FIRST DRAW – The Journey (2024)
While FIRST DRAW may be a new name for most of us, 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 traditional hard rock / metal band, towing the line between bith genres 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 of ’80s swagger and classic metallic 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 us believing First Draw are a retro 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.
Then, between the mystical melodic atmosphere of “Nightmare Lane” and dreadfully dark “Vultures”, 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 served with a powerful production.
Highly Recommended
01 – Riot Time
02 – The Abyss
03 – As They Fail Us
04 – Nightmare Lane
05 – Vultures
06 – Let It Live
07 – Night Owls
08 – The Journey
Alan Cross – Lead vocals
Maxx Million – Guitar
Cameron William Zaleski – Bass
Evan Hermes – Drums
BUY
www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRF2Z2WT
