Do you realise how well-connected From First To Last are? Yes, being the musical birthplace of Skrillex will be enshrined in scene lore forevermore, but beyond that? Well, for their post-hiatus album Dead Trees (so not even remotely close to their peak), Periphery’s Spencer Sotelo served as lead vocalist. Perhaps more impressively, across their catalogue, there’s been somehow-under-the-radar session work from Wes Borland, Travis Barker and Mikey Way.
The main point is that the scene tends to treat From First To Last well. So much so that, for this newest iteration of a comeback, you might expect them to be spoiled for choice for a lineup refresh. (Sonny Moore did come back for a fronting stint between 2017 and 2019, but that only spawned a couple of singles, and Skrillex seems to be a far more lucrative venture these days anyway.) But instead of an A-lister who’d ensure a headline stream working overtime for every move they make, From First To Last have recruited LiL Lotus as their new frontman.
Now, his emo-rap past might give pause, but more relevant is his own Myspace-tilting screamo act If I Die First (alongside From First To Last guitarist Travis Richter, no less). It implies, rather than a mere stunt cast, From First To Last want an authentic experience for their next phase. After all, they were pioneers of that initial wave of post-hardcore, and bringing onboard someone with a track record of doing it justice in contemporary stead is already an inspired move, especially with someone already in their ranks who can vouch. Of course, ‘authentic’ is as relative as it gets here. The flood of melodrama by design kinda makes that inevitable, but even from a cursory glance, it’s back to its past form. The tracklist’s threefer of Your Name In Red Ink, Everything Ends In Silence and Picking Clothes To Die In is a nailed-on indicator.
Thus, if you were expected the needle to be moved…well, you weren’t, but just humour us for a sec. Any one of these songs could be accompanied by a 240p video rip from 20 years ago, and you’d never give it a second thought. But when the guitar of They Said Your Ghost Was A Promise leans into view—that sweet, sweet guitar tone of a bygone era—the dopamine rushes in and doesn’t stop. Who cares if From First To Last are basically redoing both their own work and their coeval scene wholesale? It’s a wonderful experience to have again.
Funnily enough, so much of that comes from the injection of new blood not feeling all that new at all. Out the gate, LiL Lotus knows what he’s doing here, right down to the most imperceptible cadence and inflection. He’s got the emo half-whinge on lock; the spluttered-out screams are great, too. There’s even some of that classic overlapping vocal interplay on They Said Your Ghost Was A Promise and Your Name In Red Ink, the sort you might get in the good old days of a band like Taking Back Sunday. Most of all, though, he’s doggedly committed to this. Although you get the briefest twinges of a lifelong fan not wanting to screw up, it doesn’t come through in stiffness or over-caution. Quite the opposite, actually; LiL Lotus throws himself in as deeply as possibly, and emerges as such an asset to the group.
The rest of the band aren’t just sitting on their hands, mind you. It’s one of the better representations of a ‘legacy act’ you could ask for—the music is a bold-faced throwback, though without succumbing to the creaks and crust of age. Again, it’s the opposite. There’s still a thrill to a song like Your Name In Red Ink, laced with metallic groans and sour screamo guitars that, in capable hands, still absolutely rip. The production is such a tight recreation of the old ways, too. No unneeded polish; no disparaging ‘updates’; it’s exactly as it should be. The fact that Matt Manning’s bass has such a definitive presence here is a great sign in itself.
And, of course, it wouldn’t be one of these without a hefty dose of era-appropriate emo, which From First To Last are also still great with. Among the six songs here, a fair proportion leans in that direction, and while a song like Hate Me All You Want, I Still Got Your… is a little—for lack of a better term—conventional to properly leap out, the vicegrip of nostalgia does its job all the same. Plus, it’s an opportunity to get real hammy with it. Everything Ends In Silence is the kind of track you might pretend you’re too good for to save face, but between its bounty of hooks and a genuinely slobberknocking execution, it’s an undeniable winner. Even the acoustic Pale Blue does what it needs to work, avoiding maudlin extremes by having LiL Lotus bawl and prostrate like a man who’s never heard the word ‘restraint’ in his life.
It’s probably worth clarifying that none of We Were Bleeding Anyway is transformative or innovative, or gives the slightest impression that it’s out to change anyone’s mind. If your teen angst still has a bodycount, though, this is an absolute treat. With a revival that’s all about playing to their strengths, From First To Last’s drive places them in the best possible light. They’re rejuvenated, confident in their abilities, and clearly not hanging back. This does feel like a new era getting underway, nostalgia-driven like no one’s business but ‘new’ nonetheless. And for a band with From First To Last’s apparent pull in high places, whatever happens next could be incredible.
For fans of: Underøath, Senses Fail, Finch
‘We Were Bleeding Anyway’ by From First To Last is released on 2nd October on Fearless Records.
Words by Luke Nuttall
