New singer, new album, new sound of FFTL

From First to Last release their first album since departure of Sonny Moore

By: Evan Connet

Posted: 5/9/08

Something is wrong here. I find more and more that the "emo"" label is slapped on a lot of things these days. Some are rightfully labeled as such, and some perhaps not.

I have stood steadfast against the worst that the emo scene has put out, and I have been a proclaimed fan of heavy music of many sorts for years, from the nu-metal craze of my middle school years and Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park, to the resurgence of American metal such as Lamb of God and Killswitch Engage, all the way to the extremes of The Black Dahlia Murder and Cradle of Filth. I almost always find something to enjoy.

That said, the recent wave of emo and emocore bands has spawned a style and type of music that leaves a bad taste in my mouth and a poor sound echoing in my ears. The problem I referred to at the beginning is due to an anomaly I have uncovered.

I recently rediscovered the band From First To Last through its latest self-titled release after only having minimal exposure to the band's first effort, "Dear Diary, My Teenage Angst Has A Body Count." (Talk about earning a scornful emo label, eh?) I'd also had no exposure to their album that followed, "Heroine."

The new album is a freshly released LP from a rearranged iteration of the band, as former lead vocalist and frontman Sonny Moore is no longer with the group. The slack has been picked up by vocalist and guitarist Matt Good, and along with guitarist Travis Richter, bassist Matt Manning and drummer Derek Bloom, the realigned four-piece has put out a surprisingly enjoyable album, one that even I can stomach.

I discovered that I actually enjoyed the vocal work - which will be hotly contested by fans of Sonny-era FFTL - and the music struck a nice balance of heavy guitar work and catchy songs that I can honestly say got me rocking.

Not all is great in From First To Last's work, though. While decent, the music does not break any new ground and often comes off as quite generic and forgettable.

I must applaud the band for overcoming the hurdles of losing a vocalist, losing its record label and having no permanent bassist before pulling it all back from the brink of breakup and releasing this overall solid album.

Evan Connet

diversions@dailybarometer.com