Song Of The Week: 9/9/12

Song: "11:11"

Artist: The Black Maria

Album: "A Shared History Of Tragedy"

Year: 2006



I may be wrong about this, but after reading the lyrics to "11:11", i get a sense that the song takes place at the scene of a car accident in a desolate area. It appears that one person is trying to comfort and console the other, promising to be there for him or her, all the while knowing that both have little time left to live. With lyrics that refer to blood on the backseat and roads paved with glass, this to me describes the car accident. "11:11" could be either the time the accident occurred or the time they both died. The Black Maria is a post-hardcore/alternative rock band hailing from Toronto, Canada. They formed as a band back in 2003 and quickly were signed to Victory Records. There is not a whole lot of history regarding The Black Maria. They dropped their first full length studio album "Lead Us To Reason" in 2005. Behind the single "Betrayal", The Black Maria achieved moderate success, enough to be asked to join some successful tours and to open for some more established artists. In 2006, The Black Maria released their second album, "A Shared History Of Tragedy". This album proved to be even less successful than their debut. The Black Maria seemed to be one of those "tweener" bands, I like to call them. They would share the stage with punk acts such as MxPx, The Distillers, Rise Against and Alkaline Trio and at other times they toured with more alternative rock acts such as Stone Sour, Queens Of The Stone Age, Chevelle and Taproot. Maybe by not totally fitting into one scene or the other ultimately led to the demise of The Black Maria. I'm not sure if that's the case, but it just seemed like their audience didn't quite branch out with the band. Regardless of style, I always thought that both of their albums were pretty solid. In 2007, The Black Maria decided to call it quits, though terming it as an "indefinite hiatus". I suppose by saying that, it leaves the door open to possibly get back together. Currently, it's now 2012, a full five years since the band announced their hiatus, so I would safely say that The Black Maria is officially no more as a band.