{"id":32725,"date":"2013-10-27T15:40:39","date_gmt":"2013-10-27T20:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=32725"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:38:20","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:38:20","slug":"the-first-take-courage-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/the-first-take-courage-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The First | Take Courage<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Matt Karpe<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"TheThe First’s second album Take Courage<\/em> is sure to send this rock quintet into the big league.<\/p>\n

Hailing from the small UK market town of Wisbech on the Norfolk\/Cambridgeshire border, The First follow in the footsteps of Deaf Havana and Mallory Knox to prove furthermore that this picturesque part of England is quickly becoming a hotbed for great rock bands.<\/p>\n

The leading faces of the nation\u2019s melodic rock scene include You Me At Six, Young Guns and the already mentioned Deaf Havana, but in truth- The First are simply better in what they do.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake It Back\u201d opens proceedings with energetic drumming from Rob Knight, crunching guitar riffs from Tim Crane and Ben Knowles, a good bass line from Adam Masters and an excellent combination of clean vocals from Ben Salter and screaming from Crane. The chorus is catchy and instantly likeable, which is a trend The First set early and manage to continue throughout Take Courage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere Is No Place Like Home\u201d is a good post-hardcore influenced ripper, with some howling gang vocals and another great chorus, as well as top quality guitar rhythms.<\/p>\n

\u201cDare I Say I Ruined Everything\u201d brings to mind American veterans Taking Back Sunday in the intro, with some stunning instrumental that is only bettered by one of the strongest choruses on the whole album. This would be a good song to check out for first time listeners.<\/p>\n

\u201cShark Attack\u201d is heavy and unforgiving and contains an enjoyable guitar solo from Knowles. It\u2019s the kind of song that you can imagine will go down well with a live crowd.<\/p>\n

The show stealer comes in the form of \u201cWilliam\u201d, which has a rollicking intro of noise, yet played with swagger and intricacy. There is a guest appearance form female singer Elissa Francheschi whose delicate voice gives the song an extra dimension, and with more immense guitar work and customary chorus, you begin to wonder if The First are about to run out of steam.<\/p>\n

Thankfully that doesn\u2019t happen as \u201cLove Regret Forgive Forget\u201d continues the ear drum assault, however it is to be the last time you really hear The First in full flow.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because \u201cTonight Tonight\u201d takes a slower and softer approach with a piano and acoustic ballad, but even this is bloody brilliant!! Salter\u2019s vocals are captivating and lyrically it\u2019s a bit of a tearjerker. Halfway through, the guitars and drums return for one final jam to officially end an album of sheer quality. (There is a bonus track on some format\u2019s which is another pleasurable acoustic slow burner).<\/p>\n

Take Courage<\/em> is an album that could easily become one of the best British rock albums. It is consistent, resilient, diverse and brilliant. Quite how The First can make a better record in the future is going to be a huge task, but for now, bask in the glory and take courage in the fact that The First are the best of British.<\/p>\n

Genre: Melodic Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nBen Salter- Vocals
\nBen Knowles- Lead Guitar
\nTim Crane- Guitar\/Screams
\nAdam Masters- Bass
\nRob Knight- Drums<\/p>\n

Track Listing:<\/p>\n

1.\tTake It Back
\n2.\tThere\u2019s No Place Like Home
\n3.\tDare I Say I Ruined Everything
\n4.\tStart Again
\n5.\tMonster
\n6.\tTake Courage
\n7.\tShark Attack
\n8.\tWilliam (feat. Elissa Francheschi)
\n9.\tLove Regret Forgive Forget
\n10.\tTonight Tonight
\n11.\tEnough Is Never Enough (Bonus)<\/p>\n

Record Label: Destroy Everything<\/p>\n

Website: www.wearethefirst.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven Rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Matt Karpe – Columnist — The First’s second album Take Courage is sure to send this rock quintet into the big league. Hailing from the small UK market town of Wisbech on the Norfolk\/Cambridgeshire […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":32727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[2317,2901],"class_list":{"0":"post-32725","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-melodic-rock"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}