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
The Distance
Funeral for a Friend Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From the west coasts to the ocean
Mainline to the sunset
As we're sitting in the van
Heading out to mainland
Age is nothing but a number
The difference in experience that we relate
Between the words and sometimes, it's
A meaning to interpret and relate
A moment in explosions, like looking out the window
As we're passing by the places out of state
A conversation
Ending in frustration
I never saw the faces
Before it was too late
Indecision is better than compliance
Questioning the motives
Before it turns to hate
A seconds chance to get things right
Transition between the dark and the light
Coming home to the same things
Leaves me wanting more
The Distance by Funeral for a Friend is a song about the experiences and struggles of touring as a band, the toll it takes on relationships, and the importance of communication to overcome conflict. The lyrics describe the physical distance they travel between shows and the emotional distance between band members who have different levels of experience.
The opening lines, "Days in motion, from the west coasts to the ocean, mainline to the sunset," paint a picture of the constant movement and travel involved in touring. The line "age is nothing but a number, the difference in experience that we relate" expresses the idea that despite differences in age and experience, they are all united by their love of music and passion for what they do.
The chorus speaks to the challenges of communication and interpreting meaning in situations that can be explosive and emotional. The line "a meaning to interpret and relate" suggests that there are moments where they struggle to truly understand each other, but ultimately it's about finding common ground.
The second verse touches on the conflicts that can arise when spending so much time together, as seen in "a conversation ending in frustration." However, the lyrics suggest that it's better to question motives and have indecision than to let things escalate into hate. The final lines express the desire for growth and change, but also the yearning for familiarity and connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Days in motion
We've been traveling for days without stopping
From the west coasts to the ocean
We've traveled from the coastline to the middle of the sea
Mainline to the sunset
We've been on the main road, following the sun as it sets
As we're sitting in the van
We're in a van, probably cramped, but still moving
Heading out to mainland
We're headed to the bigger, more populated area
Age is nothing but a number
Our age doesn't really matter as long as we have the same experiences
The difference in experience that we relate
Our shared experiences bring us closer together despite our age difference
The distance from where the heart lies
The emotional distance between us is growing
Between the words and sometimes, it's
Sometimes the words we say don't really convey how we truly feel
A meaning to interpret and relate
We have to figure out what each other really means to understand each other
A moment in explosions, like looking out the window
Sometimes we have moments of realization and it's like seeing things through a different lens
As we're passing by the places out of state
We're moving so quickly that we can't really appreciate everything around us
A conversation
We're talking to each other
Ending in frustration
But we're not really getting anywhere and it's frustrating
I never saw the faces
We haven't really had the chance to understand each other's true personalities
Before it was too late
And now it feels like it might be too late to salvage the situation
Indecision is better than compliance
We'd rather not make a decision than agree to something we don't really understand
Questioning the motives
We need to really understand what's driving each other
Before it turns to hate
So we don't end up hating each other
A second's chance to get things right
We need another opportunity to do things better
Transition between the dark and the light
We need to move from a negative mindset to a positive one
Coming home to the same things
Returning to our usual routine
Leaves me wanting more
But it's not enough and we need something more fulfilling
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Christopher Dominic Urbanowicz, Edward Owen Lay, Russell Leetch, Thomas Michael Smith
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@alooddark7734
Conduit has got to be one of the best FFAF albums... Spine, Nails, Best Friends, The Distance, Sun-Less - so many TUNES!!
@Sophiawhite3
I have listened to this song already 50 times today! Amazing song :) Matt's songwriting improved a lot! <3
@TheSorrowingMan
Listen 1: Meh, this isn't so great. Listen 2: Actually you know, this is growing on me. Listen 3: THE DISTANCE FROM WHERE THE HEART LIES
@4LIVEMUSICVIBES
Awesome! Can't wait to hear the full album! 2 great singles so far \m/
@HarryJennings14
This album is going to be literally incredible
@alooddark7734
Funeral just keep getting better and better! I need to see this live \m/
@NitoriKun
I like that this sounds so much like something off of Memory and Humanity. Not a lot of FFAF fans favorite album, but I really liked it. I'm glad that even with some newer members they still manage to incorporate stuff from their past albums. Nothing is forgotten.
@galmargalit
Beautiful lyrics & powerful rhythm and riffs - Great!
@andykester
Used to love these guys back when they first released 7 ways and casually dressed. I decided to look them up this morning, totally forgot they were still a band. I'm happy they're still making good jams.
@alooddark7734
Conduit...such a masterpiece of an album \m/