Almost three decades since their debut record scorched the rock industry, Fuel is back with a brand new album, Pendulum, that takes big, heavy swings and lands every single punch it throws.From start to finish, there’s not even one weak link in the armor, starting with the very first track, “Want It”, and running through nine more brilliantly crafted tunes. Including a new rendition of the band’s classic song “Innocent, and the best cover of The Eagles’ “Hotel California” you’re ever going to hear.Speaking to the band ahead of the release of Pendulum—which is out today, Oct. 30, 2026—I had a chance to learn a lot more about the project and what went into forging it. What I learned is that it’s certainly a group effort, with co-founding guitarist Carl Bell at the helm. But not in an authoritative way. He isn’t a ship’s captain or a boss of some kind. He’s more like a lead architect working with a team to make their blueprint a reality.Below, you’ll find my conversation with Bell, drummer Kevin Miller, and the band’s newest member, vocalist Aaron Scott. [Fuel’s lineup is rounded out by rhythm guitarist Mark Klotz and bassist Tommy Nat.] The three offered a lot of insight into where the band is now, and what went into making Pendulum.NOISEY – Carl, I want to start by asking you: Going into this record, was it your intention to make a really heavy album?Carl Bell – Well, we’ve always been heavy. It’s not different from what we do. I mean, if you listen to a song called “Won’t Back Down” that we did for the Daredevil (2003) soundtrack, we’ve always had the heavy side. So it’s not that much different for us.”Going into this record, I think the first song we did was a song called “Want It,” and Aaron brought that song. He’s like, “I’ve got an idea.” And I’m like, “All right, let’s hear it.” I had no idea, dude, what it was going to be.“He does Pro Tools. He’s the first guy I’ve ever been in a band with that actually can run Pro Tools. So he’s got drums, bass, guitars, way up on its legs. I think that kind of set the tone for the whole record, and then we just kept going from there, and it was just heavy. And we love heavy; always had a heavy side. So it’s just a continuation.”Noisey – Aaron, what has been the experience of joining the band and recording this album been like for you?It’s been humbling, man. I mean, I grew up [on Fuel]. I sang a Fuel song [“Hemorrhage (In My Hands)”] on The Voice back in 2020, and then I got a call from Kevin, who said, “Hey, man, you want to come out and do this?”This is beyond a dream, man. This is not something I ever even thought was possible. I was a school teacher in Wisconsin, but grew up on a heavy diet of Fuel and all of these great bands. When I met my wife in college, we named our top three bands, and Fuel was on both of our top three lists. So that was a staple band for us.I’m a fan. That’s what I tell people all the time. I’m literally a fan that was out in the audience who just got called on stage, handed a microphone, and asked to sing these songs. So it’s beyond surreal.During the recording process specifically on the album, I was just amazed at the humility, the openness of Carl. The guy who wrote friggin’ “Shimmer”, “Hemorrhage”, “Bad Day”, all these great hits. Carl was completely open to it. Amazing to work with. He has the ear to capture all the little details to make it as good as possible. And it was just really, really rewarding to see a person with those wheels turning and be a part of it.Noisey – Kevin, when you heard Aaron sing ” Hemorrhage” and your wheels started turning, did you see a new vision for Fuel?Kevin Miller – I was originally thinking we would probably do some heavy metal polka [laughs].We were having some singer issues, and Carl was ready to pull the shoot. He was done, and I was borderline done. But I was having such a good time playing again that I thought, “I can’t let this go by the wayside.” My wife actually heard Aaron sing the song; she found the video, and she’s like, “Look at this guy,” and I was like, “I am, yeah, no, like he looks like a school teacher, and she’s like, “He’s a school teacher.” And anyway, Aaron and I had some dialog, and he came out, sang his a** off. At that moment, I knew it. I was like, “There is great hope for this band now to continue with somebody that’s going to preserve the lineage of the band and make it and honor it.” And as Aaron said earlier, Carl’s been very open. There’s all these people like, “Oh, he’s such a control freak.” He’s a f**king hit songwriter, man. That’s the bottom line. Of course, he’s going to have a vision. You either fall in line with the vision or f**k off.Noisey – Carl, did you helm this album yourself, like you’ve done in the past? Did you bring any other producers in, or was it just you?Carl Bell – Nah, it was just me. Lucky us [laughs]. Just me… I took the helm on this one. But you know, Aaron, I think I gave Aaron a co-production on this. Aaron has got skills. He knows what’s up, and you would think that’s normal for bands, but it’s just not. Most people have to go outside to get other people to do stuff, and Aaron was great. I’ve enjoyed this band more than most bands I’ve ever been in.Kevin Miller – More props to Aaron. Aaron has the coolest self-evaluation button for a singer. Like he does such great self-editing. He’ll sing a line, and then Carl and I are sitting there, and Carl looks at me and says, “I need a little emotion on that second line there” [or] “He was a little flat.” We’ll stop the take, and Carl’s going to lean in to hit the mic, and Aaron’s already going, “Yeah, I didn’t like that second line there. I felt like I was a little flat.” And we’re both like, holy s**t!Big props to Aaron. He’s got a great, great, great edit button, and you know I’m trying to learn that in my ripe old age when I’m playing drums.Noisey – Lastly, Aaron, I want to ask you about one of the album’s singles, “Bad at Love”. Can you tell me a little bit about that song?This is a song that he wrote and brought to the band. I think one thing that was really cool about the arrangement is just how vulnerable the lyrics are. Honestly, the energy of the song, it’s one of those songs where it just kind of plays off of certain emotions, and you feel it.Everybody has these experiences where some relationships in your life leave a scar. Or you have a bad experience, or you find [out] something that left a mark. You move forward, and you try to move past it, but there are some scars or traumas. I have that like everybody else does. I felt like that song really kind of brought out some of that stuff for me.Noisey – Is that how you envisioned the song initially, Carl?Carl Bell – I’ve written so many songs, dude. By now, I can already hear what’s going to happen. I’ve done it so much that you kind of hear the song in your head. The hard part is getting it out of your head into the speakers, and that’s tough part.I wanted Kevin to really show out there. This whole record has got a lot of Kevin, which is great. It was fantastic. I kind of hear the whole song all in my head, and like I said, just trying to get it out of there and into the sonics of what’s theirs. That’s the challenge.Kevin Miller – What I appreciate with both of their songwriting now is they’ll come to me, and they’ll play me a thing… Aaron now caught on very quickly. Carl’s been doing this for for a minute now, but they’ll [come to me and say,] “I know how you play, so I wrote the song the way I feel you would pull it off.” And it makes it much easier for me because Carl knows my style. Now, Aaron’s getting it. Aaron made my feet go a little more than I normally did. I had to do a little work because I’ve never been a huge double bass, speed guy. Not that anything’s super fast, but the syncopation and all that. It was challenging and fun all at the same time. To be this far into Fuel and now taking it to a different place, it’s been a great process. It was a really fun record to make.Fuel’s new album, Pendulum, is out now. Find it at your preferred streaming service.Feature Image courtesy of Impulse ArtistsThe post Something More Than Human: Fuel Swings a Big, Heavy ‘Pendulum’ on Their Seventh Album (Exclusive) appeared first on VICE.