From First To Last Album: “From First To Last (Parental Advisory)”

This is From First To Last's first release on Interscope Records, moving up in the music industry from Epitaph Records (which did do the band very well, making a name for themselves). Over the years the band has gone through label shifts and member changes. so it's no shock that this self-titled release has a nervous energy throughout. From First To Last are flying around in the category field. They aren't punk and not typical screamo. yet not hard-core either. They mix a type of all these styles, which I think helped with their success. because they appeal to fans of all different genres of music.

This album definitely is driven by angst, fierce guitars, and aggression -- every song displays it. therefore putting them in a hard-core category as far as I'm concerned. "Two As One" is a tight and sharp in-yer-face rocker. This album also has post-punk type anthems, as well as heartfelt yet still on the heavy side semi-ballads like "We All Turn Back To Dust" that changes tempo from heavy to a lighter rock with a sing-a-long chorus. It's good to see the band still doing well at a time when bands don't normally survive going through what they have.

There is a lot of energy to this album but its the same energy in every song. The instruments are played very well just like in Heroine but Matt doesn't vary his style of singing in each song. He just repeats the same phrases over and over and over "two as one for all...."...."I'm two steps away from my subtle..." "I wouldn't call this dating..." its catchy but it gets old very quick. I know it's called a chorus but at least integrate better into the song and don't say the same thing every couple seconds. Every band seems to be moving to this poppy more catchy tune and its ruining my love for the bands just like Atreyu they turned to the poppy stuff its still good but it gets old quickly. This album is not FFTL's best album at all I still believe Heroine was the best i still listen to it. I am tired of people complaining about Sonny's style but it was unique and only added to FFTL's uniqueness. I wish sonny was still singing for FFTL it would be amazing but whatever.

Overall Grade: C+

The album has amazing drumming and guitaring which keeps me listening to it...but Matt needs to come up with some new lyrics.

The lyrics are what is really bringing down their talent as a band.

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

(albeit on a day with abnormally high pollen count) and

("Worlds Away"). There's also a (subtle!) rhythmic undercurrent throughout which may bring to mind The Refused's

. 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

caliber turnaround for From First to Last, it's certainly impressive what simply kicking out an irritating lead singer can accomplish.