Track By Tracks: SANDVEISS - Standing In The Fire (2024)

About the album as a whole (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):

We like our music to follow different paths while of course trying to maintain our identity as a band. We didn't overthink the general musical direction of the album, we just tried to write the best stuff we could. To me, every song on the record is like its own little world but within the same universe. We don't want our band to be one-dimensional and like to open different doors while writing our music. We are music lovers with a lot of different influences and we're not afraid to wear these influences on our sleeves.

About the lyrics, I wrote most of them during the pandemic. We've seen a lot of the worst in human beings during that period of time and it inspired me to write a lot. People seem to be more divided and polarized than ever. Social media have become a very toxic mess and I think are partly the reflection of a very ill society.

Track by Track (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):

1. I'll be Rising:

Musically it is a blend of heavy riffing, melodic parts, and somewhat unusual time signatures for us. It gives the song a proggier feel but still has a lot of our more "usual elements". A good balance between what we've always been and what's new.

Lyrically, it's a song about resilience, justice, and empowerment from the perspective of a survivor of rape and abuse. Anxiety, shame, depression, and the fear of not being believed. But above all this, there is an absolute need for the truth to be heard. Sometimes, after years of silence.

2. Standing in the Fire:

Musically I decided with that one not only to embrace some of my earliest musical influences but to openly celebrate them. A lot of influences from the 80's of course. Kiss, Alice Cooper, Survivor, and Scorpions but also bands from the 70s like Blue Öyster Cult, Rush, and Kansas.

Lyrically it's a song about science deniers, propaganda, and modern-day witch hunts.

How some people let strange and nonrational beliefs enter their minds, become slaves of their own fears, and lose control over their own lives and sometimes their actions.

3. Wait and See:

Musically the most upbeat song on the album, the energy fits well with the urgency spoken of in the lyrics. Rather short in length (the shortest on the album) but still a lot of things are going on in the way the song unfolds.

The lyrics of the song are about some politician's arrogance and inaction towards climate change and urgent environmental problems.

4. No Love Here:

The most prog-rock song on the album. The longest one, the more "developed" and unpredictable in terms of structure and sound (it is what "prog rock" is about, right?). A lot of texture and space in the music and some intricate parts I guess. Of course a lot of influences from the 70s on this one (King Crimson, Rush, Harmonium) but also some vibes influenced by more modern bands like Mastodon, Elder, or Baroness.

The lyrics were written about toxic relationships that lead to domestic violence and in this case, that unfortunately ends up with the worst possible conclusion. I wrote this as a reaction to the horrible and alarming femicides that increased during the pandemic.

5. Fade (Into the Night):

The music is upbeat, has a straight-up rock song structure, and maybe has some kind of hypnotic vibes to it.

The lyrics are about narcissistic manipulators, their toxic behaviors, and their need to control other people’s lives for their own benefit and profit. Religious groups and cults, internet gurus, politicians, influencers on social media, conspiracy theorists, etc... They're everywhere.

6. Gone Away:

Musically, it is a heavy blues and hard rock-inspired song that almost feels like a shuffle. We think that one has a vibe that can remind bands like Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats and Graveyard, but also bands like Boston, Whitesnake, and Thin Lizzy.

The lyrics are written more like poetry for this song. Images and reflections about many different things in my life.

7. These Cold Hands:

More uptempo, and heavy, but the choruses and the bridge sound more "open" and textured. One might hear some Rush influences in some rhythm parts and guitar parts, mainly the chorus-sounding open-strings that can be heard a lot in the song.

Lyrics are in fact a letter to death. How much time is left? How is it going to happen? I started to write the lyrics of that song when I heard that a friend's mother had cancer (luckily she survived) and finished the writing not long after one of my best friends died of very aggressive cancer, a few weeks only after knowing she was ill.

8. Bleed Me Dry:

Musically the heaviest, most aggressive, and metal-influenced song of the album. Also, it features a new vocal approach for me in some sections of the song. More aggressive and sometimes screamed vocals, something I have never done before. The funny thing is, I was never able to properly scream prior to this. I discovered the technique by pure accident during recording sessions for this album. Since "Bleed Me Dry" was the very last song I recorded the vocals for, and since it's the heaviest one on the record, I thought it'd be interesting to try those new-found abilities and see where it would bring the song.

Lyrics were written out of exasperation but also sadness towards the behavior and reflections of some people regarding serious social issues and critical situations. Some of them act the way they do because of huge anxiety and denying is like their self-defense mechanism. Some others are ignorant, selfish, and driven by hatred, some are sadly "broken from the start" and have been misguided early in life by people they trusted.