Memories of the Apocalypse

Who wrote the lyrics to 'Memories of the Apocalypse ' by Juxxtaposed?

When was 'Memories of the Apocalypse ' released?

This is a sprawling, epic track that uses the backdrop of a societal and nuclear apocalypse to explore themes of misplaced priorities, enduring love, and spiritual transcendence. The song is less about the end of the world and more about the search for meaning in the face of absolute chaos. Here is an analysis of the lyrics for "Memories of An Apocalypse: What did she last say."

1. The Context of Collapse: The "Third Saturday" The opening verses set a scene of political and social decay that precedes a final, destructive "melee."
   • The Ignored Warning: The speaker focuses on the question, "What did she last say / On that third Saturday / Before the melee?" This personal, specific detail grounds the universal cataclysm in a single, missed moment of human connection.
   • Political Decay and Control: The lyrics provide the reason for the disaster: "cults of personality loom" (referencing totalitarian leaders or influential figures), and a "poison pill we're forced to swallow it all" (a metaphor for political despair, forced compliance, or systemic toxicity).
   • Esoteric Warning: Phrases like "panacea ascend to St. Gabe" and "Nummers of the numbers, and the comers are enslaved" inject an esoteric, almost conspiracy-theory tone. "St. Gabe" (Saint Gabriel, the messenger angel) suggests a false prophecy or an engineered salvation. The "nummers of the numbers" and "comers" implies that the masses are controlled or hypnotized by statistics, propaganda, or a system of enforced belief, leading to their ultimate enslavement.
2. Love as the Ultimate Priority The central emotional core of the song immediately subverts the grand apocalyptic drama. When the speaker finally answers the repeated question, the answer is a rejection of words and chaos.
   • Silence Over Sound: The speaker admits, "But I heard no words / Just her embrace sent me to the moon." This is a powerful statement: what the woman actually said is irrelevant or forgotten in the face of political hysteria. Her physical presence and connection—her embrace—was the only thing that mattered and provided true escape ("sent me to the moon").
   • Shared Fate: They both miss the warning to "take cover" because they are absorbed in the moment. The final question in the shelter scene is poignant: "Is it me is it me locked out of the bomb shelter with her." The danger of being outside is negated by the joy of being with her. The external threat forces the realization that true safety is found in connection, not in a physical bunker.
3. Transcendence Through Destruction The most radical section of the song is the speaker's embrace of nuclear death, transforming the ultimate horror into an ultimate union.
   • The Vows of Apocalypse: "To die via nuclear warfare with you by my side / There'd be no other I'd want in my arms..." This line reframes death as the highest form of romantic commitment.
   • Shedding the Vessel: The destruction is necessary: "as the radiation charrs the vessel of our skin / All that's left is what's within." The physical body, the "vessel," is seen as temporary and confining. The nuclear fire is the ultimate purification, burning away the superficial to release the eternal, spiritual core of their connection.
   • The Post-Life: They become conscious, liberated spirits, choosing to "haunt this reptilian world" and "Fly in the sky over volcanoes and such." This suggests the earth itself is the "reptilian world"—a corrupt, material existence they are now free from. The final, reflective question—"did we miss the earth much?"—suggests the answer is likely no.
4. Rebirth and the "Club Seventh Heaven" The song concludes with a final, surreal vision of the afterlife that merges spiritual rapture with a hedonistic club scene.
   • The Shift in Dimension: The speaker opens their eyes and asks, "Are we in another dimension?" The apocalyptic events are now a hazy memory ("yesterday was the war and the journey to the badlands"). The desert, once a place of earthly entrapment (as noted in "Mondegreen"), is now the landscape of transition.
   • The River Crossing: The vision of others holding hands and "wading into the water / Crossing oer the river" is a classical allusion to crossing the mythical rivers of the underworld (like the River Styx). When the speaker is left alone after saying "goodnight" and "the water became the sky," it marks their personal passage from earthly reality into a celestial plane.
   • Club Seventh Heaven: The final scene is the most unexpected: Heaven is a nightclub. "Jesus waves you in," the "club is bopping, it's a cloudy crowded den," and the music is the "most heavenly mix." This playful, sacrilegious imagery suggests that the ultimate reward is a joyous, communal, and liberated existence where the soul can finally enjoy the "fix" of pure, unbridled energy—a stark contrast to the stifling, enslaved world they left behind. In essence, "Memories of An Apocalypse" argues that while political manipulation and societal decay are inevitable and lead to destruction, the only thing that remains true is radical human connection. The apocalypse becomes the necessary mechanism for shedding the corrupt physical world and achieving a transcendent, eternally bopping union.