We love First Step to Failure. They play they kind of skate punk that's not particularly popular these days, but that's ok because they're really, really good at it.
We've known these guys for many years, and were lucky to have played more than a few shows with them when we had a band (which shall never be named, by the way) so it was a great honour to have their EP 'Our True Enemy Has Yet to Reveal Himself' as our first release.
And what an EP it is. Seven tracks of thrash infused skate punk which rocket past in less than 12 minutes. If Belvedere, Strung Out, Bad Religion or A Wilhelm Scream are your thing, then you really need to get on this band.
As our first release, it was a bit of a DIY effort. Limited to 100 copies with handwritten linear notes and hand numbered, it's a bit special. Mark even created all of the artwork himself, which is about as DIY as it gets frankly because when it comes to visual design, it's definitely not his strong suit.
The record marked the end of a fraught couple of years for the band, over which the band has augmented their lineup with the addition of a second guitarist (PMX’s Danny O’Malley) and a new bassist (A Lost Generation’s Ewan ‘Norm’ Normand). First Step to Failure have become something of an amalgamation of some of the Scottish punk rock scene’s brightest lights, and with their new EP seem set to reach new heights.
Vocalist Niall Penman had this to say on the EP: "With this EP we felt like we’ve really grown up. To start with, we can actually all play our instruments now!” jokes Niall, “But seriously, we’ve evolved as a band. Once our good friend and old guitarist Mark Higgins left to concentrate on his other band, Crusades, full time, we were gutted, but we brought in Danny from PMX and he was a great fit. We ditched everything we’d recorded in 2011 then went to work relearning all of our old stuff. This EP should have come out much sooner, but with a lineup change came a chance to write something better than anything we’d ever written in the past. We’re really happy with how it’s turned out, and can’t wait for the world to hear it."
What you can expect is 7 tracks of thrash/skate punk with a dash of pop punk that careers by in 12 minutes, delivered with the precision and intensity of musicians who are working at the top of their game.