I first learned of The Cruxshadows the same way many others had. There was a unique track called Monsters on a compilation some years back and the haunting elements simply wouldn’t release its tight grip on the psyche. After discovering that the band had work on Mp3, I made a publicity pitch to the band, thinking that the email was actually going to the band directly like with other artists. Instead, the mail went to label owner Patrick Rodgers of Dancing FerretDiscs fame. After much discussion, Rodgers was confident enough that the passion from Hidden Sanctuary would be a good place to obtain exposure for a number of bands on the DF label. Since their inclusion, The Cruxshadows have had countless tracks added to CD-R promotional compilations that have gone around the world a few times over, with the label’s permission, as a means of giving them and the rest of the Hidden Sanctuary artists a bit of exposure.

The irony is that there have been a team of dark clad gnomes working tirelessly for years to bring The Cruxshadows and many of the Dancing Ferret artists to the forefront of the underground attention. Out of all the NY “gnomes,” interviewer Kim Mercil has had the good fortune to chat with Rogue a few times when the band toured New York. Kim is also a relentless gal who hunts down an interview, making everyone jump hoops for her to make it happen. Thankfully, her relentless spirit came to fruition as she was able to finally pin Rogue down long enough between shows to obtain her coveted interview.

Enjoy the interview because the band is getting busier than ever, touring everywhere imaginable and it is only a matter of time before the rest of the world catches up with what those of us in the underground have discovered with this band years earlier!

KM: The English dictionary defines: Crux- a crucial/vital moment or central feature. Shadow- the rough image cast by an object blocking rays of illumination. I tried putting the two together to see how it would fit, but instead of me wracking my brain figuring it out…what is the significance of the name "The Cruxshadows?"

Rogue: Well, that isn't the only definition of crux...it is the Latin word for "cross." Our English usage of the word being derived from the idea of the crossing point...anyway, cross plus shadow equals "shadow of the cross." That is its literal meaning...you are familiar with the band's logo? Well, the symbol for our band is a cross (a tribar eastern orthodox cross to be precise) with a field of light on one side and a field of dark on the other.

What is important here is the idea of exclusion...or outsiders...because when all is flooded with light the cross will still render a shadow; a place the light can't reach. Unfortunately it is mankind's tendency towards intolerance to eliminate or dismiss all who are different, or "unworthy."

During the crucifixion of Christ, the people who stood in the shadow of the cross were effectively the most loyal and, in a sense, special of his followers. This is despite the fact that they were outcast from society...they were women, prostitutes, tax collectors, and beggars; quite literally the underclass in Jewish and Roman culture. Yet they were able to succeed in something that the "stronger" more accepted classes failed in. So what does this have to do with us...? Well cruxshadow being a word of my own design, I attached to it the meaning of those "who are made outsiders by society, but who through their actions or ideas, become true insiders." Or more succinctly stated: the subset of the outsider. In mathematical terms a subset is one that is contained within, yet does not contain the larger set as a whole. If you again look at the CXS symbol, you will see two concentric circles which references this idea...that the outsiders are in essence, closer to the center. I know all of this sounds ridiculously complicated...but you brought it up...

KM: In the beginning it seemed "Bella Mor

album: Echoes And Artifacts (2001)
I don't understand
how you've done these things to me
I cannot comprehend
your lack of loyalty

For you i would have shaken down
the heavens from the sky
But it seems my love was stronger than
this love of yours that died

Did you think it wouldn't hurt
Did you think I wouldn't feel
when the world came falling down
or maybe you didn't think at all
and that's why I feel what I feel now

Did you think I wouldn't fall
Did you think I wouldn't cry
Did you think I wouldn't beg you to stay
One of these days you're gonna realize
just what you've thrown away

Now I lie here in this empty bed
and all I think about is you
and I wonder if you miss me now
and if your bed is empty too

Did you think it wouldn't hurt
Did you think I wouldn't feel
When the world came falling down
Or maybe you didn't think at all
and that's why i feel what i feel now

did you think i wouldn't fall
did you think i wouldn't cry
did you think i wouldn't beg you to stay
one of these days you're gonna realize
just who you've thrown away

Marilyn my bitterness
I've fallen to a stranger nightmare
Marilyn oh Marilyn
I can not break away

Marilyn my bitterness
I've fallen to a stranger nightmare
Marilyn oh Marilyn
I can not find my way

I'll absorb this agony
I'll carry all this pain
I'll wipe away this emptiness
I will purify this stain
my wings will fold around me now
for once a one was two
and my memory is a monument
that will always stand for you

but Did you think it wouldn't hurt
Did you think I wouldn't feel
When the world came falling down
Or maybe you didn't think at all
and that's why i feel what i feel now

did you think i wouldn't fall
did you think I wouldn't cry
did you think I wouldn't beg you to stay
one of these days you're gonna recognize
just who you've thrown away

Marilyn my bitterness
I've fallen to a stranger nightmare
Marilyn oh Marilyn
I can not break away

Marilyn my bitterness
I've fallen to stranger nightmare
Marilyn oh Marilyn
I can not find my way

Marilyn my bitterness
I've fallen to a stranger nightmare
Marilyn oh Marilyn
I can not break away

Marilyn my bitterness
I've fallen to a stranger nightmare
Marilyn oh Marilyn
I can not find my way

Marilyn my bitterness
i've fallen to a stranger nightmare
Marilyn oh Marilyn
I can not find my way

Marilyn my bitterness
i've fallen to a stranger nightmare
Marilyn oh Marilyn
Now must I go away?

Dear Angel,
Where are your warming wings tonight?
It's so cold outside won't you hold me for a while?

And Angel,
I feel alone and unalive
The night is frozen and these tears have stung my eyes

Dreams may pass and dreams may fade
Nothing I love will stay the same
Nothing ever stays the same

So Angel,
I feel so numb and so far away
I can see myself on the pavement where I lay

Oh Angel,
Why do I stare so? What do I see?
Why do these lifeless eyes look that way back at me?

Dreams may pass and dreams may fade
Nothing I love will stay the same
Nothing under heaven stays the same

Dreams may pass and dreams may fade
Nothing I love will stay the same
Nothing ever stays the same