The band's debut full-length album Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation was released in October 2003. Various singles were lifted off this, including Bullet Theory, Juneau (Juno on previous EPs), She Drove Me To Daytime TV and Escape Artists Never Die. After a B-side to Escape Artists Never Die was released as a single, this was called You Want Romance? the video was sequal to Bullet Theory
A DVD named Spilling Blood In 8MM was released only a year after, documenting every music video, including the two from the EPs 10:45 Amsterdam Conversations and This Year's Most Open Heartbreak, live footage, and the first album's promotion tour, discography, chronology and an exclusive video for Juneau acoustic
In the United States, the EP Seven Ways To Scream Your Name was released instead. It featured three of the tracks from Four Ways To Scream Your Name, three from Between Order And Model and a further unreleased track. The debut was released later.
The second album Hours was released in 2005. Streetcar, Monsters, History and Roses for the Dead have been released as singles.
Funeral For A Friend released the first single, off their 3rd album, Into Oblivion (Reunion) on May 7th 2007 and the album Tales Don't Tell Themselves was released on May 14th 2007. The album caused much controversy with fans of their earlier albums, especially with fans of their EPs and 'Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation', due to a major change in their sound to a more melodic version of their earlier post-hardcore. The band then released the ninth track on Tales Don't Tell Themselves Walk Away. Then the release of The Great Wide Open came in a form of an EP highlighting the bands earlier part of their career containing not only the single The Great Wide Open but live versions of most of their older EP songs.
FFAF released a new album in 2008 via their newly formed label Join Us, after leaving Atlantic. On the 27th August 2008, it was announced that the band had licensed their new record to Victory Records for the U.S. and Canadian releases. The album was released via the label on October 28, 2008. It was also released via Roadrunner Records in the rest of the world, apart from the UK, where it was released through the band's own label, Join Us.
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."
On June 24, 2009 it was revealed in Kerrang! magazine that the band were to release a greatest hits album, entitled Your History Is Mine: 2002-2009, on September 28, 2009. The compilation is to also contain four brand new tracks, which will be the first new material released by the band since the arrival of Burrough.
On April 26, 2010, Funeral for a Friend wrote on their forum about their lineup change, paying homage to the departure of their friend Darran Smith, but also announcing the new member. Gavin Burrough changed instrument from bass to guitar, taking over Darran's place as guitarist, and Richard Boucher became the new bassist of Funeral for a Friend.
On May 3, 2010 the band announced that they will be releasing a special new EP to fans who "pledged" through website pledgemusic.com, the "pledge" options include the EP, a signed EP and even an acoustic performance by the band at a fan's residence.[12] On July 1, 2010 the band revealed that the EP will be titled "The Young and Defenseless" and also revealed the cover art. The EP was subsequently released for download on September 6, 2010 and physical release was a week later. Towards the end of October 2010 they finished a session of recording for a new album for which a name and date were yet to be announced. On 2 November, they played two new songs, confirmed to be on this album (which was announced as due for release in March 2011), called "Man Alive" and "Front Row Seats to the End of the World". Another song title was confirmed as "Spinning Over the Island."
On 10 January 2011, the band released the official video for the album's leading single "Front Row Seats to the End of the World" and announced their fifth studio album would be called Welcome Home Armageddon. On 24 January, it was announced that the album was to be released by Good Fight Music, a move that would reconnect the band with the original label team that released Seven Ways to Scream Your Name and Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation. Welcome Home Armageddon was released 14 March 2011 in Britain through Distiller Records and 15 March in the United States through Good Fight and later on distributed through Roadrunner to the rest of the world.
On 22 May 2012, Ryan Richards announced that he was leaving the band. He cited his family as the reason, saying: “I’ve always put music first in my life – but the time has come now for my family to take the top spot”. It was the band's initial intention that Richards would not be replaced instantly and that the band would only look for a touring member to play for the band. However, it was announced on that Pat Lundy would be joining the band as Richards' replacement. Lundy is the former drummer of London-based heavy metal band Rise to Remain, having left the band in January 2012. Funeral for a Friend spent all of 2012, bar their brief festival appearances writing and recording for their sixth studio album. Over the year they released several studio updates showing the band members tracking different instruments for the album.
On 4 October of that year the band confirmed the title and release date of their sixth album Conduit for a 28 January 2013 release in the United Kingdom and on 5 February 2013 through The End Records In the United States.
On 28 September 2014, Funeral for a Friend debuted the lead single from their forthcoming album Chapter and Verse, titled "You've Got a Bad Case of the Religions" on the Rock Show on BBC Radio 1. The band then announced the album's release date of January 19, 2015 as well as a UK/European Tour in support of the album.
On 14 September 2015, Funeral for a Friend announced their breakup and the 'Last Chance to Dance' final tour across Australia, Germany and the UK, which spanned from February to April 2016; they played two subsequent nights on each stop of the tour, performing Hours and Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation in their entirety (alongside other songs) on the first and second night respectively.
In August 2019, Funeral for a Friend announced two special reunion concerts, with the proceedings going to the family of a terminally ill friend of the band. The two shows were set to be on 28 and 29 October at The Globe in Cardiff and O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. As well as members Matt Davies-Kreye, Kris Coombs-Roberts, Gav Burrough, and Richard Boucher, the band will be joined by former guitarist Darran Smith and drummer/screamer Ryan Richards. After the initial two dates sold out quickly, the Cardiff show was upgraded from The Globe to the Cardiff Student Union, and a second Cardiff date was added for 27 October.
On 27 January 2020, Download festival announced their upcoming performance as part of the 2020 lineup. The festival would be cancelled in April, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. In September 2021, the band were a late addition to Slam Dunk festival. In July 2020, the band announced that they would be touring the UK in April 2021 playing songs from Casually-dressed & deep in Conversation, Hours, and Tales don't tell themselves, also due to COVID-19 the tour dates were postponed, taking place in early March 2022. After the initial dates sold out, the band added two additional dates in Cardiff and London and upgraded the venues for Manchester and Glasgow, which was then followed up with four additional dates in Leeds, Bristol, and Bournemouth alongside a third London date at Shepherd's Bush Empire. Due to illness, Richard Boucher was replaced on bass for the last 4 shows by the band's guitar-tech Steve Nash.
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Rise and Fall
Funeral for a Friend Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a moment we are, prepared.
This waves unrest, finds us all dead,
One night beyond these walls.
Under turrets we close the call,
Let the water rise above us all.
Let the water rise above us all.
One night beyond these walls witnessed,
Our rise and fall.
Empire will wait, outside these gates,
Convert, and conquer all.
Under turrets we close the call
Let the water rise above us all.
Under turrets we close the call
Let the water rise above us all.
And it's enough, to choke us all,
We're living through, the rise and fall,
And it's enough, to choke us all,
We're living through, the rise and fall.
Under turrets we close the call,
Let the water rise above us all.
Under turrets we close the call,
Let the water rise above us all.
The rise and fall, above us all, the rise and fall.
The rise and fall, above us all, the rise and fall.
The opening lines of "Rise and Fall" by Funeral for a Friend seem to suggest a call to arms. It seems like there's some sort of battle or siege happening, and everyone is needed to help defend against it. The lyrics "Calm the storm, we man the ramparts, / In a moment we are, prepared" indicate that people are working together to brace themselves for whatever is coming. However, even with the preparations, the second stanza suggests that things go wrong: "This waves unrest, finds us all dead, / One night beyond these walls." It's possible that the people aren't able to fend off the attack, or perhaps some unforeseen event occurs that results in everyone's demise.
Despite the tragedy that has occurred, the chorus remains defiant: "Under turrets we close the call, / Let the water rise above us all. / And it's enough, to choke us all, / We're living through, the rise and fall." The water rising above them could be a metaphor for death or destruction, but the repetition of the phrase "the rise and fall" suggests that this is something that humanity goes through constantly. In fact, the fourth stanza suggests that this is just one small event in a larger cycle of empires rising and falling: "Empire will wait, outside these gates, / Convert, and conquer all." It's possible that the people in the song were simply caught in the crossfire of a larger conflict they had no control over.
Overall, "Rise and Fall" by Funeral for a Friend is a powerful song about the futility of human resistance against time and change. The call to arms and preparations may have been valiant and brave, but ultimately they weren't enough to stop the inevitable.
Line by Line Meaning
Calm the storm, we man the ramparts,
We are preparing for an upcoming conflict and will defend ourselves against it.
In a moment we are, prepared.
We are ready for anything that may happen at any time.
This wave's unrest, finds us all dead,
If we do not properly handle this disturbance, it can lead to our demise.
One night beyond these walls.
An imminent event is expected to happen outside of our current location and we are not sure how it will affect us.
Under turrets we close the call,
We are taking shelter and making an effort to protect ourselves from the chaos outside.
Let the water rise above us all.
We are willing to endure whatever the current situation brings even if it leads to drowning.
Our rise and fall witnessed,
One incident will determine whether we succeed or fail.
Empire will wait, outside these gates,
There is a powerful force beyond our gates and they are willing to wait for us to falter, so they can conquer us.
Convert, and conquer all.
They plan to change us to their own beliefs and then take over everything we have left.
And it's enough, to choke us all,
The current state of events is suffocating us and causing immense stress and anxiety.
We're living through, the rise and fall,
We are currently experiencing a momentous event that can either lead us to exceed or to fail.
The rise and fall, above us all, the rise and fall.
The outcome of the current event will greatly affect all of us and no one is exempted from its impact.
Contributed by Alexis H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.