Falling In Reverse has long been an iconic band in the scene, especially with their frontman Ronnie Radke being a generally badass human with an intriguing background. The other iconic thing about them that's more relevant is how they've always been one to genre-blend and do it well, regardless of what the critics want. Their style of electronic rap metal has been slowly taking shape over the years, and for me, Popular Monster is where they first struck gold with the recipe.
The track immediately gives off a dark and sinister tone from the get-go, with the aid of sharp synths and a menacing melody. In the short amount of time the first verse, they quickly and efficiently ramp up the intensity to smoothly get to the energetic and powerful metalcore chorus. The rap flow is unique, not quite the rap you hear from the pop side but not quite metal either, and the lyricism isn't insane but it is absolutely fitting.
The chorus is one of the hookiest lines on planet earth. There is not a lot of songs out there that can match the contagiousness of this earworm of a chorus, especially not with those vocals. Like Lucifer himself, an angel turned devil, his voice is so heavenly yet so demonic. Blessed with real instruments for this section, distortion guitar and metal drums always makes any section so much more lively.
The second verse switch up, gosh. It's arguably the one section that makes this whole thing work, that it's not just a weirdly structured metal song trying to mix two genres together. Fusing the rage and angst of metal with the stylings of rap, staying true to both, giving a bold taste of their ingenuity. Not to mention, I always love a good raw scream.
The breakdown has to be one of the most insane moments of 2019. The pre-breakdown feels like someone dumping a whole bucket of fire on you, wasting no time in entering the heavy zone. Blast beats, high-distortion screams, angry lyrics, low ass notes, all to culminate in one of the rawest breakdown callouts of the year and one of the tastiest eight-string breakdown riffs ever. Even without the intense music video, this breakdown would still be making you headbang.
It's a wonder how they blend so many styles together with no conflict. It's not anywhere that you can find a band that can have so much electronics-only sections in their music and still be considered heavy. I have a feeling they know the key to balancing both sides, but I also have a feeling they wouldn't care about going heavy for the sake of metalheads. They do what they want, and they always deliver on good music.
Rating: 4/5