It’s been a bit of a sad ride for From First To Last. Just when it looked like they could be one of the biggest names in emo music, their singer left to become Skrillex. Since then they had moderate success with the two releases up until now, but they never really made it as big as they could, especially with band members leaving and rejoining left, right and centre.
Could this album be their majestic comeback? With Spencer Sotelo of Periphery now manning the helm of vocal duties, it seems that they have found someone who can finally give them the diverse vocal range, fitting lyrics and professional experience that they needed to start propelling them even more forward into the limelight.
Say what you like about Sotelo, but the man has a fantastic voice; he’s able to manage the really heavy bits that From First To Last were always so good at, and the emo, occasionally bordering on pop-rock chorus moments that have become such a mainstay in this kind of music. ‘Dead Trees’, the first track to be released off the album is a perfect example of this. You have the heavier sections, with grooves that swing like a bull being thrown in by the rest of the band, and the disgustingly massive choruses with the “woah-oh-oh” bits that just urge to sing along even though you’re on the bus and that man was already looking at you funny.
There are a lot of reasons to like this album. Not only are all of the ingredients for a good emo/post-hardcore album in there, they are of absolutely the highest quality. With the market saturated by bands such as Black Veil Brides, Falling In Reverse, Escape The Fate and others, this album could may well be the one to shoot this band way past those who perhaps once drew influence from their past work. And when you’re listening to this album, you kind of can’t help but hope that they make it there, and that they keep the style and quality songwriting which is going to get them there.
