Review Summary: The best album they've put out since 2010.
After the slightly underwhelming launch that was Hate Me, I was interested to see how they would bounce back. The first song they released for this album, Empire, didn’t quite sit well with me at first, but I grew to enjoy it when I went back to listen to their other “get f**ked up” type songs, such as One for the Money and City of Sin and realized “hey...how different is this ACTUALLY from that?” But what really got me interested was when Do You Love Me launched, the pre-orders opened, and I saw the full tracklist, the first six tracks just by their name alone got me hooked in. I know that sounds weird, judging by song titles, but I know my Escape the Fate. Those songs that I got hyped for all sounded great, even if "Broken Heart" was a little Papa Roach-y and "I Will Make It Up to You" gave me some heavy MCR “I’m Not Okay” vibes at points.
First up is the opener, "Beautifully Tragic". You can easily hear that there are some technically competent musicians behind the wheel here. Is it the most complex song they’ve written? No, it’s definitely a far cry from that, but nobody really expects it from a song clocking in at just 3:14. Come to think of it, the vast majority of this record is fairly short as well, including the two bonus tracks that come with the deluxe edition, still keeping the runtime below an hour with a total of sixteen songs in rotation. Still, the memorable hook, which is a toast to all the memories they as a band have made over the years, is a strong start to the record.
"Four Letter Word" is another beautifully written hard rock song about the trials of a rocky relationship. If you couldn’t tell from the titles, relationship struggles are definitely one of the main focuses of this record, and I absolutely adore it for that very reason. Musically, it draws inspiration from other bands, such as Avenged Sevenfold, while mixing it in with a more This War Is Ours-style rock approach. Craig Mabbitt’s vocals especially shine here. This is one of the tracks I was seriously itching for a studio recording of, ever since I started looking up the live performances of it. "If Only" is another one of my favorites off this record. It’s entirely acoustic, was almost entirely written by their drummer (kind of interesting when you consider he’s not even playing anything in the song, as far as I know) and is much more self-reflective than the usual fare from this band.
This album feels much more like a cathartic release that explores different emotions and perspectives than a standard radio rock style record. For every “Broken Heart” that’s about letting go of the struggle, there’s a devil whispering in your head, just like the one in “Digging My Own Grave,” which is by far the heaviest track on the album. It gives me serious Ungrateful era vibes, which is definitely welcome for me. I understand if you don’t like this record because it isn’t another Ungrateful, but let’s be honest: Ungrateful is the only album that’s as consistently heavy as a lot of fans seem to want from this band. This War Is Ours has plenty of lighter material, as does the self-titled. This feels like a natural mix of everything from This War Is Ours up to Hate Me with a few additions baked in.
