Fly to the Angels by Slaughter

Album: Stick It To Ya (1990)

Charted: 55 19

License This Song

lyrics

Songfacts®:

"Fly to the Angels" was a world-wide hit for Slaughter, charting #1 on four separate charts including Mainstream Rock. It is also the only Slaughter single to go platinum, and so is their greatest success as far as sales go. It appears to be a requiem for a long-lost, perhaps deceased, lover or close friend. It was also yet another power ballad, at the turn of the 1980s/1990s decade when it seemed every heavy metal band had to release one power ballad in order to chart.

Slaughter had two other Hot 100 charters, "Up All Night" and "Spend My Life," both also in the early '90s. The band seemed to suffer from being compared to a lot of the "hair bands" of the time, particularly Skid Row, and from arriving on the metal scene right when grunge was about to come out of Washington and wipe heavy metal off the map for awhile.
"Slaughter" sounds like a typical name for a heavy metal band - but it's actually the surname of the lead singer, Mark Slaughter. How's that for luck? In the '00s, Mark Slaughter started a new band called Scrap Metal, featuring several other '80s/'90s metal leads including Gunnar Nelson, Kelly Keagy, and Eric Martin.
The cover art for Stick It To Ya depicts a classic circus trick: an assistant strapped to a round disk into which several knives have been stuck. This was an old circus stunt, in which that disk would actually spin while a professional knife thrower flung daggers at it, just missing the assistant and sometimes making a nice pattern around her body. This wheel is called "the Wheel of Death" and the act is part of the category known as "impalement arts." Contrary to popular belief, there are usually no illusory tricks to these stunts - knife throwers are just that good and though they may know a trick or two of how to throw them, those are real knives flying through the air.
Slaughter is often thought of as an '80s band, but all of their albums were released in the '90s. Their lead guitarist and backing vocalist Tim Kelly was killed in 1998 in a head-on traffic collision in Arizona, when a truck driver under the influence crossed the line. They replaced him with Jeff Blando and put out their last album, Back to Reality, in 1999.

Comments: 5

Paul from AtlIt is a requiem. This site will not let me post a link, but from Mark Slaughter himself:

The singer was asked about the origins of the Slaughter song “Fly To The Angels” to which he stated: “That song was written about a girlfriend who I went to high school with. I remember I came back from touring and couldn’t get a hold of her. So I asked a friend and he told me he hadn’t seen her. The next thing I know, he calls me back with the news that she had passed away and the funeral was the next day. It was one of those surreal moments. I went to her funeral and it inspired me to write a song about letting go. There’s a real sense of composure in going through those life events that I’m always very conscious of in my music. Seeing what it does for other people is why I continue to write.”
Jim from Riverside, Rhode IslandA very good friend of mine passed away a few days ago. I sang this last nite in karaoke in her memory. I sang it form the heart, which kept me from breaking down. The song has lotta emotion to it.
Robin from Wasilla, AlThat song means a lot. It is transferable to apply to anyone and although Mark and Dana wrote it based on a very personal loss, I cherish their willingness to share with fans so we also have an outlet to sing it to the top of our lungs as a way to grieve the ones we lose. Thank you so much guys! It means the world!
Tony from San DiegoAbsolutely great song, reminds me of a long lost and now, unfortunately, too early departed love. RIP Ellen
Bill Large from Georgia, United StatesSlaughter and Firehouse played in our little town some years ago. My neighbor ran a music store and set up the show. We had dinner together with Mark, and the rest of the band the night before. Dana Strum told me that night, (VERY intelligent man, by the way) that the song was written for a very close friend of the band, Cyndi Romano, and that she had died, suddenly and unexpectedly.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Bang!AJR

The voice is that says "here we go" in the AJR song "Bang!" belongs to Charlie Pellett, the announcer on the New York City subway ("stand clear of the closing doors, please").

I Kissed a GirlKaty Perry

Katy Perry's breakout hit, "I Kissed A Girl," was surprising to those familiar with her past: Her parents were pastors and she started off singing Christian music.

Every Breath You TakeThe Police

"Every Breath You Take" by The Police feels like a love song, but a careful listen reveals it's about a stalker. Sting called it "a nasty little song, really rather evil. It's about jealousy and surveillance and ownership."

Bust A MoveYoung MC

Young MC shows up in the George Clooney movie Up In The Air performing his hit "Bust A Move."

Devil InsideINXS

In the INXS song "Devil Inside," the devil represents chaos. "Every time you think something's right, he comes in and changes everything," Michael Hutchence said.

Killing Me SoftlyFugees

One of the most successful cover songs is Fugees' "Killing Me Softly," a 1996 reworking of Roberta Flack's 1973 hit. Originally, Fugees wanted to change the title to "Killing Him Softly" and make it about the dangers of drug abuse.