Review – Falling In Reverse – The Drug In Me Is You

Ronnie Radke (the former front man of Escape The Fate) is back with his new band, Falling In Reverse, after his release from prison towards the latter part of last year. It was his involvement in a fatal altercation a few years back which saw him sentenced to jail time, and which ended his tenure with ETF, just as they were about to blow up following the phenomenal debut, Dying Is Your Latest Fashion.

In his absence, ETF enlisted former Bless The Fall man Craig Mabbitt on vocal duties, but rather than pressing on to the top of the pile, they seem to have stuttered into middle of the table contention of late, rather than ascending to the superstardom that they were always destined to. Their second record This War Is Ours was exceptional, but last year’s self titled cut failed to ignite anywhere near as much as their last two. With that in mind, now could well be the time for Ronnie to jump back into the limelight, and with this record, Falling In Reverse could well surpass and eclipse the career trajectory of their singer’s former employers.

Throughout this debut cut, Ronnie makes clear jabs at his former band mates throughout his deeply personal lyrical content, with some choice content allowing him to vent his anger at his removal from his former band’s helm. The likes of “this war is mine . . . it was always me!” (Falling In Reverse) and “I dug a hole 10 miles wide, so I could throw all of you inside, you’re such a dumb fuck, you need to shut up, you bring a picture of me, every time you get your hair cut, imposter (Tragic Magic) show that he still has a lot of anger towards them, cleverly twisting ETF’s tracks to his lyrical advantage here.

That aside though, this debut album is an outstanding collection of metalcore anthems, at times sounding more like Escape The Fate than they themselves do at the moment.

Opener Falling In Reverse is a huge track, with Ronnie handling the metalcore screams and lacing unforgettable melodies to incredible effect. Tragic Magic may plod a little for my liking, but The Drug In Me Is You and I’m Not A Vampire are two outstandingly anthemic tracks, that could see these boys explode in their own right. The early jabs at ETF are forgotten as the record continues, and the rest of the tracks follow suit with the early promise. In Don’t Mess With Ouija Boards (the natural successor to Dying Is Your Latest Fashion’s “There’s No Sympathy For The Dead”), Sink Of Swim and Goodbye Graceful, Ronnie has penned three of the finest tracks of the year. They would arguably have made the cut for the second ETF album had he not been removed by his band mates at the time, but right now, he seems to be back on scintillating and visceral form.

Throw in massive choruses, huge breakdowns, throaty screams, and the occasional guitar solo (a la Bryan Money), The Drug In Me Is You as an album is a sterling introduction to Falling In Reverse, and hints at the clear brilliance they are capable of.

Escape The Fate have some real competition here.

You wouldn’t bet against Ronnie fucking Radke, and with an album this good, Falling In Reverse could well be onto something very special indeed.

9/10