Falling in Reverse : "Popular Monster"

First time covering this band. Never even fucked with Escape the Fate either. But I took a chance and checked out some of Radke's videos recently and was impressed so giving this a shot. The opening track to the album is hopefully more of just an intro and not an indicator of the album as a whole, as it sounds almost just like Eminem, though he does sing at the end of the song. Granted the bulk of this album is not going to hold a great deal of surprises as it's made up of singles they have been releasing since 2019, so it's been five years in the making and a slow reveal. Guess there is some smart marketing going on as the band has become massive in the past five years.  "Popular Monster" is basically nu-metal, it's more like Poppa Roach than any band that would be considered post-hardcore. It is still haunted by the ghosts of Myspace metal, but Radke's vocals pull it together, and I can appreciate how shifts form different vocal colors. 

There are a few cool moments to "All My Life" but I think Jelly Roll is overrated as a singer. "Ronald" works better with Alex Terrible and Tech N9ne, even if it sounds more like Slipknot. Four songs in and it feels like a mixed bag to me. For every slapper there is a meh moment. "Voices in My Head" works off an infectious hook, which is what it should be about. Radke's girlfriend Saraya lends her voice to "Bad Guy". It's another hooky jam.  "Watch the World" takes a turn from hip-hop to pop punk, not sure it's the best blend of the two, as the hip-hop part was working better.

"Trigger Warning" is more interesting lyrically. The pop-punk leanings of the chorus find a better balance than what we have heard previously on the album. "Zombified" is another finely crafted pop song that works well. "NO FEAR" is another balance of the pop side of the band with hip-hop, though it still holds an aggressive tension. His singing sounds pretty stellar on the cover of "Last Resort" which reimagines the song as a ballad. I will give this album a 9.5,  it goes to show hyper-produced radio-rock slanted toward pop does not have to suck and can be really well done. This is the sound of an artist who is reaching their peak creative self realization. 

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