Hard rockers Escape the Fate perform at reopened Ritz Theater in Scranton on March 1
From a press release:
Today, Las Vegas hard rock/post-hardcore band Escape the Fate announced that they are adding some East Coast dates to their 2024 tour supporting their new album, including a stop at The Ritz Theater in downtown Scranton on Friday, March 1.
Gina Fritz will open the all-ages show, with local support from The Holtzmann Effect, The Maguas, and Traverse the Abyss. Doors at The Ritz (222 Wyoming Ave., Scranton) open at 6 p.m., and the music begins at 7 p.m.
Tickets, which are $25 for general admission and $30 for the pit, plus fees, are on sale now via Prekindle.
This is the first national act that has been confirmed at The Ritz since new owners Josh Balz and James Olecki purchased the building earlier this year. A new sound system and other upgrades to the historic theater will be on display when the venue hosts local artists Another Day Dawns, Death Valley Dreams, Dustin Douglas & The Electric Gentlemen, and Look Back Luna on Saturday, Jan. 20. Tickets for that show are also on sale now.
Escape the Fate released their latest album, “Out of the Shadows,” on Sept. 1 and embarked on a nationwide headlining tour of the same name with D.R.U.G.S., Point North, Stitched Up Heart, and Garzi that culminated in a performance at the Aftershock Festival in Sacramento, California on Oct. 7.
This is their first album under Big Noise, the new label helmed by renowned collaborator and producer John Feldmann of Goldfinger fame. With a renewed energy and revitalized creative vision, the band has reached new heights. Known for their genre-defying sound, blending elements of post-hardcore, emo, and hard rock, Escape the Fate has a career spanning over 17 years and continues to push boundaries and captivate diverse audiences worldwide. The group currently features Craig Mabbitt (vocals), Robert Ortiz (drums), Erik Jensen (bass), Matti Hoffman (lead guitar), and TJ Bell (rhythm guitar), a Scranton native and former member of Motionless in White.
Formed in Pahrump, Nevada in 2005, Escape the Fate is a three-word phrase synonymous with heavy rock ‘n’ roll hooks, post-hardcore with weight, and unrelenting genre-redefining anthems built for all kinds of listeners. Over a decade into their young career, they have proven to move crowds equally at major rock radio festivals, the legendary Vans Warped Tour, or on the road with Five Finger Death Punch.
Their previous album, 2021’s “Chemical Warfare,” is the sound of a band that’s more comfortable in their own skin than ever, recharged for the next era of their career – reinvigorated and redefined, without losing any edge.
“I hope that people think of Escape the Fate as a good time, but a good time in a better way,” Mabbitt explained.
“We want people to connect deeply with the music and disappear in it – get lost and then return from the album, or show, feeling inspired about themselves. We want to make people feel better about life, to know they can take on all of its hardships. That’s what the music does for us as a band. That’s what we want it to do for the audience too.”
Mabbitt, Bell, and Ortiz have each been making music, and on the road, before they were old enough to drive. Parting ways with original vocalist Ronnie Radke in 2008, Escape the Fate has since shattered all preconceived notions about the past with a bold step forward into their future. It’s not their storied and beloved music, which regularly captures roughly two million listeners across streaming services each month, that requires any distance. It’s the decadence, drama, and retrograde “bad boy” image that they’ve left in the dust.
An authentic, visceral, and electric connection with the audience is the heart of what Escape the Fate is about. The guys understand what it means to be broken, from childhood trauma to the tumultuous downsides of the music business. They know how music can heal.
It’s what has made the band’s message transcend any sense of “difference” in genre, all around the world, touring with Avenged Sevenfold, Godsmack, Papa Roach, I Prevail, Bullet for My Valentine, Hollywood Undead, Hellyeah, All That Remains, and on multiple Warped Tours. The tangible passion and energy of the music and lyrics transcend language and culture, whether they perform at Rock on the Range, Graspop Metal Meeting, or Rock am Ring.
Smashing forward with the momentum from Billboard Top 5 Independent Album “Hate Me” (2015) and “I Am Human” (2018), which produced the Top 20 Billboard Mainstream Rock single “Broken Heart,” Escape the Fate crafted an ambitious third entry to what could certainly be described as their most powerful trilogy of albums. Made together with A-list producer John Feldmann (Panic! At the Disco, 5 Seconds of Summer, The Used) and co-produced by Kevin “Thrasher” Gruft (who was their guitarist at the time and a production pro in his own right), “Chemical Warfare” delivers an arsenal of driving bangers and melodic ballads, among the best of the hard rock world. Thrasher was working with the likes of Machine Gun Kelly and Travis Barker on other projects and running from studio to studio to create new music. His packed production schedule greatly sharpened his skill set, making the album a real show of his musical strength.
Ortiz is a big fan of megastar violinist Lindsey Stirling, so the band was elated when she accepted their invitation to contribute to one of their songs.
“She is an angel – she has so much light in her. But the primary reason I wanted to work with her… strictly speaking musically, she is gnarly. Her music is epic,” Ortiz said.
Travis Barker, best known as the drummer of Blink-182, makes a handful of appearances as well. Songs like “Lightning Strike,” “Not My Problem,” “Hand Grenade,” and “Invincible” are destined to take their place alongside classic ETF anthems like “One for the Money” and “The Flood.”
The group has always emphasized diversity in their sound. Each record seamlessly blends soaring melodic hooks, powerful riffage, shredding solos, and some of the most instantly recognizable drumming in the genre, with Mabbitt’s heartfelt, authentic, lyrical missives on top.
Escape the Fate conquered the burgeoning metalcore scene on the strength of their breakout album “This War Is Ours” (2008), which led to a major label deal and the rock crossover success of “Escape the Fate” (2011), produced by hitmaker Don Gilmore (Linkin Park, Korn, Avril Lavigne). The album hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hard Rock Albums, the first of three Escape the Fate records to debut at No. 1 or two on that chart. “Ungrateful” (2013) boasts the roaring “You’re Insane.” “Hate Me” is equally defined by stunning singles like “Just a Memory” and “Remember Every Scar.”
“I Am Human” marked the band’s second collaboration with Grammy Award-nominated producer Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Skillet, Seether). That album saw fan-favorite songs like “Empire” and “Do You Love Me?” added to the ETF songbook, but it was the title track that really blew down the doors, heralding the new chapter begun on “Chemical Warfare.”
“I started doing this because music was my ‘escape’,” Mabbitt shared. “I was running from unresolved feelings or chasing things away with a bottle. But music was always there for me. The whole experience of making ‘Chemical Warfare’ while reflecting on the other records – it was a beautiful realization to contemplate the power of music. It’s been such an escape for so many people that it puts me in my place. I become so humbled. I’m so grateful, not only that I’m still alive, but that I can get this music out of my head and that it will hopefully help some other people too.”
It may be the same guys with the same name, but it’s a brand new Escape the Fate. “We get up on that stage, we go into the studio, for different reasons now,” Mabbitt insisted.
“Throw out everything you thought you knew about this band. ‘Chemical Warfare’ is a new beginning for us.”
