Fightstar Band • Page 3

Yeah, "Chemical Blood" and also "H.I.P (Enough)" have never done much for me, but despite that I still love those tracks. Favourite track outside of "Mono" would have to be, "I Am the Message".

I remember going mental when I first heard that - absolutely loved every aspect of it. Generally with my favourite albums I'll have chopped and changed favourite songs monthly, weekly and daily, but from my first spin of One Day Son... up until now, "I Am the Message" has always been my top choice on that record.

 

This band rules and is a good fun Halloween band to listen to

 

Looking forward to the new Busted album still as well! Gonna be interesting.

 

Shoutout to my friend @SpyKi for hooking me up with some b-sides and extra tracks.

I think GU is my favorite now. It just feels so cohesive and great. V underrated band

 

Definitely can't beat Grand Unification. Although the US version of They Liked You Better is on par.

 

Pretty much.

 

One Day and GU are pretty much equal to me.

 

Although I've heard all of the tracks individually, I finally got around to actually watching that unplugged gig they did years ago. Got some serious chills seeing them play "Cross Out The Stars".

 

So good. I was there front and centre, ha. I've probably said this before multiple times on AP but I spent the day watching them do soundcheck and interviews that day because I showed up so early and it was raining so they let me in. Charlie was playing GU2 on the piano, wish they actually played that song.

 

Just came across this Christmas remix of 99

 

Revisiting their discography today, and they're definitely one of my favourite bands. I've spent the last few years unable to decide if I prefer Charlie's solo material or Fightstar but I think I'd have to go with the latter at this point if I was forced to choose. I've been a Fightstar fan for a decade now which is pretty crazy, they were one of the first bands I ever properly got into. I remember seeing the music video for "99" and it blew my mind with how good it was.

One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours is their best album imo but I really wish "Our Last Common Ancestor" was the closer. "Unfamiliar Ceilings" is the only blip on an otherwise fantastic album. The Charlie parts are great but the session singer on the chorus just sounds... tacky? Idk, it just seems out of place and clashes with the rest of the song/Fightstar's sound in general. I don't really know what they were going for with that chorus/singer.

 

Also, Behind the Devil's Back has grown on me. I still think it's their weakest album by quite a large margin and "More Human Than Human" is their worst song ever, but overall I like the album a lot now.

 

As much as I love Busted and Charlie's solo stuff, Fightstar are just on another level for me. Honestly they're in a league of their own for me, just below MCR. Nothing else gives me the same feeling that their first few records do. Very glad you at least like BTDB now, I still love it. I really like "More Human Than Human" as well although it pales in comparison to Al's older songs. I think the title track and "Gracious" are the only Fightstar songs I don't love.

 

Just went and listened to Unfamilar Ceilings and More Human Than Human.
I couldn't recall how either went off top of my head. I actually quite like both. I think I'd prefer Chaz voices on MHTH but I do like the song and melody of the vocals in it
And dig the girls voice in UC
It's weird. I love fightstar but barely listened to last 2 albums but when I do I enjoy the experience so much

 

Oh yeah I love Unfamiliar Ceilings. I think it's a perfect closer.

 

I love the verses in "Unfamiliar Ceilings", they're great. It's the chorus... it's not just the vocalist that I don't like, the instrumentation isn't a very good fit either. The song feels disjointed. I dunno, I'm not a musician so I find it difficult to describe exactly what I mean. Is that an electronic drumkit on the chorus?

 

I like Gracious.

 

Yeah I think so. I love it. I'm a big fan of when they sprinkle in some electronics like that. Flotation Therapy has the best use imo.

 

I guess I just find it a little jarring in "Unfamiliar Ceilings". It works much more effectively in "Flotation Therapy", I love that song.

 

I want more things in my life that sound like the verses to "Flotation Therapy".

 

I've made it to Alternate Endings on my relisten of their discography now and it's one of the strongest B-side albums I've ever heard. I'm streaming the album on Apple Music and "Flotation Therapy" is track 4. On my CD "Amethyst" is track 4 and "Flotation Therapy" doesn't feature at all. Weird.

 

Yeah I don't have Flotation on there either. It's just on it's own with the fantastic Floods cover art which fits the songs perfectly.

 

Just read on Wikipedia (so I don't know how accurate this information is) that Omar didn't even want Alternate Endings to be released:

The album has a lot of great songs on it so I don't mind that it was released haha. It sucks that the band felt exploited tho

 

I get that sentiment but I think for a band like them who had so many great b-sides it was kind of essential. They must still be happy with it because I'm sure I've seen them mention it positively and i think they have a canvas of the artwork along with all of their other albums in Dan's home studio.

 

Just finished Be Human. "Calling On All Stations" is a really powerful opener, I love Charlie's vocal performance on that one. "The English Way" is amazing, the choir really adds a lot to the song. It wouldn't be the same without them. "The Whisperer" is one of the weirder moments on the album and I hated it when I first heard it back in 2009 but now I think it's actually pretty good. Not one of Fightstar's best songs but I appreciate their attempt to do something a bit different. "Mercury Summer" is so catchy, I remember watching the music video over and over on Kerrang and Scuzz back in the day haha. "Give Me the Sky" is another example of the band experimenting successfully with their sound, love the way the song builds to its climax. "Damocles" is so fierce lol, the vocals are so aggressive and it works really well. Charlie is so good with screaming, but I'm glad he doesn't over do it. Fightstar have always struck the right balance between singing/screaming imo. "Follow Me Into the Darkness" is a magnificent closer and sets the stage for Charlie's solo work.

I feel like I always forget about the songs on this album for some reason. Like when I'm in the mood to listen to Fightstar I don't immediately reach out for Be Human, but listening to it again today reminded me that it's a solid addition to their discography and I should probably listen to it more often. But yeah, Fightstar's first three albums are all incredible.