Their first demo was titled 'Unique' and was recorded in Take-One Studios and saw the light of day in September. In December, after many interviews
and reviews of this demo, it was chosen as 'The best metal demo of 95' on National Danish Radio.
In 1996 the band was featured on the 'Extremity Rising' compilation CD (released by Serious Entertainment) and shortly after that the band sign a deal for two albums with Euphonious Records/Voices Of Wonder, after having compared offers from other labels. In September and October of that year, Withering Surface recorded their debut album 'Scarlet Silhouettes' in the Swedish Studio Fredman with producer Fredrik Nordström (known for his work with At The Gates, In Flames, Dark Tranquility etc.). Jesper Strömblad (In Flames) made a guest appearance on this CD. In March, 'Scarlet Silhouettes' was released world wide and gained great response. The international press praises Withering Surface and interviews are done with several big magazines like Terrorizer (UK), Metalized (DK) & Metal Invader (Greece). In the summer 'Scarlet Silhouettes' is selected to be licensed to the Japanese market and the band enters Borsing Studio in Denmark in August to record a bonus track for the Japanese version of 'Scarlet Silhouettes'.
In April Withering Surface entered Studio Fredman with the assistance of Fredrik Nordström and Anders Fridén (In Flames). This resulted with 10 new songs, being much more melodic, technical and atmospheric and less brutal, fast and aggressive. The title of the album is 'The Nude Ballet'. The album got mastered at Sweet Silence Studios (Metallica, Morbid Angel etc.) in May 1998. After some line-up trouble and trouble at the record company 'The Nude Ballet' Is finally released in Denmark in early December. Due to the incredible response about it, 'The Nude Ballet' was nominated for a Danish Hard Rock Grammy along with two other Danish bands. Withering Surface didnt win but did get very drunk at the Grammy party.
In 2000, Withering Surface had to find another guitarist after the departure of Marcel Lech which lead to the poor gigging situation of only one concert in Copenhagen with session guitarist, Jacob Zimmermann. On top of that, they also had to find themselves a new label. This didnt stop them writing new material, and in September, with only one guitarist, they entered Berno Studio (The Haunted, Deranged, The Quill) in Malmo to record a promo exclusively for landing a new deal. They called in an old friend to help do lead on a couple of songs and he ended up joining the band as a full time member. Within the first 6 months of 2001 Withering Surface were still busy writing songs the the new album, after receiving lots of offers from various labels worldwide, they settled with the small England based label Copro Records and signed a three album deal. Subsequently the recording of 'Walking On Phantom Ice' began in the Berno Studio.
After the release of 'Walking On Phantom Ice' they toured around Denmark for the first few months of 2002 and after they wanted to go out on another tour around the rest of Europe, but they couldn't find the right bands to tour with. Copro were also working hard on getting them on a tour and finally it happened. Withering Surface got placed on a UK tour with Opeth and Arch Enemy.
Withering Surface started 2003 off with saying goodbye to both Morten and Nikolaj. Morten was moving to the other end of the country and Nikolaj and the rest of the band had gone separate ways on several issues. Shortly after they hooked up with Lukas Meier from Sacrificial, he was mainly there to help out on the forthcoming tour in Germany. Before the tour, Withering Surface released 'Ichor' which contained previously unreleased and limited released material along with a live track from the Roskilde Festival in 1999 limited to 1.000 copies and sold out pretty quickly. As Withering Surface were getting ready to record the new album, they were told by Copro Records to tell us that they were financially incapable of meeting the economical demands for the recording. They made the best of it by parting ways with them and carried on writing the new material. They entered Tue Madsens Antfarm Studio in the fall and started to review the stuff they had wrote, rewrote and did some new stuff. Six weeks before the recording Withering Surface decided that Lukas couldn't meet the demands on prioritizing, so they parted ways in good friendship. After, they called up Nikolaj and asked if he was interested in rejoining, even if it was just for the recording. They rehearsed for those six weeks and took the chance to review, rewrite and do new stuff. Withering Surface went and recorded the best album to date 'Force The Pace'.
The band has since then split up, and they played their farewell show on February 26th 2005 at Loppen in Copenhagen.
Hold The Line
Withering Surface Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your image thaw the freezing walls, flavours break the frost
Hold the line
Confess your freedom
Take the time
Don’t go off the rails
You need to paint this image
Take the time
These walls need flavours
Wisdom is strength and strength is freedom
Put yourself in this box now
Prove your faith was not foreseen
And touch your paintings, touch them now, touch them now with melting kisses
Will your invisible army defend you?
Will they take the time? Confess you need to rest
Ease down your moral ethics, face yourself, your strength
But hold the line, don’t let it melt, as your life goes on
Wisdom is strength and strength is freedom
Put yourself in this box now
Prove your faith was not foreseen
And touch your… all the way now
Somebody, somewhere may place you in center
Prove your faith was not foreseen and feel it
All the way now, all the way, all the ways with melting kisses
The lyrics to Withering Surface's song Hold the Line are about breaking down emotional barriers and holding on to one's identity and morals. The opening lines "Accept this tender breeze breaks you within these walls, Your image thaw the freezing walls, flavors break the frost" convey the idea that there is a thawing of emotional barriers and a breaking down of walls that may have been in place.
The chorus "Hold the line, confess your freedom, take the time, don't go off the rails" reinforces the idea of holding on to one's identity and not letting emotional turmoil take over. "You need to paint this image, These walls need flavors" suggests that expressing oneself creatively and emotionally is necessary to break down barriers.
The lyrics also touch on the idea of proving oneself to others, with lines like "Prove your faith was not foreseen" and "Somebody, somewhere may place you in center, Prove your faith was not foreseen and feel it." Overall, the song encourages the listener to hold on to their identity and not let emotional turmoil take over.
Line by Line Meaning
Accept this tender breeze breaks you within these walls
Your heart has thawed the cold exterior of this place
Your image thaw the freezing walls, flavours break the frost
Your influence has brought life and warmth to these once frigid walls
Hold the line
Stay steadfast
Confess your freedom
Admit to yourself that you are free
Take the time
Don't rush, give yourself time
Don't go off the rails
Don't lose control
You need to paint this image
You must create your own reality
These walls need flavours
Your surroundings need vitality
Wisdom is strength and strength is freedom
The more you know, the more in control of your life you are
Put yourself in this box now
Challenge yourself and your limitations
Prove your faith was not foreseen
Show that you are in control of your destiny
And touch your paintings, touch them now, touch them now with melting kisses
Experience the beauty you have created with passion
Will your invisible army defend you?
Will your beliefs and principles hold up in times of trouble?
Will they take the time?
Are you willing to invest in your own well-being?
Ease down your moral ethics, face yourself, your strength
Re-evaluate your principles and face your true self
But hold the line, don't let it melt, as your life goes on
Stay strong and don't lose your sense of self as life progresses
And touch your… all the way now
Fully embrace your passions
Somebody, somewhere may place you in center
You may become the focal point of someone's life
All the way now, all the way, all the ways with melting kisses
Full immersion in your passions with intensity and fervor
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind