Falling In Reverse - Gig Review & Photo Gallery 18th March @ Entertainment Centre, Bris QLD

Falling In Reverse
Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane QLD
March 18, 2025
Supports: Black Veil Brides and Hollywood Undead

The most polarising man in metalcore managed to accomplish something others in the genre can only dream about - played a string of SOLD OUT Arena shows across Australia, and bringing gutturals to the masses with plenty of fire and profanities to boot.

Since first jumping on the Falling In Reverse bandwagon back on 2013's Fashionably Late, I've never been able to witness the band in a live setting for longer than a song or two at music festivals and certainly never in a headline capacity. That all changed last night when I was one of 12,000+ fans who turned up to collectively lose our minds at his final show on the Aussie run of the Popular MonsTOUR II. Before continuing, it should be noted the last time Falling In Reverse played headline tour down under, they were performing in venues like The Triffid in Brisbane, 170 Russell in Melbourne, and the Metro and Astor Theatres in Sydney and Perth... The unprecedented leap from small-scale venues to Arenas breaching 14,000+ capacity is nothing to scoff at - and the dedicated fans turned up in droves to celebrate the madness that ensured.

Kicking off the evening was Hollywood Undead who got the party started nice and early with a close to capacity mosh section in front. The rap/rock group wasted no time getting movement from us all, blasting through crowd favs like 'CHAOS' and 'Hollywood Forever'. The outfit called for someone from the crowd to join them on stage and out of the thousands eager to get up, they picked 9-year-old Hunter, who had an absolute blast dancing and raising his metal horns in front of the packed Entertainment Centre, thus creating a significant Core Memory during 'Coming In Hot'. Drummer Anthony Ghazel even got his own time to shine by belting out an acapella rendition of Bon Jovi's 'Living On A Prayer', however, from where I was sitting, it seemed as if someone was playing an isolated vocal version and he was simply mouthing the words for the big screen.

I've previously tried many times to get into Hollywood Undead, but have come to the conclusion they're just not for me. The set also featured a bit too much autotune for my liking, but there's no denying the thousands of concertgoers who loved their performance walked away with a cemented appreciation for the genre-hoppers.

Next we had the pleasure of witnessing Black Veil Brides playing a fucking arena where their sound was well and truly meant for, and from the second frontman Andy Biersack hit the stage, all eyes were on him as the band slammed through their heaviest set down under yet. Consisting of a career-spanning catalogue of heavy-focused, scream and growl infused tracks like newbie 'Bleeders' and throwbacks to 2010's We Stitch These Wounds with 'Knives and Pens' and 'Perfect Weapon' it was a set for the ages and one Black Veil Brides really managed to showcase their legacy with (pun intended). Considering the last time the band played in Australia was in 2022 (in Brisbane at Eatons Hill), tonight's performance was loud and the sound coming from the speakers was engrossing. I was especially impressed with the way Andy strolled about the stage during 'Faithless' chewing gum in between belting out the words and how his growls were sounding more refined than the last time.

Finally it was time for the crème de la crème, the pièce de résistance, the Guitar Hero anthem 'In The End' and the way this sounded inside the venue's walls was insane. A stadium rock track with a massive sound system projecting onto the masses as the entire band played within an inch of their life... yet the crowd was absolutely void of emotion. I don't know what was going on but from where I was sitting in the stands, this was the best live rendition of the song I've ever heard, yet the crowd response was lacking severely. Jake Pitts slayed the lead guitar and that awe-inspiring solo towards the end left me oozing with all the feels, but I couldn't help but feel for the band who just didn't seem to connect with the almost at capacity mosh section. Whether the masses didn't know the track or were saving their energy for the onslaught that was yet to come, it was rough to witness. Hopefully the band took playing such incredible venues down under in their stride because from Soundwave Festival to now, they've certainly impressed me with their growth and progression throughout the years. Keen to hear more of this heavier music they've been putting out too.

Earlier in the evening, I ran into my fav gig family, The Gorrys, who brought along their two girls, Em (13) and Brighton (10) to experience the biggest show of their lives (so far) and they weren't the only ones. What was special about this concert was the sheer number of parents who had brought kids along to cross off such a big bucket list band from their wish lists early on in their lives. I personally saw kids as young as 3 rocking out throughout the night and a shout out needs to go to all the parents who introduced the next generations to a night of heavy metal - especially the ones who didn't forget the hearing protection - as it looked like they all had a ball singing along. Honourable mention to the Dads in the pit who had their kids on their shoulders for the entirety of the show - hope you're booked in for your next chiro appointment.

During my hang with the Gorry fam, I asked the girls what was so special about Falling In Reverse that made them want to crash their parents gig night, to which Brighton proudly claimed "Ronnie singing. He's amazing at it. [His screams are] perfect!" Before Em chimed in with "Mum wants to have his babies!"

Upon reflection, mum (Kristy - who I met on Twitter way back in the day because of Falling in Reverse) wouldn't be the only one to jump at the chance and I somehow think Dad (Tony) would have allowed such a hall pass to take place. Either way, we said our goodbyes, unaware of what was about to be bestowed upon us.

As the mosh balloons stopped bouncing and the between set soundtrack singalongs subsided, the lights dimmed and we were met with AC/DC's 'Highway to Hell' blasting over the speakers as Ronnie and co. made their way from the green room to the stage (via a live stream) where the frontman got stuck into a karaoke version of 'Prequel' showcasing his defined range and and fast-spitting rap skills while the phones were out all over the place filming his every move. The rest of the band joined him on stage and launched into 'Zombified' which was met with a rapturous applause and singing heard across the four walls of the Entertainment Centre. Ronnie was in a daze all night marvelling at the sheer number of attendees in front of him. He then questioned the crowd how many of them had been fans for longer than ten years - resulting in a sea of raised hands as far as the eye could see, before he called everyone out saying "No you're not, you're here with a friend and I'll prove it", just as the outfit started playing 'I'm Not A Vampire' from their 2011 debut album The Drug In Me Is You. If you've ever questioned the popularity of this band, all you need to do is sit back and listen to the masses screaming the words "Hi Ronnie!" during the stop down of that song. Next up was 'Fuck You And All Your Friends', sadly the only song from 2017's Coming Home album to make an appearance (boooo) which had the majority of the venue waving their middle fingers left to right like a swaying sea of beneath the band. The way in which Ronnie commanded the crowd proved his showmanship is unlike any before him and this lead straight into electric renditions of both 'Bad Guy' and 'Losing My Mind'. The Asshole Cam made its way onto the big screen for 'Just Like You' with everyone positioned in front of the roaming camera trying to get their mugs on screen as they screamed along to to the title track of their 2015 record... shit we're old.

This then steered into one of my personal highlights of the night when Radke denied a mob of about 2000+ into peer pressuring him to do a shooey. It's no secret I've been advocating for the end of shooeys since 2019, and to witness another international metal artist (the first being Sam Carter of Architects) loudly decline the idea deserves all the praise I can muster. While Ronnie was explaining why he wasn't going to endure athlete's foot of the mouth, someone threw their large, black leather boot on stage beside him, to which he joked about it belonging to a six foot five teenager with size 15 shoes. Immediately after the interaction, Ronnie and the band left the stage, thanking everyone for coming and joking we spent more time getting to the show, than what the band played. As the camera followed them off, it then panned to three individuals dressed in costumes, one of which took the microphone and proceesed to make vomit/gag sounds as he slowly walked from the backstage area and into the crowd with the spotlight on him. This bizarre act had us all in awe as we watched him via the big screen, eyes wide open and literally gagging into it every few steps with the crowd replicating his every move. After a couple of hilarious interactions with security guards who were enticed to make the sounds into the mic - with no concept of what the fuck was going on - the camera turned to bassist Tyler Burgess and Ronnie Radke, both of who appeared at the back of the venue in the crowd jumping immediately into 'NO FEAR'. The pair slowly made their way back to the stage as a sea of security guards kept the rowdy fans at an arms length away from the singer (the rowdy female fans trying their hardest to get close to Radke without spending $600 on a Meet and Greet). After witnessing Parkway Drive doing something similar (but better) on their recent takeover of the Entertainment Centre, all I can say is more of these interactions in future please. It gives the fans stuck at the back of the mosh a chance to be part of the show and makes use of the gigantic floor space.

The band regrouped on stage where Ronnie was given a cowboy hat just in time to hoedown throwdown to their smash hit 'All My Life'. Now, I hate country music with a passion, but for some ungodly reason, I LOVE this countrycore crossover and was belting out the words and twang like my alter ego was Tim McGraw. 'Popular Monster' followed after a quip about showing everyone in America how big the band was around the world, including Australia - like they had something to prove to the naysayers back home. The phones were out again and the sheer force from the breakdown could be felt in my chest as I watched on in astonishment. Afterwards, Ronnie addressed the crowd at length for the first time during the show. He opened up about how special it was that regardless of us all fighting with each other on the internet, we come together (all 12,000+ of us) for the music. He stated the key to happiness was being grateful and he was eternally grateful for everyone who came along to the show, especially the kids. The singer touched on enduring what he goes through and admitted he does talk a lot of shit online, but was thankful for the atmosphere and being on stage with this many people in front of him, as it was like living out a childhood dream.

The gratitude speech resulted in yet again another deafening display of appreciation from the fans and we were back into the swing of things with 'Voices In My Head' which, once again, produced a masssssive breakdown blast with Falling In Reverse giving their all for the final stretch. By this point the band were all kinds of sweaty and somewhere at the back of the mosh, a "take it off" chant was instigated which slowly infected the masses and made it's way to Radke, who shut the idea down saying "Gross. There's kids here!" The frontman then stated "Sleep Token are coming next year, do it then" and before we could catch our breath it was time for 'Ronald'. The lights dimmed an ominous shade of red and the blastbeats, pyro and spit-fire rapping came out as everyone gave their all from start to finish. Despite playing a show in Brisbane in two days, sadly there wad no surprise cameo from Tech N9ne who only appeared on the big screen via the music video. Despite the ferocity of the song and the sheer complexity of its nature, we all spent the moments during Tech's part watching a screen, including the band. I've had my gripes about artists not being able to perform the parts of a collab in a live setting and this was the only time during the show I was left disappointed. Sure the sound and delivery was amazing on either side of it, and Ron gave his best screams during the Alex Terrible climax, but it stalled the build up for me personally.

Never fear, what 'Ronald' lacked was certainly made up for with 'Watch The World Burn' where Ronnie poured his heart into the final song of the night, including nailing that fast as fuck rap verse with precision and the spotlight and all eyes on him in the process. The pyro exploded at a rapid rate (as if they were burning off all the remaining fuel for the big finale) and we were treated to not one but two run throughs of of the final breakdown section of the song, one with Ronnie's screams and growls and the other with his perfectly delivered operatic execution. It was a spectacle to say the least and left everyone up close (and us in the stands) with our mouths agape. There's no denying a few kids will remember this moment for the rest of their lives... holy shit what a show ender that was.

This tour proved a number of things for the band and frontman alike. Ronnie Radke has avoided cancellation like many of us dodge our exes in public and has risen up the ranks to cement himself in the crosshairs alongside prolific generational industry targets like Fred Durst, Manson and Eminem. It was apparent he does not buy into cancel culture, or even acknowledge its existence and the 12,000+ strong crowd echoed his beliefs. Online, Radke is a menace - a place where he has lived and grown since the infamous MySpace era - but on the stage he is a force to be reckoned with. He truly is a musician with impeccable talent and an insatiably uncompromising appetite to entertain and prove his naysayers wrong - and it's no surprise why these shows have sold out (both in Australia and around the world) as fans and critics alike flood through the doors to not only see what the fuss is about, but to witness this maniacal musician in the flesh and ponder where he's going next.

Setlist

Prequel
Zombified
I'm Not a Vampire
Fuck You and All Your Friends
Bad Guy
Losing My Mind
The Drug in Me Is You
Just Like You
NO FEAR
All My Life
Popular Monster
Voices In My Head
Ronald
Watch the World Burn

Review by Paul 'Browny' Brown @brownypaul

Photo Gallery by Mitch Chamberlain. Insta: @chamberlainmedia. Please credit Wall of Sound and Mitch Chamberlain if you repost.