Fuming Mouth: Fight Back, Stand Up
A few months after recording their outstanding 2019 debut full-length The Grand Descent, FUMING MOUTH guitarist and vocalist Mark Whelan sat down to watch the 2007 horror film 30 Days Of Night. In that, he heard a phrase which led him to wonder: ‘what would you do if the sun was going to go out in 24 hours?’ – and thus the concept for the Massachusetts’ death metallers’ sophomore effort Last Day Of Sun was born. Four years later though, as all of the band dial in from their tour van just a couple of days after the album’s release, it goes without saying that none of them could have foreseen all that it would take to get to this point.
In 2021, Whelan was diagnosed with life-threatening Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, and suddenly an album about a collection of characters faced with their own mortality hit that much closer to home. As Whelan fought and ultimately triumphed over his illness, parts and lyrics were written and rewritten to reflect his own journey as it intertwined with that of those in the story. The result, eventually recorded with returning producer Kurt Ballou in October 2022, is one of the best death metal albums even in a banner year for the genre, one in which Whelan and co. have upped their game on multiple levels.
The frontman does most of the talking today, and as we dig into the record he explains, “For every part of this album, everyone including Kurt Ballou wanted to step it up. We wanted to make everything more extreme, and that means not just the riffs, not just the solos, not just the screaming, not just the drumming, but also the singing – which has always been there – and to make that more extreme. More is more!”
This was immediately apparent from the album’s lead single The Silence Beyond Life – home to comfortably the most anthemic hook FUMING MOUTH have ever written, as well as the sort of devastating lyrics you’ll find all over the record in the likes of “I thought I died / Fading into the light with the silence beyond life.” Even more vulnerable – and indeed most powerful of all – is Kill The Disease, in which Whelan addresses his illness directly.
“I didn’t want to show anyone Kill The Disease – it’s like reopening a wound,” admits Whelan. “Even though it is a song about being strong through that, there is this very difficult side about standing tall in the face of disease, whatever that is for anyone, whether they have an addiction, or cancer, or whatever they might face. So there’s stuff like that that takes a very emotional toll where it’s hard to put it out not just to the world but to my band and to Kurt Ballou… but I think every time on this record I just kept pushing myself to go the distance.”
Of course, it wasn’t just Whelan; all four of FUMING MOUTH are responsible for bringing Last Day Of Sun to life, all resolutely committed to producing a richly-detailed work that is absolutely meant to be digested as a whole. “We had two versions of one of the songs and one was about twice as long and there was definitely deliberation over that,” reflects guitarist Andrew Budwey. “But I’m glad we came out on the side that we did, because I think that in so many ways that we have to cater to these shortened attention spans and I don’t think it’s good for people. I think it’s rewarding too, because when you can pay attention to something and immerse yourself in it, you can get so much more out of it – that’s important.”
“If somebody’s like ‘you’ve gotta have a three and a half minute song, no-one’s gonna listen past this point’, then you’re making your writing decisions based out of fear of how you’re going to be perceived,” adds drummer James Davis. “And are you really thinking about the music at that point or are you thinking about something else?”
More than anything else, Last Day Of Sun is about seizing the day, about embracing the fact that you cannot count on tomorrow and making the most of whatever time you have. It is on this matter that bassist Patrick Merson pipes up ever so briefly – and quite flatteringly – to suggest that “Yeah this is it, we’re doing it” after Whelan smiles that he would probably use his last day on earth to get McDonald’s with his bandmates and sit in a van and do an interview.
Perhaps more seriously though, we conclude with Whelan’s emphatic words to live by – specifically given as advice to a young band from one a decade down the line – but ultimately wisdom for each and every one of us in whatever season of life we may find ourselves. “Don’t give up. Don’t quit. Don’t give into insecurities and people saying things to you like ‘you can’t do this, money’s not going to work out…’ – just put it all aside, focus on you. Don’t listen to anyone, and then on top of that, just try to not give a fuck about anything. The sooner you don’t give a fuck about anything the sooner you get to the point you want to be at, so just keep going. Don’t give up. Don’t quit. Whatever it is, whatever you’re doing, just keep doing it and don’t give a fuck.”
Last Day Of Sun is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.
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