Fireball Ministry is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1999.

Biography

Formed in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

in the late 1990s by James A. Rota II and Emily Burton, Fireball Ministry moved to New York City before settling in Los Angeles. In 2000, they performed at the two-day "November Dismember" metal-music festival in

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

, playing on the second day. The festival was situated at the National Orange Show fairgrounds in two hangars. After several years appearing with various big name bands in the genre such as Danzig,

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

, and

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

, but without a breakthrough in album sales, they polished their own sound to continue gaining a wider following. The tracks "King" and "Flatline" appeared in the

big wave surfing Big wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which experienced surfers paddle into, or are towed into, waves which are at least 20 feet (6.2 m) high, on surf boards known as "guns" or towboards. Sizes of the board needed to successfully su ...

documentary ''Billabong Odyssey'' (2003). The track "King" was also selected by

Bam Margera Brandon Cole "Bam" Margera ( ; born September 28, 1979) is an American former professional skateboarder, stunt performer, television personality, and filmmaker. He rose to prominence in the early 2000s as one of the stars of the MTV reality s ...

and appeared on his ''

Viva La Bands ''Viva La Bands'' is a music compilation album by professional skateboarder and television personality Bam Margera, released on June 21, 2005. It features songs from some of Margera's favorite artists. A second volume, '' Viva La Bands, Volume ...

'' compilation. The band teamed up with Margera's brother,

Jess Jess is a unisex given name, often a short form (hypocorism) of Jessica, Jesse, Jessie, etc., and a surname. It may refer to: Given name * Jess Atkinson (born 1961), American football player * Jess Cain (1926–2008), American radio host * Jes ...

, when they toured Europe with

CKY CKY may refer to: * CKY (band), American rock band, formerly "Camp Kill Yourself" ** ''CKY'' (video series), named after the band **CKY crew, people involved in the video series and related projects *CKY-DT, a television station in Winnipeg, Manito ...

in 2004. The track "The Broken" was included in the wrestling video game ''

WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 ''WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006'' (subtitled ''Exciting Pro Wrestling 7'' in Japan), is a professional wrestling video game and developed by Yuke's that was released on the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable by THQ in 2005. It is part of the ' ...

'' for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

. The band went through four different bass players, starting with

Helen Storer Helen Storer is an English bassist, guitarist and singer-songwriter from Cheshire, England. She began her musical career as a teenager in the high-profile punk rock band Fluffy who were signed to Hut/Virgin Records by Tom Zutaut of Geffen. Fl ...

, who played on ''

Où est la Rock? ''Où est la Rock?'' (French for "Where Is the Rock?") is the first studio album by the American heavy metal band Fireball Ministry. It was released in 1999 on the independent Bong Load Records. Nick Menza contributed to the album. Critical rece ...

'' (1999) and was replaced by

Fu Manchu Dr. Fu Manchu () is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character featured in cinema, television, radio, comic ...

bassist Brad Davis on '' FMEP'' (2001), who was himself replaced by former L7 bass player Janis Tanaka on ''The Second Great Awakening'' (2003). Former Systematic bassist

Johny Chow John Mark Bechtel (born February 1, 1972) is an American musician and artist. He is currently the bassist for the rock band Stone Sour. He is a former bassist for the bands Cavalera Conspiracy, Souls of We, Fireball Ministry, My Ruin, Cortez, Sy ...

then took the place of Tanaka for the ''

Their Rock Is Not Our Rock ''Their Rock Is Not Our Rock'' is the third studio album by American rock band Fireball Ministry, released via Liquor and Poker Music in 2005. The album features the song "The Broken", which is recognized for its use in the video game ''WWE Sma ...

'' album (2005), which was recorded at

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...

's 606 West studio and, like the band's previous works, was produced by

Nick Raskulinecz Nick Raskulinecz () (born February 4, 1970) is an American record producer. He resides in Nashville, Tennessee. Production career Raskulinecz is from the Bearden area of Knoxville, Tennessee. He first produced and recorded bands in Knoxville ...

. In another connection helped by Margera, they supported CKY on their 2005

Adio Adio may refer to: Business *Adio (company), the former skateboard footwear and apparel company Music Songs * "Adio" (song), a song by Montenegrin recording artist Knez that represented Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 *"Adio", a 19 ...

Footwear-sponsored tour, having already opened for them on their UK tour in 2004. Original drummer John Oreshnick took a leave of absence due to family issues in the fall of 2006, to be replaced by Yael during their subsequent tour. Yael and Johny Chow were former bandmates in

My Ruin My Ruin is an American alternative metal band from Los Angeles, California, composed of the husband and wife duo Tairrie B and Mick Murphy (guitarist), Mick Murphy. The band has been through various line-up changes since its formation in 1999. ...

. Yael subsequently left the band in winter 2006, and Oreshnick rejoined. Rota considered becoming an

ordained minister In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church body, church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spir ...

, but was persuaded not to on account of possible legal and taxation issues. However, he did eventually become

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

and performed wedding ceremonies for

Matt Deis Matt Deis is an American bass guitarist. Originally from West Springfield, Massachusetts, he is best known as the bassist of the rock band CKY with whom he performed with between 2005 and 2010, returning in 2015 and departing again in 2019, an ...

of CKY and Erica Beckmann in November 2005, and

and Missy Rothstein in February 2007. In an interview for

Blabbermouth.net Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001; in October ...

in May 2007, James Rota stated that "we ireball Ministryare in the stages of writing a new album". In the same Interview, Rota also referred to what would later become

The Company Band The Company Band is an American heavy metal band. Formed in 2007, the band is a supergroup featuring vocalist Neil Fallon (of Clutch), guitarists James A. Rota (of Fireball Ministry) and Dave Bone, bassist Brad Davis (of Fu Manchu), and drummer J ...

EP, ''

Sign Here, Here and Here ''Sign Here, Here and Here'' is an EP by American heavy metal band The Company Band. This is The Company Band's debut recording, it was recorded at '' Bam Margera's'' personal studio ''The Hobbit Hole'' during 2007. The CD was mixed by Andrew ...

''. On June 14, 2008, Rota stated that three tracks had been recorded for the as yet unnamed fifth Fireball Ministry album, and was also working on a full-length Company Band album and a third, unspecified project. However, Johny Chow was on tour playing bass guitar with

Cavalera Conspiracy Cavalera Conspiracy is an American heavy metal supergroup founded by Brazilian brothers Max (vocals, rhythm guitar) and Igor Cavalera (drums, percussion). The band originally formed in 2007 as Inflikted but changed its name for legal reasons ...

and

Stone Sour Stone Sour is an American rock band formed in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1992. The band performed for five years before disbanding in 1997. They reunited in 2000 and since 2015, the group has consisted of Corey Taylor (lead vocals, guitar), Josh Rand ...

. Some tracks from the album ''Fireball Ministry'' such as "Kick Back" "End of Story" and "Fallen Believers" appeared as soundtrack on the ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club ope ...

'' television series The band released their fifth album, ''

Remember the Story Remember may refer to: Film and television * ''Remember?'', a 1939 film starring Robert Taylor and Greer Garson * ''Remember'' (1926 film), an American silent drama film * ''Remember'' (2015 film), a Canadian film by Atom Egoyan, starring Chris ...

'', on October 6, 2017, via Cleopatra Records.

Inspiration

The band's imagery draws heavily from

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, with "

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

" in their name, the albums ''The Second Great Awakening'' and ''

'', a reference to

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...

32:31.

MTV.com MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

described the band's music as having "a musical chemistry between the members... that makes their songs buzz with warmth". The name "Fireball Ministry" comes from a public-access TV show in

that went by the same name.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1999) * ''The Second Great Awakening'' (2003) * ''

'' (2005) * ''Fireball Ministry'' (2010) * ''

'' (2017)

EPs

* '' FMEP'' (2001)

Members

Current

James A. Rota II – vocals, guitars (1999–present)
Emily Burton – guitars (1999–present)
John Oreshnick – drums (1999–present)
Scott Reeder – bass (2014–present)

Former

– bass (1999–2001), touring (2018)
Brad Davis – bass (2001–2002)

Janis Tanaka Janis Tanaka (born January 9, 1963) is an American bassist who has worked as a session musician and on tour with a number of well-known artists including Pink, Fireball Ministry, Hammers of Misfortune, Stone Fox, and L7. She was also a member o ...

– bass (2002–2004)

– bass (2004–2014)
Yael – drums (2006)
Brad Prescott –

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

(2016)

References

{{Fireball Ministry 1999 establishments in California Cleopatra Records artists Hard rock musical groups from California Heavy metal musical groups from California Musical quartets American stoner rock musical groups Liquor and Poker Music artists Nuclear Blast artists