Famous Last Words (formerly known as A Walking Memory and Barlait) is an American metalcore/post-hardcore band from Petoskey, Michigan. Formed in 2008, they are known for their concept albums and have released three studio albums to date: Two-Faced Charade, Council of the Dead and The Incubus. Following their 2016 release, "The Incubus," the group departed from Revival Recordings and signed to SBG Records.
The group currently consists of vocalist Jeremy "JT" Tollas, bassist Tyler Myklebust, guitarist Evan Foley, and drummer Cody Paige.
2008-2010: Barlait and A Walking Memory
Hailing from Petoskey, Michigan, Famous Last Words (Then called Barlait) was formed in 2008 by member JT Tollas. The group released an album called A Walking Memory.[1][2][3]
2010-2012: You Could Have Made This Easier, In Your Face, and Pick Your Poison
Renaming themselves A Walking Memory, the group quickly began to make their mark within the scene. Utilizing heavy guitar riffs, catchy hooks, folly, and symphonic elements, the band took things a step further and introduced detailed stories into their lyrics and album structure; transforming their band into more of an art project. It was characteristics like this that lead the independent label InVogue Records to sign the band in 2012.
Aaron Peano would leave the band after the release of "In Your Face" in 2010. Starting his own band "The Monsters I've Met" [4]
They released the EP You Could Have Made This Easier in 2010. This appeared in self-initiative. After the name change this was followed by the EP's "In Your Face" in 2010 and Pick Your Poison in 2012. The latter has already appeared at InVogue Records.[5]
2013: Two-Faced Charade
Their first studio album, Two Faced Charade, released April 30, 2013. This is the first of their concept albums, a story about an outcast (who has schizophrenia), who falls in love with his neighbor, Elise (Welcome To The Show). Situations escalate, and he ends up following her into town (Victim of the Virtuoso), and finding out she has a boyfriend (The Relentless). He grows enraged, and starts to hear a screaming internally, one very similar to the one he feels inside. This scream is soon followed by a voice, the form that his previously mentioned schizophrenia takes (Voices). It starts telling him the actions he must take to have Elise as his (Lust of the Lost). He eventually makes a plan, when the boyfriend is about to go on a business trip, the main character stops him outside and acts concerned, since it seems as if the boyfriend was heavily drunk. He brings the boyfriend inside, and proceeds to murder the boyfriend (Legends and Legacies), and then hesitantly cut up the body, and then bury it into the ground (To Play Hide and Seek With Jealousy). Afterwards, he uses the boyfriend's phone to text Elise, in the perspective of the boyfriend telling her that they're done for, and that the stress of this job that the boyfriend took was too much. Elise gets heavily upset and the next day, when the main character goes over to her house to act like he was just coming to have breakfast, she rejects him kindly, explaining how they got broken up over text. The main character tells her everything is okay, and eventually that he took care of the boyfriend (Searching for a Home). She gets extremely confused when he says this, and once the main character realizes this, he runs back to his house, with Elise on his tail. She walks into the house, and into his bedroom, where the main character is (Even A Ghost Has A Sanctuary). She sees the bloodied knife and turns to the door, smelling the stench of blood and bleach. She walks into the bathroom and sees the blood, and the main character reassures her that he took care of her boyfriend, and that it's all okay. After she calls him a monster, he grows extremely angry and yells at her that he did this all of her and himself, before she says he did it all for him. He smashes her head into the wall vigorously, before realizing what he's doing and stopping himself. Realizing he just accidentally killed Elise, he turns to the mirror and tells the "inner-demon" that he had messed up his life, before the main character cuts himself down the wrist, killing himself. (The Show Must Go On, Prt. 1 and 2) There's a short film [6] and a short story [7] both written by 2013 drummer craig simmons. Jt Tollas directed the short film, and starred in it.
2014-2015: Council of the Dead
The band premiered the single "Council of the Dead" on January 27, 2014, and announced their second studio album, Council of the Dead, on the same day. The album is set to be released on August 26, 2014 through InVogue Records. On May 6, 2014 the band announced "The Hope Revolution Tour" beginning late August through September with fellow acts Hawthorne Heights, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and New Empire in the US.[8][9]
On August 1, 2014, the band released the music video for two new tracks, "One In The Chamber" and "The End Of The Beginning", from their upcoming album Council of the Dead.[10] Famous Last Words have revealed the artwork and track listing for their upcoming sophomore studio album, Council of the Dead was released on InVogue on August 26, 2014 nationwide.[11]
On August 25, 2014, the band released Council of the Dead. It reached #91 on the Top 200 and #18 on Independent Albums on Billboard's charts. On October 10, the band announced "The InVogue Records Tour" beginning late November through December with fellow acts For All I Am, Kingdom of Giants and Whether, I in the US.[12]
On February 19, 2015 the band announced "The Touring Dead" beginning late February through March with fellow acts For All I Am and Tear Out the Heart[13] in the US.[14]
2016-2018: Revival Recordings and The Incubus
On January 5, 2016, it was revealed by Revival Recordings that they had signed Famous Last Words, and that the band was working on their third studio album. The first single, "Pretty In Porcelain," as well as an acoustic rendition of "I'll Be Home Soon", from the label's upcoming compilation was released on iTunes, along with a promotional lyric video.[15]
On June 10, 2016, the band announced "The Method to the Madness Tour" beginning late July with fellow acts Outline in Color, It Lives, It Breathes and Open Your Eyes in the US.[16] On July 9, 2016 the first single, "Pretty In Porcelain", from their upcoming album was released on iTunes, along with a promotional music video.[17]
On September 30, 2016, the group released their third effort, "The Incubus", marking their only release on Revival Recordings.
On November 10, 2016, the band announced "The Incubus Tour" beginning late November with fellow acts, The Funeral Portrait and Versus Me
On June 13, 2017, founding member and drummer Craig Simons announced his departure from the band, citing personal issues as his primary reasoning for his departure, and wishing his bandmates luck in the future.
On December 11, 2017, the band announced their departure from Revival Recordings, and wished all other bands on the label their best.
On October 26, 2018, the band released the first track "No Walls" off their new EP titled "Arizona".
2019-present: Arizona and The Negative
On May 16, 2019, the group released the extended play Arizona under SBG records, marking their first release under the label and their first non-concept effort. Commenting on the EP, Tollas stated: “Arizona is the result of us, as a band, living through and emerging from a really dark place. At the end of 2017, we weren’t sure what the future of Famous Last Words looked like. Or if there even was a future. We decided to channel all of that emotion and anger into the music you hear on this EP. The decision to abandon the concept format for this project was no accident. We had pain, anger, and emotion that we wanted our fans to understand were not anchored around a fictional character. These songs tell the stories of the things we were dealing with.”
On December 9, 2020, Tollas tweeted that he had finished "tracking the last bit of new FLW tracks" and that new music is coming soon.
Almost a full year later, on October 29, 2021, Famous Last Words finally released their new single "In The Blink Of An Eye", shocking many fans who had initially thought the band had disbanded. A little longer than a month after this, the band released their three track concept EP titled "The Negative", even though the band claimed to have departed from the concept theme. The EP, though only being three tracks long, (2 songs, and a four minute voice recording) tells the story of a photographer who sees “moments of truths” captured by his camera. He feels his purpose is to capture what he calls “moments of truth” which are completely unfiltered, unedited, natural moments. He wants to capture these moments and preserve them so people can remember what “real life” looks like among the plethora of inauthenticity. When developing one day he sees a vision of a parallel universe colliding with our universe in one of his photo negatives. He doesn’t know when or what is going to happen exactly once it collides, but he knows it’s going to be soon and he begins to wildly speculate on all of the horrifying possibilities. He carries this knowledge on his own out of fear of the world thinking he has gone mad.
Physical copies of the EP were limited to 300 copies, sold exclusively in their bundle titled The Anthology, including three CDs. CD one is their second EP, "Pick Your Poison", and "The Negative", CD two is their debut album "Two-Faced Charade", and CD three is their sophomore album "Council of the Dead". Alongside as the CD bundle, The Anthology included a flag, a poster, a "The Negative" t-shirt, and a single polaroid picture of one of the band members.
In August 2022, Famous Last Words embarked on their first tour in 3 years with support from Across The White Water Tower and Dark Divine.
Incubus is an American rock band from Calabasas, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer José Pasillas while enrolled in Calabasas High School and later expanded to include bassist Alex "Dirk Lance" Katunich, and Gavin "DJ Lyfe" Koppel; the latter two were eventually replaced by bassist Ben Kenney and DJ Kilmore, respectively. Nicole Row replaced Kenney in 2024.
Make Yourself is the third studio album by American rock band Incubus. It was released on October 26, 1999, through Epic Records and Immortal Records. The album received double platinum certification by the RIAA and produced three charting singles—"Pardon Me", "Stellar", and "Drive"—all of which reached the top three of the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, with the latter topping the chart and also becoming the band's sole top ten hit to date on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number nine.
Brandon Charles Boyd is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Incubus, with whom he has recorded eight studio albums.
Bayside is an American punk rock band from the Bayside, Queens neighborhood of New York City, formed in 2000 by lead vocalist Anthony Raneri. The group also consists of lead guitarist Jack O'Shea, bassist Nick Ghanbarian, and drummer Chris Guglielmo.
Saosin is an American rock band formed in 2003 in Orange County, California. The group originally consisted of Beau Burchell, Justin Shekoski, Zach Kennedy and Anthony Green. Their debut EP, Translating the Name, was released in the same year. However, Green departed from the band for personal reasons, leading to Cove Reber joining as vocalist in 2004. With Reber, the band released their self-titled debut album in 2006 under Capitol Records.
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is an American rock band formed in Middleburg, Florida, in 2003. The band's current members include Ronnie Winter, Joey Westwood (bass), Josh Burke, Randy Winter, and John Espy (drums). They have released five studio albums to date.
Our Last Night is an American post-hardcore band formed in 2004, consisting of brothers Trevor (vocals) and Matthew Wentworth and Timothy Molloy (drums). The band is known for its post-hardcore and alternative metal renditions of popular pop songs.
A Loss for Words was an American pop punk band from Abington, Massachusetts.
The Word Alive is an American metalcore band formed in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2008. The band was signed to Fearless Records since their formation. In 2022, they changed their label and signed to Thriller Records. The band currently consists of vocalist Tyler Smith, guitarist Jose DelRio, and drummer Daniel Nelson. The group has had several line-up changes throughout their career, with no founding members remaining. Their second EP, Empire reached No. 15 on the Top Heatseekers, meeting a great amount of positive acclaim upon its release in 2009. The following year, the group recorded and released their debut studio album, Deceiver on August 31, 2010, which reached No. 97 on the Billboard 200 and 15 on Independent Albums.
InVogue Records is an American record company based in Findlay, Ohio. It was founded by Nick Moore, lead singer of Before Their Eyes, in 2009. In the fall of 2011 InVogue Records signed a distribution deal with Independent Label Group and Alternative Distribution Alliance. In the summer of 2017 InVogue signed a new distribution deal with Sony/RED. The deal was merged into The Orchard/Sony.
He Is We is an American indie pop act formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 2008 by singer Rachel Taylor and guitarist Trevor Kelly, with Taylor being the sole constant member.
Sonny John Moore, known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and record producer. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as its lead vocalist in 2004, and recorded two studio albums with the band—Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Bodycount (2004) and Heroine in (2006)—before leaving to pursue a solo career in 2007. He began his first tour as a solo artist in late 2007. After recruiting a new band lineup, Moore joined the Alternative Press Tour to support bands such as All Time Low and the Rocket Summer, and appeared on the cover of Alternative Press's annual "100 Bands You Need to Know" issue.
The Plot in You is an American rock band formed in Hancock County, Ohio in 2010. Originally a side project of former Before Their Eyes member Landon Tewers, the group is composed of Tewers, guitarist Josh Childress, bassist Ethan Yoder and drummer Michael Cooper.
City Lights was an American pop punk band from Columbus, Ohio, formed in 2008. They released two EPs and two studio albums during their six-year tenure; the latest being The Way Things Should Be, released on December 10, 2013, via InVogue Records. The band signed to InVogue in May 2011. The band announced their dissolution on February 13, 2014. One year later on February 13, 2015, they released a third EP titled Acoustic EP 2. They announced that they had no intention of getting back together but if schedules permitted they would still take part in shows and put out music.
State Champs is an American pop-punk band from Albany, New York, formed in 2010. They are currently signed to Pure Noise Records and have released three EPs and five full-length albums. Their 2013 debut album The Finer Things debuted at number 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. They released an acoustic EP titled The Acoustic Things in October 2014 and their second studio album Around the World and Back one year later, in October 2015. In May 2017, they released a deluxe version of the album. Their third album, Living Proof, was released in 2018. In May 2022, the band released their fourth studio album, Kings of the New Age. In November 2024, their self-titled fifth album was released.
'68 is an American noise rock duo from Atlanta, Georgia. Formed in 2013 by guitarist and vocalist Josh Scogin—formerly of the hardcore punk band the Chariot—and drummer Michael McClellan, the band currently comprises Scogin and drummer Nikko Yamada.
Farewell, My Love was an American rock band from Phoenix, Arizona, United States, formed in 2011. The group consisted of Chad Kowal (drums), Röbby Creasey (guitar), Charlee Conley (bass), Caleb Harbin (vocals), and London Mckuffey (guitar).
Tear Out The Heart was a five-piece metalcore band from St. Louis, Missouri, founded in 2011. The band signed with Victory Records in 2012. and released their first full-length record, Violence, in 2013. They released their second full-length album, Dead, Everywhere, on January 27, 2015.
Trust Fall (Side A) is a four-track EP by alternative rock band Incubus, released in 2015 on Island Records. It was the first release from the band since their 2011 album, If Not Now, When?.
Matthew Tyler Musto, professionally known as Blackbear, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has released six studio albums, six EPs, one mixtape and two collaborative albums. Musto is also a member of the alternative hip hop duo Mansionz with singer-songwriter Mike Posner.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
