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Funeral for a Friend

Funeral for a Friend (commonly abbreviated to FFAF) is a Welsh post-hardcore band that was previously signed to Ferret Music and later Atlantic Records before leaving the label in 2008. The group is set to release its fourth studio album, entitled Memory and Humanity, in October 2008, through its own record label, Join Us. Its current lineup consists of Kris Coombs-Roberts, Gavin Burrough, Ryan Richards, Darran Smith and Matthew Davies-Kreye.

History

Formation and EPs (2001-2003)

FFAF's roots can be found in the band January Thirst. When Michael Davies (Now of Makeshift Truth), one of January Thirst's original vocalists, quit in December 2002, Matthew Evans (vocals) and Johnny Phillips (drums) invited Matt Davies to try out for the vacated singer position. Soon afterwards the band reformed as Funeral for a Friend, named after a song by Planes Mistaken for Stars, but, due to Matt being the only member who is a fan of PMFS the band as a whole credit the Elton John song as the basis for their name. Andi Morris, the band's original bassist, quit due to his long-time ambition to become a music teacher.

During the start of the New Year they parted ways with second guitarist Kerry Roberts (Kris Coombs-Roberts's brother) and found a suitable replacement in Darran Smith (ex-Tripcage). The band recorded four tracks at Mighty Atom Studios for a proposed self financed EP with another Welsh band From This Moment On. Upon hearing the tracks, Mighty Atom Records approached the band and offered a two album deal, resulting in their debut EP, Between Order & Model (2002).

In 2003, Funeral for a Friend recorded their second EP, Four Ways to Scream Your Name, produced and mixed by Colin Richardson. Both EPs are currently out of print and highly sought after by fans of the band (as of 2006, the band's first EP can be found in HMV stores in the UK).

In mid-2003, the band secured their first Kerrang! award, winning the award for "Best UK Newcomer", beating The Darkness, who won in all other nominated categories. Funeral for a Friend's win was largely attributed to their fervent fan base, as the awards winner was decided by public vote online at the official Kerrang! Web site.

Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation (2003-2005)

On October 20, 2003, after recording for the duration of the summer, Funeral for a Friend's full-length debut album was released. Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation, produced and mixed by Colin Richardson, was released to critical acclaim in the UK. The album did not see a concurrent release in the US (eventually released there on July 13, 2004); instead, a seven-track "mini-album", entitled Seven Ways to Scream Your Name, was released, and featured songs from the band's Between Order & Model and Four Ways to Scream Your Name EPs.

Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation saw three top-twenty singles including "Juneau" (#19), "She Drove Me to Daytime Television" (#20) and "Escape Artists Never Die" (#19).

Funeral for a Friend toured feverishly to promote Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation, including a series of European dates in which they opened for their idols, Iron Maiden. This was met with a mixed reception, however, as their style and fan base bore little resemblance to the heavy metal background of Iron Maiden. In 2004, the band headlined the second stage of the Reading and Leeds Festivals.

Hours (2005-2006)

On June 14, 2005, the band released their second album Hours through Atlantic Records. The album was produced by Terry Date and was recorded in two studios owned by the grunge band Pearl Jam. The album featured unusual methods of recording, for example Matt Davies' vocals were recorded whilst in a moving car and on a crowded Seattle, WA street, for the song 'Drive'.

In August of the same year, the band won a Kerrang! Award for "Best British Band".

Funeral for a Friend performed several low-profile shows in Wales, including Bangor University and Bridgend Recreation Centre, prior to the release of Hours. This contrasted against their subsequent shows, which included playing alongside bands such as Atreyu, Saosin, Hawthorne Heights and Thrice on the 2005 Vans Warped Tour. The band also performed on the main stage of the Reading and Leeds Festivals, having to leave the Warped Tour early to do so. The band also played on the main stage of the Taste of Chaos tour in the US in 2006, alongside bands such as Story of the Year, Deftones and Thrice.

Funeral For a Friend closed the promotional jaunt for Hours in the Summer of 2006, with a series of UK shows rescheduled from February. Most of the original dates had been canceled because Matt Davies had suffered from a bout of laryngitis. Several other shows were scheduled in the UK to complement these rescheduled dates, and the tour culminated in a slot below headliners Guns N' Roses at the Download Festival at Donington Racetrack.

The rest of 2006 was spent writing and recording the band's third album, Tales Don't Tell Themselves released in May 2007.

Tales Don't Tell Themselves (2007)

Funeral for a Friend mentioned the writing of this album during their UK shows in summer 2006 and they started writing and recording at the end of the tour. Tales Don't Tell Themselves was released on 14th May 2007 in the UK, having been leaked to the internet on 10th May 2007. The band released video diary updates of the recording on their MySpace page.

On March 19th, "Into Oblivion (Reunion)", the first single from the album, premiered on the Zane Lowe Show on Radio One. It was given a May 7th physical release, and the video can be seen and the song heard on their MySpace. It reached number 39 in its first week of release on downloads and reached number 16 in the Official UK chart on 13th May 2007.

A selection of intimate shows to promote the album were played on 12th, 13th and 14th of April in intimate coastal venues in the south of England. Only 200 tickets were available for each show and these had to be applied for via an e-mail sent to members of the FFAF mailing list. Names were then picked out of a hat and the selected people were offered the opportunity to buy a pair of tickets to the gig, exclusive t-shirts were given to anyone paying using paypal mobile.

On May 8th, 2007 the band released Tales Don't Tell Themselves in its entirety for fans to preview via their MySpace page. This album is the first on which Matt plays guitar.

On May 10th, 2007 the band played another intimate gig for Kerrang! 105.2 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall Bar, in which they played "Walk Away" for the very first time. This is one of the tracks which Matt plays guitar on live, alongside "Raise The Sail" and "The Sweetest Wave", which were debuted on the full tour in May 2007.

The album was their highest charting yet, reaching Number 3 in the UK Album Charts though to date it is also their lowest selling album.

On July 16, Walk Away, was released as the second single from "Tales Don't Tell Themselves" and reached number 40 in the UK singles charts.

It was announced in a newsletters that The Great Wide Open would be the next single and would hit stores on October 1st 2007, and the single would be released as an EP. The EP, The Great Wide Open was released on the 15th October 2007 through Atlantic Records, negating the release of the single itself.

Memory and Humanity (2008-present)

On January 26, 2008, drummer Ryan Richards made an announcement on the band's forum, stating that FFAF were to spend the first few months of the year recording, with a view of releasing a four or five track EP in March or April 2008. After writing more material than originally planned, the band decided to scrap plans for the EP and release a full-length album instead, expected out on October 13, 2008. Ryan also announced that the new album would contain harsh/screaming vocals, riffs and would be closer to Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation than any of their other albums, although would still be significantly different and more technical, citing that they want to move forward, and never back to any old style.

On May 11, 2008, it was announced via a MySpace bulletin that the band would be shooting a video for the first single from the album, "Waterfront Dance Club," on May 17. "Waterfront Dance Club" was played exclusively for the first time on Radio 1's Rock Show on June 2, 2008, where it was also announced that the single would be released as a double A-side with the track "Beneath the Burning Tree". Both singles were also released as a limited edition 7" on the same date.

The album's title was confirmed as Memory and Humanity by Rock Sound magazine on June 30, 2008, and that its release would take place in October 2008.

On July 2, 2008, the band announced the UK tour of Memory and Humanity, commencing October 14, 2008.

August 9, 2008 saw the debut of the video for the single "Kicking and Screaming" on MySpace. Later that month on the 27th, it was announced that the band had licensed their new record to Victory Records for the U.S. and Canadian releases. The album will be released via the label on October 28th, 2008. It will also be released via Roadrunner Records in the rest of the world, apart from the UK, where it will be released through the band's own label, Join Us. The band also added the track "Can't See the Forest for the Wolves" to their MySpace.

On September 4, 2008, it was announced via a MySpace blog post that Gareth Davies had left the band, to be replaced by Gavin Burrough (Hondo Maclean, Ghostlines, The Future). "As some of you may know, Gareth has been living in America for the past couple of years, and recently got married. Ultimately, the strain of travelling between continents has taken it's toll and Gareth made the decision that it would be in the best interests of himself, his family and Funeral to leave the band. We totally respect and understand his choice, wish him all the best in his future and we thank him for being part of our lives for the past 6 years.