Review by Saxy S for Falling in Reverse - Popular Monster (2024)
I'm not sure who Ronnie Radke hates more on Popular Monster, you, the listener, or himself.
Now, I have made it no surprise through my track record that my tolerance for modern metalcore is thin. This is not to say that there cannot be some gems in this cesspool, but more often then not, they are utterly disposable and interchangeable. As a result, I am completely and utterly indifferent to Ronnie Radke. I found the music in both Escape the Fate and Falling in Reverse to be milquetoast and beyond boring. This trend carries into Popular Monster as it does not appear to have an original bone in its body.
When the album started, "Prequel" had this gradual swell in the instrumentals and Radke's rapping vocals, which then explode into the albums metal breakdown. But it didn't take me very long to start making comparisons to Hardy's Quit!! from just last month. And that album wasn't very original either. Calling on Jelly Roll to perform guest vocals on "All My Life" was just the ultimate sign of incompetence; "This album is nothing like Hardy," so then why did you even bother adding a country singer for one of your promotional singles you dipshit?
The production on the album is certainly not doing FiR (Falling in Reverse) any favors. Metal music published through Epitaph records have always had a severe hit-or-miss quality to them, but this is the furthest thing from good. Most recently, it has been bands like Architects that have taken the heavy brunt of these production gaffes, and FiR take it to a new level; drum peaking, guitar mush, and disgusting synth lines. That just leaves Radke...who is probably the most impactful part of this album. The vocals are delivered with authority and gravitas and speaks bluntly through his lyrics.
Which is about as generous as I can be with lyrics this vapid. Y'know what this album is about? I'll let ya guess....if you said "anti-woke gibberish, cancel culture and gun wielding America", congratulations! You don't have to listen to Popular Monster (your ears will thank you). I know there won't be many who agree with me on this, but when you have a song called "Trigger Warning," maybe include some content that's actually triggering rather than just saying "I'm a bad man" for the eighteenth time. It's all performative and it looks embarrassing. If Radke was looking to win new fans with Popular Monster, he failed spectacularly.
Popular Monster is an album made for people who believe Radke has done nothing wrong; that all of his legal issues were conspiratorial and everyone trying to cancel him are just mad that he is an asshole. And at this point, you don't really need to cancel Ronnie Radke or Falling in Reverse. They will do it all by themselves.
Best Songs: Watch The World Burn