Fire From The Gods’ AJ Channer could not sit on the sidelines for one more day. When the world erupted in protest of the killing of George Floyd, he set out right away for Minneapolis. No better time than now to enact the philosophy supported by the lyrics of the songs on his band’s album, AMERICAN SUN, which was recorded in early 2019, well before this call to action heard worldwide. A song fully representative of that line of thinking is their single “Break The Cycle”, which revealed its stunning visual counterpart today.
The video for “Break The Cycle” (directed by Wombat Fire) is a story of support for people fighting to not have to fight anymore. It is the story of generations of struggle experienced by BIPOC all over the world. Footage from Channer’s trips to Minneapolis and Atlanta make their way into the video with additional protest coverage from the media and the proverbial fire started by the movement.
Tonight at 7pm EST, the band will broadcast a free performance from their local venue in Austin, TX, Come And Take It Live to raise funds for charity, Embrace Race – an organization that educates children on race, starting the conversation early in life. Tune in @ www.soundrink.live. As no coincidence, Fire From The Gods dedicates the live performance and new music video to celebrate Juneteenth – the anniversary of the emancipation of enslaved people – first celebrated in Texas in 1865.
All of the footage from AJ’s recent travels will be combined to make a docu-series on the current state of the world. The moving footage takes you to the streets of Minneapolis and Atlanta days after the murder of George Floyd, focusing on why the system is set up to fail while investigating how we can change that as one united body. AJ interviews protestors on the ground, community leaders and other local artists to showcase the power of strength in community, and how we, as a country, can move forward. A written narrative on what he learned from his travels will be released on Friday.
Armed with a bold hybrid of metal, rock, and hip-hop, Fire From The Gods punch through genre and cultural barriers and make a provocative and powerful statement with each subsequent album. Averaging nearly 500,000 monthly listeners on Spotify with close to 30 million total streams, the Austin, TX outfit introduced themselves on 2016’s Narrative and expanded 2017 follow-up Narrative Retold. Signing to Five Finger Death Punch guitarist and mastermind, Zoltan Bathory and 10th Street Entertainment for management and Better Noise Music for label in 2019, the group served up its most potent offering yet with AMERICAN SUN. The lead single from the album, “Right Now,” went Top 10 at Active Rock radio. The band was also named among SiriusXM / Pandora’s Bands To Watch in 2020 – the only hard rock band on the list. Along the way, they also toured with everyone from Five Finger Death Punch to Bad Wolves, building a devout following. Now, AMERICAN SUN sees them burn brighter than ever.
