LUCID FORGE

Somewhere in Philadelphia, Max Green, bassist of the band Escape the Fate, is looking for a quiet place to use his cell phone. He’s eager to talk about a journey that started back in 2004 that saw a group of guys from Vegas start off on the road to music super-stardom, only to get derailed by a couple of setbacks before coming back stronger than ever with a new lead singer, a sophomore album and a North American tour.

Green and former lead singer Ronnie Radke started Escape the Fate back when they were parts of different bands around Las Vegas. But both were ambitious and wanted to start their own group and produce their own music. “When we went to start Escape the Fate we wanted to start something that was real, that was legit and was different from other things we’ve done previously,” explains Green.

The eager duo wanted to put together the best band possible and literally scouted the city to find the right members. Drummer Robert Ortiz was already known to both Green and Radke. Meanwhile, lead guitarist Bryan "Monte" Money called them personally about joining the band, out of the blue, which was a surprise because Radke and Green were crashing with friends at the time. Money also introduced rhythm guitarist Omar Espinosa to the group, although he left the band amicably in 2007 to remain focused on his original band.

Escape the Fate hit the ground running, says Green. “We were having so much fun. It was amazing and everything really started to fall into place. We had all been there and done it before and had demos in old bands, but we knew that we weren’t wasting any time. […] We were coming out guns blazing.”



Not soon after, they met up with Michael Baskette and he produced the band’s first EP There's No Sympathy For The Dead. Green says that Baskette saw something in the band and offered his serves for free if it meant that Escape the Fate got signed to a label than they’d come back to him for the full-length album. With a professionally produced demo, the band put the songs up on MySpace.

As fate would have it, that EP did lead to a full-length album which Baskette also produced. Spots on the Black on Black and Warp Tours followed, but demons inside the band were about to stymie their ascension. Radke had a drug dependency problem and a burgeoning criminal record. In fact, the band lost its co-headlining spot on the Take Action Tour because Radke was unable to leave the state. He was sentenced to four years in jail in August, but the band asked him to leave the group several months before that.

“There were definitely some times before Mabbit came into the picture where we were like, ‘Are we going to be able to do this?’” remembers Green. He offered the others a chance to let the band go, but Money and Ortiz refused to give up and kept the faith with Green that they, as a band, were on to something special.

Again fortune smile on the remaining members of Escape the Fate. The “Mabbit” mentioned is Craig Mabbit, who toured with Escape the Fate when he was a part of Blessthefall, had a falling out with his band and was looking to apply his vocal talents elsewhere. Green remembers this twist of fate well. “He got the number for this guy named Joey [Wilson], who is actually the guitar player for this band called A Skylit Drive, and Craig was supposed to call him to tryout.”

Escape the Fate’s manager is also named Joey and a couple of miss-dialled numbers later, Mabbit was invited to come out and try to see if he might be a fit. When Mabbit hit a high note on one of the songs off Dying Is Your Latest Fashion, much to delight of the other guys since Radke was never able to hit it live, Escape the Fate knew that had found their new lead singer. “There were a couple of practices where we were kind of unsure,” says Green. “All it really took was us hanging out a couple of times and it really helped out that we were friends before and everything just clicked.”



All that was left was to start work on the next album. Not an easy undertaking given the expectations – Escape the Fate’s sophomore album was voted 8th on Alternative Press Magazine’s list of anticipated albums for 2008. “I told the guys, ‘Let’s stop what were doing and be what we were in the beginning,’” explains Green. “We literally took it back to the garage, our drummer’s garage, this really small, cramped, hot, sweaty garage with tires on the wall. That’s where we write the best. We wanted to stay the same on this album but we definitely wanted to just bring everything up.”

They were even more excited when they found out that they’d be working with John Feldmann (The Used, Good Charlotte) for the album to become known as This War is Ours. Green found himself feeling positive again, saying that near the end of Radke’s days in the band, he was feeling utterly depressed and was overwhelmed with uncertainty and doubt. “It was like our batteries were recharged, the music was coming out and we were all happy again, wanting to be on stage and wanting to play our instruments.”

But given everything, one wonders if the band was aptly named. Despite what’s been thrown against them, the members of Escape the Fate, both old and new, seem to be able to stay the course. Green says he is also keenly aware of that connection between name and biography. “You have no idea how many times I’ve taken a step back and I just think about where I’ve came from: sleeping on bus stop benches, being homeless and then starting a band and Robbie and Omar leaving and Craig coming in, Ronnie battling his addictions and me battling mine… The band name has taken on so much meaning that it’s not even funny.

“There’s just something about this band, this group of guys that I’m working with. It literally is fate.”