Just before the turn-of-the-century, Fuel quietly emerged with a melodic brand of hard rock rooted in eloquent
songwriting and heavy guitars. 1998’s
Sunburn not only went platinum, but it also yielded enduring anthems such
as “Shimmer” and “Bittersweet.” Its 2001 follow-up,
Something Like Human, earned a double-platinum
certification and elevated them to arenas. The lead single “Hemorrhage (In My Hands)” would reach #1 for 13
weeks and would even become the No. 6 Alternative Rock song of the past 25 years according to
Billboard's
Alternative Chart 25th Anniversary: Top 100 Songs, making it
“one of the Top Ten most-listened to alternative rock
songs for the past 30 years
.” Their music appeared everywhere from Prison Break, Daredevil, and Scream 3 to
WWE Pay-Per-View events. 2003’s
Natural Selection bowed in the Top 15 of the Billboard Top 200 and garnered a
GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of
“Best Engineered Album. Non-Classical.”
Their catalog continued to resound throughout popular culture as well. Daughtry famously covered “Hemorrhage”
on
American Idol, while modern platinum rock juggernaut Red also released their own rendition of it and Hands
Like Houses notably performed “Shimmer” on Triple J in Australia.
After 11 years away, Carl and Kevin brought Fuel back to life in 2021. In the end, their return may have been
unexpected, but it couldn’t be more welcome.