Austin, Texas, rap-metal band Fire From the Gods jump-started their career in 2010 by winning the Headbang for the Highway unsigned-band competition. ∙ Produced by David Bendeth (Paramore, Breaking Benjamin), their debut, Narrative, was rereleased in 2017 as Narrative Retold, with two new songs helmed by Korn’s Jonathan Davis. ∙ Fire From the Gods singer AJ Channer made his directorial debut with the video for their 2018 single “Evolve.” ∙ For their sophomore album, 2019’s American Sun, they signed with Eleven Seven Music, home to Mötley Crüe and Papa Roach. ∙ They played alongside Mötley Crüe, Five Finger Death Punch, and Papa Roach at 2020’s virtual Better Noise Music Festival. ∙ Known for his socially conscious lyrics, Channer joined Ja Rule and Naughty By Nature’s Vin Rock on a Black Lives Matter panel about police accountability in 2020.