Review Summary: As Generic as it gets...
So for anyone who's reading this, you should know a little about the past of Falling In Reverse before reading this review. This band was started by Ronnie Radke, the former singer to the screamo/rock band "Escape the Fate", who was kicked out due to his recurring drug habits and parole issues. After serving a two year sentence, he formed the band and released what I was expecting to be a fun album. I guess I got want I asked for... I think?
So the album is definitely not what I expected compared to "Dying is your latest fashion", with had a screamo/pop punk sound to it and that's what I was expecting, but nope, now we have this mixture of punk, rock, metalcore, and pop all in the fray, and may I say, it's interesting on the first listen. The first song I listened to was the first of many surprises on this album, "Raised by Wolves", which, as I said before, was a surprise. The song is a metalcore song mainly about Ronnie's former band and his grudge against them. But I think it was a good one, probably the best song on this album, which doesn't sound too good. The next song was "Tragic Magic" which is a more poppier song with the same hateful lyrics directed to Escape the Fate, like the last song, so now I'm thinking, "Is this what it's going to be like this whole album?" Turns out, yes it is...
The whole album is made up of the same boring pattern and lyrics over and over again. The band puts in more effort trying to have catchy hooks and choruses then actually putting together a good song. I mean, I know Escape the Fate hasn't been doing too well either, but maybe they should take a page from their book if they wanna survive in the music business, and no Ronnie, you're not "King of the music scene".
I can listen to generic stuff as long as it doesn't get on my nerves too much, and this album is survivable at best. But sometimes the overabundance on tacky sound loops and breakdowns can really take it's toll on the listener. I know it did me. I like a good breakdown as much as the next guy, but their almost everywhere here. The only songs I can't find a breakdown are the four songs in the middle, The title track, "I'm not a Vampire", "Good Girls Bad Guys", and "Pick up the Phone", which aren't entirely good songs themselves, but they have those catchy hooks with them, so I suppose their good, for what it's worth.
And whenever there's no breakdown, there's one of Jacky Vincent's crazy solos. I'll admit he's a very talented guitarist and he does some excellent work on this album, especially on the title track, but some times his solos will focus more on shredding then actual melodies as heard in "Goodbye Graceful". He's probably the most talented member of the band, which is saying a lot, cause the rest of the band merely just follows Ronnie's lead as he carries the album throughout with his voice. He's a good singer, I'll admit, and his voice is perfect for the sound they have here, but his screaming needs a lot of work, but their better then his Escape the Fate days, but by the looks of it, he may need to give that up cause it doesn't look like he's getting any better... Just listen to "The Guillotine" ripoff song, "Don't mess with Ouija boards". Also people will probably just be fed up with hearing how much better he is then everyone else by the end of this album. That's all this album is. I knew Ronnie has a big ego, but this album is a grand overstatement of what little his reality truly is.
At some parts, this album can be fairly enjoyable, but at other times, this album falls flat, thanks to overabundance of sound effects(like the techno buildup in "Raised by Wolves") and overuse of breakdowns and solos. I can enjoy this album at certain points, But I recommend stopping after the 6th song, and skipping ahead to the last song("The Westerner") to save of lot of time and possibly sanity. I can see Falling in Reverse going to big places, but at what costs? I know people will enjoy this album fairly out of the catchy hooks and Ronnie's past, but if these guys wanna be real artists, then this bands gonna need to step up their game, cause until they do, they'll simply be just as generic as it gets...
