We vs. Death is a Dutch indierock band, founded in 2000. Since then the band has put out a few releases and has been touring throughout Europe, Canada, Russia and Japan.
History
In the second half of 2000 a couple of like-minded musicians find each other at Utrecht University in Netherlands and decide to start a band.
Almost right away they choose to make instrumental music, that by lack of a better term can be described as post-rock. Other bands categorised as post-rock are for example Explosions in the Sky, Slint, Mogwai, Tomàn and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Anno 2008 we vs .death moved to using more vocals and harmonies, the sound evolved to more song-based material. a new album is expected march 2009
In the Netherlands We vs. Death is still the most successful exponent of the genre, that nowadays becomes more popular among bands.
Since they started the band has been playing venues on a regular basis, and since 2003 they have been playing outside the Netherlands as well. In the meantime they played venues in Belgium, England, Canada, France, Russia, Poland, Denmark, Germany and Japan We vs. Death alternately plays large venues like Paradiso, 013, Vera and Tivoli and small-scale venues and squats like the ACU and the OCCII.
Although We vs. Death is surely a band in the traditional sense of the word, they also try to seek collaboration with other creative disciplines. So far they worked together with performance-artist Jeremiah Day, theatre-designer Theun Mosk, video-artist Boudewijn Rosenmuller and Graphic Designer Roel Dalhuisen.
Discography
7-inch
Their first vinyl-single was released in 2001 on the Zabel Muziek music-label. This single contained four songs:
MK Ultra
HMV
MK Ultra
Heron
Split-CD with Tom Sweetlove
In 2003 the band released a split-CD with the Belgian post-rock band Tom Sweetlove. Each band contributed four songs for this release, titled The Message Is, that was released on the Dutch Zabel Muziek-label and the Belgian Matamore-label. The We vs. Death-songs on this CD are:
My Dog is Watching Me
City Council Cosmos
Consertina
Wave Goodbye With Your Little Hand
Split-CD with Green Concorde
In 2004 the band decided upon releasing a split-CD again, this time together with the Danish indie rock band Green Concorde. On this album, released on Zabel Muziek and Eglantine Records, appeared the following We vs. Death songs:
Pictures From Stellenbosch
Workers Are Referred To As "Hands"
Wake 44
We Too Are Concerned / We Are Too Concerned
After releasing the 7" EP en two split-CD's, the band released their full-length debut in Spring 2006. The CD-package also contained a DVD and a booklet with a short story from artist Jeremiah Day. The CD, again released on the Zabel Muziek-label contains eight tracks:
And How To Translate It
Pictures From Stanford
Snow Cushioned The Fall
One Light Will Do
Thomas Corner And The Valley Houses
(Yes,) We Went To Novgorod
Mother And Father And Me
Fieldfire
split 7 inch with audiotransparent
wevsdeath track : 'varde"a collection of stones
Line-up
Although it has undergone a few changes in the beginning, and has been stable for years, untill recently, when guitarist Bart de Kroon left the band and was replaced with Thomas Sohilait. The members are (in random order):
Marten Timan (bass)
Thomas Sohilait (guitar)
Paul Hoek (trumpet and concertina)
Wouter Kors (guitar)
Gerben Houwer (drums)
The band is being supported by several people:
Roel Dalhuisen (artwork)
Maarten Houwer (sound-engineering)
Theun Mosk (theatre-design)
Gibson Houwer (light-design/technician)
Boudewijn Rosenmuller (video)
Jeremiah Day (performance-artist)
www.wevsdeath.nl
The Sun
We vs. Death Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And there is death upon the vine
There is fear in the eyes of your father
And there is "Yours" and there is "Mine"
There is a desert veiled in pavement
And there's a city of seven hills
And all our debris flows to the ocean
To meet again, I hope it will
How could something so fair
Be so cruel
When this black sun revolved
Around you!
There is an answer in a question
And there is hope within despair
And there is beauty in a failure,
And there are depths beyond compare
There is a role of a lifetime
And there's a song yet to be sung
And there's a dumpster in the driveway
Of all the plans that came undone
How could something so fair
Be so cruel
When this black sun revolved
Around you!
How could something so fair
Be so cruel
When this black sun revolved
Around you!
There is whisky in the water
And there is death upon the vine
And there is grace within forgiveness
But it's so hard for me to find
How could something so fair
Be so cruel
When this black sun revolved
Around you!
How could something so fair
Be so cruel
When this black sun revolved
Around you!
The lyrics of We vs. Death's song "The Sun" explore themes of contradiction, mortality, and the unpredictable nature of life. The opening lines, "There is whisky in the water, and there is death upon the vine," present a contrast between pleasure and destruction. This juxtaposition sets the tone for the rest of the song, highlighting how beauty and cruelty can coexist in the world.
The following lines, "There is fear in the eyes of your father, and there is 'Yours' and there is 'Mine'," hint at the presence of conflict and division. They suggest that personal attachments and possessions can create tension and fear within relationships, further adding to the complexities of life's circumstances.
The lyrics then shift to describe a desert covered by pavement and a city with seven hills, symbolizing the expansion of urbanization and its impact on nature. The line "all our debris flows to the ocean, to meet again, I hope it will" implies the interconnectedness of our actions and how they will eventually come back to us. There is a sense of longing in these lines, a desire for things to reconcile and find harmony despite the destruction caused.
The chorus, "How could something so fair be so cruel when this black sun revolved around you!" suggests that even things that appear beautiful and fair can have a dark side or inflict harm. It questions the paradoxes of life, where something that should bring joy and happiness can also bring pain and suffering.
The second verse explores the idea that within the depths of despair, there can still be hope. The line "there is beauty in a failure, and there are depths beyond compare" speaks to the transformative power of embracing failure and finding beauty and learning in the process.
The second chorus repeats the questioning of the contradictions in life, emphasizing the harshness of cruelty amidst beauty.
Towards the end of the song, the lyrics shift to reflect on forgiveness and searching for grace. The line "there is grace within forgiveness, but it's so hard for me to find" expresses the difficulty of finding forgiveness and understanding in the face of cruelty and pain.
Overall, the lyrics of "The Sun" suggest that life is full of paradoxes and contradictions, and finding meaning within them can be both challenging and necessary for growth.
Line by Line Meaning
There is whisky in the water
The presence of alcohol and its effects permeate the surroundings
And there is death upon the vine
The inevitable end of life is intertwined with the growth of nature
There is fear in the eyes of your father
Your father's eyes express deep anxiety and worry
And there is 'Yours' and there is 'Mine'
Possessions and personal ownership divide and separate individuals
There is a desert veiled in pavement
Urban development has concealed the natural wilderness
And there's a city of seven hills
A bustling city with a complex topography and history
And all our debris flows to the ocean
The remnants of our existence ultimately converge in the vastness of the sea
To meet again, I hope it will
An expressed desire to reunite with the scattered fragments of life
How could something so fair
Expressing astonishment at the beauty and goodness that exists
Be so cruel
Acknowledging the harsh and unforgiving aspects of existence
When this black sun revolved
Referring to a negative force or influence that revolves around a central figure
Around you!
Implying that the individual is at the center of this destructive force
There is an answer in a question
The possibility of finding solutions lies within the very questions we ask
And there is hope within despair
Amidst feelings of hopelessness, there is still a glimmer of optimism
And there is beauty in a failure
Even in moments of defeat, there can be a certain kind of allure
And there are depths beyond compare
The profound depths of experience cannot be fully fathomed or compared
There is a role of a lifetime
Each person has a unique and significant purpose to fulfill
And there's a song yet to be sung
An unwritten melody that holds the potential for new experiences
And there's a dumpster in the driveway
A symbol of discarded plans and failed endeavors
Of all the plans that came undone
Highlighting the disappointment and void left by unfulfilled aspirations
And there is grace within forgiveness
The act of forgiving offers a sense of divine elegance
But it's so hard for me to find
Expressing difficulty in accessing or experiencing this forgiveness
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Benjamin Gibbard
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Pearlsey
Turns out Juno just started orbiting Jupiter 15 minutes ago! What a coincidence!
Name
I was just about to look it up
Lain Haycraft
Ha that's funny
JustFuyy
XD
HakaSolBlooms
+cstewy28 same
Mia Martin
Pretty dang awesome!
SquiddyFish
Given what we've achieved over the last thousand years (hell, even the last hundred years), I reckon it's fairly safe to assume people in a few million years' time will have the tech to solve this easily. Or by then we've wiped ourselves out anyway. Either way, not something we should worry about now =)
Martin J.
I totally agree...like when someone was born in 1900, he as a child rode around in a wagon pulled by horse... not even 70 years later he watched how we conquered the moon. That´s really incredible achievement and science is going faster and faster. I really see it in medicine as I am involved in that as my profession and own experience as patient where we were 10 years ago and what we can do now.
Chris Duncan
As it is true IF the human race is still around 1 mil years from now we would be more advanced, we would not be on earth, it id not plausible to believe we would not have blown ourselves up or used our available resources, i personally believe the human race is irresponsible yet advanced and as we continue to gain information its only a matter of time until a hitler 2.0 comes out and wipes out life on earth, hell we can already do that, north Korea (as scary as this is) could end life on earth in a time of maybe 2 weeks. This is a what if of corse, world powers would step in fast, i believe if that honestly happened the USA Russia and China would fight as allys for the first time ever, but hey maybe im wrong, maybe humans will learn freedom and peace, and we may find out a way to that with out a trigger or a big red button.
SquiddyFish
Chris Duncan While there's always the possibility of a Hitler 2.0 coming out and wiping the planet out, this probably isn't likely as wiping out the planet would also destroy everything they would have fought for... I'm not sure if anyone would be stupid enough to press this big red button, let alone someone with enough power to access it in the first place. What I would say is that in a million years this planet would be too screwed up to be habitable any more... We'd have to find a new planet by then =P