Review Summary: The true face of the Overman
Ronnie Radke is an artist that is no stranger to suffering, a fact anyone would be aware of if they have listened to his lyrics. Like a brooding hero from a Dostoevsky novel, Radke has been to prison, a fact which is made clear by the tortuous, deep nature of his music. Ronnie Radke has made his mugshot his album cover, a decision that reflects both his credibility as a rock star and his defiance of the constraining societal forces that have brought him to this state, one in which, like The Joker, he has been pushed beyond the point of no return. Ronnie now must
tell it like is. And, maybe for the first time in his career, he doesn’t hold back either. All the people who have hurt Ronnie, who have unfairly maligned Ronnie, who are just jealous of Ronnie’s talent and (let’s face it) good looks, well they all get what they deserve in this album: divine punishment from Ronnie himself.
Not only is Ronnie Radke able to rap, almost as good as the rap god (not that god’s real) himself, Eminem, but his screams are even more tortured, more heartrending than those of fellow metal bands like Escape the Fate. And his clean vocals? Those are only matched by the angelic choirs that surround him. It’s telling that these classically trained musicians, many of whom spend years honing their skills in music conservatories, are able to so convincingly support the tales of rage and pain that Ronnie is spinning. But the choir isn’t the only feature that adds to Falling In Reverse’s newfound status as metal band of the year. Despite featuring neonazi Alex Terrible, Ronnie is able to bridge the racial gap and bring healing to America by featuring noted Black Artist Tech N9ne on the same song, an artist whose rapping skills may be faster than Ronnie’s, but which don’t carry the same unique flow or raw emotion, With a few years more practice, Tech will probably be worthy of another feature. By putting these features on the same song, Ronnie shows that he is committed to a future where he is no longer judged for the color of his skin, or the content of his character.
That Ronnie is able to so seamlessly blend metalcore, rap, screamo and metal, along with rap-metal, hip-hop, emo and hardcore into one coherent whole, shows that Ronnie is committed to changing the musical landscape into something the world has never seen before. The band riffs, chugs, and also plays guitar solos and features choirs singing in the background, and it all combines into one of the most anthemic pieces of music of all time. But this album isn’t just Ronnie laying righteous retribution and cementing his rockstar status on the people who envy his success and talent. Ronnie shows himself in his most vulnerable state, opening his heart for the world to see. When he says that he talks to a therapist, he’s telling us that he’s working on his problems too, a fact that automatically makes him better than most people, who don’t go to therapists. When he says he just wants to feel alright, we can recognize that feeling in ourselves and realize that, despite his lighthearted bad-boy foibles like being an accessory to murder and beating women, he’s really just like the rest of us at heart. In the end Popular Monster exists to allow us to recognize that, despite all the hardship Ronnie’s gone through (prison, Six Flags), he’s nothing more than what society has made him: a Popular Monster.