History NightmareFuel / JoyDivision

** Special mention for this track goes to Peter Hook's guitar playing [[note]] He usually plays bass, but here switched instruments with Bernard Sumner [[/note]] and Martin Hannett's sound editing of said guitar. The gibbering clicks and weird wails sound like a chorus of deformed souls moaning in agony. Did I say a chorus? I meant a ''cacophony''. It's horrifying and it totally fits in with the lyrics.

Also impossible to forget is the fact that the lead singer, Ian Curtis, [[DrivenToSuicide committed suicide]] before the group actually broke into the mainstream. This paints a black shadow over their entire oeuvre.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ian_curtis_5219.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"For entertainment they watch his body twist/Behind his eyes, he says, 'I still exist.'"'']]

[[caption-width-right:350:"For entertainment they watch his body twist/Behind his eyes, he says, 'I still exist.'"]]

-->''An abyss that laughs at creation\

* "I Remember Nothing": A loosely structured [[EpicRocking 6 minute]] dirge based around sinister chanting and murmuring, punctuated briefly by teh sound of breaking glass.

** The RealitySubtext makes it even worse, as the line likely refers to people coming to concerts to see Curtis have epileptic seizures on stage.

Through childhood, thorough youth, I remember it all\\

* "She's Lost Control": Curtis wrote this song about an epileptic woman he once knew. The nervous rhythm closely follows her own mental breakdown.

-->''This is the room, the start of it all / Through childhood, thorough youth, I remember it all / Oh, I've seen the nights filled with bloodsport and pain / And the bodies obtained, the bodies obtained / Where will it end? Where will it end? Where will it end? Where will it end?''

-->''I traveled far and wide through prisons of the cross / What did you see there? / The power and glory of sin / What did you see there? / The blood of Christ on their skins.''

* "I Remember Nothing": A loosely structured 6 minute dirge based around sinister chanting and murmuring, punctuated briefly by broken glass.

-->''For entertainment they watch his body twist / Behind his eyes he says, 'I still exist.'''

--->''You'll see the horrors of a faraway place / Meet the architects of law face to face / See mass murder on a scale you've never seen / And all the ones who try hard to succeed...''

---> ''In arenas he kills for a prize / Wins a minute to add to his life / But the sickness is drowned by cries for more / Pray to God, make it quick, watch him fall.''

-->''An abyss that laughs at creation,''
-->''A circus complete with all fools,''
-->''Foundations that lasted the ages,''
-->''Then ripped apart at their roots.''
-->''Beyond all this good is the terror,''
-->''The grip of a mercenary hand,''
-->''When savagery turns all good reason,''
-->''There's no turning back, no last stand.''
-->''Heart and soul,''
-->''One will burn''

--> ''Where figures from the past stand tall / And mocking voices ring the halls / Imperialistic house of prayer / Conquistadors who took their share...''

-->''The hangman looks round as he waits.''
-->''The cord stretches tight, then it breaks.''
-->''Someday we will die in your dreams.''
-->''How I wish we were here with you now.''

* Non-music related, Peter Hook noted in his book Unknown Pleasures that Ian went from having the occasional seizure to having them practically daily, growing increasingly terrified of it happening. It's hard to listen to Closer without thinking about how he must have felt.

-->''The chord stretches tight, then it breaks.''

* "Atrocity Exhibition": About people who pay to see a barely living man in an asylum. ''"For entertainment they watch his body twist / Behind his eyes he says, 'I still exist.'"''

-->''You'll see the horrors of a faraway place / Meet the architects of law face to face / See mass murder on a scale you've never seen / And all the ones who try hard to succeed...''

** Not horrifying enough? The second verse indicates that the the asylum inmate is forced to fight in deadly GladiatorGames:

'''''Music/UnknownPleasures''''':

'''''Music/{{Closer}}''''':

'''Other''':

--> ''In arenas he kills for a prize / Wins a minute to add to his life / But the sickness is drowned by cries for more / Pray to God, make it quick, watch him fall.''

Music/JoyDivision's music never sounded happy (their band name was even inspired by a prostitution wing in a Nazi concentration camp), so it’s no surprise that their gloomy music features lyrics with images that seem to come from your deepest nightmares.

Also impossible not to forget is the fact that the lead singer, Ian Curtis, [[DrivenToSuicide committed suicide]] before the group actually broke to the mainstream. This paints a black shadow over their entire oeuvre.

* "Dead Souls": The lengthy, ominous instrumental intro sets the stage for one of Curtis' most terrifying lyrics, with a performance to match. He sounds like he's been obsessing on man's inhumanity to man while in a museum or church, and it's deeply affected him:
--> ''Where figures from the past stand tall / And mocking voices ring the halls / Imperialistic house of prayer / Conquistadors who took their share...''
** The haunting refrain of [[MadnessMantra "They keep calling me!"]] just tops it off, especially since Curtis sounds like ''he means it''.

* "Dead Souls": The lengthy, ominous instrumental info sets the stage for one of Curtis' most terrifying lyrics, with a performance to match. He sounds like he's been obsessing on man's inhumanity to man while in a museum or church, and it's deeply affected him:

-->''"I traveled far and wide through prisons of the cross / What did you see there? / The power and glory of sin / What did you see there? / The blood of Christ on their skins."''
-->[...] "I saw the tears as they cried. THEY HAD TEARS IN THEIR EYES. TEARS IN THEIR EYES!"

* And:

* "Dead Souls": The haunting refrain of [[MadnessMantra "They Keep Calling Me"]] just tops it off.
* "Atrocity Exhibition": About people who pay to see a barely living man in an asylum. ''"For entertainment they watch his body twist."''

Also impossible not to forget is the fact that the lead singer, Ian Curtis, committed suicide before the group actually broke to the mainstream. This paints a black shadow over their entire oeuvre.

Music/JoyDivision's music never sounded happy to begin with. Their band name was even inspired by a prostitution wing in a Nazi concentration camp. So its no surprise that their gloomy music features lyrics with images that seem to come from your deepest nightmares.

'''Music/UnknownPleasures''':

'''Music/{{Closer}}''':

Music/JoyDivision's music has never sounded happy to begin with. Their band name was even inspired by a prostitution wing in a Nazi concentration camp. So it will come as no surprise that their gloomy music features lyrics with images that seem to come from your deepest nightmares.

-->''"I travelled far and wide through prisons of the cross/ What did you see there? / The power and glory of sin / What did you see there? / The blood of Christ on their skins."''

* "I Remember Nothing": A loosely-structured 6 minute dirge based around sinister chanting and murmuring, punctuated briefly by broken glass.

* "New Dawn Fades" is haunting, the almost apathetic delivery and heavy pulse contributing to the atmosphere. The lyrics are particuarly eloquent, especially:

-->''Directionless, so plain to see, a loaded gun can't set you free—or so they say...''

** Special mention for this track goes to Peter Hook's guitar-playing[[note]]He usually plays bass, but here switched instruments with Bernard Sumner[[/note]] and Martin Hannett's sound editing of said guitar. The gibbering clicks and weird wails sound like a chorus of deformed souls moaning in agony. Did I say a chorus? I meant a ''cacophony''. It's horrifying and it totally fits in with the lyrics.

* "Isolation" is quite disturbing, in the literal sense of a feeling of anxiety: the distorted vocals and stabbing synths adding to the almost TearJerker lyrics.