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photos: Moe Horta

Dear Diary, my adult angst has new music from From First To Last to listen to and it absolutely rips. 

For the first time in over eight years, post-hardcore veterans From First To Last have released a brand new full body of work — the enthralling six-song EP, We Were Bleeding Anyway. 

Without attempting to reinvent the wheel, the new release pays tribute to the aggressive melodies that longtime fans have come to love from the scene veterans but also showcases a promising future for the band and how they have evolved over the last 20-plus years.

After working with a wide array of different collaborators and members over the group’s illustrious career, We Were Bleeding Anyway ushers in a brand new era for From First To Last as they welcome their new vocalist Lil Lotus.

“He's filling a void that we had for a long time without having Sonny [Moore] in the band,” founding member Matt Good tells The Noise. “Which is really great because there's been different incarnations of the band and I like them all for different reasons.” 

After playing a series of back-to-back shows leading into their debut appearance at Aftershock Festival, the band is ready to show the world what From First To Last is in 2026 and beyond.

Catching up with Good and Lotus before their sold out EP release show, The Noise had the chance to discuss the past, present, and future of the ever-evolving From First To Last. 

To see what they had to say about their “oh shit” moments, their new songwriting process as well as what’s next for the band, be sure to read below and don’t forget to check out their EP here. 

Well, first and foremost, happy release day for your new EP We Were Bleeding Anyway. This is your first non-single release since 2015, which is kind of a big deal. How does it feel to finally have this release out and into the world? 

MATT GOOD: It feels really good. It's been so long that it's kind of alien and new in a way, you know? So it's really fun just seeing people reacting to it and just, you know, hearing what they had to say about it. And for us, it's cool because it feels a lot more real when you have a body of work versus just a song or something and you're simultaneously actively playing shows and stuff.

When you were writing this, were you envisioning like a full, cohesive piece as opposed to writing a single here, a single there? Were you kind of intentionally trying to make it flow a certain way?

We wrote a lot of songs, and we narrowed the songs we had down to what we thought represented the band, and what we wanted to put out as a whole the best, like in the most cohesive way that we could.

How long were you guys working on this EP before finally announcing it?

Let's see. I want to say that we started working on it...from right now? Maybe like eight, nine months ago or something. Because it went through phases, you know, where I wrote instrumentals and we did that for a while. And then, you know, because we live in different places, there were only certain times we got together to work on it and stuff like that. So more or less it wasn't like in total that it took eight months. It was just that it was over the span of eight months. 

So with this being Lotus' first proper release with you guys. How has that introduction to the band been for you? And what kind of dynamic does he bring to the live shows?

Having him in the band has been really good. He's filling a void that we had for a long time without having Sonny in the band; which is really great because there's been different incarnations of the band and I like them all for different reasons. But my favorite version of the band has always been one where we have a lead singer, and then I get to play guitar and sing too, like not the full time as I don't -- I never really enjoyed having everything put on my plate, you know? Like it was just too much for me. 

And it made the live shows, you know, they were still fun, but it wasn't what I was really loving about playing live. I like to be unencumbered a little bit. So, that dynamic being back in place makes the live show immediately way better for me. And our band ... like, my favorite stuff that we did was like the vocal interplay kind of stuff. And now we can do that again and we do it a lot on the record. So in general, this feels like a complete return to form for what we always imagined ourselves being and started being. So I think in general it's just all positive.

To kind of piggyback off of that, you guys have had the benefit of working with so many incredible artists over the years, whether they've been in the lineup or just collaborating on a single. Are there any artists that you'd like to work with in the future? 

There's no one like really specific. We've never really actually targeted anybody specific. Every time we've worked with someone, it's been through some weird circumstance where there was either someone around the area that we just got along with really well, and then it just kind of evolved into us making something together. Or, you know, we needed a role to be filled and someone knew somebody and they just happened to fill it perfectly.

It's been really interesting because you would think the odds of that happening that many times aren't very high. I also kind of think that when you are in the mindset of where you're leaving yourself open to that possibility all the time, then it can happen more often than you realize. 

Tonight you're celebrating the EP release in your now home state of Arizona. What does it mean for you to get to celebrate this moment here with your family and friends? Are there any songs that you're excited to play?

Yeah, I'm excited to play our new songs because, you know, last night when we played them, a lot of people knew them surprisingly, which is really cool. They already know the words to the brand new songs and stuff. 

But yeah, I got some family here. I got a bunch of friends and a lot of them have...well, most of them have seen me play maybe once? But for the most part, like my aunt and uncle are here. They’ve seen me play a million times. It's kind of cool. They moved here not long ago and they came down to support. But they used to see us on Warped Tour and stuff all the time.

But yeah, a bunch of my friends are here and they've actually only seen me play one time ever. So it wasn't like the real deal like it is right now. So I think they're going to be pretty surprised. 

***LOTUS ENTERS INTERVIEW***

Hey, how's it going? You want to pop in on this? 

Lotus: Yeah I’ll pop in.

Alright, so this one's going to be for you. This is obviously a big deal being your first proper release with From First To Last. Has it hit you yet that you're officially a full time member and you just dropped your first proper project?

Lotus: I think last night it definitely hit. Like we did a headline at 1720 and that was really cool. Like, that was like one of the sickest ones. But then we played last night [in Anaheim] and I was like, oh, shit. There's also just the scale of the room. I didn't expect that room to be packed like that. It was. And they were going crazy. I think that was the moment where I'm like, “oh shit, here we are.”

Yeah, you had the “Oh, shit” moment. 

Lotus: Yeah, it was more of an “oh, fuck!” But yeah. Oh, shit too. 

MG: To be fair, I mean, I had the same feeling. I was like, “oh, shit! Like, we're back and this is happening.” I mean, like, there was a lot of people there last night. And, you know, when your band's been inactive as long as ours has been and then you come back and it’s like “oh we’re just going to headline, and there’s going to be over a thousand people at your show,” it's like, okay, alright, cool. That's pretty fucking rad.

Lotus, how was writing with Travis on From First To Last songs? Was that different from working together on If I Die First? Did you have to change your approach at all?

Lotus: The way we did it in If I Die First was like a lot different than From First To Last. It's like me, Travis and Matt all together in the room. And me and Matt are going back and forth on the vocals and Travis is giving his two cents in there. And then we're doing, like, these weird hybrid ideas. But yeah, If I Die First was more like one person handled all the guitars and then it would get to Travis, and then Travis would handle the drums, and then it’d get to me, and then I'd handle vocals. So this is more collaborative. 

Did you have any outside parties involved in the process at all? 

MG: No, right?

Lotus: No, it's just us. The first time we met was the first day we started writing. So we just, like, jumped straight into it, so. And then the next four days we were writing and then we came back for, I think like three more days to finish everything up. We’d do like a song a day and called it a night.

What is your favorite song on the new EP and why?

MG: I hate having to pick a favorite. 

Lotus: I'm like, torn. I do really love “They Said Your Ghost Was A Promise.” I love that song. It means a lot to me. But there's something about “Picking Clothes To Die In” that I just love. I don't know what it is. I think it's because it reminds me so much of “Note To Self.” But I just love that song too. Especially the ending. When I get to the end, I'm like, “oh, this is the most epic song.” Like, it makes the rest of the song feel worth it. Like it’s sick. I don’t know. It’s kind of hard for me to choose. 

MG: I think that “Ghost” is probably the best song we've written, maybe ever, but definitely in the last, like 20 years. So I would have to probably pick that one. But also, I just had this crazy soft spot for “Pale Blue” because I just love how it's acoustic and I really like the lyrics and what it's talking about. And then the ending, just out of nowhere, [it] just blows you in the face. And you’re like “whoa!” I don't know, there's something about that that really gets me. So I guess I'm kind of tied between those two. 

As I was listening to that one I was like, okay, this is your "Emily" moment without necessarily trying to be. And then it just went to left field and I was like, holy shit, this is fucking awesome. Was that intentional to just have that major dynamic change? How did that come about?

MG: We actually wrote that song together. That's the only song that we wrote like straight from scratch, like from the ground up together. And we got it done, and we were like, this is really cool but it feels a little short. And then I was talking about, like, this Box Car Racer song that I like that does something like that at the end. And I was like, let's just try it. He's like, fuck yeah. And then we just kind of like, did a mock up of it and we were like, okay, that's pretty fucking cool. And then we just kind of ran with it. 

So wrapping things up, with this new EP, you're signed to Fearless Records now. What does the future of From First To Last look like? Do you anticipate the band being more active, potentially returning to touring full time? What does it look like for you guys? 

MG: *laughs and points to Lotus* Go ahead!

Lotus: I mean, that's what I want. That’s what I want. I want to be fully active, just running amuck. Yeah, that’s what I want.

MG: Well, we're for sure making more music and we’re for sure playing more shows. And I think that, right now, it's one of those things where we're kind of letting the universe kind of point us in the right direction, you know? Which right now it's telling us, “hey, play more shows because all these shows are fucking awesome.” So we're just kind of following what happens. 

Lotus: Yeah and it's been right.

MG: Yeah exactly.

Lotus: It's been right the entire time. It's kind of easy to fall into it.

Just keep riding that wave.