Song: "Die Like This"
Artist: Fuel
Album: "Natural Selection"
Year: 2003
Place Of Origin: Kenton, Tennessee
Years Active: 1994 - present
WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:
"Die Like This" appears to be a song about a break-up. It seems that the relationship between the vocalist and the woman was deep and meaningful but something changed for her. For whatever reason, she chose to end the relationship with the vocalist and all he's left with is a broken heart and broken dreams that he had for both of them in the future. And now, he has to survive and move on while dealing with the hurt and pain.
FUEL DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):
1998 - Sunburn (Epic Records)
2000 - Something Like Human (Epic Records)
2003 - Natural Selection (Epic Records)
2007 - Angels & Devils (Epic Records)
2014 - Puppet Strings (Megaforce Records)
CURRENT STATUS OF FUEL:
The beginnings of Fuel take place in Tennessee back in 1994 when guitarist Carl Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie decided to form a band. Drummer Jody Abbott and vocalist/guitarist Brett Scallions soon rounded out the band. The band soon moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and began playing bars and small clubs and eventually released their first EP under the moniker, Small The Joy, in 1994. In 1996, the band, now called Fuel, dropped their third EP, "Porcelain". This EP featured the song "Shimmer". "Shimmer" started getting radio play in Pennsylvania and eventually caught the ear of Epic Records who promptly signed the band. In 1998, the band released their debut full length studio album called "Sunburn". The first single, "Shimmer", reached #2 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart and the album was eventually certified platinum. The band's sophomore effort, 2000's "Something Like Human", exploded on the charts, peaking at #17 on the Billboard 200 and being certified double platinum by 2001. The lead single, "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" was #1 for 12 weeks on the Modern Rock Tracks chart and was declared Billboard's #5 Rock song of the decade. While never attaining the success of "Something Like Human", Fuel's third album, "Natural Selection", was also successful, even nominated for a Grammy. In 2006, vocalist Brett Scallions left the band. Rumors were rampant that it had to do with his voice but Scallions quickly denied that and said it was really just a lack of passion for continuing with the project. The band would settle on Toryn Green to become the new lead singer for Fuel in 2007 and the band dropped a new record, "Angels & Devils" in that same year. Green's vocals were very similar to that of Scallions. It's tough for a band to totally change their sound after years of success so that probably went into the process of settling on a new singer. I'm sure they wanted to still sound like Fuel. Green was like Brett Scallions-lite in my mind however. Something was missing. "Angels & Devils" did reach #42 on the Billboard 200 charts however sales dropped off after the first month of it's release. The band basically broke up after this album. In 2010, former vocalist Brett Scallions announced that he was re-forming Fuel, albeit with all new members. Word is that he tried to get Abercrombie, Bell and Abbott back together to reform the original line-up but all of them declined. The band in it's current state has been sort of a revolving door of band members, Scallions being the only constant, but they eventually released a new album in 2014, "Puppet Strings". In 2016, Scallions announced that he was working on new material for a brand new Fuel record that he hoped would be released in 2017, but here we are in 2018 and no new Fuel album yet. Fuel is currently touring the United States for what is the 20th anniversary of their debut album "Sunburn". Scallions has said that the band intends to play the record in it's entirety to celebrate the anniversary. Fuel is your typical post-grunge, mainstream rock band of the late 90's and early 2000's. Their sound doesn't reinvent the wheel, but they are definitely at the forefront of popular rock radio. If you like bands like Oleander, Puddle Of Mudd, Finger Eleven, Trapt or Candlebox, then you most likely would enjoy Fuel. Carl Bell wrote some great songs for this band and Brett Scallions' vocals brought them to life. Scallions is a really good vocalist and really stood out from his contemporaries. His cover of Elton John's "Daniel" is epic, especially if you've heard the live version. Their new album, "Puppet Strings", is good, but Scallions clearly isn't the songwriter that Bell is. It would be magic if the two of them can eventually get back on the same page and get the real Fuel back together. That doesn't seem like it's in the cards however as Bell is focused on working with other artists, as well as a solo country career.
TEN FUEL SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:
1. Shimmer
2. Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
3. Bittersweet
4. Daniel
5. Bad Day
6. Falls On Me
7. Sunburn
8. Innocent
9. Soul To Preach To
10. Million Miles
No comments:
Post a Comment