Keeping in line with the band's past stylistic shifts,
Coming Home, the fourth set from
Falling in Reverse, is another shift in trajectory. Taking the template from their metalcore debut and the production flourishes from
Just Like You, album number four strikes a solid balance that is tailor-made for the wide range of tastes in an average Warped Tour crowd. Less brutal than
Motionless in White and more melodic like
Hands Like Houses or late-era
Bring Me the Horizon,
Coming Home also includes faint hints of more veteran bands like
the Used ("Loser"),
Silversun Pickups (indeed, on the "Panic Switch"-swiping "The Departure"), and pop-punk vets
blink-182 and
Simple Plan ("Paparazzi"), creating an exciting blend of styles that prevents the collection from ever seeming stagnant or indistinguishable. Matured -- however slightly -- and focused,
Coming Home is an FiR production, but it's still the
Ronnie Radke show. While his personality has managed to overshadow much of the band's history, he's also the primary draw that has kept fans devoted and patient, especially considering the cringe-worthy sophomore misstep, Fashionably Late. Given their track record, this is a surprisingly listenable and emotive album, layering a wall of guitars, pounding drums, atmospheric textures, and a decent mix of bloody screaming and gang choruses. The lineup for this release -- guitarists Derek Jones and
Christian Thompson, bassist Zakk Sandler, and drummer
Ryan Seaman -- creates a cohesive base for
Radke's musings. Whether he's showing genuine vulnerability on the expansive title track (dedicated to his young daughter) or flipping both fingers to his critics ("Right Now"),
Radke lets it all out, encouraging listeners to feel the same cathartic release. He lashes out with "Fuck You and All Your Friends" and "I Hate Everyone" -- excoriating himself as many times as he spits in everyone else's faces -- and displays newfound self-awareness, singing "I'm not a bad guy, it's just my reputation is fucked" on "Right Now." Yet it's never a downer and the album propels with rocket-ship energy. On the album cover, an astronaut returns home, as seen in a reflection on his helmet. In a sense,
Coming Home is
Radke returning to Earth after all these years (and albums) lost in space, finally recognizing that he needs to bring it down a few levels of atmosphere to connect with his earthling fans. ~ Neil Z. Yeung