Funereal air

The name Funeral for a Friend might be relatively new to some listeners but for those whose musical passion include hardcore and post punk, the name rings the loudest bell. The emo rock band from Wales has been around for almost a decade with string of hits under their belt.

The band treated Thai fans to a concert at Baryantree Maxx on Ratchadapisek Road earlier this month, with local rock 'n' rollers packing into the compact venue to support the band.

 "We're just going on tours and meeting our fans around the world for the time being," lead vocalist Matthew Davies said in an interview backstage, just an hour before the show. "We've only had this album for just a few months, so no plans for the new album yet. But individually we collect our own material and we write constantly. When the time comes we just put it all together, that's how we work."

Intense and complex, yet melodic and appealing, "Tales Don't Tell Themselves" is a concept album. The album is a tale of a fisherman called David who gets stranded in the middle of the stormy sea in a shipwreck. The sole survivor, drifting and believing himself to be dying, he looks back over his life. Eventually, as the album comes to a close, he hits land, builds himself a raft, and gets home to his family. Though there's not really a standout track, the album gives Funeral for a Friend's music attractive depth - definitely an album new fans need to get their hands on to get the sense of the band. "Anyway, it all opens for interpretations," Davies adds.

As one of Wales' most outstanding and most successful rock bands -their peers include Lostprophets, Stereophonics and Catatonia - Funeral for a Friend was among the first bands to get emo - short for the offshoot of post-punk hardcore rock called emotional hardcore - noticed by the mainstream. The band also inspired and influenced younger generation bands such as My Chemical Romance and Dalton Grant.

"The music scene in Wales is pretty spread out with all sorts of music," Davies says. "It's not all about rock actually, or punk rock like us. And we get inspired all the time from the people we met on tours, or bands you've never heard of before.  It's not something you could call Welsh music, though, but it's really interesting and we're glad to be part of the scene."

After the concert in Bangkok, the group is headed back to Europe before landing in the UK at the end of the year. "We're going to have a break around Christmas. We're married and want to spend some time with our families," Davies said.

Formed in 2001 in South Wales, the band initially started out as a punk/post-hardcore band called January Thirst. When one of the original vocalists quit later that year, the remaining members invited Matthew Davies to replace him, then changed the name to Funeral for a Friend, which was taken from the title of a song by American emo band Planes Mistaken for Stars. Funeral for a Friend recorded a self-financed debut EP, "Between Order & Model", which got them a two-album deal with Mighty Atoms Records.

In 2003, the band released another EP - a seven track mini CD called "Four Ways to Scream Your Name", which brought them widespread reputation as Wales' most aspiring "new generation post-punk band". Both EPs are out of print and are highly sought after by fans and collectors.

In mid-2003, Funeral for a Friend won the Best UK Newcomer award by Kerrang! magazine to secure their stardom and popularity in the UK music industry. Their appearance on the cover of Kerrang! earned them the attention of Warner Music's Atlantic Records. Meanwhile, the band released its full-length debut album, "Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation", in October 2003 on indie label, Ferret Records.

Though their record had not yet been released in the US, Funeral for a Friend embarked on a series of high-profile touring engagements, including a series of European dates opening for Iron Maiden and Linkin Park.

The quintet released their second album (and major label debut), "Hours", in 2005. That pushed them forward to the same level as renowned rock bands Deftones and the like. Their third and the most recent album,"Tales Don't Tell Themselves", was released in May this year with catchy tracks like "Into Oblivion (Reunion)" as a chart climber, and "Walk Away" as the second single and music video.

Funeral for a Friend is:

Matthew Davies - lead vocals

Darren Smith - guitar

Kris Coombs-Roberts - guitar

Gareth Davies - bass 

Ryan Richards - drums

Manta Klangboonkrong