31st March 2020

Review: “Remember Me” EP by First Revival

Originally a quinet with a different moniker, First Revival formed in Luleå, North of Sweden in spring of 2016 before releasing single “Nothing But Monsters“, a raft of line-up changes over the next four years left guitarist Simone Stålnacke the only original member of the band. Constantly re-tooling, they’ve had their sound described as a mix between 70’s Heavy Metal and a slight touch of modern Stoner Metal and finally achieving the nirvana of a settled line-up they re-entered the studio. The result is a re-recorded version of their 2017 EP “Hope Has Us Blinded” with the current line-up of Simone with drummer Hugo Ambursley, Hasse Johansson on bass and vocals and Kristoffer Sundstrüm on guitar with Tommy Eliasson at ITG Studios handling Mixing and Mastering.

After a typically Queens of the Stone Age chord progression, First Revival dive into some Stoner Sludge Metal with just a hint of Metallica in their staccato bridge between the chorus and verse. A song about being unable to sleep with either anxiety, insomnia or guilt, it has a ageless quality in terms of writing while having a modern production edge. “Remember Me” slows things down with thoughts of losing someone close before stepping up the gears for the burst of the chorus. The slow burn solo is backed by a trudging rhythm section that has power house moments during those bursts while the mournful lyrics have an amount of teenage angst in them. Saving the best until last “Of Mice & Men” tells a tale we can all relate to about narrow minded people, their opinions and being the odd one out in your surroundings. This bass heavy tub thumping anthem is idea for an Ale fueled sing-a-long. As a collection of songs it has a familiarity to it that is instantly warm while Johansson’s vocals will have you singing along and the riffs are solid, like a boats outboard motor with a bluesy sludge groove. What’s interesting is that this re-recording remains faithful to the original rather than reworking completely into the slightly different style of the following singles “Descent” and “Twisted Mind” [7/10]

Track listing