From Ashes To New remain on the road nearly a year after the release of their fourth full-length overall, Blackout. Hailing from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, FAtN is comprised of singer Danny Case, rapper/keyboardist/programmer/guitarist Matt Brandyberry, guitarist/bassist Lance Dowdle, and drummer Mat Madiro, and specialize in a sound that is equal parts nu and rap metal. BraveWords correspondent Greg Prato spoke with Case smack dab in the middle of the latest leg of his group's long-and-winding tour. 

BraveWords: Now that Blackout has been out for almost a year, what are your thoughts on it now?

Danny Case: "I think it blew away our expectations. We obviously knew going into the record, that we were going to make what we wanted to make and how we were going to make it. And the producers that we had aided in that journey and helped bring out the best of us. It's heavy, it's catchy, it's really creative. I think it's a journey of an album. And all the songs have a really great identity of their own. Between the touring that we've done for the past year and the singles that have come out and the videos and how they've charted on the radio, this album just completely transformed the landscape of the band and its trajectory. We went from doing a couple hundred tickets a night as headliners to doing 700-1,500 every night. 700 being on the low end. It's really awesome to watch. We just played Bethlehem last night and it was like an arena crowd. It was incredible."

BraveWords: You mentioned that the producers brought a lot to the album. 

Danny Case: "Grant McFarland and Carson Slovak are Atrium Audio – they're in technically I think Lititz, Pennsylvania. They were the producers who first worked with the band when it started. And the idea with this record was to go back to its roots in a sense, with an updated sound to those roots. So, we thought, 'Why not go back to the producers that made the first couple of records for this band?' We've always worked well with them, they've always been able to bring out the best of what we wanted to do. It's always a pleasure working with them, and we've made really awesome tracks that we're really stoked on. So, those guys are great – we love them. We're actually working with them now on new music. So, I can't speak highly enough about them."

BraveWords: There was a new video recently released, for the song "One Foot in the Grave," featuring Aaron Pauley from Of Mice & Men. 

Danny Case: "That video we kind of did…I wouldn't say 'on the fly,' but it was a pretty relatively quick video. It's a blur – I almost hardly remember it! I remember we were very busy trying to get everything released for it. We shot it with Josiah Moore, who's done a bunch of our videos for this record – he did 'Barely Breathing,' he did 'Nightmare.' He probably did more that I can't remember off the top of my head. We've been working with him for a very long time. Aaron did a great job. All in all, the video was a huge success. The song itself was our fasted song to a million streams – that we've ever put out. Which was incredible, because we didn't know what to expect with that song – it was kind of a late release for the album. It was one that we decided to hold back, because we wanted to put what we felt like were our absolute best songs forward. And it's funny, because now we release this song and it's our fastest song to a million – the song we didn't put on the record has the quickest trajectory. It's pretty crazy. The song and the video, I love the way it turned out. It just grew so fast, it was three or four days before a tour, we were like, 'Hey, maybe we should play this?' So, we scrambled and practiced it a couple times and put all production together for it in a couple of days, and now, we're playing it on this tour, actually. It's a surprise for people – it's not included on any of our setlists that we give out to our VIP's, because it was so last minute. But it's a fun song to play live, too."

BraveWords: I understand that the band is filming a new video? 

Danny Case: "Matt is actually doing that right now. It's a song that actually features him singing. Since we're out on tour and we're busy – we have a show today – we were like, 'Let's just make this a solo video.' That way, we can get it done, give the song a highlight. I think it's going to very cool. It's a very different song for us. 

BraveWords: And what is the title of that song?

Danny Case: "I think the title got changed. I believe it's been changed to 'Live Before I'm Dead.' 

BraveWords: How important do you think music video is nowadays? Because in the '80s and '90s, it was crucial.

Danny Case: "It's tough, I feel it's one extreme or the other. If you look at the stuff that Falling in Reverse is doing, they're spending half a million dollars or more on a music video. And because that level of production is going into it, people are going to watch the video and go, 'Holy shit! That was like watching a movie!' And they're going to go back and watch it again and again – it's going to add a new dimension and a new layer to the song for people to connect to. And I feel like you either go that route, or you go as simple as possible – just to give the song a visual. So, I think it's important. It's just a matter of what route you take. With 'Monster in Me' – one of the tracks from Blackout – we went to the same director and videographer that Falling in Reverse and Black Veil Brides has been using. It was an awesome video. Incredible. It was one of our best-produced videos, and did get a bunch of views. Most of our videos are the simpler, 'green screen route.' And those also do well – like our song, 'Nightmare,' I think is one of our biggest music videos, and that was a simpler route, as well. It really depends on what you want to do. And if you've got the budget for it, doing those big music videos with the high budget, I think it's always worth it if you feel like you've got a great song." 

BraveWords: How has the tour been going thus far?

Danny Case: "We are in Cleveland, Ohio right now, getting ready to play the House of Blues – I think it's close to sold out. It's incredible – it's even bigger than our last headlining tour. This is kind of 'part II' to the Blackout tour. Some of the numbers have been insane. Places we played before where we only did 300 tickets are now doing 900/1,000 tickets. We're super-grateful for the fans showing up and buying merch and spending time with us and taking away time from their families and work to enjoy a great night of music. It's really incredible how well these shows are doing. 

BraveWords: What can fans expect from a From Ashes To New performance?

Danny Case: "You're going to get your tits blown off by the level of production and showmanship that we put on every night! We pretty much pack the stage with as much show as possible. We've got all these video screens and lights, and then there's the house lights themselves that are programmed each day. We try to put as flashy of a show on as possible, so every time people see us, they're just blown away by the level of production that they're seeing. As well as the quality of the music that we're playing – we take a lot of pride in being good musicians, good singers, good rappers. And playing our parts to the fullest, and making sure we take care of ourselves, so we are never subpar. 

BraveWords: Are there any particular songs or parts of the show that you enjoy the most?

Danny Case: "I really like what we do for our song, 'Scars That I'm Hiding.' We have this one moment where I – outside of the song – sing and get the crowd to sing certain chanting parts, back and forth. The ambience and air in the room is incredible when everybody is singing the same thing. I always love doing that part.

BraveWords: Future plans? 

Danny Case: "We are touring so much for the rest of the year that we are having to turn things down – so we can have some kind of time at home! Lots and lots of touring. I'm sure there will be announcements in the next couple of days about what those tours are going to be. And then the last tour of the year I don't think will be announced for maybe a month or so. But lots and lots of touring. We're going to be very busy. Between that and we're also going to try to work more on a new album. Whether or not we get that done this year, we'll see. But we're trying our best to take advantage of everything that is happening with our current record and our trajectory right now and capitalize on that momentum. 

(Photo - Sarah Carmody)