Fear Before

Fear Before

Fear Before the March of Flames (sometimes abbreviated as FBTMOF, Fear Before or March of Flames) is a post-hardcore/metalcore band that resides in Aurora, Colorado. They released their debut album Odd How People Shake in 2003 with a re-release in January 2004, second album Art Damage in September 2004, and third album The Always Open Mouth in September 2006. The band is currently touring on a headlining tour through Europe with support from Heavy Heavy Low Low and The End.

Biography

Odd How People Shake (2002-2003)

In 2002, Fear Before the March of Flames was formed in the Denver area with vocalist David Marion, guitarist/vocalist Adam Fisher, bassist Michael Madruga, and drummer Brandon Proff. The band took their name from a local newspaper headline when wildfires swept through their state. The band drew inspiration from bands such as Botch, Converge and The Blood Brothers in creating their music.

Once signed to Portland based Rise Records, the band released their debut album Odd How People Shake in July 2003. After gaining more notoriety outside of Colorado from tours with bands such as The Blood Brothers and Hopesfall, they then signed to the more prominent Equal Vision Records, who re-released their debut in January 2004. Their debut was primarily in the vein of post-hardcore, featuring a mix of screamed vocals on the part of David Michael Marion and clean singing provided by Adam Rupert Fisher. It is rumoured that every song on the album is based on a movie ("Sarah Goldfarb, Where are Your Manners?", for example, is supposedly about Requiem for a Dream).

In concert, the band plays few, if any, songs from their debut. On their website, they explicitly state that they will not play one song in particular from their debut, "On the Brightside, She Could Choke;". This song also has the most prominent elements of emo of the songs in their catalogue, which could be one of the reasons they have grown so adverse to playing it.

Art Damage (2004-2005)

From late July 2004 to mid August 2004, the band played with Evergreen Terrace and I Killed the Prom Queen on the Radiotakeover Tour. The band also played select dates with Norma Jean in August and October as well.

Their second album, Art Damage, was released on Equal Vision Records in September 2004, and was a marked change in direction for the band. Art Damage featured "a much more straightforward, significantly harder style." and virtually all of the vocals are screamed, with the exception of a fews chorus' or a verse. The video for the single "Should Have Stayed in the Shallows" was filmed in the same basement as the one used in the film Fight Club and was heavily rotated on MTV2's show Headbanger's Ball. Proff left the band to pursue a teaching carreer and drummer Clayton "Goose" Holyoak, guitarist Zach Hutchings, and guitarist/keyboardist Billy Johnson were added.

Through April of 2005, the band toured with Underoath and The Chariot. The band also played on the Sounds of the Underground tour on Midwest and Southeast dates.

On October 18, 2005, Immortal Records released the soundtrack for the Masters of Horror television series. Fear Before the March of Flames provided a previously unreleased song "237" for the soundtrack which was featured in the credits for the Tobe Hooper directed episode Dance of the Dead.

The Always Open Mouth (2006-Present)

In June 2006, the band played 7 Angels 7 Plagues Reunion Show, and in August they went on to play at the Dirt Fest.

Their third studio album, The Always Open Mouth, was released on September 19, 2006. Fischer explains that the title of the album to people who act like "an all-knowing superbeing from another realm sent here to save us all or b): a fucking loud mouth bigot. They are The Always Open Mouth." This album marks a considerably different sound from previous recordings. This album contains a much more experimental side, such as more emphasis on antiphony between the lead singer and guitarist Adam Fisher, and a considerable lesser amount of screaming. It is described as "boldly experimental and brimming with musical complexity." The first single off of the album was the song "Taking Cassandra to the End of the World Party", and a video was also filmed with director David Bell. The song references the Greek legend of Cassandra, a woman who possesed the gift of prophecy, but was cursed by the fact that no one would believe her tellings.

From October 2006 to December 2006, the band played with previous tour-mates Norma Jean, and Between the Buried and Me, on the first ever Radio Rebellion Tour. On November 4th, 2006 in San Diego, California, during a performance for that tour, bassist Madruga accidentally hit vocalist Marion on the side of his face with the headstock of his bass, knocking him unconscious on stage. When he awoke, there was a hole that went all the way through his cheek, and although the band continued to finish the set, he had to be rushed to the hospital to be treated for the injury afterwards. The band missed the following 3 days of the tour. Marion had a full recovery and finished the rest of the Radio Rebellion Tour.

In March 2007, the band played a portion of the Russian Circles Plan Midwest Tour and played one day at the Appalachian Annihilation Festival. That month as well, the band again changed their lineup. They stated that Billy Johnson (touring quitarist) left the band due to personal reasons. Johnson seems to have left on good terms. The band recently finished a tour with 65daysofstatic and This Will Destroy You.

Members

Current line-up

• David Michael Marion - vocals
• Adam (Rupert) Fisher - guitar, vocals
• Zachary Hutchings (Binks)- guitar
• Michael Madruga - bass guitar
• Clayton Holyoak (Goose) - drums

Former members

• Billy Johnson (touring musician)- guitar, keyboards, lights, etc. (left for personal reasons, according to a bulletin posted on the band's MySpace)
• Brandon Proff - drums (The Glass Ocean)(left to go to college, according to a statement made at his last show with the band)
• Mat Clouse- guitar (left to attend college at SNU after Odd How People Shake credited with guitars on the Odd How People Shake lyric booklet. According to an interview with Brandon Proff he was "not in the band anymore" after Odd How People Shake.)

Discography

Albums

Date of Release	Title	Label
January, 2003/2004	Odd How People Shake	Rise Records Equal Vision Records
September 2004	Art Damage	Equal Vision Records
September 2004 [Recorded August 7, 2004 in San Diego, California]	Live at the Epicentre	Equal Vision Records
2005	Stop All The Downloading [Internet EP]	Equal Vision Records
September 2006	The Always Open Mouth	Equal Vision Records
2007	"A Little Less Teeth" [Tour EP]	"Equal Vision Records"

DVD

Date of Release	Title	Label
Spring, 2007	Absolute Future, Absolute Past DVD	Equal Vision Records

Also featured on

• "Rise 2003 Sampler"(Rise Records, date unknown)

Track unknown: "A Shoreline Perspective"

• Rise 2004 Sampler (Rise Records, May 2004)

Track 3: "Given To Dreams of What Shall Never"

• Take Action! Vol. 4 (Sub City Records, September 2004)

Disc 1, Track 13: "Consequences David, You'll Meet Your Fate In The Styx"

• Equal Vision Winter 2004 Sampler (Equal Vision Records, 2004)

Track 3: "The State of Texas vs. Fear Before"

• Masters of Horror Soundtrack (Immortal Records, September 2005)

Disc 2, Track 14: "237"

• Equal Vision Warped Tour Sampler (Equal Vision Records, 2006)

Track 1: "Lycanthropy"

• 2004 Vans Warped Tour Compilation (MCA Records, 2004)

Disc 2 Track 13: "On the Bright Side, She Could Choke"

• Take Action! Vol. 6 Disc 1 (Sub City Records 2007)

"Taking Cassandra to the End of the World Party"

See also

• 237 (song)

External links

• Official website
• MySpace
• purevolume
• LiveJournal Community
• Artist of the Day feature

• Feature(s) of the band