History
Formation and It's Our Time (2001–2006)
Rise or Die Trying, Explains It All (2006–2009)
The band's 2007 release Rise or Die Trying with I Surrender Records peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart in its debut week. On the back of their increasing popularity, the band was signed to Decaydance Records in February 2008.
On July 21, 2009, Four Year Strong released an album of covers from the 1990s, titled Explains It All. The album features guest appearances from Keith Buckley of Every Time I Die, Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes, and JR and Buddy of Less Than Jake. The band explained their reasoning behind the album in a MySpace blog, saying "It’s what we grew up listening to. Everyone has those songs that instantly transport you back to when you were younger. Whether we were in our bedrooms playing air guitar, or riding in the car to little league practice, or it was just that song that was all over the radio during that awesome summer at the Cape. These songs have impacted us in some way and we want to share that feeling with you."
Enemy of the World (2010)
The band's 3rd full-length album, Enemy of the World, was released on March 9, 2010 on Universal Motown Records. The band released the album's first single, "It Must Really Suck to Be Four Year Strong Right Now", on December 21, 2009. The name of the song is a reference to the final sentence of a review in Alternative Press in which the magazine praised Set Your Goals' new album while remarking on the future of Four Year Strong and how their record would compare. The vinyl record was made available to pre-order on March 2, 2010. The album sold 12,400 copies in its first week, debuting at number 40 on the Billboard 200.
On April 3, 2011, it was announced that Josh Lyford would be leaving the band. Initially, it was implied that Lyford had chosen to leave in order to focus on his side project, Foxfires. However, it was later confirmed by both Lyford and Alan Day, that the band had elected to remove synthesizers from their sound leaving no room for Lyford to continue. The band has said they will continue as a four piece.
In Some Way, Shape or Form (2011–present)
On April 13, 2011, in an interview with Alternative Press, the band revealed that they had been in the middle of recording their fourth studio album with producer David Bendeth in New Jersey's House of Loud. The band is set to return to the studio, without Josh Lyford, to finish the album in June, after they finish touring with Rise Against. Vocalist Alan Day has also revealed that the new songs the band had written were very diverse, and that the new material is different than anything the band has ever written. While touring with Rise Against, they have been playing a newly recorded, yet unreleased song called "Falling on You".
On August 18, 2011, the band released "Stuck in the Middle", a new song from the upcoming album. The band announced that the new album will be titled In Some Way, Shape, or Form, and will be released on November 8, 2011. On September 8, 2011, the band released another song from the album, entitled "Falling on You." The first official single from the album, "Just Drive", is set for release on September 27, 2011
During the Fall 2011 AP Tour, the band played another new unreleased song which will be released on the upcoming album. The band dedicates it to fans who have been there "from the very beginning, and will be there till the very end." a video of the song has been leaked on YouTube. It is called "Fairweather Fan."
Touring
The band has done multiple national tours, sharing the stage with such bands as The Starting Line, Slip On It, Hellogoodbye, From First to Last, Every Time I Die, Meg & Dia, Hidden in Plain View, Alexisonfire, All Time Low, Mayday Parade, New Found Glory, Bayside and Steel Train. The band toured in February–April 2009 as part of the Taste of Chaos tour, alongside Thursday, Bring Me the Horizon, Pierce the Veil, and Cancer Bats. They undertook the Summer co-headline tour with Set Your Goals, and also Fireworks, The Swellers, Polar Bear Club, A Loss For Words, Drive A and Grave Maker from July to August 2009. Four Year Strong also performed on the Australian Soundwave festival in February and March 2010, alongside headliners Faith No More, Janes Addiction, Placebo; also playing alongside Alexisonfire, Set Your Goals, A Day To Remember, Paramore, It Dies Today, Gallows, Emarosa, A Wilhelm Scream, Anthrax, All Time Low, Escape The Fate, This Is Hell, Enter Shikari, Anti-Flag, Baroness, Comeback Kid, The Almost, Dance Gavin Dance, Architects, You Me At Six, Rolo Tomassi, Dichi Michi, Sunny Day Real Estate and many more. The band was in the lineup for Vans Warped Tour 2010 and played on the Altec Lansing stage along side Breathe Carolina, Hey Monday, and Set Your Goals.[7] They also played the first day on the Bamboozle festival. Late 2010, Four Year Strong headlined a tour with Comeback Kid, The Wonder Years, American Fangs, and Mountain Man. The tour was entitled "Tonight We Feel Alive!", and spanned the entire United States. In February 2011, Four Year Strong co-headlined the Kerrang! Relentless Tour 2011 with Good Charlotte with support from Framing Hanley and The Wonder Years, The tour began February 3rd in Dublin, Ireland. On the 15th February 2011 it was announced that they had been added to support Blink 182 on their UK tour alongside You Me At Six They will be joining Rise Against and Bad Religion on a US summer tour in 2011. They have also announced that they will come back to Australia later in the year to play Soundwave Revolution along with already announced bands The Damned Things, Story of The Year, Every Time I Die, Hellogoodbye, We Are The In Crowd and many others. They still have yet to announce an upcoming Detroit show. It is long overdue.
Musical style
The band's sound can be described as popcore a blend of pop punk, hardcore punk, and power pop. This genre is popularly referred to as "easycore" or "happycore". The band simply developed their sound off the idea of playing 'exactly what they want to hear' or music that they would listen to, but no one else was playing at the time.[8] The band has cited their influences as being Lifetime, Saves the Day, Gorilla Biscuits, Blink-182, and New Found Glory, to name a few. Though the band would primarily start out as a post-hardcore , the release of their demo in 2004 would mark a shift from post-hardcore to more synthesizer-heavy tracks, where the band would begin to embrace the styles of power pop and general hardcore punk. Prior to the release of and at times within Rise or Die Trying, the band also incorporates more facets of modern hardcore, such as double bass drums, breakdowns and screaming vocals. For their 3rd studio album, Enemy of the World, the band decided to expand upon their hardcore influences.
Influences
The band has many references to 1990's pop culture. They have been known to quote lines from '90s films in lyrics/song titles/ and in conversation. They were influenced by all the bands on their cover album Explains It All.
Prepare to Be Digitally Manipulated
Four Year Strong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And listen up, listen up
Calling all cars, calling all cars, calling all cars
Let’'s put an end to the charade
Show me what you'’re living for
You think it’'s obvious, you’'re so obvious
I spit my teeth out on the floor
I breathe revenge tonight, it never tasted to sweet
And, baby, if I choke things down for a second
Then maybe I can starve this tragedy
Don'’t tell me, I don'’t want to know
So get your story straight
I can think of one reason for you to call home tonight
If I had my way you would find out the hard way
Causing trouble is my business and the business is good
So now I’'m calling all cars, calling all cars, calling all cars
It’'s time to show your battle scars
And let you know that I’'ll be coming back for more
I breathe revenge tonight, it never tasted to sweet
And, baby, if I choke things down for a second
Then maybe I can starve this tragedy
Don'’t tell me, I don’'t want to know
I breathe revenge tonight, it never tasted to sweet
And, baby, if I choke things down for a second
Then maybe I can starve this tragedy
Don'’t tell me, I don’'t want to know
It’'s too late for me, kid
These words are too true
When your heart beats only lies
You’'re dead inside
And God forbid
When you find yourself off and remembering on
And God forbid
When you can’'t find the switch in the words
To a song but it'’s too late
To see me through, Kid
I breathe revenge tonight, it never tasted to sweet
And, baby, if I choke things down for a second
Then maybe I can starve this tragedy
Don'’t tell me, I don'’t want to know
I breathe revenge tonight, it never tasted to sweet
And, baby, if I choke things down for a second
Then maybe I can starve this tragedy
Don'’t tell me, I don'’t want to know
"Prepare To Be Digitally Manipulated" by Four Year Strong is a song about revenge and deception. The lyrics start with a call to attention, urging listeners to open their eyes and ears and put an end to the charade. The singer demands to know what people are living for and accuses them of being obvious. He spits his teeth out on the floor, indicating that he's ready for a fight. The chorus declares his intention for revenge; he breathes it in and savors it. However, he also acknowledges that revenge is a tragedy, something he needs to starve. He doesn't want to know the truth because it hurts him more.
The second verse emphasizes the idea of deception. The singer says that people need to get their story straight, indicating that they're lying about something. He also talks about causing trouble and how it's his passion. He's calling all cars to show their battle scars, indicating that he's ready for a fight. The chorus repeats, underscoring his desire for revenge as he tries to starve the tragedy. The bridge is a reflection on the consequences of lying. When your heart beats only lies, you're dead inside. The singer acknowledges that it's too late for him, but he doesn't want the same for others.
Line by Line Meaning
Ladies and gentlemen, open up your eyes and ears
Attention please, this is important
And listen up, listen up
Pay attention
Calling all cars, calling all cars, calling all cars
Everyone, it's time to take action
Let's put an end to the charade
Stop pretending
Show me what you're living for
What motivates you?
You think it's obvious, you're so obvious
I already know
I spit my teeth out on the floor
I am ready to fight for what I believe in
Don't tell me, I don't want to know
I don't care what you have to say
I breathe revenge tonight, it never tasted too sweet
I am going to get payback and it will feel good
And, baby, if I choke things down for a second
If I hold back for a moment
Then maybe I can starve this tragedy
I can prevent a disaster
So get your story straight
Make sure you have your lies in order
I can think of one reason for you to call home tonight
You are in trouble and should make arrangements
If I had my way, you would find out the hard way
You deserve punishment
Causing trouble is my business and the business is good
I thrive on causing problems
It's time to show your battle scars
Reveal your weaknesses
And let you know that I'll be coming back for more
I am not finished with you
It's too late for me, kid
I am already too far gone
These words are too true
I am being honest
When your heart beats only lies
You are deceitful
You're dead inside
You have no soul
And God forbid when you find yourself off and remembering on
When you are alone with your thoughts
And God forbid when you can't find the switch in the words to a song
When you can't escape from reality
But it's too late to see me through, kid
There is no saving you
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Alan Clifford Day, Daniel Patrick O'Connor, Jackson Russell Massucco, Joseph Flanders Weiss, Joshua Bo Lyford
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind