Odd How People Shake (2002-2003)

In 2002, Fear Before the March of Flames was formed in Aurora, Colorado with vocalist David Marion, guitarist/vocalist Adam Fisher, bassist Michael Madruga, and drummer Brandon Proff.[4] The original members all met at Smoky Hill High School in Aurora, CO, however Adam is the only Colorado native. The band took their name from a local newspaper headline when wildfires swept through their state. The band drew inspiration from bands such as Botch, Converge and The Blood Brothers in creating their music. Prior to forming Fear Before, Adam, Mike, and Brandon were in a pop-punk band together called 36 Flip. David was their merch guy. After they decided to pursue a more abrasive post-hardcore/mathcore direction, David joined and Fear Before the March of Flames was born.[5]

The band played their first show on August 1, 2002.[6] In July and October 2002, the band recorded their three song debut EP with Jason Anderson at Grey Music Recording Company in Thornton, CO. The band sold copies of this EP on their early tours which garnered the attention of Portland based Rise Records. Once signed to Rise, the band released their debut album Odd How People Shake in July 2003. They gained notoriety outside of Colorado from tours with bands such as The Blood Brothers and Hopesfall.[4]. However, it was on tour with the band Bear vs. Shark in which they were noticed and then signed to the more prominent Equal Vision Records, who re-released their debut in January 2004.[7] Their debut was primarily in the vein of post-hardcore, featuring a mix of screamed vocals on the part of David Michael Marion and clean singing provided by Adam Rupert Fisher. It is rumoured that every song on the album is based on a movie ("Sarah Goldfarb, Where are Your Manners?", for example, is about Requiem for a Dream).

In concert, the band plays few, if any, songs from their debut. On their website, they explicitly state that they will not play one song in particular from their debut, "On the Brightside, She Could Choke;". However, on October 30, 2007 at a show in Houston, TX they played an acoustic set at Warehouse Live that included "On the Brightside." Due to a loss in the drummer Clayton Holyoak's family, the band decided to play an acoustic set because they would be at a loss of percussion.

On September 5, 2008 at an intimate hometown show in Denver, CO during their encore Fear Before asked the audience what song they wanted to hear. Unanimously, the entire audience started to chant for "Brightside" and after some hesitation, they played the song in its original form for the first time since 2003. The band has also played this song twice since this show, once in Anaheim, CA and again in Denver, CO.
[edit] Art Damage (2004-2005)

From late July 2004 to mid August 2004, the band played with Evergreen Terrace and I Killed the Prom Queen on the Radiotakeover Tour. The band also played select dates with Norma Jean in August and October as well. In August, the band recorded a live EP at The Epicentre in San Diego, California, titled Live at the Epicentre, which was later released in September.

Their second album, Art Damage, was released on Equal Vision Records in September 2004, and was a marked change in direction for the band. Art Damage featured "a much more straightforward, significantly harder style."[8] Different from the earlier material, FBTMOF changed from the original indie post-hardcore sound to more of a mathcore based sound. The video for the single "Should Have Stayed in the Shallows" was filmed in the same basement as the one used in the film Fight Club[9] and was heavily rotated on MTV2's show Headbanger's Ball.[10]

Through April 2005, the band toured with Underoath and The Chariot. The band also played on the Sounds of the Underground tour on Midwest and Southeast dates.

On October 18, 2005, Immortal Records released the soundtrack for the Masters of Horror television series. Fear Before the March of Flames provided a previously unreleased song "237" for the soundtrack which took its name from the infamous room number from the film, The Shining. It was featured in the credits for the Tobe Hooper directed episode Dance of the Dead.
[edit] The Always Open Mouth (2006-2007)

In June 2006, the band played 7 Angels 7 Plagues Reunion Show, and in August they went on to play at the Dirt Fest.

Their third studio album, The Always Open Mouth, was released on September 19, 2006. Fischer explains that the title of the album refers to people who act like "An all-knowing super being from another realm sent here to save us all, or be a fucki