windscreens of regret
We're constantly reminded of missed opportunities and our past mistakes
Disabled by morality imposed
We're constrained by society's ethical and moral principles
By those who would dispose of us
We're under threat from those who seek to eliminate us
Except that our last ounces of energy,
But we refuse to give up and still have some strength left
Our last hopes generate their wealth
Our adversaries exploit our last hopes for their own benefit
Our last hopes keep us i wait
We cling onto our last hopes as we wait
And our waiting is our incarceration
Our waiting has become our imprisonment
Contributed by Camilla A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Dallas Van Winkle
This was my entrance song to my one and only MMA fight. I told Todd and Billy about it when I came across them at a bar once, and thanked them for making such incredible music.
YTCanal
Dallas Van Winkle fight music