Falling in Reverse - Coming Home (Album Review)

Falling in Reverse - Coming Home
Released: 7th April 2017

Lineup

Ronnie Radke – Vocals
Derek Jones – Rhythm Guitar
Zack Sandler – Bass
Ryan Seaman – Drums
Christian Thompson - Lead Guitar

Online

Facebook: Falling In Reverse
Twitter: @FIROfficial

As far as bands go with egotistical front-men (Limp Bizkit, Genesis, Megadeth etc) Falling in Reverse stand out from the rest due to front-man Ronnie Radke's ability to win you over one minute and make you hate him the next. Deep down the guy is a truly talented musician with capabilities that stand out far superior from others within the same music genre. Over the years from his early beginnings in Escape the Fate to the groundbreaking birth of Falling in reverse, we have seen many sides to this guy and what he can do with a great team of musicians behind him. So you can only imagine my excitement when I finally got my hands on the band's new album Coming Home.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1V4Gf12FmY&w=853&h=480]

The album starts with the first taste of new music fans heard in the form of title track 'Coming Home' which begins with a slow piano intro before exploding into a produced syth-rock song filled with plenty of group "woahh ohhh"s that lead into Ronnie's calm and alluring voice saying "Tell me who you are". At this point I'm immediately drawn into the song and the message of togetherness surrounding it. By the time the chorus rolls around, the song drops for a microsecond and a ballad styled sing-a-long is belted out by the front-man and band. I'm immediately finding slight comparisons between new FIR and Angels & Airwaves when they first exposed themselves to the world, robotic noises, pianos and slow build ups that leave you wanting to belt out the next few lines at the top of your lungs. This continues for the entirety of the song before the fade out of singing and notes depart and take us straight into 'Broken', a song that had me worried within the first few seconds because holy shit, it sounded like Da Rude's 'Sandstorm' and I was wondering anxiously if the band had headed into EDM territory... that was until the drop came and the heavy guitars I've been waiting for instantly brought me back to reality. Whilst the majority of the song was synth/electronic influenced, the chorus rocked and had elements of the band's signature group vox, Ronnie's clean (almost struggling) screams and a beat that just makes you want to raise your fist and pump it though the air like a dictator going to war against the world. 'Loser' is up next and even though we have already heard this song upon it's release back in January, it still sounds as good as it did the first time I listened to it. Ronnie taking aim at a significant other in the lyrics stating "If you call this winning , why do I feel like a loser?" and in the second verse he speeds things up and manages to get all his words out without slipping up. Like Eminem manages to do almost on a daily basis, Ronnie's blend of hardcore, singing and rap infused vocals need to be heard to be believed. Violins fade out the track and warm us up for a journey into fast and heavy town.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2vHIpxsfEM&w=853&h=480]

'Fuck You and All Your Friends' is a great name for this revenge track about someone who has done Radke wrong in the past, as hinted at in the opening jab "This'll be the last song I ever sing, about a person that I'd rather not name" before the riffs and rock filled drumming fill the space between each sentence drawing my attention to the lyrics more closely. If you hate someone, like literally hate someone to death, give this track a crank and focus all your thoughts on them. It may relieve some of the stress that has overtaken you in a cheeky, self-respecting tension release kind of way. But don't stress if you have more steam to unleash because once the acoustic intro of 'I Hate Everyone' is over, there's plenty of antagonism to help you get past the next 3:39 minutes of your "Me Against The World" mentality. The cheekiness is magnified by 200% in this almost immature approach to hating the world (except one person) so for those in High School/Work/Social Outing, sitting on your own, admiring someone who'll never want anything to do with you, you have a new anthem! There's also a guitar solo too which came up completely unexpected so bonus points for guitarist Christian Thompson there. The next song title speaks wonders for all of us getting by with no idea of what we're doing, except for somehow managing to maintain a significant relationship (to an extent). 'I'm Bad at Life' is a slow paced love song that picks up midway though and tells the story of someone offering up bad advice because they haven't got their shit together. It also has another guitar solo in it which fuckin rocks.

But the rocking doesn't end there, immediately into 'Hanging On' the band give us a sample of what to expect for the next 4 minutes. Backup screams, group chants and Ronnie's whiny singing are just a few of the many reasons why this song is as catchy as an STD, except with all the genital warts and stigma about it. Actually thats a bad explanation, forget I ever said that. In future, this would be the best song for the band to perform first on tours. 'Superhero' brings back the fast paced synth rock in this story about not being able to help others, because you can't save yourself. If Rocky Balboa had 'Eye of the Tiger' as his amp up, theme song, someone like The Punisher or Wolverine could use this for their historic montage. 'Straight to Hell' is a fuckin diamond amongst gems combining so many elements we've already heard throughout this album, the band is more involved with this one and from the 2:37 mark is just what was needed to fulfil the requirements for this album to be considered close to perfect. My only gripe was it wasn't long enough to fill my needs, however Ronnie's screams come close to filling the void.

'I Don't Mind' is yet again another slow paced, soft singing ballad styled track with elements of Bring Me The Horizon's latest work and even early Sum 41 with a theme of blaming others for how you turned out. Not as catchy or upbeat as previous songs so we'll move onto 'The Departure' and it's increased tempo with echoing vocals (almost as if it was recorded in a wind tunnel), what it lacks in attention grabbing instrumentals, it makes up for in.. well, not much. My least favourite song so far which is unfortunate as almost all of the previous tracks were spot on. I even took my headphones off to make sure it wasn't a dodgy connection, but alas it was the song. All good though, 1 out of 13 ain't bad right?

'Right Now' is much more upbeat and catchy than it's previous neighbouring song and shines a spotlight on the drama surrounding Ronnie and his egotistical antics and how he now has to continue with his reputation of being a bad guy because it's been hyped up so much. In the firing line this time are media outlets, haters and critics of his work but it's merely a tongue-in-cheek pop rock song the ladies will lap up like free Passion Pop at an 18th Birthday Party. If All Time Low tried to write a song about being badasses, this is similar to what they'd come up with and that theme of egotism and bad boy reputation continues into the closing track 'Paparazzi' which also maintains a similar tempo and lyrical style. Poking fun at pop culture, fame chasers, scene kids and Gen Y this no holds barred self-aware track tries its best to explain what's wrong with the youth of today and does so in a fun loving manner. The song sounds like an leftover from 2015's Just Like You record however this whole album is so far advanced it joins 2013's Fashionably Late in a close tie for 2nd best release from the band. Nothing will top the ferociousness of The Drug In Me Is You but as the band progresses with their career, they're showing us they're capable of more than just post-hardcore jams and gut wrenching screams.

In closing, Falling in Reverse may be heading into pop-rock territory but they're still paying respect to their early beginnings in new ways. Ronnie Radke is a gifted songwriter who at times can be dismissed as just an arrogant prick, but deep down he's got a soul and purpose and it's great to hear his development as a front-man exceeding expectations with each album released.

Falling In Reverse – Coming Home tracklisting

1 – Coming Home
2 – Broken
3 – Loser
4 – Fuck You and All Your Friends
5 – I Hate Everyone
6 – I'm Bad at Life
7 –Hanging On
8 – Superhero
9 – Straight to Hell
10 – I Don't Mind
11 – The Departure
12 – Right Now
13 – Paparazzi

Rating 8/10
Coming Home is available April 7th via Epitaph. Pre-Order here
Browny (@brownypaul)