They released their debut album, Odd How People Shake, in 2003 on Rise Records, and after gaining some notoriety, were signed to Equal Vision Records, who re-released their debut in the January 2004. Their debut was primarily in the vein of post-hardcore, featuring a mix of screamed vocals on the part of David Marion and clean singing provided by Adam Fisher. The instrumental work on Odd How People Shake is best described as typical of that of most melodic metalcore artists of the day, and 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, while on their sophomore album, Art Damage, "The Story of the Curious Oysters" has more to do with the Disney movie, Alice in Wonderland). It is interesting and worth noting that the band's cover art on all three of their albums feature skyscrapers.
Their sophomore album, Art Damage, was released on Equal Vision Records in September 2004, and was a marked change in direction for the band. Art Damage as an album was much heavier and darker than their debut; the band left behind the relative simplicity and, arguably, tiredness of the instrumental work of their debut in favor of the abrasiveness characterizing bands such as Converge and Every Time I Die. In addition, virtually all of the vocals are screamed, with the exception of an odd chorus or verse.
The critical consensus seems to favor their new direction, and 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;" interestingly enough, this song also has the most prominent elements of emo of all the songs in their catalogue, which could be one of the reasons they have grown so adverse to playing it.
Their new album, The Always Open Mouth, was released on Tuesday, September 19, 2006. 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 and a considerable lesser amount of screaming. It features layered guitar chords (a second guitarist was added to the band before the recording of this album), and many electronic sounds used with heavily-distorted or otherwise-effected guitars and synthesizers, or sequencers and drum machines, giving it a more industrial feel. As a result, it is not as hard or fast as their previous two albums, but instead, is more experimental and well-crafted.
With newly added members and a new approach at performing music, they set off on numerous tours mid-2006 to promote their latest CD The Always Open Mouth, touring with bands such as Thursday, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, HeavyHeavyLowLow, The Jonbenet, and the Radio Rebellion Tour with bands The Fully Down, The Confession, blessthefall, Misery Signals, Between the Buried and Me, and headliners of the tour Norma Jean. During a show on November 4th in San Diego, California, bassist Mike Madruga accidentally hit singer Dave 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, and because of this, the band missed the following 3 days of the tour, but Dave is now fine and has finished the rest of the Radio Rebellion Tour.
On 2008]-09-09, Fear Before the March of Flames officially shortened their name to Fear Before.
Current line-up
* David Michael Marion - vocals
* Adam (Rupert) Fisher - guitar, vocals, keys
* Michael Madruga - bass
* Clayton (Goose) Holyoak - drums
Former members
* Billy Johnson - guitar, keyboards
* Brandon Proff - drums
* Zachary (Binks) Hutchings - guitar
Mouth
Fear Before The March Of Flames Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And it's no wonder very few words worth using are being played.
All this unintelligible squawking is drowning out anything
Worth listening to, so we're dumbing down everything
And using huge hand gestures trying to get a point across
To the deaf and blind. Chubby disgusting infants
In a giant damp crib teething and in dire need of a mothers
Rum soaked digit. Anything to numb anything to encourage
Someone, anyone, take off your shirt and pacify.
Make it easy for us to eat, easy for us to sleep.
I think we deserve it rephrased!
Someone, anyone, take us out back and put us down!
I think we deserve it.
Because it's not far from pleasure island where this
Pink flesh gets it's fur. It's there that the noise you speak
Can finally be heard. It will make sense to the rest of
Your four-legged stench-ridden gluttonous kin.
You can feel comfortable in your skin.
You will feel comfortable in your skin.
We're trying to speak clearly but our voices get
Drowned out by the over-excessive braying and
The always open mouth...
The lyrics to Fear Before the March of Flames' "Mouth" critique the societal trend of dumbing down communication and numbing ourselves to reality. The first stanza describes a scene of sexual promiscuity and confusion, with words being valued less and less. The unintelligible noise that people create is drowning out anything worth listening to. The singer is frustrated by the lack of meaningful communication and the constant need for distraction and self-soothing, likening it to "chubby disgusting infants" who need a mother's finger dipped in rum to calm down.
Line by Line Meaning
Sluts in skirts, scattered all over this scrabble board
People who are promiscuous and dressed in revealing clothing are all over this messed up situation.
And it's no wonder very few words worth using are being played.
It's not surprising that there aren't many meaningful words being used in this situation.
All this unintelligible squawking is drowning out anything
The constant noise is making it difficult to hear anything intelligible.
Worth listening to, so we're dumbing down everything
We're making everything simpler and less intelligent to try to make it easier to understand.
And using huge hand gestures trying to get a point across
We're exaggerating our body language in an attempt to communicate effectively.
To the deaf and blind. Chubby disgusting infants
We're trying to communicate with people who are completely oblivious, and it's frustrating and disgusting to do so.
In a giant damp crib teething and in dire need of a mothers
We're all like babies, craving attention and nurturing in this messy situation.
Rum soaked digit. Anything to numb anything to encourage
People are turning to alcohol and other substances to escape the situation and avoid dealing with it.
Ignorance. Anything to put us to sleep.
We're trying to remain ignorant and avoid confronting the issues at hand by any means necessary.
Someone, anyone, take off your shirt and pacify.
We're looking for someone to distract us from the situation and make it easier to cope with by offering comfort.
Make it easy for us to eat, easy for us to sleep.
We want someone to provide comfort and make it easy for us to ignore the situation.
I think we deserve it rephrased!
We feel entitled to having someone provide comfort and make things easier for us.
Someone, anyone, take us out back and put us down!
We'd rather someone put us out of our misery and end this situation altogether.
I think we deserve it.
We feel like we deserve to have someone save us from this situation.
Because it's not far from pleasure island where this
This situation is not far from being pleasurable or enjoyable, even if it's messed up.
Pink flesh gets it's fur. It's there that the noise you speak
In this pleasurable place, the strange noises that are being made in this situation will finally make sense.
Can finally be heard. It will make sense to the rest of
The noises made in this situation will finally be acknowledged and understood by others in this pleasurable place.
Your four-legged stench-ridden gluttonous kin.
These others are animalistic, smelly, and insatiable in their desires.
You can feel comfortable in your skin.
In this pleasurable place, you can finally feel comfortable in your own body and desires.
We're trying to speak clearly but our voices get
We're attempting to communicate effectively, but the noise and chaos in this situation make it difficult.
Drowned out by the over-excessive braying and
Our voices are drowned out by the excessive and overwhelming noise in this situation.
The always open mouth...
The constant stream of noise and chaos that never seems to end.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MERRIL BAINBRIDGE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
artdamages
just got into fear before a few months ago, everything they’ve put out is amazing
Kyle Reed
Welcome to the party 👍🏿 I’m almost 30 and been going strong with this album for over ten years. One of my all time favorites hands down
DonJuan
Man did you miss the party or weren't old enough to know.
artdamages
@DonJuan just wasn’t old enough to know :/
Dain Herndon
@DonJuan The party never stopped
brocowsci
@Dain Herndon I suppose some people just stopped attending
Terranout
this song makes me so nostalgic
DonJuan
As much as I miss this music dude, I miss all of YOU. Those people that would go to the shows in questionable smoky rooms back in the day. Those shows were the highlight of my teens. Shit is so filtered now it's sad.
Clepboyette
True.
Teh Modest Mouse
@DonJuan take off your shirt and pacify