Falling in Reverse brought their popular Monster Tour to Syracuse on Tuesday. The rock band delighted audiences at St. Joseph’s Amphitheater at Lakeview. Frontman Ronnie Radke left fans stunned with an unexpected cover of the 2006 hit song “Situations” by former band Escape the Fate.
Recently, they released an impressive single, “Popular Monster,” that showcases all their diverse styles of music.
Falling In Reverse
Falling In Reverse frontman Ronnie Radke has earned himself a reputation as one of today’s premier rock frontmen. Together with his band, they have taken over social media discussions, sold out venues on The Vans Warped Tour, and built their brand through unconventional means – like featuring their single Zombified in numerous TikTok videos, garnering them new fans.
From Behind These Walls’ post-hardcore outfit, which began life in a Las Vegas jail cell under its original name of From Behind These Walls, endured hard times until finding success in 2011. Following their debut album’s gold certification and 2011’s The Drug in Me Is You release, From Behind These Walls has found continued success and chart-topping albums/singles since. Even with guitarist Derek Jones passing away and numerous lineup changes occurring along the way.
Falling In Reverse entered a new phase with 2023’s Coming Home, their most focused record to date, both thematically and artistically. Produced with Michael “Elvis” Baskette (Alter Bridge, Slash, Trivium), it features some of their most atmospheric music as well as elements that reveal depths of Radke’s personality while remaining bold; all hallmarks of success for an artist whose career is marked by both courage and vulnerability.
Ice Nine Kills
Though it may seem gimmicky to create an album around one specific film, Ice Nine Kills of Boston metalcore act Ice Nine Kills have made this their most significant selling point. Through clever lyrics and their horror aesthetic, the band has given fans the feeling that Halloween is coming year-round through music videos with high-concept themes, as well as growing a growing following of loyal followers.
Silver Scream 2 has taken this concept a step further with cinematic themes. While unable to directly reference movie scores due to copyright laws (Singer Spencer Charnas playfully introduces “You Can’t Kill The Boogeyman” by calling him out as the dancing clown from IT), this album still manages to capture the essence of each film through musical motifs and general tone.
“Funeral Derangements,” their debut single, features horror icon Miko Hughes from Pet Sematary reprising his role. In addition to embracing horror movie soundtracks for their live performances, Spencer often dons gloves from Freddy Krueger or chainsaw from Leatherface during live shows while Justin “JD” DeBlieck fills in as American Psycho yuppie killer Patrick Bateman or Child’s Play hero Chucky, respectively.
The band’s summer 2023 headlining tour, The Popular Monstour, will include exceptional guest artists Underoath, Spiritbox, Slaughter To Prevail, and Crown The Empire on select dates. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 am local time through their website HERE.
Underoath
Underoath was one of the first bands to gain prominence while still carrying their faith onstage, becoming known for doing so on Warped Tour and Christian metal scenes alike in 1999 when they released their debut album Act of Depression – an introspective record produced by Adam D and recorded at Audiolab Studios in Tampa Florida.
Underoath’s debut album was an undoubted commercial success despite its dark themes, serving as both an introduction to their music for those unfamiliar with them and also opening doors with major labels. For 2004’s They’re Only Chasing Safety, they implemented changes to their sound; for instance, they now used vocalists rather than just screaming as an approach that created more stand-out songs instead of mere screaming anthems.
Solid State Records was Underoath’s home label at this point, and their debut release marked their transformation away from deathcore and towards melodic post-hardcore that would become their signature sound. Also on this record was Aaron Gillespie joining Underoath after replacing former Norma Jean drummer Daniel Davison – this lineup would remain strong up until they eventually split in 2013. A mysterious message sent out midway through 2015 assured fans of an Underoath revival in 2015.
Spirit box
Spiritbox is one of the heaviest new forces to emerge from heavy music’s underground in recent years. Their genre-defining debut record, Eternal Blue, arrived with immense anticipation – and did not disappoint. Vocalist Courtney LaPlante and guitarist Mike Stringer put forth an album that is both menacing and melodic at once.
Spiritbox has shown its nu-metal roots with its recent EP release, Rotoscope, and it shows in its sound. Now ready for further growth as a band, the future looks even brighter for Spiritbox as their future tour schedule includes Bring Me The Horizon, Slipknot, Ghost Alice In Chains, Sleep Token, and BABYMETAL, to name just a few
Spiritbox guitarist Mike Stringer’s signature tones are captured here for this heavy plugin, from elegant ambient cleans all the way through to the edge of breakup crunch and beyond. Over 30 effects, including reverb, delay, and ring mod, are integrated to provide this versatile Lead amplifier model with crystal-clear tones with harmonically saturated gain that Spiritbox is known for.
Slaughter To Prevail
With so many bands competing to stand out in the metal scene, it can be challenging to create something genuinely original and stand out. But SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL does just that with its relentless deathcore bangers – especially its latest single, 1984, which delivers one of its most essential messages yet: a passionate call to end violence and bloodshed around the globe.
Slaughter to Prevail was formed by British guitarist Jack Simmons and Russian vocalist Alex Shikolai, both former members of the Acrania deathcore band. Together with drummer Anton Poddyachy, they joined forces as Slaughter To Prevail; their debut EP Chapters of Misery captured Sumerian Records’ attention, leading to their meteoric rise over subsequent albums Misery Sermon and Kostolom that have reached worldwide acclaim.
The band has become known for their exciting live shows with massive mosh pits and waves of crowd surfers, featuring deathcore and blackened metal that leaves no survivors standing. Boasting some of the finest musicians in their genre-pushing themselves to create something fresh and original, their relentless pursuit of metal dominance has seen them take to stages across America.
Crown The Empire
Crown The Empire is embracing a return to heavier sounds, taking inspiration from Void Of Vision with its signature blend of distorted vocals, catchy riffs, and booming bass that will either have you nodding along or smashing yourself against walls!
The band formed in Dallas, Texas, after high school classmates Andy Leo (vocals), Brandon Hoover (guitar), and Hayden Tree (bass) posted YouTube clips of their songs online. By November 2012, The Fallout had become available and saw them leaping from relative obscurity into critical and commercial success.
Following their critical success, the band went on various tours, including headlining runs with Pierce The Veil, touring with The Used, and making an appearance at Knotfest Roadshow. Their genre-bending post-hardcore sound has earned praise from publications like Kerrang!, Rock Sound, and Loudwire.
On DOGMA, DOGMA takes a more direct approach to metalcore. Songs like “Machines” and “In Another Life” featuring Courtney LaPlante from Spiritbox evoke potent emotions that transcend time, while songs such as the apocalyptic “Black Sheep” and existential call to action “Retrograde” show off their ability to craft engaging narratives with thought-provoking lyrics. Thanks to new drummer Jeeves Avalos, their quartet seems fully immersed in this varied album filled with anxiety, identity crisis, and isolation.
