FIRE & FLESH

“Fire & Flesh are a hard-hitting metal outfit, based out of the San Francisco Bay Area, CA.

Formed in late 2013, F&F embrace a style of metal that is influenced by elements of classic rock, thrash, punk and hardcore.
Their new CD is set to release in April 2017.”
What is each of your names and how do you guys know each other?



“Our names are, Justin Nieto(vox), Alex Menendez(guitar), Gabe Viella(bass), Mario Lopez(guitar), and our drummer would rather not state his name at this time. We all know each other from a craigslist ad that Justin put out back when he was putting together this band. Well, actually we met Mario later down the road when we needed a new 2nd guitarist for our 2015 winter tour. He also responded to an ad. Hmm, do we owe the existence of F&F to Craigslist?”



What made all of you want to start the band?



“The band was initially a solo project that I (Nieto), started after quitting my old band that I wrote and played guitar in. I quit because even though I started the band, sometimes there comes a point in life where you have to take a few steps back in order to go 20 steps forward. It was always a goal of mine to one day enter the recording studio alone to write and record a solo cd. I locked myself in my apartment for months and just wrote. I chose the best 5 songs and ran with it. I even decided to attempt vocals for the first time while in the recording studio instead of hiring a guy to come in and scream my lyrics. After I finished the CD, I realized that it was meant for me to form a band around Fire & Flesh and pursue the path of as a frontman, so I sought out members via craigslist because I didn’t want to get sucked into being in a band with cynical friends ever again. I sought out people with pure talent and drive, and that’s when the talented Gabe responded to my ad and met with me for coffee. Shortly after, he introduced me to the amazing Alex who reminded me of Skwisgaar from Metalocalypse, and then I found a rad drummer who is no longer with us, named Connor that I met through the local scene. We all decided to run with it and we started writing right away with plans to record a 2nd EP. Before I knew it, I was back in the recording studio armed with some righteous dudes to pump out music that gets us stoked.”



What are your top 5 influences?



“Philosophically, we are influenced by life. Stories of overcoming adversity and starring it in the face with a big fuck you. A good example of what can inspire us is when we were recording our cd “Vengeance.” I was having a MAJOR tough time with the lyrics that I was writing for the 3rd track on that cd. Nothing about the lyrics felt right, it all felt forced. I remember being rather pissed when I left the studio that day because even though we worked all day and finished that track, I had our producer dump all the vocals I did. A full day of work went down the drain, and time is money in the studio.

A few nights later I was driving through a dark canyon and something on the side of the road caught my eye. I slowed down and reversed to see what it was, and it was a huge deer that had been hit by a car. I got out of my car to check it out. He was stumbling everywhere and bleeding profusely from his mouth and nostrils. He eventually gave up walking and ended up lying down on the ground as if accepting his demise. I went and sat down next to the beast because it didn’t feel right to leave him to die all alone. He kept eye contact with me the whole time we were sitting there and I SWEAR he knew I was there with him. The look in his eyes was one of acknowledgement. After 10 minutes or so, he eventually took one last huge breath and whipped his head back dead.

I sat there in awe, and inspired. It really was quite a beautiful experience. I never realized how majestic these creatures are up close. Witnessing life escape the deer reminded me of how fragile we all are, how fragile life is. Just talking about it is giving me chills about the experience. Anyways, I took a picture of the deer for a keepsake and then called animal control. I got back in the car knowing without a doubt what the song was now going to be about. I started writing new lyrics that night when I got home, and then at the next recording session I totally murdered the song. See? Inspired by LIFE! If you are reading this, I urge you to go check out our track “Creature of the Night”

Of course, we are also influenced by the burning hatred we have for the crumbling world around us. The new cd that we are currently recording touches a whole lot more on these subjects. Lyrically we totally turned it up to 11, along with the shred and meaner riffs. We all really channeled our hate and discontent through this cd. This cd went kind of dark…

As far as what other bands we are influenced by, let’s play a game. Listen to our music and see if you can come up with a list of bands that we might be influenced by.”



What is your goal for the future?



“No goals for the future because we are totally focused on our current goals today. We take 1 step at a time and F&F has always hit every goal we’ve set so far during our 3 years of existence. Our current goals are to finish and release this new cd, record a couple new music videos, do 2 mini tours this year, and then get more radio play. So far everything is on track, especially now that we have an incredible new manager. Carla is heaven sent. Our long-term goal is to always improve as musicians, and to not lose our fingers because we NEED THEM!”



What is one thing you want to tell your fans?



“Where are you guys? Stop hiding! We know you are all lurking in the shadows somewhere…. We’ve all seen the sales on iTunes etc., and the analytics on our YouTube channel.

Random band story: This one time during our winter tour in 2015, we partied in Portland for Alex’s 21st birthday and witnessed a stripper light a cigar with her feet while on the pole.

Wild.” - Arrogance Core