Behind The Fallen's David Bruno Talks His Pages of the Past

California hard rock metalheads Behind The Fallen are here to take over the music scene as it is with their own unique style of music making and five of the sexiest motherfucking guys to walk this planet as we knew possible. Guitarist and vocalist David Bruno talks of the band's latest release and what plans they have next.


1. Can I get a backstory on the band/band biography?

David: Behind the Fallen started in late 2011 by our singer, Johnny Presley. He was later joined by guitarist/screamer David Bruno, guitarist Kyle Ort, bassist Chris Khaos and drummer Josh Wimberly. We all had the same ideas when it came to what we wanted to incorporate with our sound, and how we wanted to manage things as a band. We all wanted to hit the ground running so we worked hard at developing some solid songs, which were recorded soon after onto our debut EP “Pages of the Past.”

2. How did you guys come up with your band name?

David: The idea behind the name was to say we support anyone and everyone who has fallen victim to anything, and give that notion that people are never truly alone in any fight.

3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?

David: We are based out of Orange County, around the Fullerton, Anaheim area. The music scene here is amazing, there are some really talented bands out here, and what is great about that is we established a community where we all look out for each other. All the bands realize that we have the same goals, so we help each other out. A couple bands we would love to recommend are Assuming We Survive, Rival Tides, Lions Amongst Wolves and Valor and Vengeance.

4. What lyrical theme do you guys use in your music? What message do you want to send?

David: It’s actually a funny subject to us. We like to say that our singer Johnny just talks about being an awkward teen with high hopes in life. But really we like to talk about relatable things in life; however one of the reoccurring messages in our EP is one of never letting anything hold you back in life. Whenever those obstacles emerge, just keep pushing forward and not let things discourage you from doing the things that matter most to you.

5. What bands have influenced your band and its sound?

David: We have a range of bands that we’re influenced by. From bands like Escape the Fate, Memphis May Fire and Avenged Sevenfold to bands like Motley Crue and Metallica. All these bands successfully incorporated such a big sound to their genre, and that’s something that really influences us in our song writing.

6. Is there any story or concept behind the Pages Of The Past title?

David: There was no initial concept or overall story conceived when writing our EP. The overall message behind the six songs all related to experiences that happened in the past. So we wanted a title that could capture and expose our past experiences and how we grew from them.

7. Who produced Pages Of The Past and what was it like working with them?

David: Erik Ron produced our EP as well as other bands like Get Scared and Panic at the Disco. It was our first real taste of working with a professional. He really took the time to truly understand the feel for each song and help expand the idea into something much bigger and better. Each member really grew from working with him individually and we definitely feel like we grew together as a band from that experience.

8. Who did the cover art for Pages Of The Past and how much input did you have on it?

David: Our friend Steve Juliano, singer for the band Requiem for the Dead, did all our album artwork. He’s really talented, we were happy he was willing to work with us. He initially sent us random ideas on what he wanted to do for the artwork and we worked together to finalize the finished product. We are really happy with the outcome.

9. You've released several songs "Above the Rising", "Listen Ally", and "You're Just A Friend", will either of these or another song turn into a music video in the coming future?

David: We just recently finished work on our music video for “You’re Just A Friend.” We had a blast shooting this video. Our director really came up with a great storyboard that really fit well with the song. We just received the final cut and are releasing the video to the public on 08/22/2013. You can catch it on YouTube and other social media.

10. Where are you in the process of the new EP?

David: It is completely done. We actually just pressed them as well so everything is set for our release date.

11. How would you describe the overall sound of it?

David: We definitely wanted to incorporate a big sound without sacrificing the hard rock edge to it. We are not looking to be tied down to one specific scene or genre so we worked hard on creating songs that can appeal to different audiences.

12. Did the band have any definitive goals they were shooting for before the recording process began for this release?

David: In all honesty, we really love doing what we do and our goal is to be able to do this full time. So everything we do is to strive and help accomplish that goal. From day one we always wanted to provide a great product to the audience, and that is still our goal as a band, to give the audience our all.

13. Are you using any new instrumentation you've never used in the recording process before?

David: One thing that we picked up from our studio time with Erik Ron is incorporating backing tracks, whether it be orchestral, piano parts or an 808 drop, we feel like it really brings our sound to new levels.

14. When did you start writing for this release?

David: We started working on this EP over a year ago, which in retrospect sounds insane to us! We really wanted things to be as perfect as can be for our debut EP so we took our time. We are really happy with it and we hope our fans will be too.

15. When can we expect the new album to be released?

David: We are just about ready to release it. We have this great show lined up on the 09/07/2013 at the Glasshouse in Pomona CA as our CD release show where we will have hard copies of our EP, after that we are releasing the EP on iTunes on 09/10/2013. We are extremely proud of these songs; we put all our effort and heart into it, so we’re excited to get this out to our fans.

16. Have you been road testing any of the new material? If so, how have audiences reacted to the new material?

David: We have, we actually have been playing most of the songs on the EP as well as some more recently written songs. We have been lucky enough to receive a positive reception on the songs we've been playing live, which is a definite relief. Some of the new songs are definitely pushing a more mature sound so we’re always happy when we have positive feedback on them.

17. What are your upcoming touring/show plans?

David: We are actually ready to hit the road starting on 08/26/2013. We will be doing shows all up the country leading us as far as Indiana and back. After that we are going to be pushing our EP as much as we can locally and also set up shows having us venture out to AZ and TX on constant basis as well.

18. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?

David: We will have hard copies and other merchandise at all our upcoming shows, you can keep up to date on that by following us on Facebook and all other social media. We also have behindthefallen.bigcartel.com where you can order our merchandise as well. You can download our EP “Pages of the Past” via ITunes after 09/10/2013.

19. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?

David: The connection felt, via it’s musically or vocally. Our songs are about experiences we personally went through, and we want to connect with others who experienced the same and let them know that they are not alone.

20. What can the fans expect to see from you in the future?

David: Ideally we’d like them to see more us. We want to help rejuvenate the rock scene out here, so let’s start that revolution!

21. Any final words of wisdom?

David: As long as you keep doing what you love to do, always strive to accomplish more. We've met some great people and had some memorable experiences in the short amount of time that we've been a band, and we’re looking forward to more, and we credit that to always working hard at our craft.