mitchonfire-blog

[mitchonfire-blog]

Seven years ago I started a band along side my life long friend Alex Higgins and we were joined shortly after by Dan Armstrong and Dylan Williams. That band was “Death By Six”. Through the following seven years the band would see numerous line up changes (on the bass side of things) and we would go on to release 2 EP’s. We were also SUPPOSED TO release our debut album. That album was entitled “Hell or Hollywood”. Most of you that have found your way to this page are here because you were either a fan of “Death By Six” or you recognise this title and the songs contained within by another name...and that name is “Apollo On Fire”. But we will get to that. In the early months of 2015 Alex, Dan and myself were ecstatic to receive an offer from a record label in the USA and couldn’t believe we were about to sign our very first record deal. But what was supposed to be a dream come true soon became a nightmare. We entered the studio in September to record what was to be our debut album for this label. We couldn't have been more proud. Once recording had finished up in November and we were ready to hand our masters over to the label, all of the contractual promises of money for backing, PR, marketing and videos was being completely dodged and unfulfilled. All the label did was continue to pressure us to hand over the masters for release. What ensued was a tug of war between the band and the label. Luckily we made the conscious decision to pay the $15,000 up front, out of our own pockets to record the album and not risk owing the label money that we never knew if we would be able to pay back. This, in the end, is what saved these songs from essentially being stolen from us and release under a label with no promotion, no push, no tours, all in the idea of making a quick buck and leaving us stranded on a label that didn't give a fuck. Eventually after threat of legal action (unbeknownst to us, the label was already involved in another even larger lawsuit at the time) the label agreed to let us out of our contract and we were free to release. By the time this was all over, it was June-July 2016 and we had begun filming music videos for the release. We were so proud of what we had managed to accomplish on our own, especially with what had gone on. We were however afraid that after what the label had done, they were not going to let us go that easily. Our videos were continuing to receive copyright flags from the label and our content was constantly being pulled. This lead us to pre-emptively change our name in hopes of not having to abandon all that we had worked for, but this proved not to be the most honest choice to make. After the battle with the label and many months (years for some of the songs) had passed since writing and recording Dan and I knew that our hearts were no longer in “Death By Six” as they had once been. We were ready for change creatively. I think we believed changing the name could also lead to a fresh start but we were far more concerned with just moving on from the label/legal worries and seeing through what we had begun and worked so hard on with this full length album. Alex loved the new name and was fully supportive of us trying to do this to make a fresh start and see where this album would take the band.  The album was eventually release with 2 tracks missing (pulled to try and changed the band in a slightly new direction) under the name “Apollo On Fire”. The response from everyone was fantastic and we decided to tick one more thing off that we had always wanted to do, and that was travel. Those of you who follow me or the band know what happened next and once it was all said and done, we all knew if was best that we wrap up what we had begun and part ways. Alex is now working on his own solo material and we wish him that absolute best and appreciate every single ounce of energy he put into “Death By Six” and the music we created together. This brings us to today. The day where we finally set the record straight and close the book on the past.  The entire “Death By Six - Hell or Hollywood” album is now available in its entirety to stream on Spotify and all the videos associated with the album can be found on the Death By Six YouTube. This was never and will never be “Apollo On Fire” material. It was never recorded under that name, or created with the intention of being anything other than a Death By Six release. As of now, that is finally how it shall live on. I want to take a second to thank everyone that was ever involved in Death By Six from the bottom of my heart. Without every single one of you, we couldn't have created the art that we did or had any of the amazing experiences we had. Alex Higgins, Dan Armstrong, Dylan Williams, Michael Hague, Matt Evans, Essi Stefanakis and Jake Parr. Thank you so much for what you contributed to this band by recording and performing with the band. Beau Mckee & Kris Samos. You made recording our very first album as musicians an absolute dream, we will remember it forever. UAC Management, for all your love and support for our dream. And finally, thank you so fucking much to each and every person that ever supported the band by picking up a CD, a t-shirt, going to a show or telling your friends about us. It means everything to me. Please hit the link and check out the album on Spotify as it was intended with all its original tracks, including the never release Intro and re-recorded version of the “Heartless” track “Doomsday”. And celebrate a bunch of dudes who loved to play metalcore and go crazy. I would like to take this final piece of time to say the following: Apollo On Fire is a new band. This band consists of myself and Dan Armstrong. There are no songs as of yet. We have no releases as of yet. We have never played a live show. Several shows were played by “Death By Six” under this moniker but as you have read above, you can clearly see it was just the same band hiding from a label. I invite you all to please join us on this new journey. I am more excited than I have ever been in my life about the music that we are creating and I cannot wait to share it with all of you. Please keep up to date with what’s happening on our socials and get ready for some great music. Thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read this, it really means a lot to me. And if you got this far, this all obviously meant something to you too. See you all soon. - Mitch Bateman “Apollo On Fire”