REVIEW: Escape The Fate – Ungrateful

May 16th, 2013

Kriston McConnell

Artist Escape The Fate
Album: Ungrateful
Genre: Rock
Label: Eleven Seven Records

I’ve been listening to Escape The Fate for quite some time, even before Craig Mabbitt joined the group. Their first release with him, This War Is Ours, was their first step in a new direction towards a more mainstream, radio-ready rock sound. A couple years later, they released their self titled full length that again showed the group headed toward a sound with more mass appeal. While the album did receive good reviews and was their “best selling album to date,” I really disliked it. I was not a fan of them moving more toward rock and roll. It worked for a lot of people, but unfortunately it did not work for me.

It has been three years since that album came out, and in the time since then Craig decided to start a side project by the name of Dead Rabbitts. I was afraid the band would sound the same, but instead I was very surprised. The EP is currently one of my favorites to listen to on a regular basis. This gave me some hope for ETF’s new album, which was announced not too long after.

The first single, and title track, for Ungrateful was released back in February. This is easily one of the best songs on the entire album. They still proudly represent their rock and roll sound while also including more of the post hardcore elements which are the band’s foundation. Craig still has plenty of clean vocal parts but this album has a lot more of the unclean vocals than their self-titled. The chorus is incredibly catchy, as are most of the tracks on this album. If you like this one song, then you should take the time to listen to all of them.

The next best song on the album? It would probably have to be the second track, “Until We Die.” There’s not much more you could ask for in a motivational song than verses like, “Don’t tell me I won’t succeed. It lights the fire under me.” Craig sings his heart out, and you can hear the passion in his voice. The next track worth mentioning is “Desire.” It’s near the end of the album — it’s slower and there’s hardly any screaming in it. It’s ETF’s very own version of a ballad.

There are catchy, anthem-like choruses, booming bass lines, chugging guitars and some true to rock & roll style guitar solos. These guys start off strong in the first few tracks, but the rest seem to mostly be filler, and aren’t quite as memorable. If they had stuck with the energy of “Ungrateful” and “Until We Die” they would have a much more solid album. While I personally enjoy the entire album, it’s feels as though all of their time and effort went into the first half of the record.

It’s clear that Craig has taken Escape The Fate far beyond what they would have been able to do previously. The band is still searching for their sound and hopefully they continue to grow and develop as they record more albums. Just think, if things had gone differently, they would be a rap/electronic/post hardcore band right now. Let’s just be grateful that didn’t happen. This is a well written album, and I would recommend any fan waste no time picking it up.

Score: 7.8/10
Review written by: Kriston McConnell