At Gothic Bite Magazine we love music and we love introducing awesome musicians found online. This week James Vaughan is introducing First To Eleven to us.

Who Is First To Eleven?

Biters, it is time, as promised, for me to return to our Bohemian Rhapsody Ladies from a while ago.

So, may I present Audra Miller of First to Eleven and First to Eleven. This is where I tell you a little about them. But who better to tell you about the band than the band themselves?

First to Eleven is a cover band based in Erie, PA, founded in 2009. They take your favourite songs and add a fun extra twist with heavy guitar riffs, hard-hitting drums, fun melodies, and even mashing up different styles from different themes. 

“The band has an extensive and constantly growing catalogue of covers and significant experiences both live and in the studio. First to Eleven has a handful of original songs but fully dedicated a whole new project to expand on those originals and keep their covers here, so check out the original project, Concrete Castles.”

First To Eleven Website

An Impressive Musicography And Vidography

As they said, their catalogue is rather extensive, so it was rather complicated for me to pick which songs and artists they’ve covered for this article when focusing on their front girl, Audra. 

If I treated her and the other ladies from the Bohemian Rhapsody video like the boy bands back in the 90s, I’d say Audra was every girl in the group. 

She’s not a metalhead scream queen like Lauren Babic. More on that in a second. Violet Orlandi is clearly the goth one, and Addie Nicole is always more of a classic rocker. 

Now, why am I bringing this up, Biters? Audra has done a few Metallica covers, to which I didn’t think she had the power or grit of James Hetfield like her friend Lauren, but I still thought she sounded good. 

Perhaps First To Eleven Isn’t For Everyone

However, someone visibly cringed when I played some of the covers for another of our writers. She said Audra sounded flat, comparing her to a container without content. I’m told she was lucky it was me writing the article, but for the sake of objectivity, I feel obligated to say it even if I am a fan and enjoy her sound.

What about the rest of the First to Eleven? Bass guitarist Ryan Krysiak, guitarist Matt Yost and drummer Sam Gilman. Honestly, I think they are great. They have a nice weight and power to their sound to either sound like the original song they are covering or give non-rock songs that rock edge.

One of the things I love about Audra and the rest of the First to Eleven members is the variety in their videos. One example is their Nickleback. In their cover of Burn It To The Ground, they rented out a saloon and had line dancers moving about, so it was more than just them singing into the camera. 

In another video, they did Ozzy Osbourne‘s Crazy Train. They were on some roof or parking structure, giving these lovely views of the town behind them. The last one I want to reference is a Green Day cover of Holiday. 

This one, I find, stands out among their other uploads. There are no fancy shots or any of the band. Audra is sitting in front of her closet, singing, mixed in with videos of other everyday fans playing and singing along with her.

The Variety In The Vocals Might Not Be Impressive

Ok, the other shoe has to drop. Let’s address my fellow writer’s remark. As mentioned earlier, they compared her to an empty container, and I can see it after explaining it to me. I was told no matter what she sang, she sounded the same. 

I mean that her singing Shania Twain shouldn’t sound like her belting Metallica. I’m not wrong in my logic. Even if you make a country song into rock, a metal song should have more intensity.

So, Biters, I will now leave it to you. What do you think of Audra Miller and First to Eleven? We here at the Bite seem to have split takes on this. I personally really enjoy them. Please give them a listen, and tell us what you think.

Biters, I’ll catch you down the line,
James Vaughan