Escape The Fate – I Am Human

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It’s been a while since Escape The Fate last released an album. And it’s even been postponed earlier, as the original release date was set for mid-February… But it’s finally here! I Am Human, the band’s sixth album is out now! With 13 songs, most of which last between three and four minutes, this album will feed you with more of Craig Mabbitt’s recognizable vocal style and Robert Otiz’s ever catchy drums. The album features a mixture of acoustic, heavy hitting, soothing, energizing and catchy radio-ready songs. It even delves into a slightly metalcore style at the end. This album surely has something for everyone!

Escape The Fate is:

Robert Otiz (Drums)
Kevin “Thrasher” Gruft
(Lead guitar, Bass guitar)
Craig Mabbitt
(Vocals)
Thomas “TJ” Bell (Rhythm guitar, Bass guitar)

Broken Heart is one of those “radio-ready” songs. It’s catchy, it’s leaning more towards pop than metal and the overall setting of the song makes me believe that this is definitely a song I could hear on an average pop-rock radio station. Though I am personally more a fan of the ‘old’ vocals like on the Ungrateful track, a bit of variation every now and then provides a fresh feeling. The band has recently released a music video for the song, and I must admit I really like it. Not necessarily for the female actress, but mainly for the way the video doesn’t take itself too serious. You’ll see what I mean once you watch it for yourselves.

Feeling blue? You might like listening to Bleed or If Only. Both songs are a bit more on the soothing, melodramatic side, though If Only mostly contains acoustic guitar playing and Craig’s comforting vocals whereas Bleed contains all band members’ instruments and even a piano. Want something that isn’t as melodramatic, but a bit more energizing? I Am Human might just do the trick for you. Musically it reminds me a lot of Papa Roach’s Falling Apart. Do You Love Me tricks you into thinking you’re about to listen to another radio-ready song, but instead it suddenly bursts into a song with a heavy punch to it, with Craig’s vocals screaming out parts of the lyrics in a way that will remind you that Escape The Fate is not just your average rock band.

Empire mixes both heavy elements with elements that would do well on radio. It’s catchy and it makes you want to join in. Empire may very well be the equivalent of Ungrateful’s “One For the Money”.

I set my friends on fire and now they’re all lit up. Welcome to my empire where everybody’s fucked up.

Recipe for Disaster intends to deliver more energizing, heavy hitting music to get you pumped up in preparation for Riot, which seems to successfully combine many different styles into one song. Bands often say certain albums or songs are inspired by other bands… With Riot I lost count how many bands it could have been inspired by. Either way, it does make for a very interesting song. Digging My Own Grave delivers a metalcore-like feel. Plenty of bass coming from the drums, grunting vocals, a guitar solo, that pause that builds up tension right before the breakdown… To finish the album off strong, the album ends on Resistance, which, especially at the start, sounds like a heavier version of Muse’s Uprising to me. As the song progresses it regains its own sound again and leaves me wanting more. Perhaps that’s why the most heavy-ish energizing songs are in the back of the album? Either way, I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

Release date: March 30th, 2018
Label: Better Noise Records
Tracklist:
1. Beautifully Tragic
2. Broken Heart
3. Four Letter Word
4. I Will Make It Up To You
5. Bleed
6. Do You Love Me
7. I Am Human
8. If Only
9. Empire
10. Recipe For Disaster
11. Riot
12. Digging My Own Grave
13. Resistance

REVIEW SCORE

  • Music7/10
  • Lyrics/Vocals6/10
  • Production/Mix7/10
  • Artwork/Packaging7/10
  • Originality7/10
6.8I Am Human delivers something for everyone. Though I thought the amount of pop-oriented music was a bit overdone, I definitely liked the strong note on which the album ended. Overall, it's a decent album.