Funeral For A Friend

In any life, the end of adolescence, the coming to terms with adulthood, is a cataclysmic time. But imagine vaulting that hurdle while a member of a rock n' roll group skyrocketing their way to fame, living through and adjusting to these changes in the public spotlight.

Imagine trying to learn from your mistakes with an ever-growing army of rabid fans hanging on your every gesture, attempting to ride out both the emotional tsunami and some truly life-altering experiences, like headlining the second stage of the Reading/Leeds weekender, like headlining the NME's Awards Tour and winning Kerrang!'s Best Newcomer award, and scoring covers on those magazines and more. Like touring with childhood heroes Iron Maiden across Europe, like following Linkin Park through America. Quite a headf***, especially if you factor in the twenty-something tumult as well.

Their music would reflect the distance Funeral For A Friend had come as musicians, as songwriters. The bludgeoning riffage was finessed, strengthened; the melodies were stronger, stickier, nagging and unforgettable. And Matt Davies' lyric sheet rang the changes further: deeper, darker, more mature, as his words navigated the same emotional icebergs he'd encountered himself over the past year.

Though Funeral For A Friend are a group stronger than the sum of their parts, true brothers of the road, it was Matt in particular who felt the pressures of the preceding months. As the group's focal point, he became the fulcrum, and sustained the deepest wounds, learned the hardest lessons, on behalf of the band. There were points where his voice suffered, where his health as a whole suffered. There was a stay in hospital. There were object lessons in why alcohol should always be respected, never abused.

(Official Biography by Funeral For A Friend)