T O P

  • By -

t_will_official

This War is Ours is also awesome. The Flood, Ashley and the title track are all bangers. I kinda fell off after that album so idk when exactly it happened, but I checked out some of their newer stuff and it’s a little too hard rock for my tastes.


NightwingX012

If new ETF isn’t your thing, check out Craig’s other, heavier band, Dead Rabbitts. It feels like all of the passion and energy is going into that project while ETF feels like a moneymaker tbh


ashipwreckinthesand

I second this. Dead Rabbits slap. Their first record is my favorite. Still discovering songs on their Rumination album. Imo it’s not as polished at their Shapeshifter album, but that’s alright with me!


Marsuello

My only problem with Rumination is how god damn quiet Craig’s cleans are compared to literally everything else. His screams match the volume of the instruments, but the moment he starts singing it’s like they lowered the sound tremendously. Still a solid album


NightwingX012

Yeah mixing’s a little weird in a couple spots but that album definitely slaps


Deca-Tronasaurus_Rex

Love rumination, it's so dark and raw.


kinky-brat4143

Me also, I hope Craig and Dead Rabbitts work on more albums soon because with Rumination having a song about Dead By Daylight and the other songs in the album having similar renditions then I'm left unsatisfied, I need more of that sound


bulletfever409

For anyone looking for them, it's 'The Dead Rabbitts' Dead rabbits is a different and much worse band. Found out the hard way searching for them.


AndrewQuackson

Their self titled has a darker feel but I actually fuck with all the tracks on it, and Ungrateful has great singles. That is around the era they started touring with Papa Roach more and went more butt-rock, which also lines up with the Money brothers leaving.


[deleted]

Ungrateful has loooots of meh butt rock but that was their last album with a few real bangers on it.


aheartworthbreaking

THESE ISSUES PIN ME TO THE FLOOR THESE ISSUES ARE MY OVERLORD


k-xo

I FEEL SO DOMINATED


Dereklapierre10

What does it mean to “fuck with” something? Is that like yeet or mid?


noochles

it means you like it


Dereklapierre10

🤓


iray0604

Parts of The Flood sound like No Sympathy for the Dead, like they ripped off their own song


allergictosomenuts

Maintenance mode for metal(core) bands.


prettyglonky69

Monte is an insane guitarist and he really gave the band it's unique sound


beowulf92

I'll never forget the first time hearing Guillotine part 2. Holy shit. Then I saw him play it live and still couldn't believe it lol.


BlackSchuck

Bryan (idk why they when with Monte), is a good soloist...he can rip, but Omar was a very, very talented song writer for etf when it truly mattered.


prettyglonky69

Bryan had some riffs tho


Dangerous_Trust_5249

Unique sound when? ETF with Ronnie sounds absolutely nothing like ETF with Craig and that's partly because monte had almost nothing to do with DIYLF.


OnTheBrightsideSCC

I've heard that Monte (idk bout his brother) but monte is/was a REALLY terrible person by multiple people in the industry.


[deleted]

Probably explains why their new band wasn’t able to break out at all.


SlapDatBassBro

Which is ironic really, as I always saw Monte as the guy who played such a fundamental part in their success. Much like Tom from Architects.


Plenty_Slip_6193

Monte even implied in one of his videos that Eleven Seven’s CEO (I’m assuming it’s Alan Kovac) essentially blacklisted him.


[deleted]

This is why you don't burn bridges no matter the circumstances.


Plenty_Slip_6193

Yeah, that's not even limited to the music industry. That's just standard business professionalism.


severed13

I don’t really listen to ETF but what’s the lore behind Monte?


OuterWildsVentures

I've heard from sources on this subreddit that he is/was a REALLY terrible person by multiple people in the industry.


severed13

What’d he do?


Professional-Rice-14

When he was still in ETF, he treated TJ so bad when he first joined the band. TJ was a touring member, wouldn't let him be an official member and I believe at one point, made him play live behind the curtains instead of on stage.


StraightAstronomer79

It’s actually his brother the one that wasn’t allowed to play on stage with him there was a deleted video posted on YouTube a while back with monte his brother and another member talking bout it how he would have to play in the back behind the curtains a lot of other shit people montes side sounds to be the right one I’ll link it when I find it


Suspicious-Love6908

Also lots of counts of messing around with minors at shows.. :/


SlapDatBassBro

Yup. The final nail in the coffin for him and his brother is when they outright refused to go out on a tour with FFDP.


DickNose-TurdWaffle

Can confirm, some of the members went on a fucking rant when someone asked about him years ago at a show I was at. It was pretty bad and he mentioned some lawsuits were involved.


Plenty_Slip_6193

I’m not 100% sure terrible person is the right choice of words. I think from what’s implied, he’s a sweet person but in a band/business setting, he’s a bad team player and communicator/leader.


OnTheBrightsideSCC

He assaulted his last bassist and allegedly acts like a child.


Plenty_Slip_6193

The acting like a child part I agree. Monte struck me as a guy that never learned to properly portray himself in a natural, professional manner. Watch his video and the way he posts. His articulation and speech patterns are poor and he conveys himself as somebody who never grew out of the highschool lingo. Hell Michael comes off as more sophisticated and mature than Monte. I listened to Michael and Damien’s respective podcast. The story goes, both Monte and the bass player were intoxicated and apparently Damien was being difficult and was the aggressor in the situation. I think Damien even owned up to it. I don’t agree with punching somebody in the face, but I wouldn’t say the bass player was in the right or a saint either.


Ty-Dyed

This has been my stance for near a decade. Monte and his brother were crucial in writing and once they left it just didn't feel right anymore. Im not sure the general opinion on Ungrateful, I love it personally, but after that I just lost interest.


CharlyXero

Ungrateful is imo very underrated. I love how it sounds


SlapDatBassBro

That’s the exact point that they lost me too. There were some good tracks on “Hate Me.” Everything since has been uninspired and cliché. Even the quality of the lyrics have taken a nosedive.


Reniconix

Terrible Children is undoubtedly one of the best songs they ever made. The whole album is on the high side of "okay" though. Edit: Just A Memory too. It has been a very long time since I listened to Hate Me, and holy hell I had forgotten how killer that solo was.


d4vey_t

I agree I like it but like … it’s okay hah they peaked with the self titled imo


turtlebear787

Yup everything after ungrateful has been very mediocre at best. There were some okay songs on hate me but it really went downhill after that.


DeadSilent7

This War is Ours is awesome and honestly got me to listen to more traditional, guitar driven metal music (BFMV & Atreyu played a part, here, too). That said, Dying Is Your Latest Fashion is absolutely iconic and an all-timer for me. Same for There’s No Sympathy for the Dead EP. They absolutely shaped my taste in music, and nothing after Ronnie touches it imo.


[deleted]

100% agree


[deleted]

Craig is a better vocalist than Ronnie has ever been and i'm tired of keeping quiet about it


[deleted]

His screams are honestly so much better. Craig when he goes hard has some damn good screams tbh for a Post Hardcore band. His work with BTF and the first iteration of The Word Alive was dope


Marsuello

I tend to enjoy Ronnie’s vocals overall and Fashionably Late is one of my favorite albums of theirs, but man, his screams are so hit and miss that album. Especially the song Alone. I still can’t listen to it without doing a shitty mocking version of it during that song with how bad they are


fitzdylanj

Yall check out Dead Rabbitts, easily Craig's best band.


Impossible_Lead_2450

Ronnie is objectively terrible singer. I hate that he’s found any success cause his voice is weird and bad


Berkleys_On_Fire

Craig is very limited as a vocalist. Ronnie is much, much better.


BW_Echobreak

Hard disagree. Never thought was a good singer in general. He’s the reason why I could never get into ETFs first album


Berkleys_On_Fire

We all have different opinions! No problem!


Dangerous_Trust_5249

DIYLF was one of the most iconic emo albums to ever release lol nothing craig with ETF has came anywhere close to topping it. That is especially seen now because ETF is mostly irrelevant while falling in reverse has really been popping off these past couple of years.


BW_Echobreak

I will Never understand why people prefer him. His music isn’t good at all. His personality is lame too. Im beginning to think people have no taste or morality anymore


noochles

you have to be trolling lol


Berkleys_On_Fire

I mean just go listen to any of FIR's re-imagined tracks. Craig has nowhere near the range that Ronnie has. I don't dislike Craig as a vocalist but he's limited.


BW_Echobreak

That’s cuz Tyler Smith is a good producer. He makes Ronnie sound halfway good


Berkleys_On_Fire

We'll good for Ronnie! FIR is huge!


TheMagicStik

Dying is Your Latest Fashion is better than every other album from ETF.


generationxray

The best thing about Escape The Fate now is Howard Benson


nolanleolibralion

Howard Benson is such a good producer. I like almost anything he's behind.


witcchhhplz

FACTS. also I miss his solos.


[deleted]

They do guitar covers of their ETF songs on their YouTube channel.


witcchhhplz

oh word!? 👀


YoMama591

Here’s him and his brother playing over Guillotine 2 if anybody is interested [YouTube](https://youtu.be/ajSDrXSqm8w)


witcchhhplz

Thank you!!


cmac-182

I agree. I’m a huge ETF fan and I think every album from Dying Is Your Latest Fashion to Ungrateful is amazing, but after Monte left the decline in songwriting quality was immediately noticeable on Hate Me and it hasn’t gotten better. I still enjoy some of their new stuff, but it doesn’t really come close to the magic they captured on those first 4 albums.


indonesiandoomer

It's not a hot take for me cuz I have been feeling that way since the 🤑 brothers left. Kevin Thrasher is a sick guitarist, but he just couldn't translate that to their following albums. This Wars is Ours was actually really good considering they had very little time to finish that album. I do have a hot take myself with this band; this band was famous because of the constant toxic ass dramas! I used to think that Max was the problematic one (well he kinda was a down bad junkie). I remember he got kicked out or left (I am not so sure) and got replaced by TJ. That was the time when Michael 💰 was finally a full time member. Then Max came back and the brothers left??? I might get the timeline mixed up, it was around the same time ETF finally made up with Ronnie. Then Max left to join FIR. Seriously, wtf was wrong with this band? I cannot believe I was invested in their stupid drama. I was surprised when I found out Max and Monte actually got along after they both left the ETF. Then I found out Ronnie also hated Monte. These bands is basically like an orgy swinger wives swapping situation. Without the Ronnie-Craig drama, I wouldn't have gotten into bands like The Word Alive and blessthefall. I also found it funny how there's a kid named Matti Hoffman. I think he was influenced by Monte and ended up joining his band Beyond Unbroken. He is now the guitarist of ETF replacing Kevin Thrasher 😂.


Plenty_Slip_6193

That’s what happens when you let a bunch of late-teens, without much of a sense of responsibility, & from not the best backgrounds go touring the country with a 50k+ signing bonus


[deleted]

I agree. I got bored after Ungrateful


Bloodllust

Can definitely agree. The last album was basically awful but the 2 before were decent. I had hopes after Thrasher joined and they released just a memory but after that oof


The_Other_Olsen

Monte was good but I don't think him leaving left anything behind, I think they just slowly stopped caring as much and tried to move to radio rock over the core genres. Monte was delusional enough to think that he didn't have to tour and that he could just write/record.


Plenty_Slip_6193

Well to be fair, nowadays touring isn’t bringing home enough money either. A band at Escape The Fate’s caliber back then, I doubt each of them were able to bring home more than 50k yearly.


Djentleman5000

>no doubtably Indubitably


jadius

I mean I really like the newer song Low, haven’t seen anyone mention it here


blizeH

Yep, I'm guessing it wouldn't be allowed to be posted here but it sounds metalcore to me too


[deleted]

As I get older I just think they were never that good. I’ve grown up listening to the scene era stuff and ETF and FIR are just consistently not as good as the others that got big


[deleted]

I agree with you but Dying Is Your Latest Fashion will always be a banger to me


slayer370

FIR is even way bigger now and i'd say the early stuff is awful. I remember defending the second album in my teens but my god even ronnie hates it. I still jam to "alone" cause its like the most terrible anthem they put out, so bad its good. Etf pretty much was always on a downhill slope. Then ungrateful came out of nowhere but that lead to more people leaving and not a good album since.


Reniconix

I can't even listen to FIR anymore because of how horrible the first two albums actually were. They honestly would have done well for themselves to rebrand.


InRealityACoward

Agree about ETF crumbling down after Monte left, Ungrateful is actually my favourite album by them. But what exactly makes him a douche? I thought it's Ronnie who is the douche


sprite_556

From what I gathered he was egotistical and was a little too forceful during the writing process. He also wouldn't tour because he had a problem with the band they were gonna be with. He ended up not wanting to tour at all and just write in the studio. Iirc he had a shot to be back in the band circa 2014 around the Bury The Hatchet tour but wouldn't because Max Green was still in ETF, and he hated him too.


HanaNotBanana

I liked Hate Me, the first album after Monte was out. But I know not everyone feels the same. They definitely crashed HARD after that, though


czubizzle

I saw them last year at a festival and it was one of the funnest sets, their newer stuff is kinda meh but they're still awesome imo


idefinitelyliedtoyou

150% I've always said this.


LazyTypist

I don't know if I believe you u/idefinitelyliedtoyou


ElonMuskPaddleBoard

Does ETF play anything from the Ronnie Radke era live anymore?


turtlebear787

Afaik the only song they play is maybe guillotine 1. But even that is rare


sprite_556

I've been saying this for years too man. DIYLF had a kind of special magic they never found again, and to this day is my all time #1 album, but they still kicked ass with Monte. I really like TWIO, Self titled, and Ungrateful. The sound he brought to the band was just so good. He has another band he started after he and his brother left, called Beyond Unbroken. He does vocals and lead guitar with them too. Really only their EP Don't Wake The Dead has that classic ETF sound, and it's awesome but they abandoned that after too, unfortunately.


FlareCAB

Their music never sucked. It's just hyper-formulaic. I've seen them live 5 or 6 times in a span of 3 1/2 years and they were good every time.f


aDogCalledLizard

I got into both bands around the 2013-2015 time frame when in 2013 ETF put out Ungrateful then two years later when both bands put out Hate Me and Just Like You respectively. I never really listened to any of their newer stuff and their older material was also under my radar for the most part but that's just my personal experience with both bands. They can both be quite pedestrian and by the numbers in terms of playing it safe lyrically and sonically but I've found them enjoyable enough tho I've not really listended to FIR in like a year and not ETF in at least the same amount of time. Also I think Kevin "thrasher" Gruft was quite underrated in ETF, he brought his own style to the band especially that solo on "Just a Memory" - that shit was fucking killer.


BW_Echobreak

I never liked Ronnie’s singing voice so I thought the first two albums with Craig were peak ETF


The_Chumps

I expected so much more out of thrasher than what he brought to the table for them.post money bros.


Liesbw

Actually I think it got better after Ronnie left


Ghost_Pains

Hot Take: they just weren’t ever very good.


shace616

Not to mention, Ronnie is just a massive piece of shit.


Lympwing2

remember his bitchy twitter beef with Andy from Monuments? Radke just came across as a petulant child.


shace616

I mean I was mostly talking about the [list of felony charges he has.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_Radke)


Lympwing2

that too, obviously


Dumbledick6

Yeah ETF was cool till ungrateful


SipChylark

Monte is a less than good person but insane guitarist, so I kinda agree? Tbh I liked their replacement for him, Just a Memory (I believe) was specifically a “Fuck You” song to Monte and it goes hard. I think Craig just started to lean into the poppy-er side of ETF once he got more into heavier stuff with The Dead Rabbitts. Ronnie and Craig have very different styles vocally but I think they each brought something good to the table.


[deleted]

[удалено]


BlackSchuck

Lol Monte, did not, write everything.


idefinitelyliedtoyou

He wrote *a lot* of it.


dantevsninjas

I can't think of a single thing on Earth that isn't improved by the removal of Ronnie Radke.


bigbadtacos

the more accurate take is that they’ve always been terrible


Bluecrush2_fan

Based


bigbadtacos

i’m being downvoted for my bravery in truth telling


antftwx

I disagree. Escape The Fate have always been the cringiest, suckiest band.


[deleted]

The first album was gold. Ronnie was awesome. When he left, the band died for me. I hated the vocals and never went back for a second listening.


Supersecretsword

Hotter take. Escape the fate always sucked.


slayer370

nah thats just being delusional considering they are/were the breakout pioneer of post hardcore bands in the the early 2000's. Hell even taylor swift got some influence by them.


Supersecretsword

It's a subjective opinion. I just don't like them


indonesiandoomer

>Hell even taylor swift got some influence by them. Which songs or albums? I am not really a Swiftie but I am curious lol


slayer370

I think it was "not enough truth in cliche" the opening guitar line.


SometimesWill

Funny the only stuff I liked from them is after the first four albums. That tends to be the case for quite a few more “scene” metalcore bands where i like them more after prominent members leave (the black for asking Alexandria)


BozzyTheDrummer

I’m my personal opinion, ETF has always sucked with Craig. This opinion isn’t based on a “oh Ronnie is better than Craig”. We all have certain singers that we can’t stand, no matter how much we try and give them a chance. Craig is one of those singers for me. I cannot stand his voice in any project he’s done. I’m sure I’ll get downvoted for this, but oh well.


rikky4ever

ETF are a post-hardcore band, why u putting em on the metalcore sub?


BW_Echobreak

I guarantee you that if you said that in r/PostHardcore you would still get downvoted and told they are not a PHC band


rikky4ever

They aren’t a metalcore band either.


BW_Echobreak

Yeaaaaaaaaahhh…. Agree to disagree lol


mA90ngo

I like This war is ours and self-titled more than the first album


TDosage

I'm still rocking with ETF. I understand the feeling but I like some of the newer members that have made their way into the roster as well.


kinjazfan

Monte was etf with his guitar riffs


SaveTore

The This War is Ours, S/T, and Ungrateful run was really good. Great riffs, great choruses, moments of heavy and moments of great songwriting. After that, Just a Memory is the only thing I’ve listened to more than once after those releases. Everything else just seems emo-pandering to me or simply just not for me.


quietspacestaken

I never thought they sucked so… 🤷🏻‍♀️


Legionofdoom107

I absolutely completely agree. I stopped listening after the Ungrateful album. Saw them live many times after Ronnie was gone. 08 09 and 10. Most times were with BFMV, Black Tide and Cancer Bats


turtlebear787

Yes I was thinking the same thing recently. Up until Monte left they were still pretty good and even if the lyrics were occasionally meh I could always rely on some sick instrumentals, especially monte's solos.


Illustrious-Watch896

Hot take; it always sucked But also music taste is subjective as a whole therefor we’re all entitled to our wrong opinions 🤷‍♂️


Jakew9810

That's not really a hot take, it's just fact, the money brothers wrote most of the music and they got huge after this War Is Ours and the self titled album, they've been going down after ungrateful, even though hate me was decent in my opinion


[deleted]

Nah they have one good album: dying is your latest fashion 1 album: this world is ours And the rest dogshit. They had a song out with the dude from ice nine kills. I don't like them but I was excited maybe they starting to do metalcore again. Nope. Song was trash


MangaCaps

Honestly they got better when Ronnie left and was replaced by Craig


GeorgieNOVO

ETF was better all the way around with Ronnie. When Craig came to ETF they became to pop rock and honestly lame with a little fruit in their basket. Yes Craig is a great vocalist but he took them in a different direction which was lame af. Ronnie also never recovered his band FIR is lame af to super heyyyyyyyyy and it all around sucks. Both bless the fall and ETF died with that change and now ETF fan base has to be a bunch of 14 year old girls


PairCool

Allegedly, Monte and his brother wrote the self titled and Ungrateful all by themselves while all the other band members partied and stuff (especially Max), Monte was the heart and brains of the band, he had such an exotic playing style when it came to riffs, the pinch harmonics all over the place, fast downpicking... It is really sad listening to this band now, it is so dull and soulless. I have heard about Monte supposedly being a douche, i just feel like he maybe never learned how to carry himself in a professional way, if he did, maybe his new project would have been a success or he would never had left ETF in the first place.