Catharsis

Album: Catharsis (2018)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Speaking with Pete Bailey of the Binge Thinking podcast on Primordial Radio, Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn explained why the band titled their ninth album after this song:

    "I think when we started looking at the record and what was on the record, it was… it's an eclectic record. It's a pretty diverse, weird record. And it had so many different, varying emotions. On the one hand, you've got songs like 'Volatile' or 'Bastards', which are very social, political commentary. On the other hand, you've got a song like 'California Bleeding' or 'Razorblade Smile', which is just, like, 'Let get f---ed up' — it's just a get-hammered song. Songs like 'Eulogy' about depression, songs like 'Hope Begets Hope', which is just about [having] faith.

    About halfway through the writing sessions, when the song 'Catharsis' came to be, and there's that line in there, 'The only thing keeping me sane, the music in my veins, and if these words are my fists, this is my catharsis.' And it just summed up everything we were trying to say."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"They're Playing My Song

When Dave recorded the first version of the song with his group the Blasters, producer Nick Lowe gave him some life-changing advice.

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New York

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.

Eric Burdon

Eric BurdonSongwriter Interviews

The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?Song Writing

A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Chris Frantz - "Genius of Love"

Chris Frantz - "Genius of Love"They're Playing My Song

Chris and his wife Tina were the rhythm section for Talking Heads when they formed The Tom Tom Club. "Genius of Love" was their blockbuster, but David Byrne only mentioned it once.