For over a year, the members of Fuel sat on the sidelines waiting to settle contractual disputes with their old management company. Such events often leave bands rusty, and they need time to get rolling again. Fuel didn't have that luxury. As soon as the ink dried on their new contracts, they were asked to gas up and return to the fray by recording a song for the "Daredevil" film.

Through sheer acrobatics Fuel managed to deliver "Won't Back Down," the leadoff single from the soundtrack. "Fox [Studios] called me up about a month ago and said, 'Carl, we're in a bind. We need a song,' " guitarist Carl Bell said. "I said, 'All right, how much time do I have?' It was Sunday, and they said, 'We'd like to hear something by Friday.' So I went, 'Cool. Bring it on.' "

Bell, who had previously written songs for "Godzilla," "Cruel Intentions" and "Spider-Man," spent the week working on the tune, and he and the band submitted it just in time to meet the deadline. "Won't Back Down" is more aggressive than much of the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, band's material, and it's tinted with industrial grind.

"It's a different kind of song for us because they wanted me to do it for a fight scene," Bell said. "And they said we want something edgy to go with the dark and moody feel of the movie" (see "Affleck, Garner Open Up About 'Daredevil' ").

Although writing in an unfamiliar style was a challenge, Bell had an easy time with the song because he didn't have to start from scratch.

"It's kind of cool when you write for a movie because it kind of narrows the scope of emotions you have to play with," Bell explained. "You're spoon-fed the emotions of the movie, so you just take it and boil it down. They sent me a few scenes from the movie to watch at home, so I just sat there and tried to vibe off it, then grabbed my guitar and got into it."

Over the weekend, Fuel shot the video for "Won't Back Down" in Los Angeles with Robert Hales, who has also worked with Marilyn Manson, Kid Rock and Stone Temple Pilots. The clip will weave together scenes from the movie and shots of the band playing on top of a skyscraper being circled by S.W.A.T. helicopters. The single and video will hit early next year.

After the video shoot, Fuel will head to Los Angeles to start recording their fourth full-length studio album, which will be produced by Michael Beinhorn. Bell has written 40 songs for the album and the group is currently fine-tuning 20 to be considered for the record.

Frontman Brett Scallions said the experience working on "Won't Back Down" has broadened the band's horizons.

"We had Charlie [Clouser] from Nine Inch Nails come down and put some samples on it, and that really added a cool element to the song," he said. "We would like to explore with that stuff some more on the record."

Maybe so, but don't expect Fuel to roar out of the gate sounding like Ministry. The band plans to grow organically by incorporating new elements into its familiar framework.

"We've always been a very diverse, versatile band, but I think it's the best stuff we've ever had," Scallions said. "In some ways it's gonna be harder than the other records, but at the same time it's gonna keep the melodic content and the stuff that's signature to what we do."