- I Set My Friends On Fire
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I Set My Friends on Fire Also known as The Cavalry Kids
ISMFOFOrigin Miami, Florida, USA Genres Post-hardcore, crunkcore, avant-garde metal Years active 2007–present Labels Epitaph Associated acts From First to Last, The Color of Violence, The Human Abstract, As The Plot Thickens Website Official Facebook Members Matt Mehana Past members Nabil Moo
Chris LentI Set My Friends on Fire (often abbreviated ISMFOF) is an American crunkcore group from Miami, Florida. The band was formed in 2007 by Matt Mehana and former member Nabil Moo. The group signed with Epitaph Records before releasing their debut album, You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter, in 2008. The band's latest album, Astral Rejection, was released on June 21, 2011.
Contents
History
I Set My Friends on Fire EP (2007—2008)
Matt Mehana and Nabil Moo were previously in a well-received local act named We Are The Cavalry. After their disbanding, Mehana and Moo began making songs under the name "I Set My Friends on Fire". Some assumed that the new name was derived from the Aiden song of the same title. The group, however, explained that the name was purely original. They garnered a large audience due in part to MySpace, where their first single, a rendition of Soulja Boy Tell 'Em's "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" (originally entitled "Crank That Cavalry Boy") received more than one million plays.[1][2] Nonetheless, the duo's MySpace page was removed three times because MySpace had assumed that the duo were using software to increase the number of plays.[1] The band released a self titled EP before releasing their first album. The EP features the songs "Crank That", "ASL", and "Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beerholder".
You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter (2008-2009)
The duo then signed to Epitaph Records,[3] who released their debut album You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter on October 7, 2008.[1] The band received negative to mixed reception from various critics. You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter reached #29 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.[4] The song "Things That Rhyme with Orange" was the second single off of the album and their third single overall. The music video was released soon after.
Works with Smosh (2009)
On November 21, 2008 the comedy duo Smosh had teamed up with I Set My Friends on Fire and released their first music video and second single, called "Sex Ed Rocks" with over 18,000,000 views.[5] Later in September 2009, they teamed up yet again and released their second music video and fourth single, called "Four Years Foreplay" with over 4,000,000 views.[6] "Four Years Foreplay" featured I Set My Friends On Fire's new drummer Chris Lent from From First To Last. In an interview with BVTV, Matt stated that he and Anthony Padilla of Smosh had been talking about new ideas.[7]
Astral Rejection (2010—present)
I Set My Friends on Fire entered the studio in early 2010 to write and record their second album. The group performed at The Bamboozle on May 1, 2010 and then entered the studio for a second time on June 2, 2010 to finish up their upcoming album. The first single off of the album, "Excite Dyke", was exclusively released via digital download on June 15, 2010, as part of a new Epitaph compilation CD entitled "New Noise Vol. 1".[8]
In 2010 the band played on the "Scream It Like You Mean It 2010" tour with Silverstein, Emery, We Came As Romans, Dance Gavin Dance, Sky Eats Airplane, Ivoryline, and Close To Home. It was announced on this tour that Nabil Moo had left the band.[7] Blake Steiner, guitarist for the band From First to Last, played for I Set My Friends on Fire for the remainder of the tour. In support of the upcoming album, the band took part in the fourth annual Artery Foundation Across the Nation Tour and played all of Warped Tour 2011. The band also played the The Artery Foundation SXSW Showdown 2011 on March 17 in Texas, alongside Asking Alexandria, Whitechapel, Chiodos, Dance Gavin Dance, Iwrestledabearonce, Of Mice and Men, and more. I Set My Friends on Fire opened for A Skylit Drive on their European Identity On Fire tour in September 2010.
The second single off of Astral Rejection, titled "It Comes Naturally" was released on iTunes on March 21, 2011,[9] with a lyric video released on YouTube March 23.[10] Later on May 24, 2011, the single "Life Hertz" was released on PureVolume then on May 26 was released on SoundCloud [11] and YouTube.[12] Weeks later on June 13, 2011, the title track "Astral Rejection" was released as a music video on YouTube.[13] It was directed by Jon Schnepp of Metalocalypse. The full album Astral Rejection was released and streamed on ISMFOF's on June 16, 2011.[14] Astral Rejection was released in stores on June 21, 2011.[15] On July 18, the music video for "It Comes Naturally" was released on YouTube[16] with the directors being Nicholas Lent and co-founder and ex-member Nabil Moo.[17]
On October 17th, Chris Lent announced via facebook his departure from the band, stating it was because of "general unhappiness". There have also been conspiracy theories about why he left the group. [18]
Musical style
I Set My Friends on Fire is recognized for their experimental musical style. The group blends elements from a variety of genres, including experimental metal, electronica, electronicore, crunkcore, mathcore, post-hardcore and more. AllMusic describes the group's style as "a tornado of musical influences and genres."[19]
Typical characteristics of the band's music include screamed vocals, Auto-Tuned vocals, and electronic sounds produced by synthesizers and sequencers. Mehana's screamed vocals reflect those present in extreme metal subgenres, such as grindcore and deathcore. Their music is known to include constant transitions between chaotic, abrasive, heavy metal passages and softer electronic ballads. Song titles and lyrics generally discuss sexual or humorous themes, often making use of large words and comprehensive vocabulary.
Band members
- Current members
- Matt Mehana - lead vocals, programming (2007–present)
- Former members
- Nabil Moo - vocals, guitar, synthesizers, bass, sequencer (2007–2010)
- Chris Lent - drums, guitar, sequencer (2009–2011)
- Current touring members
- Andrew Tapley - lead guitar (2011–present)
- Joe Nelson - rhythm guitar (2011–present)
- Former touring members
- Blake Steiner - guitar (2010–2011)
- Ashton Howarth - guitar (2011)
- Evan Perry - programming, lighting (2011)
Discography
- Albums/EPs
Date Album Label Peak Chart Position US Indie US Heat 2008 I Set My Friends on Fire (EP) Self-released — — 2009 You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter Epitaph — 29 2011 Astral Rejection Epitaph 47 9 "—" denotes a release that did not chart, or has not charted yet. - Singles
Name Release Date Album "Crank That" September 16, 2008 You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter "Sex Ed Rocks" November 21, 2008 Single "Things That Rhyme with Orange" July 22, 2009 You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter "Four Years Foreplay" September 17, 2009 Single "Excite Dyke" June 15, 2010 Astral Rejection "It Comes Naturally" March 22, 2011 "Life Hertz" May 24, 2011 "Astral Rejection" June 14, 2011 Videography
Name Release Date Album "Sex Ed Rocks" November 21, 2008 Single "Things That Rhyme With Orange" July 22, 2009 You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter "Four Years Foreplay" September 17, 2009 Single "Astral Rejection" June 14, 2011 Astral Rejection "It Comes Naturally" July 18, 2011 References
- ^ a b c Castillo, Arielle (2008-09-25). "Kendall Band I Set My Friends on Fire Makes It Big the MySpace Way". Miami New Times. http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2008-09-25/music/kendall-band-i-set-my-friends-on-fire-makes-it-big-the-myspace-way/. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ "I Set My Friends on Fire". ilikemusic. 2008-04-29. http://www.ilikemusic.com/rock/I_Set_My_Friends_On_Fire-5644. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ "Set My Friends on Fire sign to Epitaph Records". Skope. 2008-04-29. http://skopemag.com/2008/04/29/set-my-friends-on-fire-sign-to-epitaph-records. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ Top Heatseekers, Week of 10/25/08, Billboard.com
- ^ "I SET MY FRIENDS ON FIRE TEACH KIDS SAFE SEX". http://www.epitaph.com/news/news/3142.
- ^ "Smosh: Four Years Foreplay (Feat. I Set My Friends On Fire)". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t-OuBQI9Gs&feature=relmfu.
- ^ a b "I Set My Friends On Fire Interview #5 (Nabil's Departure) - BVTV "Band of the Week" HD". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_jpVTWT0co.
- ^ I Set My Friends On Fire myspace blog post. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=245698495&blogId=535502814 |title=New Demo Featured On New Epitaph Compilation - 'New Noise' Vol. 1|accessdate=7 June 2010
- ^ "It Comes Naturally - Single". itunes.com. http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/it-comes-naturally-single/id424633456.
- ^ "I Set My Friends On Fire - "It Comes Naturally"". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg7crlH4a48.
- ^ "I Set My Friends On Fire - Life Hertz". http://soundcloud.com/epitaph-records/i-set-my-friends-on-fire-life.
- ^ "I Set My Friends On Fire - "Life Hertz"". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hq07tHo2tw.
- ^ "I Set My Friends On Fire - "Astral Rejection"". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNBvxrfzXEs.
- ^ "Stream I Set My Friends On Fire's New Album 'Astral Rejection'". http://www.epitaph.com/news/news/3492/3492.
- ^ "I Set My Friends On Fire 'Astral Rejection' Out Now". http://www.epitaph.com/news/news/3494/3494.
- ^ "I Set My Friends On Fire - "It Comes Naturally" Directed by Nabil!". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jQjXMKB24o.
- ^ "I Set My Friends On Fire Release New Video For "It Comes Naturally"". http://www.epitaph.com/news/news/3509/3509.
- ^ "Error: no
|title=specified when using {{Cite web}}". http://www.facebook.com/spacegun?ref=ts. - ^ I Set My Friends On Fire: Overview at AllMusic
External links
You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter · Astral RejectionExtended plays I Set My Friends On Fire EPRelated "Crank That" · "Things That Rhyme With Orange"Astral Rejection "Excite Dyke" · "It Comes Naturally" · "Life Hertz" · "Astral Rejection"Other "Sex Ed Rocks" · "Four Years Foreplay"Categories:- Musical groups established in 2007
- American mathcore musical groups
- American post-hardcore musical groups
- Electronic music groups from Florida
- Experimental rock groups
- Musical groups from Florida
- Musical duos
- Epitaph Records artists
- Crunkcore groups
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