WELSH rockers Funeral For A Friend have announced a new album, and tour plans.

The band, one of the last remaining bastions of the British hardcore scene, will release Chapter and Verse later month with a host of shows to support the release.

Chapter and Verse is a classic Funeral For A Friend effort in the spectacular way it melds gruff attitude with melodic choruses, but it also happens to be one of the most sonically diverse records the band has ever made.

The first track to be made public from the record is the visceral You’ve Got A Bad Case of The Religions which was premiered on Daniel P Carter’s BBC Radio 1 Rock Show.

In reference to the track, vocalist Matthew Davies-Kreye said: “Never trust something you can’t see with your own eyes."

Funeral For A Friend exploded into the mainstream at the turn of the century.

Bursting out of Bridgend, South Wales, in 2001, Funeral For A Friend were hailed as the saviours of rock music from a young age and given the task of re-energising a scene in desperate need of fresh blood.

They are veterans, in many ways, but 14 years after their formation and the band still packs as much punch and purpose as they started with, if not more.

As part of the band's tour they will be playing Birmingham's Institute on Friday, January 16.

For tickets and more information, visit funeralforafriend.com.