Escape The Fate: This War Is Ours

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Escape the Fate 

Written By:

Aidan Williamson

28th November 2008
At 10:47 GMT

19 comment(s)

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Not since Hitler's teenage years in a punk band called Gas the Jews has a band name been so appropriate. Ronnie Radke, former lead-singer of Escape the Fate, tried to flee his after his conviction for Grievous Bodily Harm. Guilty (also) now of parole violation, he swiftly found himself in jail. Needless to say: headline writers the world over were stoked.

So onto album number two and the band find themselves with a brand new vocalist and lyricist in the form of ex-Blessthefall man, Craig Mabbitt. Since the boys have now cleansed themselves of the unhealthy element, there's a very real chance that people will start to judge them solely on the basis of their musical talent.

Heaven help them!

Escape the Fate are classified both as 'emo' and 'post-hardcore'. This is a glaring travesty if ever we saw one. The term 'emo' already has an image as tarnished as Josef Fritzl's Family Holidays travel agency. So please, we beg, nay implore the classification community: do not drag the 'post-hardcore' name down anymore. Don't you think it's suffered enough? That poor little genre, saddled so horribly with such atrocities. Without even donating £2 a month, you can help its plight.

As you may have gathered: things are not going well for the band. Words cannot accurately describe the emotions which This War Is Ours sends you through on its forty-minute journey. That's why we brought some pictures along to help us. Our thanks to some little friends for the help in this regard. Sasha and Malia we love you both more than you can imagine. But as thanks to our assistants: you won't be getting that thing we promised you in the new house.

Nonchalance

We Won't Back Down begins the album in an oddly fine way. Mabbitt's vocal performance manages to be both energetic and hugely tuneful (without being too captivating). He also has an impressive range which veers from propulsive pop-punk to crystal-endangering high-pitched wavering. Mirroring Billy Talent, the band has but one guitarist who never fails to project the sound of two. He also brings the shred, something of a necessity in these days of Guitar Hero. When the mosh-worthy final seconds present themselves, you would be forgiven for thinking that this is going quite well for them.

The C Factor

Most bands can hold off the call of funk for at least five albums. Escape the Fate can't last two songs. Thus, with On To The Next One, the dance rhythms are wheeled out. The "whoa oh" lyric sheets are given to the backing singer and behold: a song with 'demographic targeting' written all over it is born. The cheese factor is heightened by a guitar solo so irredeemably Stilton, that there really is no coming back from this point. Think about when Kevin Costner is told "You're a godsend, a saviour." to which he replies: "No, I'm a Postman". We are very much in that league. When the highlight of the song is the five seconds you sound remarkably like My Chemical Romance, it's time to consider a career change, preferably underground.

Still reeling from the near-fatal blow of track two, the usually passable efforts of Ashley and lovelorn soft-rock ballad Something seem so much worse than they actually are. Being able to clearly focus on the lyrics doesn't necessary do them a favour either. "You know I'll wait for ever/Yes I would wait." won't exactly be filling any English exam booklets in the near->distant future (unless the Nostradamus like vision of Mike Judges' Idiocracy comes to pass). "It could be worse though" you might be thinking at this point. "After all, cliches are cliches for a reason". It could be worse! You just had to go and challenge them didn't you!

Pepper Needs New Shorts

While some would consider the quality of 'pant-wettingly funny' to be a desirable one. Most would insist it was elicited only when the performer is trying to actually be funny. The Flood begins fairly routinely, if a wee bit faster than normal. "I can't believe the drama that I'm in, the flood is getting closer/I don't think they know that I know how to swim" Well, you better learn, 'cause come the second minute: you'll be swimming in a certain yellow liquid. Witnessing this band attempt death-metal is by far the funniest thing we have experienced in the history of the world ever (See also: This War Is Ours: The Guillotine II). That it's followed up by a bouncy pop song (Let It Go) which punctuates each bar with a "woooo" sound and features truly dire bass-fills only emphasises the hilarity.

Quick! Call Camp Gaybegone!

If you think a chorus comprising "i got a hole inside/it's feeling ten miles/it's feeling ten miles wide" is bordering on the dangerous side of potential innuendo: just wait until you reach Harder Than You Know. At this point, the album becomes capable even of making Tobias Fünke blush. Even disregarding the snigger-inducing song title of Harder Than You Know and the fact that they have just come from wanting to sound like death-metal to actually sounding like N*Sync, it still gets worse than this with next track and album finale It's Just Me. Horns that sound like farts are nothing. Welcome to a lyrical line that sounds perilously like "Comin' in to my mouth/Put my tongue on that hole/I won't sing anymore/I'm losing control." This cabaret song ends at the circus with the kind of adolescent heavy-breathing not heard on record since S Club Juniors hung up their Mark Foley fan-club badges... we so wish we were kidding.

Press Start To Continue...

While the album has been saved by the competent drumming and occasionally impressive guitar work of Bryan 'Monte' Money from a mark normally reserved for records which require a war-crimes tribunal to judge them. The mere fact that even after repeated listens we spend the best part of the album attempting to pick ourselves off the floor cannot be interpreted as a good sign. Once the mirth dissipates though, that little kitty to the right answers how we feel about listening to Escape The Fate one more time.

Rating:  2 / 10

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User Comments

27

Comment By:

Alex

commented 1 year ago

You stupid ass.

Escape the Fate is an amazing band and they're not gay.

In It's Just Me, he doesn't say, "Put my tongue on that hole." He says, "Put my tongue on A POLE!!!"

God you did the same thing with I Am Ghost's "Those We Leave Behind".

You are one of the worst reviewers I've ever read from. You should really learn to listen to the music rather than insult everything.

By the way, you think "Strange Glue" isn't gay? HA!! Think about it...

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11

Comment By:

bob

commented 1 year ago

ummm ur pretty much a fuckin loser douchebag boner. i think more people in the world like escape the fate than they like u and ur shitty reviews. if u think that the guillotine II is an attempt at "death metal" then u really are fuckin retarted. and u messed up the lyrics to its just me... its "cut it out of my mouth, put my tounge on a pole." so after being probably the second and last person to read ur review, i say that u do something impressive with ur life before you start dissin a band that is currently touring all over the world.

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6

Comment By:

David Morris

commented 1 year ago

Someone put my tounge on a pole once, it wasn't very nice, let me tell you. Is that God's pole their tounge is on?

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9

Comment By:

Anonymouse

commented 1 year ago

You guys are horrible. Your reviews are critics give no constructive critiscm, just horrible flaming. Escape the Fate is an AMAZING band, and if they can get the crowd to LOVE them, then shame on you for writing such a horrible review. One of the BEST post-hardcore bands out there, and you're reviewing them simply on the band MEMBERS, not the actual songs. The lyrics are also very deep and moving, so let your balls drop and go flame someone else.

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-3

Comment By:

Jasmine

commented 1 year ago

for future reference, you may want to point out actual musical problems in music review, not petty opinionated complaints. the only lyrical problem in the whole cd is in "You Are So Beautiful," when Craig says "You have the chemicals that makes me fall in love." makes should be make. other than that, this is an incredible cd, and musically, you should have far more respect for it.

as an added thought, Craig was kicked out of two bands within a year of recording this, and the rest of the band lost one of their best friends' company. with everything the four of them have been through in the past year, it's incredible they even managed to stay in one room together to record, let alone to make such great songs.

shut your mouth and learn a thing or two about music before you go criticizing anyone with such bullshit little opinions. this is about the music, not you.

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10

Comment By:

abby

commented 1 year ago

Bands like Escape The Fate makes me wonder, what the hell happened to REAL MUSIC?? I wish I was back in the 60's where artists like Led Zeppelin rule the airwaves.... Im still 14 but I know the difference between good music and dog shit....

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6

Comment By:

triplehelix247

commented 13 months ago

Craig is a great singer/screamer, BUT in ETF he sucks! In Blessthefall he was incredible, in The Word Alive hes incredible also, he killed Escape the Fate! Other than This War Is Ours, the album is garbage!!! Ronnie would have kept it real. And yes Craig is better than Ronnie! ETF sold out with this album.

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9

Comment By:

Andre Carter

commented 11 months ago

this review is terrible.... escape the fate (I will agree) has some pretty lame lyrics at times.. but if you listen to the overall music its actually really really good and well put together. this album is simply amazing.

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4

Comment By:

justin

commented 11 months ago

THIS CD IS SHIT GO LISTEN TO THEIR FIRST CD, that is the good escape the fate, lol craig isbetter then ronnie too cause he's not a douchebag, and ASWELL i took a dump better then this cd, onl good songs are the flood, and this war is ours

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8

Comment By:

commented 11 months ago

u suck the end

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8

Comment By:

Vikki

commented 10 months ago

let me start by saying that i love escape the fate and obviously disagree with (almost)everythingsaid here,

your Homophobic, i hex you.

your obviously party deaf and ALSO, i know this is a review so people should really stop targetting you personaly, your allowed your opinion but just because you dont like a certain band or kind of music, doesnt mean theyre bad, the world doesnt revolve around you.

I am being civilized.

May i just give credit to the author of this Review. A Mr Aidan Williamson. You have great writing style and as a writer myself i do say that you might wanna consider putting your talent to a use.

Im dead serious, your writing is very good, contact a publishing group :)

and try diss a prep band next time.

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8

Comment By:

Joey Brown

commented 10 months ago

GO DIE IN A HOLE

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10

Comment By:

hmm

commented 6 months ago

TBH they aren't such a great band. and they aren't as famous as some of you pretend they are. im pretty sure they aren't even close to a million album sales.

Anyway.. I dont like any songs on this album. the previous album had some good songs. like "the webs we weave", "There's No Sympathy for the Dead" and "My apocalypse". but overall they aren't that great.. Also if you look at some pictures of them they look pretty gay lol.

Btw.. he knows the lyrics obviously. he's just simply saying what it sounds like they are saying. And it's often very hard to know the exact lyrics with only listening to a Rock/Metal song. When i look up the lyrics of a song i often think "oh thats what they are saying".

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8

Comment By:

U r the troll

commented 5 months ago

Pretty much a bias troll review.

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15

Comment By:

David Morris

commented 5 months ago

I still love this review dearly, the Postman reference, the "wee bit faster"...

And what about that great argument from Alex:

"Escape the Fate is an amazing band and they're not gay.

In It's Just Me, he doesn't say, "Put my tongue on that hole." He says, "Put my tongue on A POLE!!!"

So yeah Aidan, next time you (don't) call a band gay, get your pole related facts straight huh?

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7

Comment By:

David Morris

commented 5 months ago

oh and this is wonderful too: "i know this is a review so people should really stop targetting you personaly" ten words after hexing someone... nice work.

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8

Comment By:

TheB0a

commented 5 months ago

Escape The Fate is an awesome band, first off, and to those people who are tryin to compare post-hardcore bands to heavy metal bands, they're two different types of music ! Dumb asses.

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4

Comment By:

some guy

commented 5 months ago

well since I claim to be the webmaster (and I am) of their fansite, you would think I would completely disagree with this dude's review right? wrong.

I have always had a hard time accepting the post-ronnie era of escape the fate. They just don't cater to the initial fan base they started building back in the TNSFTD days.

"This War Is Ours" does indeed sound like they are at war with finding an identity with themselves. I think their management panicked when the band started falling apart and did what they thought would save them: make an album that will target a certain demographic. And sadly, that is 13 year old little girls.

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5

Comment By:

Stan Darsh

commented 4 months ago

Great review, ahahaha at butthurt emo kids who are sad that their latest fashion trend of a band got bashed.

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