Track By Tracks: Firstborne - Lucky (2025)

1. Again:

I've never met anybody as talented as Girish, and I've definitely never met anybody with Girish's talent who is simultaneously so genuinely nice and sweet. He really is one of the world's greatest humans, but somehow Girish still manages to receive hateful comments whenever he posts on the internet, and this song is about the preconceptions and judgments that people have of him. I think everybody must be jealous of him. I know I am.

2. Rescue Me:

I'm a big Dwight Yoakam and Pete Anderson fan, but Chris is not really a big country fan in the slightest. We were in Austin, so my Texas genes (I was born in Houston) got activated when we sat down to write for the first time. That opening riff came out, and the rest of the song followed. Girish wrote some really sweet lyrics about not being able to see his girl. I think this is my favorite song on the record, and I hope people stream it enough times so the band can buy matching Nudie suits to play this live.

3. Shine:

When we all convened in Austin, it was Girish's first time ever coming to America. Machine's studio is out in Dripping Springs, and most of the land is "no restrictions," so Girish was pretty surprised to hear gunfire in the distance as people were hunting/shooting guns on their property. Welcome to Texas, Girish. I'm sure this inspired the lyrics for "Shine," which is a reflection on the glorification of gun culture.

4. Wake Up:

I really wanted to do a 100% pure rock and roll adrenaline fest on this album, and this is it. No thoughts, only riffs and licks.

5. Normandy:

Some good old-fashioned Queensrÿche-core. Chris wrote the lyrics to this one from a really personal place. I'm really proud of that opening riff as it makes me want to spin kick beer cans in my garage, even though I don't really drink and don't have a garage.

6. Only a Fool:

To me, this is a meditation on class. Why do people gotta kiss the king's rings? I think people forget that a lot of things in this life are just made up, and you can do what you want, and choose not to follow the rules that other people insist are real.

7. Heaven's Return:

I'm not going to lie, I sort of forgot how this song came together. When you write 18 in a week, it all sort of becomes a blur. To me, though, this song is very Terminator 2 vibes. Humanity is on the brink of an inevitable doomsday, and we're just hoping somebody is taking mercy on us.

8. Human Interrupted:

This song is all about what seems to be humanity's inclination for mutually assured destruction. I'm a new father, and my child is the sweetest, funniest person in the entire universe. I'm not sure where we screw up as a species and teach ourselves that we need to blow each other up.

9. Prometheus:

With AI now transforming society, humanity is now facing a "promethean" moment. Prometheus, of course, is the god who gave humans fire, and fire was the thing that humans harnessed to create society. Now we humans are giving computers "fire," in the form of AI. "Beginning of the end, Man Creating Gods, Gods Destroying Man." Some sick riffs in this one, in my humble opinion, the chorus is a real wrist breaker.

10. Minefield:

Life's a minefield, it seems. Every step on your journey could be your last, but there's always hope you can turn it around. Don't Stop!