Review/photos: Lynn Malpass
After taking almost a year off to rest, regroup and write a new record (to be released by Rise Records, with whom the band has recently signed), From First to Last are hitting the road once more to get the kinks out in preparation for a March album release. I had a chance to catch the band as they came east a couple of weeks ago, their first time out since last year and what turned out to be a whirlwind year for the band. I was very pleased with what I saw and heard.
Though their lineup has changed again – keyboardist Chris Lent having departed to take care of drumming duties in the band I Set My Friends On Fire and 3rd guitarist Blake Steiner of the band Mia Medusa having been added – the band seems every bit as impressive to me as they did last year when I caught them in September, supporting their self-titled Suretone release. It had been my first time seeing the band and they really blew me away at the time, so I approached these shows with a bit of question, wondering what, exactly, I was going to see and hear. I was not disappointed, not in the slightest.
I caught three shows. The Chameleon in Lancaster, PA, Hangar 84 in Vineland, NJ and then, after some talk and a bit of hanging out with these guys – who are the friendliest, nicest bunch I think I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting at a show – I was convinced to check out the show at Webster Hall in New York City as well. All three shows rocked. Supported by The Color of Violence (FFTL members Travis Richter and Derek Bloom’s side project), Therefore I Am and Greeley Estates, there was no lack of energy in any of the sets, though I have to say that their performance in Vineland was the best. The crowd was the best of the three nights as well, and even demanded an encore, which the band did oblige by returning to the stage for one last tune.
The show opener, The Color of Violence (on Epitaph Records), is the result of too much creativity and not enough outlet for it, the brainchild of FFTL guitarist Travis Richter and drummer Derek Bloom. Though it’s just the two of them, they tour with the assistance of FFTL’s bassist Matt Manning, and drummer Jon Syverson of the band Daughters (Initially the band toured with two drummers – Chris Lent added – but Lent has been on tour with his own band). They call themselves ‘experimental’, and I guess that’s really the best word for it, but as Bloom said once on his twitter (presumably after playing to a slightly confused audience), “…please do not come to a Color of Violence show expecting to see a band play. its an art project. 
its for fun, u know?” For fun or not, CoV is gaining a following, and while their style is too harsh for my personal tastes, their cover of The Pixies “Rock Music” is possibly one of the best covers I’ve heard in a long time.
Beginning their set with favorite “The Latest Plague,” off their Heroine record, FFTL played like always, no evidence of any time off. They ran through the ‘classics’, including “Note to Self, “The Crows are Coming for Us” and “The One Armed Boxer vs. the Flying Guillotine,” and a couple of new songs from the upcoming album which sounded rich and well-rehearsed. I was surprised that only one song off the self-titled album was played, “Deliverance,” however, so I hope we see a few more during future tours. “Worlds Away,” while maybe not in this band’s true ‘style’, is still a massive song, so I hope they continue to play it. In the meantime though, at least the sets are still being closed with the one song that this band is probably known best for, “Ride the Wings of Pestilence,” one of the best attestments to the fact that some newer metal bands still know what real metal is all about. So, though I think these shows left us all drooling for more – perhaps a ploy – they were excellent all the same, leaving me anxious to see From First to Last yet again.
From First to Last are currently finishing details on their upcoming record at home, then hit the road once more at the end of November with Aleseana, Asking Alexandria, The Word Alive and Memphis May Fire. Check them out on MySpace at www.myspace.com/fftl. Check out The Color of Violence a twww.myspace.com/thecolorofviolence .
