From Autumn To Ashes

On From Autumn To Ashes’ Vagrant Records debut, The Fiction We Live, there is a rather poignant lyric that says, “This is not a product / And we’re not in a competition / Waiting for the right time to strike a chord / And change your life.” According to band drummer and melodic vocalist Fran Mark, “That sums up how we feel about our album. Some bands are in competition, and their only goal is to sell more records than other bands every week. That’s insanity and that’s definitely not why you should play music. Maybe that’s why we stand out.” It’s that kind of work ethic, and attitude towards their stormy, as beautiful-as-it-is-brutal metalcore, that has elevated Long Island’s From Autumn To Ashes head and shoulders above the scores of soundalike, indistinguishable peers of their genre. The Fiction We Live is at once sophisticated and scarring, smart without being too high concept and esoteric. This resonant album generates metalcore that strikes the chord with and speaks directly into the ears of impassioned hardcore, metal, punk rock and emo fans. The three-year old quintet has spent the two years since the release of their stunning debut, Too Bad You’re Beautiful, wisely. They’ve enjoyed a two stints on the Vans Warped Tour, sold out countless headline shows throughout North America and beyond, performed on this years infamous Donington Festival (Metallica, Audioslave, Iron Maiden) in England and went on to sell over 50,000 units on Ferret Music, an indie with limited distribution. From Autumn To Ashes eventually became the highest selling band in the label’s history. They have shared stages with Thursday, Taking Back Sunday, and Finch in their quest for hardcore domination and even recorded an acoustic track for a punk rock compilation with former Guns N’ Roses member, Gilby Clarke, all in the span of a few years. From Autumn To Ashes, or FATA, as they are affectionately referred to by friends and fans, looks at itself as a band with bipolar styles. “It’s almost like we’re a band with an identity crisis,” says Fran Mark. “We don’t settle down into one style, really. It’s definitely from a hardcore background and has hardcore elements. But there are other members of the band that bring rock elements to the table. Our goal, as far as sound goes, is to not conform to one style but to create our own sound.” Getting from A to Z on The Fiction We Live was a long, yet fulfilling process. The band, who wrote the album on their own dime and time while being courted by a variety of major and independent labels, admits this record is less frantic and less chaotic, as far as songwriting and production are concerned. “Because of our touring schedule, we never got a chance to sit down and write the record at once,” recalls Fran. “Some of these songs are almost two years old because we used to work stuff out on the road. However, some of the ideas came to life in the studio. That was the best thing about studio time. We were able to put vocal ideas together there.” FATA also feels that The Fiction We Live is the direct result of experience and growth through touring. Ultimately, the band tightened and honed its songcraft. The band hunkered down in the studio, setting a deadline and sticking to it. “We have the greatest fans in the world,” says Mark. “They’re loyal, like friends. I see them coming to 7 or 8 shows, and we’re playing the same material for them. It was our responsibility to get new music out to them. We promised ourselves that in March of 2003, even if Metallica offered us a tour, we would turn it down and record! We wanted it to be out by summer, even if we had to bootleg it and sell out of trunk of our cars!” Such was not the fate of The Fiction We Live. Successful indie label Vagrant Records heard the material and stepped in, since many of its employees were already fans of the band. While FATA are a smart, high-concept band – after all, Autumn is a character in a book yet to be written, not a reference to the season- The Fiction We Live has concepts occurring throughout, along with the ironic song titles we’ve come to expect. “There is one song in two parts,” Mark explains. “Part One is ‘Autumn’s Monologue’ and then title track is the response, the acoustic answer to the other song. We’ve really pushed the opposites a little further on this album.” The Fiction We Live definitely continues FATA’s dedication to dynamics, tempering raging storms with respites of gorgeous, lush calm instrumentation, pitting Ben Perri’s ruthless barks against Mark’s clean harmonies. The pair have a unique yin/yang vocal duality, best evidenced by “Lilacs And Lolita.” They both write their own lyrics from totally different perspectives, then sew them together. While this might seem incongruous, for FATA, it works. “Sure, it can throw you, to have two opposite viewpoints,” Mark reasons. “But you can get a two for one, pull so much more meaning out of songs.” The Fiction We Live, kicking off with the fire ‘n brimstone “The After Dinner Payback” and running through devastating tracks like “Milligram Smile” and “Alive Out Of Habit,” brings “aesthetic arrest” to its listeners, and that is what FATA hopes for. To have its fans and listeners take a 45 minute break from whatever is going on in their lives, and lose themselves in the music. From Autumn To Ashes have always remained “ahead of the curve hardcore,” expressly designed for the twenty-something, thinking men and women out there. The fivesome ups the ante on The Fiction We Live. The album gives listeners, both fanatical and casual, proof that music is the universal language we all speak. And that’s a fact.