Los Angeles thrash metal force FUELED BY FIRE have signed with M-Theory Audio. The group’s first new music since 2013 will be unveiled later this year with the release of “Past…Present…No Future…Part 1,” the first in a pair of two-song 7-inch releases mixed by Carlos Cruz (Warbringer, Hexen, Exmortus), mastered by Toxic Holocaust’s Joel Grind (Exhumed, Midnight, Power Trip) and featuring artwork by Mark Riddick (Autopsy, Exodus, Suffocation), out Oct. 29th.
Pre-orders for the first 7-inch release – which will be pressed on white vinyl and include a sticker – are available now at www.smarturl.com/fueledbyfire. The group will also be performing live for the first time in 2021 this Friday, August 20 at the legendary Whisky A Go-Go in Hollywood at a sold-out show alongside veteran Southern California thrashers Evildead and Hirax.
“We’re excited to be a part of the M-Theory crew and finally get some new music out to the masses. It’s our most violent and aggressive music yet and we can’t wait to get it into your hands” states drummer Carlos Gutierrez. “Thank you, Marco, for your support. Cheers!”
FUELED BY FIRE was formed in 2002 by a group of Southern California teenagers that bonded over a love of ’80s thrash metal acts such as Exodus, Testament and Possessed. The group recorded their first demo in 2004 and emerged as a persistent presence on local concerts throughout the greater Los Angeles region. Those shows saw them open for many of the iconic acts that they grew up worshipping, as well as performing alongside other burgeoning thrash bands that were emerging around them in Southern California such as Warbringer and Hexen. The group initially self-released their 2006 debut album, “Spread The Fire.” The album was praised by AllMusic.com for its “authentic thrash,” and the combination of their impressive studio effort and prolific live performances earned the attention of Metal Blade Records, who reissued the record a year later.
The group soon spread their sound on stages across the United States alongside fellow rising thrashers such as Bonded by Blood and Merciless Death before re-emerging with their self-released 2010 follow-up record, “Plunging Into Darkness.” That album was applauded by Metal-Rules.com for serving as a reminder of “just how vibrant thrash metal can be,” and the band followed up that momentum by touring Europe alongside heavy hitters such as Kreator, Morbid Angel and Nile. The group applied a more sinister tone to their lyrics and compositions on 2013’s “Trapped in Perdition,” which was released by NoiseArt Records and produced by Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal, Cannibal Corpse). The album received accolades from Burning Ambulance for being “their best album yet” and – alongside well-received performances the following year on European festivals such as Hellfest and Metalfest Open Air Loreley – cemented FUELED BY FIRE’s reputation as generators of powerful thrash metal.
The group went on hiatus shortly after those festival performances, but reconvened at the beginning of 2020 to record new music. Initially set to be released in fall 2020, the four songs put together by the new lineup – consisting of returning members Rick Rangel (guitars/vocals), Anthony Vasquez (bass) and Carlos Gutierrez (drums), who are now joined by Gutierrez’s bandmate in Blade Killer, guitarist Jon Rubio – were further refined during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first of two 7-inch singles to come, “Past…Present…No Future…Part 1” showcases FUELED BY FIRE as a group ready to re-stake its claim to thrash metal supremacy, with the second 7-inch single to come in 2022.
More information on new music from FUELED BY FIRE will be unveiled in the weeks to come by M-Theory Audio and at www.facebook.com/FueledByFireOfficial.
