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.
Official site
Brazilian fansite
Spinning Over the Island
Funeral for a Friend Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Clockwork hearts, running out
Rusted needle in the vein
We all fall down
We find our place, in circuitry
We worship our gods, the TV screens
We substitute, our lives for another
It's kill or be killed
It's our nature
To give up control
It's our failure
Like young lovers planting seeds
It's anarchy, head down in shame
Seasons come and seasons go and
We grow old, never learn from our mistakes
Around the crown, we all fall down
Rusted people all in vain, corroding in the rain
A well-made dream, flog it down, destroyed it for you
Your time well spent, a living lie that covers everything
It's kill or be killed
It's our nature
To give up control
It's our failure
Like young lovers planting seeds
It's anarchy, head down in shame
Seasons come and seasons go and
We grow old, never learn from our mistakes
Never
Cross the river, down we go, hold me under
Hold your breath, and play the part, race towards the finish line
Cross the river, down we go, hold me under
Hold your breath, and play the part, race towards the finish line
Race towards the finish line
What's mine is yours and yours is mine
Race towards the finish line
What's mine is yours and yours is mine
Race towards the finish line
What's mine is yours and yours is mine
Race towards the finish line
And hope is something you have lost
The past is holding on and on
And hope is something you have lost
The past is holding on and on and on
The song "Spinning Over The Island" by Funeral for a Friend is a powerful commentary on the human condition and our tendency to fall into destructive patterns. The opening lines "It falls apart, Clockwork hearts, running out" set the mood for the rest of the song. Clockwork hearts imply that there is no soul, and that people are just going through the motions. The next line, "Rusted needle in the vein" refers to addiction and how we can become dependent on whatever it is that helps us escape, whether it's drugs, TV or anything else. When the line "We all fall down" is repeated throughout the song, it refers to how everybody is affected by the difficulties and challenges that come with life. Eventually, we all break down.
Later in the song, the lyrics "It's kill or be killed, it's our nature / To give up control, it's our failure," imply that we are all just trying to survive, but by trying to survive and giving up control, we are allowing ourselves to fail. The line "Like young lovers planting seeds / It's anarchy, head down in shame" shows how we repeat the same destructive patterns throughout our lives, and are never able to break free. The implication of the phrase "head down in shame" is that we are aware that we should be doing better, but we are too weak to do so.
Throughout the song, there is a sense of inevitability and hopelessness. The idea that "we grow old, never learn from our mistakes" reinforces this. Similarly, the lines "and hope is something you have lost / the past is holding on and on" speak to the idea that we are all haunted by our past and that it is difficult to move on.
Line by Line Meaning
It falls apart
Everything is falling apart.
Clockwork hearts, running out
Our hearts are ticking like clocks and soon our time will be up.
Rusted needle in the vein
We are injecting ourselves with rusted needles, which is slowly killing us.
We all fall down
We are all going down together.
We find our place, in circuitry
We feel at home in the digital world of circuitry.
We worship our gods, the TV screens
We have replaced religion with the worship of TV screens.
We substitute, our lives for another
We live vicariously through others instead of living our own lives.
It's kill or be killed
Life is a constant struggle for survival.
It's our nature
This is just the way we are.
To give up control
We cannot control everything.
It's our failure
This is our greatest failure.
Like young lovers planting seeds
We are planting seeds for the future, but we are inexperienced and unaware of consequences.
It's anarchy, head down in shame
The world has become chaotic and we are embarrassed of what we have created.
Seasons come and seasons go and
Time keeps moving forward.
We grow old, never learn from our mistakes
Despite getting older, we keep repeating our past mistakes.
Around the crown, we all fall down
We are all going to fall eventually.
Rusted people all in vain, corroding in the rain
We are all degrading over time, with no real purpose.
A well-made dream, flog it down, destroyed it for you
We had a perfect dream, but we destroyed it all in the end.
Your time well spent, a living lie that covers everything
We have spent our lives living a lie and covering up the truth.
Cross the river, down we go, hold me under
We are going down the river together, holding onto each other as we sink.
Hold your breath, and play the part, race towards the finish line
We must keep going, keep holding our breath, and act as if everything is okay as we race towards the end of our lives.
What's mine is yours and yours is mine
We are all in this together.
And hope is something you have lost
We have lost all hope for the future.
The past is holding on and on
We cannot escape the past and its consequences.
And hope is something you have lost
We have lost all hope for the future.
The past is holding on and on and on
The past just keeps holding onto us.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GAVIN BURROUGH, KRIS COOMBS-ROBERTS, MATTHEW DAVIES-KREYE, RICHARD BOUCHER, RYAN RICHARDS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Steven Gordon
2021 and Im still obsessesd with this band. My all time favourites. Cant find any bands with a similar vibe. Even live they sound this damn good.
T W
yeah they kick ass
ImZerker
22
Quackhead503
I really hope someone younger than I feels something from this song. I love this band...it was my childhood...hopefully somebody can relate.
Simon Jackson
Helped me through so much, still helping me! By far the best band ive listened to in a long time.
Cymbal Monkey
Drummer here, still playing Roses for the dead, Sonny and History 10 years later!
Cymbal Monkey
Logan Kuhne I said I'm a drummer, not they're drummer?
T W
these guys are reidiculously talented! they need to come back!!
afrogranny
I can't believe this was recorded live, it sounds like the studio version of the song!
Waffentalen
In my opinion, this song is just soooooooooooo awesome. It has everything beautiful, like lyrics, guitar rythms, breakdown, scream and clean voices. Strength, melody, beauty.