Unnatural Selection

“Unnatural Selection” is the seventh album by Flotsam and Jetsam released on January 26th, 1999 via Metal Blade Records. It was also the first album that did not feature founding member and guitarist Michael Gilbert, who left the band along with drummer Kelly Smith. They were replaced by Mark Simpson and Craig Nielsen respectively, and with this new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.

“Unnatural Selection” garnered a bit of a mixed reception, mostly because of incorporating notable elements of the groove metal that was popular in the mid 90s. The guitar work was quite creative though, with a mix of hard rock, thrash and even some semi industrial or post-hardcore sounding structures that obviously were pretty well thought out. There’s a lot of melody and passion to songs like “Brain Dead” and “Promise Keepers“, with new drummer Craig Nielsen‘s busy rock beats making for a good match for Jason Ward‘s thick, plunking bass lines.

“Unnatural Selection” Album Artwork

TRACK LIST:

  1. Dream Scrape (4:10)
  2. Chemical Noose (4:12)
  3. Promise Keepers (4:34)
  4. Liquid Noose (3:59)
  5. Falling (3:40)
  6. Fuckers (6:00)
  7. Brain Dead (4:33)
  8. Way To Go (4:26)
  9. Win, Lose Or Dead (4:28)
  10. Welcome To The Bottom (5:14)

EDWARD CARLSON – GUITARS | JASON WARD – BASS | MARK SIMPSON – GUITARS | ERIC A.K. – VOCALS | CRAIG NIELSEN – DRUMS

Lyrics

DREAM SCRAPE

Living in dreams, day dreaming
Not in good shape for a life
Can’t remember, why I like this feeling
Falling, falling on knives

Words can boost, words can break
Smiling sins can do no wrong
Say something good, if you speak
Good news never last too long

Forget the time too often
And I don’t care to get some sleep
It’s the skull I aim to soften
From there inside of you I’ll creep

What did I expect to find
Dreams are not the same as life
More than the world inside my mind
Dreams empty into my life

What did I expect to find
Dreams are not the same as life
More than the world inside my mind
Dreams empty into my life

Heavy lids closing my eyes
Dreaming of falling asleep again
Blacken my visions of my
Life coming to a bitter end

Now surrounded all by strangers
Strangers I call friends
Help the species help to endanger
Darkness falling to play pretend

Forget the time too often
Inside your skull I aim to creep

See the soft spot in the skull

What did I expect to find
Dreams are not the same as life
More than the world inside my mind
Dreams empty into my life

What did I expect to find
Dreams are not the same as life
More than the world inside my mind
Dreams empty into my life

Heavy lids closing my eyes
Dreaming of falling asleep again
Blacken my visions of my
Life coming to a bitter end

Heavy lids killing my eyes
Dreaming of death in my sleep again
Blacken my visions of my
Life coming to an end

CHEMICAL NOOSE

You think that everyone’s against you
You think the world’s a conspiracy
Life is a movie about you
We’re all supporting your lead
You’ve been up for a week or two
You’ve done everything with nothing to do
Eyes so big how do you see
You’ve lost all your personality

Spun Vacation, Chemical Noose

Completely lost and right in front of me
Can’t go to work, gotta stay clean
Spinning in circles take a soma
Now revive in a coma
Can’t find any, can’t find none
Oh my god the vacation’s done
Wish you had a little bump to smoke
You smell the punchline and don’t get the joke

Don’t pick up the phone don’t get the door
Gotta pick your face and do some more
Hallucination entertaining you
Wish you could eat, sleep, or find something to do

Fly, like a sigh
No way to save yourself inside
Sleep, like it’s time
Try to remind yourself
One more time
Sleep, like it’s time
No way to hold it down
It’s time to die

Spun Vacation, Chemical Noose
Broken Headlight, Chemical Noose

PROMISE KEEPERS

Shelters full out on the streets tonight
Swollen shut black eyes burning bright
Folded arms hold everything she’s ever owned
Folded arms holding every broken bone

Hard to stand on broken feet below the ground
The silent fact that screams a shattered sound
More to the eye than another knotted fist
Slash the lips that were once longed to be kissed

Promise keepers nothings cheaper
Promise to keep her digging deeper

One strong smile reminds looks can deceive
If you’re strong enough to bleed
You’re strong enough to leave
Running away again down the same short hall
The face she used to have stares from these walls

Burn the rope while tying up loose ends
Introduced to the family secret again
First step out is up then you start to walk
Take first salt by grain then by block

Chorus

If you get the guts you gotta hold em tight
You’ve got wings spread them out, take flight
Hard to stand on broken feet below the ground
The silent face that screams a shattered sound

Chorus

LIQUID NOOSE

I skinned hope, then cut the rope
And watched you fall into my show

Thought I cared, feeling impaired
Cut yourself when no one cared

I’m calling out, attention mounts
This stowaway’s ship is going down

Been running blind, running behind
Just very violently killing time

All I want from you is another round
Slamming faster just to hit the ground
Tip another glass just to get me loose
Tying on another big liquid noose

Served on ice, serving you sliced
Ground up men or were they mice

When it gets way down, to nothing or not
Way beneath less than what you’ve got

All I want from you is another round
Slamming faster just to hit the ground
Tip another glass just to get me loose
Tying on another big liquid noose

Round my neck, round my back
Swallow hard as the end’s attached

Here’s blood in your eye, the tension taken
Who are you to say that I’m forsaken

All I want from you is another round
Slamming faster just to hit the ground
Tip another glass just to get me loose
Tying on another big liquid noose

All I want from you is another round
Slamming faster just to hit the ground
Tip another glass just to get me loose
Tying on another big liquid noose

Liquid Noose

FALLING

I am falling feel the pain
Clear the sidewalk see the stain
I will suffer nevermore
I have found an open door

I will soon have everything I’ve ever wanted
Revenge on my enemies will they be haunted
No worries, no feelings, no stress or fear
A permanent part of this spot right here

The wind in my face
It screams in my ear
Falling faster no one here

I will soon have time to rest and time to die
A speeding slab of concrete hits me in the eye
Broken bones that I won’t get the chance to feel
I’ll never cry or bitch or hurt or heal

I’m falling sirens calling
Everyone is watching me
I’m crawling lonliness mauling
Watching over me

I’m falling sirens calling
Everybody’s watching me
I’m crawling lonliness mauling
Watching over me

I will soon have everything I’ve ever wanted
Revenge on my enemies will they be haunted
No worries, no feelings, no stress or fear
A permanent part of this spot right here

I’m falling sirens calling
Everyone is watching me
I’m crawling lonliness mauling
Watching over me

I’m falling sirens calling
Everybody’s watching me
I’m crawling lonliness mauling
Watching over me

FUCKERS

Righteous fucks
You think you are on top of the world
The little people spit down on you
You’ll feel trying to look yourself in the eyes

Bleed you fuckers bleed
Die you fuckers die
I’ll cut all your fuckin throats
So brace your fuckin self

Go right ahead you worthless gem, enjoy the laugh
I hope you choke on yourself in the end
You’ll never get up on me
I won’t subscribe
And I’ll recognize

How fucked up you really are
The way you love to be
Self-centered selfish piece of shit
Another morning shows and nothing changes

You’re death in everyone’s eyes,
You’d be lucky to die
You fucked up everyone’s life,
That comes as no surprise
You have to be taken out,
Instead you stay alive

You thrive on breaking their lives
Your feel tries to poke me in the eyes

Entertaining yourself
Makes you closer to hell

You’re death in everyone’s eyes,
You’d be lucky to die
You fucked up everyone’s life,
That comes as no surprise, no surprise
You’re death in everyone’s eyes
You fucked up everyone’s life
You have to be taken out,
Instead you stay alive

Worthless, useless, no good gimp
Another faceless, vileless pile
You’re miserable, despicable, dismal, lovable, intolerable
And you don’t give a shit
I despise, you despise, you recognize, gouge your eyes
Ah fuck you
Devil eyes, two lies in her eyes, visualize parasites,
A blacker demise

You’re still a righteous fuck
Now down at the bottom of the world
Looking at everyone spit down on you
And there’s nothing you can fuckin do

You’re death in everyone’s eyes,
You’d be lucky to die
You fucked up everyone’s lives,
That comes as no surprise, no surprise
You’re death in everyone’s eyes
You fucked up everyone’s lives
Make no mistakes about it
This time you’re dead

BRAIN DEAD

How much time will it take
Till I know how much longer

How many beatings do I have to take
Till I know I am stronger

How much space will it take
Till I know where I am

How many times do I have to do
Before I know I can

How much wasted energy is flowing through your head
How many cells must die before you’re legally
Brain dead
How much wasted energy is flowing through your mind
How many cells must die before you’re legally
Brain dead this time

How much farther do I have to go
Before I know I’m there

How many tears do I have to shed
Before I show I care

How much brightness can I stand
Before I see the light

How many wrongs must I have to do
Before I get it right

How much wasted energy is flowing through your head
How many cells must die before you’re legally
Brain dead
How much wasted energy is flowing through your mind
How many cells must die before you’re legally
Brain dead this time

How much space will I waste
Till I know where I am

How many times do I have to do
Before I know I can

How much wasted energy is flowing through your head
How many cells must die before you’re legally
Brain dead
How much wasted energy is flowing through your mind
How many cells must die before you’re finally dead, you’re finally dead
How much wasted energy is flowing through your mind
How many cells must die before you’re legally
Brain dead this time
Brain dead this time
Brain dead this time

WAY TO GO

Everybody’s watching, none of them I’ve ever met
Starring in the headlines no good news is death
Threats fly through the airmail, e-mail and express
Fax instructions for the bomb
A bone breaking game of chess

Starved and banged what a way to go
Slit wristed, run over and hanged
What a way to go

Pushed too far by numbers
Payments way past due
Additional tack on late charge
Who’ll be screwing who

Screwed my head so tightly
Feels like it’s gonna snap at the neck
If you’re gonna cheat with your own cards
At least you could shuffle the deck

Starved and banged what a way to go
Slit wristed, run over and hanged
What a way to go

Starved and banged what a way to go
Slit wristed, run over and hanged
What a way to go

Sweat it out in walls that both my shoulders touch
If I hadn’t lost everything else
My mind wouldn’t matter so much
Backed up on a pay way, free way, blue lights closing fast
I was promised before my eyes
I’d see my life flashing past

Starved and banged what a way to go
Slit wristed, run over and hanged
What a way to go

Starved and banged what a way to go
Slit wristed, run over and hanged
What a way to go

WIN, LOSE OR DEAD

Pouring bones from a skull salt shaker
Squaring off all pro mistakers
High stakes diets that used to be a face
Now we’ve seen there’s two dark sides to this race

Heaven’s flippin for dinner
Dying to be thin
Make the weight to run and die again

Numbers on your back and numbers on your head
Numbers in your mind add up to
Win, lose or dead
Numbers on your back and numbers on your head
Numbers in your mind add up to
Win, lose or dead

Hard to give up
What took lifetimes to achieve
Watching horses die toasting in bubbly grieve
Every race a run right for their lives
Broken, dragged and bleeding
The winners cross the line

Why eat can’t keep nothing down but spirits
Screaming at the top of lungs
Too soaked to hear it

Numbers on your back and numbers on your head
Numbers in your mind add up to
Win, lose or dead
Numbers on your back and numbers on your head
Numbers in your mind add up to
Win, lose or dead

Numbers on your back and numbers on your head
Numbers in your mind add up to
Win, lose or dead
Numbers on your back and numbers on your head
Numbers in your mind add up to
Win, lose or dead

What’s making you run through a wet track
Running in circles you’ll never make it back
All your fans won’t love you if you don’t win
You never think about after
Till after you begin

Pick a number, play it once again
Thank you very much, come back again

Numbers on your back and numbers on your head
Numbers in your mind add up to
Win, lose or dead
Numbers on your back and numbers on your head
Numbers in your mind add up to
Win, lose or dead

Win, lose or dead
Win, lose or dead

WELCOME TO THE BOTTOM

Lived to live through a lie
Lived and lied to buy some time
Hit the bottom ready to shine
On this tattooed cross we’ll die

Alone to question, wonder why
Welcome to the bottom of your life

Here before me I can see
Here at the bottom I’ll stay
I just couldn’t leave here anyway

Black insides a lovely mess
This masked deception I detest
Forgive me father I have sinned
All alone welcome to the bottom again

Your soul hangs upon the line
Existence dares to decline

Here before me I can’t see
Here at the bottom I’ll stay
I just couldn’t leave here anyway
Light becomes my enemy
My home an early grave
And I still won’t leave here anyway

Here before me I can’t see
Here at the bottom I’ll stay
I just couldn’t leave here anyway
Light becomes my enemy
My home an early grave
And I still won’t leave here anyway