(Eleven Seven Music) More than a decade after forming and persevering through a series of trials that might break most bands, Escape The Fate has found its most vibrant configuration yet and their fifth album, Hate Me, is a high-powered emotionally driven “screw you” to those who doubted them along the way. The band, comprised of Robert Ortiz (drums), Craig Mabbitt (lead vocals), and Thomas “TJ” Bell (Rhythm guitar) and new lead guitarist Kevin “Thrasher” Gruft, finds its roots in post-hardcore music with a propensity for the dramatic and theatric. Racing drums, shredding solos, and swelling strings can fill a song before dropping out completely to make way for an poignant whisper of lyrics from Mabbitt’s highly controlled voice. The band plays with masterful intention that lifts each member to his highest potential. Escape The Fate sounds tighter and more fervent than ever on Hate Me.
The album’s first track “Just a Memory” jump-starts the record with searing sweeping guitar runs from newest member, Gruft. This taster of the lead guitarist’s fretboard mastery is the perfect introduction to welcome his skills. Released as a single in August, the song serves as a solid representation of the band earning them fresh attention as well as renewed faith from loyal listeners. The track combines all the most noteworthy components of Escape The Fate’s songwriting and composition talents. With a particular intensity that can only be the result of betrayal, Mabbitt sings, “Now you’re just a memory/In my past is where you’ll stay/Had my trust, threw it away/You’d better keep your distance from me.” The song makes a statement, Escape The Fate has a lot to say on this album and won’t be pulling any punches; message received.
Lyrically, the band’s songs find an interesting strength in their ability to be both sorrowful and uplifting. In “Live For Today” Mabbitt repeats, “When all of the hate is too much to take/Live for today.” The words motivate listeners to accept their torments, and use those disappointments as a way to gain strength. “Hold on to that heartbreak/Hold on to that hell you have to pay/All the tragedy has made you who you are/Remember every scar” Mabbitt sings in the chorus of “Remember Every Scar.” The song’s melody has an anthemic quality that reinforces Mabbitt’s command to wear each scar like a badge of honor.
With a slightly electronic start that leads to heavy thumping bass “Hate Me,” the album’s title track, is blunt in its desire to use others’ doubts as a way to find motivation. “Hate me cause I live this way/ Hate me for the things I say/Inside my rage is burning/I see the tables turning,” the song predicts, sometimes with a guttural cry. “Alive” allows Gruft the space to fully unleash his guitar abilities, he runs around the guitar neck with the precision and ease of greats like Marty Friedman or Jason Becker. Dynamic and intricate, his solos are singular in their technicality and something special in the post-hardcore genre. “Let Me Be” the record’s closing song veers from the heaviness of the rest of the album. Acoustic guitar and vocals blossom into a full band sound, which backs simple love song lyrics. It’s nice to know that the band has a taste for the sweeter things in life too.
It’s been a rocky ride for Escape The Fate. Line-up changes and label switches have thrown the artists and their fans for a few loops, but the group’s determination to continue recording quality albums and headline crowd-adoring tours is a testament to their talent and tenacity. Hate Me proves that the band is here to stay.
Purchase Escape The Fate music on iTunes
The post Escape The Fate – Hate Me: Album Review appeared first on ARTISTdirect Network.