The Story Of Falling In Reverse & Ronnie Radke: Success In Controversy

by The Metalverse

Updated September 30, 2024

Why Did Ronnie Radke Go to Jail?

Ronnie Radke, former lead singer of Escape the Fate, was sentenced to two years in prison in 2008 after violating probation stemming from a 2006 altercation in Las Vegas. Radke’s failure to report to his parole officer led to his imprisonment, and Escape the Fate replaced him with Craig Mabbitt. Following his release, Radke formed the band Falling In Reverse.

Falling In Reverse's History

During Radke's prison sentence, Falling In Reverse was born under the original name "From Behind These Walls" which was soon changed to their current name.

In 2009 (while still in prison) Radke used his music contacts to create an early demo of the band's music. Radke was released from prison in December 2010, and just 8 days later he traveled with Falling In Reverse's band members to Orlando to record their first studio album over the next 2 months.

In 2011, the band announced their signing with Epitaph Records (the record Radke was on with Escape The Fate). By July, Falling in Reverse released their first music video of their title track "The Drug In Me Is You" before releasing the full album soon after. Their first album charted at number 19 on the Billboard Top 200 and sold 18,000 copies in the first week alone.

Falling In Reverse's earlier music has a classic emo/scene sound that fans loved. Mixing energetic rock with pop choruses, Falling In Reverse began to create their distinct sound that helped the band perform so well in their early stages.

The band toured with We Came As Romans and played Warped Tour before announcing their 2013 album "Fashionably Late". In October, Falling In Reverse announced the "Bury The Hatchet Tour" with Escape The Fate, ending the two band's disputes.

After touring with Black Veil Brides, Falling In Reverse began to release singles from their 3rd studio album, stating that the album would have less rapping and more screaming, with a return to their more emo roots that made fans originally fall in love with the band. In February, the full album "Just Like You" was released before tours with Atilla and Escape The Fate.

In 2017, Falling In Reverse released their 4th and latest album "Coming Home". From that date forward all releases have been standalone singles.

In 2019, Falling In Reverse released the single "Drugs" with Slipknot/Stone Sour's vocalist Corey Taylor featured on the track. Following the release, Falling In Reverse would tour with Ice Nine Kills, From Ashes to New, and Crown The Empire before releasing their breakthrough single, "Popular Monster".

"Popular Monster" would reach number one on the US Mainstream Rock Chart and has nearly 350 million streams on Spotify alone as of 2024.

In April 2020, after many lineup changes - the band announced that current guitarist Derek Jones had died. This led to the band's current lineup of Ronnie Radke (Lead Vocals), Tyler Burgess (Bass/Backing Vocals), Christian Thompson (Rythm Guitar/Backing Vocals), Max Georgiev (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), and Luke Holland acting as their hired "touring" drummer.

By July, Falling In Reverse released single, "Carry On" which was originally meant to be on their last album "Coming Home".

A New Sound For Falling In Reverse

In 2022, Falling In Reverse released their first non-remix single in 2 years, "Zombified". The band's sound had taken a drastic change, now featuring a more modern metal sound with breakdowns and much more electronic production. "Zombified" topped the US Mainstream Rock Chart and has incredible production value, an exceptionally catchy hook, and builds into a powerful breakdown. The subsequent 2022 single, "Voices in My Head" follows the same formula with electronic production and a similar song structure.

In 2023, Falling In Reverse released their first single of the year, "Watch The World Burn". The song showcases Ronnie Radke's rapping, pop vocal background, and screaming/metal vocals. The track has a unique song structure with no chorus and the entire song builds up into one of the band's most brutal breakdowns of their discography. "Watch The World Burn" hit 83 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 149 on the Global 200, being one of the band's best-performing songs of all time.

The band's first release of 2024, "Ronald" was released on May 7th. With rap artist Tech N9ne and deathcore vocalist Alex Terrible being featured on the track, the song showcases a hectic, yet interesting mix of genres that features a structure similar to "Watch The World Burn" with no chorus. "Ronald" takes on a heavier sound with mostly screaming and growling vocals and multiple breakdowns, but Falling In Reverse doesn't forget their rap influences with Tech N9ne laying down a rap section in the bridge. Racking up tens of millions of views and streams in less than 10 days of its release, "Ronald" is proving to be one of Falling In Reverse's most popular releases.

On June 6th, Falling In Reverse released another single "All My Life" this time featuring country star Jelly Roll. The song mixes Falling In Reverse's hard rock/metalcore sound with a little bit of country twang and vocals from Jelly Roll. The song's comical music video with line dancing during breakdowns and funny country-inspired one-liners has shown to be entertaining and unexpected to fans.

Falling In Reverse's latest album "Popular Monster" was released in August of 2024, with 4 new singles and the rest being previously released tracks.

Conclusion

Falling In Reverse was a band that started as a classic emo/scene band and has evolved to follow the changes in the music industry now mixing rap, pop, and metalcore into their own sound that has gained an impressive amount of popularity. Grown and flourishing in the roots of controversy, Falling In Reverse is a band that doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon.

First time hearing about Falling In Reverse? Check out one of our favorite tracks, "Watch The World Burn".