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Actor, poet, writer, Henry Rollins is one of the most interesting figures in the music scene, not just an icon with a powerful, tattooed physique, but also a very clear and open mind.
"Come in and burn" doesn't have the makings of a masterpiece merely because it revisits, several years after "The end of silence," the classic Rollins Band sound, post-punk/metal. The way of playing that the band was among the first to propose back in the late '80s, when the terms nu-metal, Korn, or Rage Against The Machine were not yet in the conversation, but rather groups like Rollins Band, Kyuss, and Living Colour. Listening to "Come In And Burn" today may give the impression of déjà vu, but more sensitive minds may highlight the difference in the way music is conceived and the attitude concentrated by the musicians and Rollins compared to newly formed groups that perhaps have an even heavier sound (Slipknot?).
Technique and precision are not lacking for the musicians, the style is, of course, a derivative of the best Black Sabbath combined with the hardcore-punk influences of the era, as Henry Rollins was also the frontman of a fundamental hardcore band, the Black Flag; the guitar follows precise and sharp riffs (Shame, Disappearing Act), the guitarist makes extensive use of wah-wah and places splendid solos where fitting, the bass is heavily affected and robust, the drums precise and powerful, the voice in Rollins' classic spoken style follows higher notes as the songs burst (All I want) and lowers when more melodic and dark parts open up (Inhale Exhale), with the voice reaching very low tones, and instruments barely perceived, only to come back scratching and hitting hard.
The songs often bear some resemblance to each other, but certainly standout masterpieces like the opener Shame, All I Want, the very powerful The End Of Something, the perfect synthesis of angry outbursts and spoken parts with a nice bass, and also On My Way To The Cage, Spilling Over The Side, Unknown Hero. In short, Rollins knows how to flex his muscles very well in the music while leaving room for the mind in writing the lyrics, often even poetic, avoiding writing childish things like Phil Anselmo (Pantera) centered on beating the next person to a pulp.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Starve (04:08)
I stay out late
I go alone
I needed sleep
I go without
I go along
I go all night
I go all night
I make the colors go
I push my senses out
I push my senses out
I keep my existence lean
I starve starve
I make the colors go
I starve starve
I make the colors go
and hear I am keen eyed my mind is low to the ground
and in my mind real time is mine and I know what I know
I step up and get none
I step up and get none
I take less and less and less and less and less than none
I starve starve
I make the colors go
I starve starve
I make the colors go
at the back of mind I hear the engines whine
at the back of mind I hear the engines whine
go all night go all night
I make my blood scream
I kiss my fear on the mouth
I kiss my fear on the mouth
I make my blood burn
I starve starve
I make the colors go
I starve starve
I make the blood scream
I make the blood burn
and when I step up I get up all the way
and when I step up I get off all the way
when turn my back and walk away
I never come back
I go without I feel the cold but I never come back
I go loooooong
I am goooooone
I starve starve
I make the colors go
I starve starve
I make the blood scream I make the blood burn
05 On My Way to the Cage (03:20)
On my way to the cage
I'm getting taught a lesson
On my way to the cage
I'm choking on the medicine
On my way to the cage
I'm stepping hard on four-leaf clovers
On my way to the cage
I'm learning the same thing over and over
On my way to the cage
The taste of blood is in my mouth
On my way to the cage
My fear is in their eyes
On my way to the cage
My animal blood is pure
On my way to the cage
No regrets and no last words
On my way to the cage
I heard the crowd roar
Thoughts of you were long behind me
I couldn't ask for more
The lights are almost blinding
Come closer, tears open my eyes
And fear me, and fear me
Your soul is on a leash
Your mind is on a string
Your world's inside my fist
You push yourself above me
But there's something you have missed
You always say you hate me
But you watch me anyway
It's a pain you can't resist
On my way to the cage
I'm larger than life and laughing at death
On my way to the cage
I'm sipping on pain and feeling fine
On my way to the cage
You're paying your price and I'm paying mine
On my way to the cage
I'm watching you cry and wave goodbye
On my way to the cage
I heard the crowd roar
Thoughts of you were long behind me
I couldn't ask for more
The lights are almost blinding
Come closer, tears open my eyes
And fear me, and fear me
Your soul is on a leash
Your mind is on a string
Your world's inside my fist
You push yourself above me
There's something you have missed
You'll always say you hate me
But you'll watch me anyway
You can't resist
10 Inhale Exhale (03:39)
Inhale resolve, Exhale ambition
Inhale all I need, Exhale all I want
Inhale love of life, Exhale fear of death
Inhale power, Exhale force
I have all I need
I can live without
I have what I need
I can live without
Inhale tolerance, Exhale judgement
Inhale what I am, Exhale what I think I am
I have all I need
I can live without
I have all I need
I can live without
Don't hold me down
Don't hold me down
Don't hole me down
Inhale fact, Exhale assumption
Inhale what I want to be, Exhale what I want to be seen
Don't hold me down
Don't hold me down
Don't hole me down
I have all I need
I can live without
I have what I need
I can live without
I have all I need
I can live without
I have all I need
I can live without
I can live without
I can live without
I can live without
12 Rejection (04:38)
I had it wrong for so long in my head
I was walking around like I was dead
And all the time my mind was stuck on you
And I clawed, while you stalled
I was a fool to think we were involved
I guess I needed to believe it, so bad
Rejection never felt this good
Everything unclear, now so well understood
At first I didn't see it as kind
But you did me a favor when you left me behind
You might not believe it was true
It's all those things you never said that told me all about you
It's the things you try to conceal that get revealed
And I had to get it wrong before I had got it right
And I'm not the kind to argue, I'm not the kind to fight
By the time I'd reached the truth I'd reached the end
Rejection never felt this good
Everything unclear, now so well understood
At first I didn't see it as kind
But you did me a favor when you left me behind
Now I'm alone, and I'm burning
I am hurting like hell but I am learning
The scars will take me far like they always do
And I believe I'm alright
I do believe I am alright
Rejection never felt this good
Everything unclear, now so well understood
At first I didn't see it as kind
But you did me a favor when you left me behind
'Cause now I see how you are
Now I see how you are
Now I see how it is
And now I see what you do
And I watch them line up
I watch them fall down
One after one
One after one
I watch your smile grow and grow and grow
I think to myself, it couldn't be me!
No way!!
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By 1XLACOERENZA
He’s not the one who’s changed, maybe it’s us who have cautiously approached this animal curled up inside an impressive body covered in tattoos.
"My music has no labels, tags, or damn definitions... Listen to me and have your own experience."
