RUSHONROCK.COM

With their newly released Best Of bringing together the key cuts from this seminal British rock band it’s high time Funeral For A Friend started gaining the widespread respect their multi-faceted music deserves.

Currently dividing their time between touring the Far East and penning album number five this is a key period for the rushonrock faves.

And we were keen to find out what makes ‘new boy’ Gavin Burrough tick now he’s a fully fledged rock God. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s another almighty week of music mayhem on the UK’s fastest-growing independent rock and metal website and kicking it all off we’ve got a couple of British legends. Motorhead play Newcastle’s City Hall tomorrow and Saxon frontman Biff Byford checks in for an exclusive chat with the rushonrock team!

It’s a busy seven days for live action with Rise Against, Thursday and Poison The Well playing Newcastle’s Academy on Wednesday before the double header that is Yes and Bring Me The Horizon on Friday. Elliott Minor play tracks off new album Solaris on Saturday and The Butterfly Effect head to the North East the following day.

Gavin from Funeral For A Friend is the latest victim of the rushonrock Rider and Joan Jett hits The Vinyl Countdown as we hit finally hit the top five. But there’s more! Read the rest of this entry »

Funeral For A Friend have emerged as one of the brightest and most ambitious bands on the British rock scene during the past decade and a fifth album is on the horizon.

The band is headlining a UK tour this month and former label Atlantic Records certainly seem to recognise the value in the Welsh dragons – releasing a career-spanning Best Of collection last month. rushonrock caught up with ‘new boy’ Gavin Burrough to get the lowdon on all things FFAF. Read the rest of this entry »

To celebrate the release of Kiss‘ best record for decades we’re dedicating a whole week of coverage to our favourite pantomime rockers so expect Klassik Kiss, Kisstory lessons and, of course, a full review of the sensational Sonic Boom!

Ahead of their UK tour – and on the back of their new Best Of collection - we catch up with Funeral For A Friend for another rushonrock exclusive interview. And Blackhole‘s Richard Carter makes a welcome return to these pages as he gives us the lowdown on life outside the band in the rushonrock Rider.

Led Zeppelin tribute band Dread Zeppelin hit The Vinyl Countdown with their reggae-tinged version of Heartbreaker and later in the week we’re hoping to catch up with North East noise crew The Casino Brawl. But that’s not all! Read the rest of this entry »

Steve Vai might have had the good sense to delay the release of his new album for seven days (we’ll rate it right here next Sunday) but we’re still bringing you the rushonrock verdict on a whopping eight albums this week – including the debut from Wednesday 13′s (pictured) new project Gunfire 76.

There’s the story so far from Funeral For A Friend, a triumph though adversity from Paramore and a punk rock double via Bullets And Octane. Heavyweight Best Of releases by Rainbow and Mott The Hoople slug it out for the heritage vote and we’ve got Germany’s Toja and Italy’s Fab Box flying the flag for Euro rock. Read the rest of this entry »

We might have to hang on until January and the arrival of the 2009 Kerrang! Tour but judging by this little gem it will be well worth the wait for North East rock fans everywhere. Yes, Monday finally sees the long-awaited release of In Case Of Fire’s stonking debut single and it should set the band on the road to instant superstardom.

This Time We Stand is the first evidence of ICOF’s progress since signing to major label Zomba and all that potential has been fulfilled. Released on Search And Destroy Records through Raw Power Management – the home of Funeral For A Friend, Bullet For My Valentine and all of Backyard Babies’ other fave UK bands (!) - it’s a smoking effort from these cheeky Brit upstarts.

As usual rushonrock is celebrating the release with something special and if you click on the video below it’s possible to see the ICOF boys putting together the video for This Time We Stand. Tickets are on sale now for the January 28 stop on the Kerrang! Relentless Tour 2009 which takes in Newcastle Carling Academy…

News reaches us that those fine young me from Funeral For A Friend have joined forces with our favourite Wii game to pull together a series of special club nights next month.

Yes, FFAF and Guitar Hero are taking over Middlesbrough’s Metropolis @ The Empire on Saturday November 8 to give rock fans the chance to become Darran Smith and/or Kris Coombs-Roberts for one night only.

With game giveaways and the chance to hear the band’s latest album (which we still haven’t!) this promises to be one mighty night of metal mayhem on Teesside. Just remember that Darran and Kris are professionals. And you’re not.

If, like us , you’ve yet to get your hands on a copy of Funeral For A Friend’s latest then don’t part with your hard-earned cash just yet.

The boys have done us all a favour by setting up a link which allows fans and potential fans to sample their wares on-line before making the big decision to hand over the big bucks.

It’s a bright idea totally in keeping with one of the nation’s most innovative bands and is bound to bump up sales of Memory And Humanity in the long term.

Let’s just say there is a certain class about the songs on offer here and FFAF’s new record is already pressing its claims to be included among 2008′s best. The band fuses a new-found maturity with its trademark power to leave the opposition trailing. But then that’s only our view. Click on the following to see for yourself and then post a comment below.

http://www.ilike.com/artist/Funeral+For+A+Friend 

It may be four weeks before Funeral For A Friend release the cracking Kicking And Screaming but here at rushonrock we’re celebrating a new month with a new video.

The Welsh noise merchants release fourth album Memory And Humanity on October 13 and this is the second taster from what promises to be another essential record.

“I remember myself and Matt knocking down a rough instrumental version of this track on a day off in Germany,” drummer Ryan Richards explained. “It was only really a couple of riffs, a sampled beat and the synth in the chorus but even then there was a welath of melody going on. It’s basically a pop song played loud, hard and turned up to 11.”

Turned up to 11 is just what we like so click on the above and whet your appetite for another slap of funtastic FFAF. It’s just a shame that their army of North East fans will have to travel as far afield as Whitehaven (Civic Hall, Oct 23) or Leeds (Met Uni, Oct 19) to catch a glimpse of the boys on this autumn’s UK tour…

* Kicking And Screaming is released in four formats on September 29.