I’m going to assume that most of you don’t know who Falling in Reverse is, because they aren’t the most well-known band for those who aren’t rock fans. In short, they are a metal band with, to make a massive understatement, a “controversial” lead singer. Despite their previous records being some of the worst-aged music I’ve ever laid ears on, to an extent, the band did somewhat update their sound for this new record, “Popular Monster,” to the point where I can comfortably say that this is a slight improvement for them. That being said, a slight improvement of garbage is still trash I don’t want to listen to. The album fundamentally misunderstands what makes metal, rap, and rock good genres, and abuses the tackiest and most lowbrow ideas of each genre to make a conglomeration of garish sludge.
Before I get into the music itself, I think it’s important to make a brief mention of the lead singer and face of the band: Ronnie Radke, perhaps one of the most infamous people in the alternative music scene. Normally, I wouldn’t bring this type of stuff up in a review, but Radke’s persona and opinions are so central to his brand and lyrical content that it’s pretty much impossible to review his art without bringing up who he is as a person. Radke is known for his predisposition to controversy, ranging from minor incidents like constantly starting beef with metalcore bands, to extremely serious matters such as the numerous accusations of abuse and sexual assault that have been made against him. Yes, these are just allegations, but I think that they should be taken seriously. In recent years, he’s drummed up additional anger on the internet for complaining about cancel culture and being transphobic on TikTok. So, in short, he’s a class-A dirtbag, in my humble opinion. But don’t worry, you don’t have to separate the art from the artist, I promise — the music isn’t worth listening to either.
I will give the album its slight dues — there are some songs here that, in a vacuum, are just inoffensive and catchy rock songs, if overproduced. When I was younger and heard some of the songs off this album (because singles for it were dropping as far back as 2020), I actually enjoyed them at the time (granted, I knew nothing about Radke and I also liked Five Finger Death Punch at the time, so needless to say my tastes have changed). Returning to them now, I think they’re incredibly flawed but could be listenable if a different band released them.
I will also say that even though I detested listening to this, the album is such a spectacle that at times, it almost becomes like watching a movie that’s so bad that it’s good. It’s so tacky in such over-the-top ways that it is quite entertaining. This doesn’t redeem the album much, but like I said, I want to give fair praise where it’s due before I go all in with the criticism.
Because of how all-over-the-place this album is, I’m going to give you a track-by-track breakdown. There are so many issues with this album, and so many different failed ideas and genre combinations that it’s more efficient (and admittedly fun) for me to do it this way.
“Prequel” kicks things off with an opener that sounds like an NF song. It sports a big, orchestral hip-hop beat that feels desperate to evoke some sense of melodrama. Now, I don’t like NF much at all, but at least he’s somewhat of a more likable lyricist than Ronnie Radke. The repeated lyric of “Dear diary, dear diary” is incredibly corny. Making a pun out of his old band, Escape The Fate, is obnoxious, and the entire track really symbolizes Radke as a whole. He makes a clown of himself, even trying to give a balanced self-depiction. The track ends with an attempt to be more grandiose, with compressed guitars and unbearable falsetto vocals. Off to a great start.
“Popular Monster” is the lead single and my introduction to this band. This is one of the more tolerable songs, but it’s still plagued with issues. The rapping sections suck; even though Radke is talking about more relatable subjects, mainly mental health, his discussion of these issues is surface-level and generic, especially by metal standards. The other main theme of this song is how he is so well-known, and so well-hated — a popular monster. I can’t begin to explain how little I care about this as a concept. Maybe if his entire brand wasn’t rage-baiting people, he wouldn’t have this problem. The track proceeds with a metalcore breakdown that is flavorless and unimpactful; every moment on this album that tries to be heavy fails due to the thin production and repetitive riffs. I’m not saying that the band has to write Knocked Loose-level breakdowns, but they certainly could be trying a lot harder.
“All My Life” makes a random and rancid turn into country rock, with a feature from popular genre name, Jelly Roll. I should add that none of the features help this album out, and Jelly Roll is no exception. I think he’s one of the more obnoxious singers to get big in country music in recent years, and his crusty, gravel-filled country drawl doesn’t pair well with Radke’s over-the-top emo affectations. This song doesn’t do anything interesting with its genre-swap, and it has a completely unnecessary breakdown and guitar solo, which, as you may have noticed by now, is a theme throughout this record.
“Ronald” might be my least favorite song on the record because it symbolizes everything wrong with modern metal music in my eyes. The screaming is horrible, every gutless breakdown has a movie-trailer-sounding bass drop that makes the song feel like it’s falling apart upon impact. The whole song seems so obsessed with being as heavy and maniacal as possible. This might be alright if the song succeeded, but it doesn’t. There’s also a ridiculously over-the-top feature from rapper Tech N9ne, featuring some random transphobia in the lyrics, as well as another feature from deathcore vocalist Alex Terrible from Slaughter to Prevail, who adds nothing in terms of vocal presence aside from generic death growls. Not to mention, he’s also a big “anti-woke” guy and formerly had neo-Nazi affiliations. Basically, this song drips with unlikable energy. Politics of these guys aside (which is tough to do since it saturates the music so much), the song itself just sucks. It’s a terrible metalcore song that tries every trick in the book and leaves me with nothing but a grimace on my face.
“Voices in My Head” is a bit of a breather because it’s easily the best song on the record. Would I ever listen to it on my own time? No. But in a sea of waste, a fun and catchy melodic rock song is a break. That said, this isn’t quite a great song, either. The pitched-down vocals on the bridge (a trend that has become common in a lot of radio-metalcore, for God knows why) are incredibly embarrassing, and the breakdown that follows sounds like every other breakdown the band does — a bend riff and then staccato chugging. Pair that with poetic lyrics like, “I’m a sad boy, you know better,”, and any charm the track has is pretty diluted when you look at the finished product.
“Bad Guy” starts to show Radke’s ugly persona creeping through in an unflattering way. The track is basically him simultaneously being self-deprecating and mocking his haters. “I’m a loner, I’m an addict, I’m so goddamn problematic.” Ugh. This is such an obnoxious song lyrically that it exhausts me to even talk about it, so I’m gonna leave it here. Oh, Radke’s wrestler girlfriend Saraya also has a vocal feature for some reason. No, it does not enhance the song. No, it doesn’t make it worth listening to. Instrumentally and sonically, it has all the problems of every other song here. Avoid.
“Watch the World Burn” is amazing if your favorite rapper is Eminem and your favorite movie is Transformers. Radke thinks that rapping fast means good rapping, despite the fact that he basically says nothing of value. In fact, some of what he’s saying is just downright embarrassing. “I’m ‘bout to go Darth, ‘bout to go Disney.” Are we serious right now? This guy is 40 years old and he’s doing “Rap God” worship with yet another bend-chug breakdown at the end of the song, which, if you’re wondering, doesn’t improve the song at all. It’s all show and no substance, a spectacle with nothing to say.
With a title like “Trigger Warning,” it’s pretty apparent what the next track is going to be covering lyrically. In a hare-brained attempt to get political, he makes vague complaints against a vague authority. It’s the most vacuous political commentary, agreeable to either side of the political spectrum because it just says, “America has problems. Things aren’t alright. The government is bad.” Which, yeah man, literally everyone thinks that. Great analysis of the systemic issues in this country. The chorus in this song is also particularly bad, and don’t even get me started on the random piano solo. Who approved any of the choices on this album?
Although one of the more listenable cuts on the album, “ZOMBIFIED” is essentially an angry boomer tirade on cancel culture that rips off the main riff from Linkin Park’s “One Step Closer.” It’s a catchy rock song, but its lyrics about cancel culture are so on the nose that there’s nothing to read into. “Oh no, they’ll never let go/ Of something you said 10 years ago.” We get it, man.
“NO FEAR” might be the ugliest song on the album from an objective standpoint. It’s basically a Tom MacDonald song, and if you don’t know who that is, basically picture Eminem but all of his songs are about how hard it is to be white and how everyone is so sensitive. I’ll just leave the chorus here because it summarizes the song: “Nowadays people are too afraid/ ‘Cause saying what’s on your mind’s like stepping on a landmine/ Nowadays people have gotten worse/ I’m thinking we need to purge, ’cause the world’s in a decline/ Obsessed, everybody is stressed/ Everybody’s a slave, everybody’s oppressed/ Like nowadays people are too afraid/ Of saying what’s on your mind, ’cause the world’s in a flatline.” Wow. Are you understanding now why I have such an ire towards this record, to the point that I wrote a whole review about how bad it is? Do you get it?
“Last Resort (Reimagined)” is a song that even in concept is dead in the water. There is no way you could make a grandiose, orchestral piano ballad version of a PAPA ROACH song into an effective emotional moment. It is laughably bad. The original song, although cheesy, is a fun, turn-off-your-brain-and-rock song. This saps out all the fun, amps up the drama to soap opera levels, and exposes just how bad the original lyrics were in the first place. A terrible conclusion to an abysmal album.
This album is bad in pretty much every sense of the word. I’ve certainly heard worse (especially from this band) but this is pretty much everything I hate in rock music combined with everything I hate in rap music. It is a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes these genres good, and the pandering to conservatives is embarrassing and morally bankrupt, considering the band wasn’t known for that before. There are much better metal bands, rock bands, and rappers making music right now. Please spend your time listening to their music and giving them attention rather than this.
