posted 05/30/2008 (Fri) @ 11:55 pm
>>> Music Reviews
From First to Last - From First to Last (2008)
At last, a first: a listenable record from From First to Last
- Two As One
- The Other Side
- Worlds Away
- We All Turn Back to Dust
- Medicinal Reality
- A Perfect Mess
- Tick Tock Tomorrow
- Deliverance!
- I Once Was Lost But Now Am Profound
- Be-Headed (Marathon Man)
- In Memoriam In Advance
Hallelujah, the whining is gone.
If you found previous output from this band to be bordering on unlistenable, Matt Good holds the key to your heart, because guess what? He can actually sing without sounding like a middle schooler who’s just failed math.
While From First to Last is certainly nothing groundbreaking in the broader scope of things, it is a great listen for fans of hard rock, punk, and (not so much) screamo. The tuneage here runs the gamut from quasi-metalcore (”Two As One,” “I Once Was Lost, But Now Am Profound”) to ironically throat-ripping anthems about open-mindedness (”The Other Side”) to massively enjoyable stuff that sounds like the bastard child of Muse (albeit on a day with abnormally high pollen count) and CKY (”Worlds Away”). There’s also a (subtle!) rhythmic undercurrent throughout which may bring to mind The Refused’s The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombation In 12 Bursts. Very nice.
This is not a perfect record. But it is still among the better listens so far this year, and a total surprise from one of the longer holdouts in the category of “Previously Supremely Annoying Emo Bands.” While this is not quite a Fear Before the March of Flames caliber turnaround for From First to Last, it’s certainly impressive what simply kicking out an irritating lead singer can accomplish.
Tags: hard rock, hardcore, metal, punk, screamo, vocalists
