Review Summary: You won't lose your mind, but you won't feel like a king.
There are two words that may have been invented for Ronnie Radke: polarizing and arrogant. After his split with Escape The Fate and the succeeding feud with both his former bandmates and new vocalist Craig Mabbit, Radke promised that his band would be the next new thing in the music scene with him at its helm, only succeeding to piss off ETF even more. The question leading up to
The Drug In Me Is You was obvious: was the album and FIR just going to be another inflation of Ronnie’s ego, or an actual manifestation of talent? Primarily the former, with a little bit of the latter.
The Drug In Me Is You is beyond melodramatic, it’s aggrandizing. Throughout the project, Radke thinks he’s God, and isn’t afraid to say so. However, to the rest of the band’s credit, it isn’t just the Ronnie Radke show. Lead guitarist Jacky Vincent takes the stage many times on the project with simple-yet-fun leads and 80’s glam-inspired solos, while former drummer Nick Rich has a punk-flare to his craft that propels him to stand out. Speaking of glam metal, though the topic of the vocalist’s substance struggles pop up, don’t let the gothic appearance of the band confuse you. With the adage of synthesizers and Motley Crue-esque vocals, this is a largely happy-go-lucky project, at least sonically. Even when the lyrics do get darker, the instruments normally prevent them from taking their full effect (“I’m Not A Vampire”). As for Radke himself, he’s a talented singer, moreso than a songwriter. His voice is hard to describe, but it’s decently high-pitched and almost unique. For screaming, though, Ronnie’s low growls fall flat, sounding more like a dying bear than a ferocious lion. The rest of the band is honestly nothing to speak of, and both the rhythm guitarist and the bassist don’t ever stand out.
As mediocre as this project is, it strangely has its strong points. The hook in the title track is just plain catchy, and easy to both hum and sing along to. Opener “Raised By Wolves” is standard post-hardcore fare, but due to its infectious energy and fast pace, it stands above the rest of the record. Indeed, the energy pulsating through the album may be the only thing that stops it from totally falling on its, the same energy that propels the awesome solo in “Good Girls Bad Guys” and the strutting distorted chug throughout “Pick Up The Phone.” “Phone” also features a punchy bass line and some of the only strong screams on the album, while “Tragic Magic” is cheerily campy and actually manages to be enjoyable. The circus backdrop with Ronnie yelling like the main act throughout “Caught Like A Fly” is also glaringly cheesy, but again is saved by the pure fun factor and weirdness.
Lyrically, Radke is actually capable of telling a compelling story, if only it didn’t seem like a pity party. Though “The Drug In Me Is You” shows Ronnie lamenting his mistakes, “The Westerner” screams arrogance, especially the line “I deserve a purple heart.” Ronnie’s multiple claims to be the king of the music scene are laughable, considering he was kicked out of his first band and is mainly maligned by critics. “Good Girls Bad Guys” and “I’m Not A Vampire” resemble the half-dead girl stuck in the locker on the album cover, because their Nickleback-esque lyrics that primarily brag on sexual ability are desperately immature and totally conflict Ronnie’s conviction of the “rockstar lifestyle”.
To the vocalist’s credit,
The Drug In Me Is You isn’t irredeemable, but it’s just average. At no point does Ronnie actually live up to the claim of being inventive and the next big thing, but instead is shoehorned as the typical self-absorbed frontman. The title track, “Raised By Wolves” and maybe “The Westerner” are worth a purchase, but besides that, let this
Fall.
