'Escape the Fate'

A music review? *gasp*

(CREDIT: to Escape the Fate... obviously.)

Rank: 4.5 out of 5 <-- best new album I bought in a while

Either I have found no good music lately, or every act in the universe is on the downward path. In a time when music continues to disappoint me more and more, this new album truly is an oasis.

I might have said so earlier, but I can't say I love Escape the Fate. Yet I have bought every single CD they have released. The only band where I invested that much time and dedication is HIM for obvious reasons, so it feels kinda odd. These guys are not high on my list of favorite artists, but I think they are climbing in the ranks quickly.

Escape the Fate's self-titled album is by far their most mature at this point, if stripping whines away and replacing them with singing and screaming can be deemed "mature." Regardless, it's a relief to not hear Craig whine pitifully like he did in "Something" and "Ashley" from This War is Ours. Thankfully this third album has screaming all throughout from beginning to end, unlike in the previous record when it begins in "The Flood" - the halfway mark.

One of the best things of the album is how dark and eerie it is. Songs such as "Massacre" or "Lost in Darkness" can fit in pretty well on a horror film soundtrack. Some songs before could be seen as gruesome, but in the case of "Lost in Darkness" the lyrics are far more disturbing than those in "My Apocalypse" from their debut album. In fact, I can almost imagine it fitting a Higurashi anime music video... If you want a heavy, dark album to check out, feel free to jump all over this one. Though they are "post-hardcore", this current Escape the Fate pleases the Fangirl and her heavy metal and goth rock loving soul.

Really, I can't say anything really objectively positive here. I can best sum this up as epic and intense; I am also pissed that I only spent $7.00 on it at Target. I would have paid $14.00 for this if I could.

The main issue I have, however, might just be a fabric of my imagination, but at some points, Escape the Fate began to sound like Marilyn Manson. At the very least, "City of Sin" sounds too much like "mOBSCENE" in beat, rhythm, the chorus, and the chant right after the chorus. Feel free to compare if you'd like to, or play the "mOBSCENE" music video on mute and play "City of Sin" over it.

Like almost every record there are a few skippable or forgettable tracks here such as "Day of Wreckoning", otherwise, Escape the Fate is a solid album. It seems that this was the album in which Craig has proved to be a great vocalist for the band after Ronnie's issues. A fine example of this is "World Around Me," a ballad far better than This War Is Ours' "Harder Than You Know," a whiny pity fest in comparison. If only such a great feat was accomplished in the previous record... oh well, better late than never. By far this is the most impressive record this band has released to date and I really recommend it to fans of this genre of rock/metal/punk... oh just check out the linkies. :P

Back to playing this nonstop again. After a small spell of dull music, I am glad this album pumped my spirits back up. Yay. ^_^