From First To Last – Throne To The Wolves

From First To Last

Throne To The Wolves

Rise Records

March 16, 2010

Throne To The Wolves is the long awaited follow up to 2008′s self-titled album. This is the second album since a certain highly praised vocalist parted with FFTL to embark on a solo career, that may not have panned out the way he predicted. In 2008, their self-titled release FFTL showed the world that they can perform just as well, if not better, without the a fore-mentioned Sonny. That was 2008. Throne To The Wolves is a completely different story.

After multiple member changes and being dropped from record labels, From First To Last present us with Throne To The Wolves on acclaimed independent record label Rise Records.  This album reminds me of movie plots that are recycled and rewritten to fit the times and then resubmitted for your musical pleasure. Props go to FFTL for sticking to their “style”, that being melodramatic lyrics containing subjects about Fame and Money and their place on the proverbial celebrity ladder. At least those are some of the subjects talked about on this record. Definitely a step forward from the “poor me” feeling we got from their previous albums.

Throne To The Wolves’ one downfall is its production value. The mixes sound like all the different elements of each song were stuck inside a Yahtzee jar, shook up and spilled out, and however the dice landed, that’s how the mix was made. The main problems range from overbearing guitars, drowned out vocals and excessively loud group vocals.

Aside from the mixing problems and the one minute chug-chug and screaming fest track, Throne To The Wolves definitely has its better moments. I wouldn’t call it innovative, but Track 10′s – “A Soft War” really impressed me musically. The overlayed vocals onto synth programming that plays a melody changing the pitch of the vocals really gives that song a calming feeling and is almost in a sense, serene.

Hardcore fans of the previous self-titled release will thoroughly enjoy this album. The screaming on this album really stands out, when you can hear it. Throne To The Wolves will be a hit or miss for a lot of people, but I don’t think From First To Last have anything to worry about.

Written By: Ethan W.