Firstborne Lucky Review
Firstborne
Lucky
M-Theory Audio
2025
Switching gears completely from my usual fare here, I freely and unashamedly admit that I am a fan of catchy, melodic hard rock and 80’s inspired metal. That's exactly what we are dealing with in Firstborne’s debut long player, Lucky.
Firstborne was um, born out of virtuoso guitarist Myrone, vocalist Girish Pradhan (Girish and the Chronicles, The End Machine) bassist James Lorenzo (White Lion, Megadeth) and drummer Chris Adler (of Lamb of God and Megadeth fame). In 2019, they started jamming which would see them releasing various singles/EPs from 2020 to 2023. In fact, in late 2023 all their individual schedules aligned, and they recorded the ten songs we have here. Lucky was also produced by the acclaimed Machine (Clutch, King Crimson, Crobot). It's a melodious, gutsy, raw with modern polish vocal and guitar shred forward record that not only showcases the elements above but also features Adler’s human metronome-like technique and his ability to groove and let the songs breathe while giving them just what they need behind the kit. He's such an accomplished drummer some might hear this and think he's dumbing it down, but I don't find that to be the case. He's still showing plenty of his killer chops while playing for each song.
Musically, I hear nods to Van Halen and the harder edged Dokken stuff, Dio, Mindcrime era Queensryche (that main riff from “Normandy” does Chris Degarmo proud) King's X and the early 90’s bluesy sleaze and hooks of The Lynch Mob. Speaking of The Lynch Mob, I would argue that Girish sounds very similar to that band’s Oni Logan on more than a few occasions with a bit more grit and rasp to his pipes. I don't draw these comparisons to downplay anything they have going on here, I make them to say this - these songs ROCK and are instantly enjoyable transporting me to a better time. If you can resist singing along to the na na nas in the outro of “Only A Fool”, I'm just going to surmise that you aren't any fun at all. That moment alone had me grinning from ear to ear. The guitar work from Myrone is outstanding throughout, whether it's clean tone blues, Lynch/Satriani/Vai wizardry or thrashy chugs on “Human Interrupted” the man can play, you guys. Being a guitar player myself but coming nowhere close to what he can do with six strings, I find his tone clean, heavy, articulate and just enjoyable to listen to. Lucky is as their press release states, “a blend of high-energy riffs, soaring vocals, and thunderous rhythms to create a modern yet timeless sound rooted in classic metal, hard rock, and shred guitar.” I can't argue with any of that as it's pretty dead on.
What I like most about this record is that it doesn't steep itself in the “girls, partying and sex” trappings lyrically. As much of this brand of music tends to do. Here it seems to be a bit more introspective, suggesting that we just love each other, and it laments the state of the world in its musings. The one notable exception is the last track “Minefield”, which urges that we’d all be better off shutting off our phones and the TV every now and then and kick back with a beer instead of dealing with the big bad world outside. Again, I can't argue it.
Lucky is officially my second favorite release this year so far. Don't sleep on it and cast it off as nostalgic “hair metal” or whatever other ridiculous label you can think of. This album is just a damn fine collection of hard rock leaning metal with enough melody, hooks and masterful musicianship to earn a place amongst one of the most cohesive and catchiest albums I've come across in recent memory. Here's hoping they continue injecting rock n’ roll and its spirit into the arms of us all. Great job dudes…
~TB