A few days ago, a little birdy messaged me saying, “If you know what’s good for you, check out First Draw…or else!” OK, it wasn’t worded THAT hostilely, but you get the idea. I thought to myself, new year, new band, what have I got to lose? Besides, I’ve always prided this webzine on showcasing a varied mix of bands both old and new, underground and, well, “overground”. Considering I kicked off the year with a freaking Saxon review, the only way to go is even further up, right?
While First Draw is new to me and most of you, they’ve been a fixture of the Phoenix hard and heavy scene for quite some time now, making waves with area shows and a handful of singles. After ardently shaping their craft, they’re now ready to try their hand at the big leagues with their debut full length, The Journey. Upon first listen, The Journey is an aptly titled affair, as this truly is a musical journey through the headbanging and hard rocking sounds of yesteryear. While the production and overall feel can be described as “modern” to an extent, the buck stops there.
At their core, First Draw are a hard and heavy band, towing the line between hard rock and heavy metal ever so subtly. Cuts like “Riot Time”, “The Abyss”, and the closing title track reside on the hard rock side of the spectrum, equal parts Whitesnake-esque swagger and Dokken derived catchiness. There are no deeper lyrical meanings, musical complexities, or pretentiousness of any sorts here, just straightforward hard rockin’ goodness. One can’t help but envision themselves hopping upon a motorcycle and riding off into the sunset when cranking up the volume on these no frills rockers.
Contrasting these more accessible cuts are a handful of songs that almost has me believing First Draw are a doom metal band masquerading as a traditional metal/hard rock act. It all starts with the overtly doomy “As They Fail Us”. Granted, every hard rock and metal band of the past 50 years goes Sabbath mode at least once, so I chalked it up to being a mere homage to Birmingham’s finest. However, between the mystical melodic doom of “Nightmare Lane” and dreadfully dark “Vultures”, I can’t help but think this band has a future in the traditional doom niche if they tried. The emphasis on melodies and hooks recalls early ’90s Trouble, which should always be a welcome comparison.
Although First Draw aren’t doing anything new per se, they are most certainly doing something enjoyable. They wear their influences on their sleeves and do a rock solid job at utilizing them to create straightforward, in your face, hard and heavy rock n’ roll. Again, I can’t help but wonder what the future holds if they decide to follow the doom route, but until then, I’ll gladly rock this album and you should too. No, I’m totally not saying that out of fear of bodily harm from the aforementioned birdy in the first paragraph.
7 out of 10
Label: Vülture Records
Genre: Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
For fans of: Whitesnake, Dokken, Trouble