First Signal is a melodic rock band from Canada founded in 2010 by Harem Scarem vocalist Harry Hess. In a little over a decade, the band have established themselves as a top-notch rock band, having released five albums to date – ‘First Signal’ (2010), ‘One Step Over The Line’ (2016), ‘Line Of Fire’ (2019), ‘Closer To The Edge’ (2022), and ‘Face Your Fears’, emerging in 2023.
Featuring eleven songs of hard-hitting yet heavily melodic rock, First Signal – comprising vocalist Harry Hess, guitarist Marco Pastorino (Even Flow, Fallen Sanctuary, Wonders), bassist/guitarist Michele Guaitoli (Temperance, Visions Of Atlantis), and drummer Marco Andreetto – are in fine form, battering listeners with infectious, catchy, and sing a long-able tune that you either use to get a party started or as driving music for when you fancy that long country drive! Opening the album in heavy hitting mood, ‘Unbreakable’ is a bold barrage of infectious rock to get the adrenaline pumping and turn the heads of rockers everywhere. The pulsating rhythm is catchy, encouraging feet to tap and heads to nod – ‘Unbreakable’ is a simply irresistible start to the new album. An irresistible start that gets stronger with the more potent ‘Situation Critical’, punching harder and kicking even harder – the levels of energy and oomph doubling from ‘Unbreakable’. What a sensational opening brace!
‘Shoot The Bullet’ is the heaviest of the first three songs, showing an urgency the other two didn’t! First Signal is all about energy, the triple opening buzzing, fizzing, and sizzling with a red-hot aura – so beware, listeners, you may get burned. Bold, loud and proud, ‘Always Be There’ is a majestic stroll of anthemic proportions with a magical, melodious sing-along chorus. And while not a ballad, ‘Always Be There’ is one of those late evening slow dance songs you’ll find near the end of a party – or even a disco! Maybe a beach party too! But a beach party in the summer when the weather is warmer rather than the dreary, overcast and quite cold conditions we have right here right now in February! And with a boom and a bang, the album explodes with a burst of energy – ‘Dominoes’ is a fairly fast-paced hard rocker that will appeal to fans of heavy metal and rock. First Signal stands tall and proud on the border between metal and rock.
And at the halfway point of the album, the energy and pizzazz remain at sky-high levels – ‘Rain For Your Roses’ marching on with majesty and boldness not yet heard. ‘Rain For Your Roses’ is a melodic rock romp straight out of the top drawer with a gorgeous chorus to melt even the hardened of rocker’s hearts! The title song ‘Face Your Fears’ returns to the heavy-hitting nature of earlier, throwing haymakers around like it’s the last night of the proms! The pace and tempo is so high every hard rocker is going to think they’re a metalhead with the amount of headbang ability ‘Face Your Fears’ (the song) has! Simply incredible stuff from First Signal – delivering one of the heaviest melodic rock albums I’ve ever heard. And just as I say that, the band move swiftly to a more ballad feel than heard so far – ‘Never Gonna Let You Go’ striding on with a strong hint of balladry but also a hymn-like anthemic nature that places ‘Never Gonna Let You Go’ in the same place as ‘Always Be There’. I honestly can’t decide now whether First Signal and their new album is full of party anthems or driving anthems!
Maybe it’s both! ‘Face Your Fears’ (the album) definitely moving in the direction of driving anthems with ‘Not This Time’ – the punchiest of all the songs heard so far. It’s like a heavyweight among featherweights, a wrecking ball against a cannonball, ‘Not This Time’ displaying an immense tall and proud stature, standing head and shoulders above everything else. And for the first time, the band fully entered the realms of ballad country with ‘In The Name Of Love’, with my hopes for a rock album to go the distance without one dashed! But it’s no big deal – ballads are expected on rock albums, so get your lighters out and hold them aloft.
‘In The Name Of Love’ deserves it. And with the final song just around the corner, ‘Face Your Fears’ (the album) has been an incredibly big surprise, especially the party feel. Which has never been higher for the album’s finale – ‘Never Be Silenced’ displaying the biggest party feel of any song on offer! Not to mention the energy and oomph!
Overall, an energetic, infectious, and punchy album of hard rock with an enormous melodious intent.
TRACKLIST
Unbreakable
Situation Critical
Shoot The Bullet
Always Be There
Dominoes
Rain For Your Roses
Face Your Fears
Never Gonna Let You Go
Not This Time
In The Name Of Love
Never Be Silenced
First Signal: Facebook
Release Year: 2023
Label: Frontiers Music s.r.l.
Category: Album
Country: Canada
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
