From First To Last are a rock band hailing from Valdosta, Georgia, USA who formed in 1999. They were one of the first bands to see commercial success as part of the post-hardcore boom of the early 2000s, and are still releasing records and touring to this day.
One only has to take the briefest of looks at From First To Last’s career to know that they were loved. Most likely they still are to this day, but you know that in the early 2000s there must have been legions of kids whose lives were saved, changed and made bearable by this band.
The band’s first incarnation was a power trio called First To Last formed by guitarist Matt Good bassist Scott Oord and drummer Parker Nelms. However, after three years of small shows around Florida, Good phased Oord and Nelms out of the band in favour of Travis Richter, Joey Antillon and Greg Taylor. By 2003 the band had released their first E.P, and by the end of the year, they’d changed their name to From First To Last, and landed a record deal with punk rock icons Epitaph.
In 2004 the band called for Good to take over lead vocals from the departed Phillip Reardon, however, Good wasn’t satisfied with the choice. He wanted the band to have a frontman who could connect with the audience without being hampered by an instrument. The word was put out on MySpace and the band selected California native Sonny Moore to take over, with him, their debut album was released in 2004.
As important as the album was to its fans, the general public weren’t entirely convinced yet. However, it made enough of an impact for their follow up album to be produced by nu-metal overlord Ross Robinson. At the same time, relations between the band and bassist Jon Weisberg had completely broken down and he was asked to leave the band. Robinson put the word out that the band needed a bass player and the man who made Limp Bizkit slightly bearable answered the call. Guitarist Wes Borland joined them for the recording of the album and toured with them until 2006.
After two years spent touring the world on a major label, everything came crashing down after Borland left. Moore also left in February 2007, citing a desire to create his own music (under the Skrillex moniker, shame he never went anywhere with it, really), and the strain that singing every night was putting on his vocal chords as his reasons for leaving. The band went straight out of the frying pan and into the fire when their label dropped them due to financial problems.
It was at that point that Good finally took up lead vocals and the album that they made after that saved their career. However it only kept them going until 2009, when Travis Richter left the band and the year after, the band split as a whole. After some solo projects the band regrouped in 2013, successfully crowdfunding their comeback E.P, which the band decided to extend into a whole album when they realized just how positive the response to them getting back together had been.
The band are on steadier ground than they’ve ever been, with a killer new line-up, an album that they’re psyched about, and a whole new rock scene partially inspired by music that they’d made a decade ago. They’re on the top of their game, and it would be a shame for anyone to miss out.
Steve Lacy
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