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
This Letter
Funeral for a Friend Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And leave me with this scar
As it takes another second
To let me go too far
It doesn't seem to matter, any more
The road less traveled
Is taking me home
I could write another letter
And never write one word
As it takes another second
To let me go too far
It doesn't seem to matter, any more
The road less traveled
Is taking me home
And if you want me to hold you
I won't
The Road less traveled
Is taking you home
As you swallow your confession
And leave this as it is
As it takes another second
For I wished I was dead
The letters you wrote me
The letters you wrote me
The letters you wrote me
I wished I was dead
I wished I was dead
This letter's gone too far
And I can't let you go.
Funeral for a Friend's song "This Letter" is a song about a relationship gone wrong. The song explores the pain of holding onto someone after they have hurt you deeply. The lyrics "As you swallow this confession / And leave me with this scar" suggest that the singer is dealing with the aftermath of a betrayal. They have received some sort of confession, but it has left them wounded. The line "It doesn't seem to matter, any more / The road less traveled / Is taking me home" shows that the singer has come to accept their pain and is ready to move on.
The chorus of the song is particularly poignant, "I could write another letter / And never write one word / As it takes another second /To let me go too far / It doesn't seem to matter, any more / The road less traveled / Is taking me home." The singer is acknowledging that they could reach out one more time but they know it's not worth it. They've already gone too far, and the relationship is beyond saving. The "road less traveled" that is taking them home is a metaphor for the new direction they are taking. They are walking away from this painful relationship and choosing to move on to something better.
Finally, the repeated line "As it takes another second / For I wished I was dead" shows how deeply the singer has been hurt. The confession they received has clearly caused them immense pain, and they wish the relationship had never started in the first place. The final line, "This letter's gone too far / And I can't let you go," brings the song full circle. The singer realizes that they have gone too far in their attempts to hold onto this relationship, but they still can't let go.
Line by Line Meaning
As you swallow this confession
As you take in and internalize what I'm about to say next (probably a confession of some sort)
And leave me with this scar
And as a result of what I'm about to say, you'll hurt me in a way that leaves a lasting mark (a scar)
As it takes another second
As time seems to move very slowly
To let me go too far
To allow me to say or do something that may be irreversible or cause damage
It doesn't seem to matter, any more
The consequences of our actions no longer seem to have any significance
The road less traveled
The unconventional path
Is taking me home
Is leading me to where I feel I belong, even if it's not the norm
I could write another letter
I could try to communicate with you again
And never write one word
Yet, not actually say anything meaningful
And if you want me to hold you
And if you want me to comfort you
I won't
I won't be able to do that for you
As you swallow your confession
As you try to deal with your own feelings of guilt or shame
And leave this as it is
And choose not to address the issue(s) at hand
For I wished I was dead
I am in so much pain that I wished I was no longer alive
The letters you wrote me
The letters you left behind as evidence of our communication
I wished I was dead
I am in so much pain that I wished I was no longer alive
This letter's gone too far
This message has gone beyond its original intent and become something much more complex
And I can't let you go.
And I can't seem to move on from this situation, it still has a hold on me.
Contributed by Connor V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
COURTLANDELLIOT
simply the perfect song! I couldn't describe this any other way! 8D
Grumpy Canadian
I listen to everything by them, and it is better than normal poetry
COURTLANDELLIOT
well all of their albums are good I just love their acoustic side more I am more of an acoustic person myself :)
Frettsy
beautiful.
Natalie Gordon
Going to see them tomorow WOO! ..there amazing :P
Thomas JM
Beautiful ...
skylarfied97
my boyfriend broke up with me today...then i found this song....how ironic... .....it was 3 weeks today, but i've known him longer than that.....i love him, and now we're done......
Mike St Pierre
@Funeral4aFan the best bands always evolve, no one can expect them to sound the same album to album, because that would just be pointless and boring for the band. What matters is that FFAF is an amazing group of guys that make awesome music and as such you are quite correct.
cfb mega
omg this really made me cry
Grumpy Canadian
many people will say MUSIC is audio Poetry