When a band has had as storied and, at times, controversial a first decade in the limelight as Escape The Fate, there is often a temptation to focus on that past, rather than concentrating on the future. Yet as they stand on the cusp of releasing their fifth, and arguably most significant studio album to date, the upcoming chapters of the Vegas quartet’s career not only look bright, but are set to resolutely be their best yet. 
 
“This new album is, without any question in my mind, the best thing that has ever borne the Escape The Fate name by a distance,” enthuses frontman Craig Mabbitt with no hint of hesitation. A remarkable statement given the last two ETF records gatecrashed the Billboard top 30. “Sonically we’ve always been a diverse band who have everything from ballads to really heavy songs - and our fans expect that - but I think on this album we’ve gone full force with it. The heaviest songs are the heaviest we’ve ever written, and the poppy songs are the popiest we’ve ever done. We came to this kind of ‘Who cares what people think of us’ realisation this time around - we’re amplifying everything that we love about this band in all directions and it has been incredibly liberating.” 
 
Escape The Fate
 
Saturday October 1st: Kings Arms, Auckland

Tickets via Ticketmaster