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A little over three years ago, Fightstar was merely just an impossible dream, laughed at by many. Right now, however, the story couldn't be more different.

It seems that, looking back on the early days of this London quartet, they faced one of the toughest challenges yet: bearing a front man who was attempting to cross a major genre boundary with his new and unknown post-hardcore project. After being in a multi-million selling pop band. And with that came the throwing of bottles, rubbish, shoes and even paint. Yet, when we see the men that stand on stages today, we can see something burning in their eyes and you just know that this is where they belong and they've earned more than any right to it. If any band in today's scene were to be named the phoenixes that have risen from the ashes, it'd be this one.

Today we're in Leeds. It is the last date of their first major headlining tour in favour of their second album 'One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours' and we are speaking to drummer Omar Abidi, who has been in the front line for the past three years, experiencing the turmoils, dramas and successes as they've unfolded. But, with this new album we see a different Fightstar; an angrier, tougher and just plain genius one, ready to be taken down kicking and screaming…

OS: First off, how has this tour been?
Omar Abidi [Drums]: It's been really good. We've been hit by a bit of illness but we're all kinda back on track now and it's been a good last few shows.

OS: So, now everyone in the band is back to good health after the illness scare?
Omar: Yeah, we're all good. We're all better and our voices are back to normal.

OS: What was it like having to play pretty much every night for a few weeks solidly?
Omar: It's not been too bad. I mean, we were in America, for a couple of months touring over there and that was hardcore. We did like, fifty six shows in sixty days.

OS: Plus, there's the long distances drives…
Omar: Yeah, there was one drive we did which was about nineteen hours, from Boizi, Idaho to Phoenix, Arizona, I think it was. Or Texas, or somewhere like that. But yeah, over there it kinda makes bands here look like they're on a school run basically, with the travelling.

OS: You've just released your new album 'One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours'. How do feel that audiences have reacted to the new tracks you've been including in your sets?
Omar: It's been a good reaction. A really good reaction - all the news song are going down really well, just, yeah! It's nice to hear them singing it back already. It shows they're taking it in and liking it.

OS: What was the writing and recording process for the album like?
Omar: Yeah, well, we wrote most of it in England and then we went out there [to LA] pretty much finished. We technically should have had the album finished but we were going through our bits of slackness. Then, we finished the writing over there with our producer for a week, had some pre-production, just kinda messing around with the tracks. Then, we spent about four or five days doing drums in a nice, big, plush studio with a nice big room. Then, we moved to the producer's own place to do the rest of the stuff because you don't really need huge studios for that. In total it was six weeks of recording and then we went on tour. The album was mixed while we were touring in the States. There were a few complications in the mix; one thing I'd recommend to all bands is never ever mix your album while you're on the road. You have to be there! Or it always leads to problems. We sorted it out in the end, but there it goes really; it's the finished product. It was really labour intensive and we put our blood, sweat and tears into it.

OS: Did you have any specific influences for this new record?
Omar: It's quite broad really. We've always drawn influence from some of our contempories, you know, obvious bands that we're really into. But, also, films and stuff. We've always been well into movies and heavy-duty films. We've always kind of searched for the epic and tried to put it into musical contexts, so that's definitely a main theme throughout the record.

OS: On the new album there's a lot of balance between the harsh aggression and melodic vocals. How do you think you managed to successfully harness the balance?
Omar: I think it's actually to do with the four members of the band really. There was kind of a delicate balance there naturally when we started so I think it holds itself well through the music. I think it's grown too, from the EP to the first album, and now it's flourishing. It's in the way we write; it's a bit schitsophrenic in some ways, but it definitely seems to work.

OS: What's your favourite track from the album?
Omar: For me, it's probably Tannhauser Gate. It's just got that fusion of really brutal and really delicate vibes.

OS: Before the release, you moved from your first record label of Island to your current label Gut. What happened to make you decide upon a move?
Omar: It was basically, we got to the end of the first album and the company wanted us to start getting demos into them for the new album. So we wrote four tracks, which we intended as more of the commercial tracks on the album. But they wanted something even more commercial. We were like, “Well, we're not going to write anything more commercial” because that was as commercial as this album would get. But we thought that if they weren't happy with what was there, maybe we should part ways.

OS: I can imagine it being quite frustrating having your label say that to you?
Omar: It was kind of frustrating… I don't know. Working with Island was great in the beginning, because they did literally let us do whatever we wanted to do for the first record. And I think it was purely because they didn't understand where we would fit in. So, once we had the freedom from getting away from that, I think we felt as though it was a big weight off our shoulders. So, that might be why this album is written more freely; we didn't have any shackles to worry about. We wrote most of the album while we were not on a label. Then, Gut Records came along and really understood where we were coming from with this album, so they picked up the option.

OS: So, you feel as though moving was the right decision?
Omar: Yeah, definitely. I don't doubt it for a second. Island were great to us, but there's always a point that you reach where things aren't going to continue the way you want them to. But we parted on good terms - there's good people there. And we've found new good people in our new label.

OS: Obviously, you've experienced your fair share of troubles as a band, so what's it like to be getting so many great reviews after that time of turmoil?
Omar: It's been really good; it's always lovely to see that the fans are sticking by us. Obviously, we did have quite a hard time to start with, but everything for the past year, year and a half, two years has been steadily growing and getting stronger. And we have nothing but love for the fans that have support us. It's really made us what we are now.

OS: So, you think those troubles benefited you guys as a band?
Omar: Yeah, definitely. It was an uphill struggle at the beginning, but I think it makes you stronger. We saw everything as a challenge more than just day-to-day life as a band; everything was a new challenge to us and we had to push it. So, I think it has made us stronger, as well as make us work harder as much as we could.

OS: How would you describe the new album to the fans?
Omar: How I'd describe it? Ooh, I'm really crap at describing things! I'd probably describe it as the logical progression of what we've done before, taking those extremes that we've known for and taking them to new boundaries.

OS: And is it true that 'Floods' will be the next single?
Omar: It Is. It's the next proper single… but there might be a download release before that though. We'll see. There's something on the cards.

OS: Do have you any ideas for the video for 'Floods'?
Omar: Yes, we have! We're actually working on a video for 'Floods' at the moment. We've got something in the pipeline but we can't quite talk about it yet because if we don't get it, then it'll be a completely farce talking about it since it didn't happen! But, if it does go ahead, it could be quite good for us and it'll be quite an interesting piece for people to see. It'll be one to remember if it does happen.

OS: Finally, what's planned for next year? There are rumours of you appearing on the Kerrang! Tour in February…
Omar: Ahh! There's rumours… I don't know, is that out in Kerrang! Yet? There's rumours flying about… I dunno what I can say really, before someone from Kerrang! Comes down and shoots me in the face. But, yes, there is something happening in February next year.

You can check out Fightstar as they head out on the, now officially confirmed, Kerrang! tour next February.