Heroine (From First to Last album)

In 2004, From First to Last released their debut studio album, Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Bodycount, which sold more than 100,000 copies and established the band in the post-hardcore scene. Thereafter, the band spent an extended period of time writing Heroine. Recording sessions were held at Radio Star Studios in Weed, whose secluded nature Robinson hoped would prevent From First to Last from becoming distracted, and Robinson's bedroom in Venice, Los Angeles. They utilized Pro Tools "as a tape medium" for recording, and did not do anything they could not replicate on tape, such as applying drum triggers. Robinson set up recording to be like a live show and cheered the band on through speakers. Bloom was made to practice with the other members of From First to Last before going to record his tracks in a cramped space in the studio's "dungeon". whilst vocalist Sonny Moore recorded full takes. and it was completed by late December 2005. screamo, A darker Heroine features more complex songwriting Daniel Lukes of Decibel called the song an "adrenaline-rush cavalcade". "The Latest Plague" is a pummelling track Scott Weber of AbsolutePunk considered "...And We All Have a Hell" reminiscent of "previous Ross Robinson type bands". Moore wrote "Afterbirth" after discovering he was adopted and had also known who his biological parents were his entire life; he intended its lyrics to be "the most intense thing I could think of". "World War Me" combines "clinky" drums and guitars "Shame Shame" is about feeling intense shame after doing things one knows are wrong, and is marked by "mentalist" guitar riffing, and double kick drums. Drowned in Sound Raziq Rauf states that Moore "stretches [his] vocal talents to the max" on the track. "Goodbye Waves" is an electronic ballad that cuts into distorted sounds. Moore details his struggles with bulimia in "Waltz Moore", and calls out for his mother on Heroine closing title track, which Burgess described as a "time-crunching workout". == Release and promotion ==

From First to Last announced Heroine and unveiled its artwork and track listing on December 20, 2005. The band toured with Story of the Year and Every Time I Die in January 2006, before embarking on a headlining European tour in February. and released online on March 14, 2006. Four days after being streamed on From First to Last's Myspace page, Heroine was released on March 21, 2006, through Epitaph Records; giving From First to Last their first and only top forty album. The album also charted at number 71 on the Australian Albums chart, A music video for "Shame Shame" was released in October 2006. In February 2009, an unreleased Heroine B-side, "Save Us", was posted to the band's Myspace page. From March 15 to May 12, 2006, the band toured with Fall Out Boy, the All-American Rejects and Hawthorne Heights as part of the former's Black Clouds and Underdogs Tour. Following a European festival tour, In October 2006, From First to Last toured as a supporting act for Atreyu, alongside Every Time I Die and Chiodios. On October 24—approximately halfway through the tour—Moore tore a vocal cord and was advised by a doctor to rest his voice or risk permanently damaging it. From First to Last planned to continue the tour with Craig Owens of Chiodios filling in on vocals and Moore playing guitar, but later announced they had been "kicked off" the tour by Atreyu, resulting in a feud between the two bands. Atreyu's then-vocalist, Alex Varkatzas, accused the band of wanting to be paid the same amount of money for using a fill-in singer, though expressed sympathy with Moore's condition. they left Capitol shortly thereafter and signed to Suretone Records in early 2007. Moore briefly reunited with From First to Last between 2017 and 2019. == Critical reception ==

Heroine received positive reviews from music critics. Yates of Kerrang! called the album a "very real breath of fresh air" and felt it made From First To Last "one of the most daring and, courtesy of Robinson's stellar production job, aurally harrowing bands in the emo/hardcore world." Ox-Fanzine Thomaz Renz called the album dated and likened Robinson's production to a "can of stale electronic fiddlesticks", Schultz, Weber, Burgess of Alternative Press and Lukes of Decibel discussed From First to Last's divisive image and reputation amongst contemporary listeners in their reviews of Heroine and felt the album largely transcended it; and included "The Latest Plague" in its list of the "250 Rock Anthems You Must Own". In 2019, Rock Sound ranked Heroine at number 174 on its list of the 250 greatest albums released since the publication's debut in 1999. Nick Martin of Sleeping with Sirens cited the album as an influence on the initial songwriting of Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows, before Good joined the band. During the recording of Sleeping with Sirens' sixth album How It Feels to Be Lost (2019), vocalist Kellin Quinn asked Good, who produced the album, to make the band do something unexpected in reference to Heroine. With over 232,000 copies sold in the United States by April 2008, it remains From First to Last's best selling album. ==Track listing==

Adapted from liner notes. From First to Last • Sonny Moore – lead vocals • Matt Good – lead guitar, vocals; programming (all tracks except 8) • Travis Richter – rhythm guitar, unclean vocals • Derek Bloom – drums, percussion Additional musicians • Wes Borland – bass • Brett Gurewitz – vocals (track 1) • Jaqueline Marie – vocals (track 1) • Atticus Ross – programming (track 8) Production • Ross Robinson – producer • Ryan Boesch – engineer • Kale Holmes – assistant engineer • Bernie Grundman – mastering • Andy Wallace – mixing Artwork • Nick Pritchard – art direction, design • Lauren Steil – photography == Charts ==