Escape The Fate + Blessthefall @ Fairmount Theatre in Montreal 2019

Fairmount Theatre brought me back to the year 2009, with bands Escape The Fate and Blessthefall joining forces to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of their records: This War Is Ours and Witness, respectively. The venue was already more crowded than when I saw Like Moths To Flames a couple of nights ago as the throwback definitely brought out fans of all ages there. For a couple of hours, these bands brought the angsty/emo teenager I was back to life, and it was amazing!

Blessthefall was the first of the two bands bringing their ’09 classics back to life, starting off with “2.0”, a rousing intro to set the mood just right for the rest of the night. Fun fact, the album Witness was actually the first one with Beau Bokan as the lead singer, shortly after former singer Craig Mabbitt (now Escape The Fate’s singer) left the band. This album announced that Blessthefall was back and ready to bring it. Frontman Beau Bokan and the band continued with “What’s Left of Me” and “To Hell and Back”, showing that even 10 years after this album was released, they still had it in them to be on top of their game, shredding riffs and shining like the stars they are. Next was “God Wears Gucci”. Despite, an awful title (let’s admit it), this song is highly enjoyable, whether it’s on the record or live. Bokan and Warth had great interactions with the crowd throughout their set, asking them to reach for the sky (aka put their hands in the air), move more, and obviously requesting them to do circle pits over and over. The crowd gladly delivered and it’s safe to say Blessthefall fans had the time of their lives at the Fairmount Theatre.

I won’t lie, the first half of this album is my favourite by far, and “Hey Baby, Here’s That Song You Wanted” is for me the highlight of it and it somewhat goes a bit downhill from here (my personal opinion). It’s still a good listen but not quite as enjoyable as the first part of it. However, getting to experience the entire album live brought me the full experience and made me reconsider my opinion, especially with the rendition of “You Deserve Nothing and I Hope You Get Less” that I truly loved with the fun interplay between the drums and guitar. The band finished their Witness set with “Stay Still”, before moving on to some of their greatest hits, including “Wishful Sinking”, “Cutthroat”, “Hollow Bodies”, and “You Wear A Crown But You’re No King”. All in all, Blessthefall mastered their set perfectly, providing us with a great throwback experience, making me wish I paid more attention to them last time I saw them at Warped Tour!

Escape The Fate was next and last, making us rediscover their iconic album This War Is Ours. I can’t even tell you how many times I listened to this album as a teenager, but it was probably one of my top albums growing up, with From Under The Cork Tree, Ocean Avenue, and Homesick. It was also the first Escape The Fate album recorded with Craig Mabbitt, right after Ronnie Radke left the band. The band kicked things off with “We Won’t Back Down”, a blazing, anthemic and catchy song that showed us what to expect for the next hour with the band. “On To The Next One” was next, followed by “Ashley” and “Something”. Despite the pretty abysmal lyrics of the last two songs, it was impossible not to sing along and have a great time. Everyone around me knew the lyrics and was ready to mosh like there was no tomorrow. Frontman Craig Mabbitt even joined the crowd during “The Flood” to get a better feeling of what was going on among his fans. Fans were also eager to join the band on stage and some rando didn’t hesitate and went as far as to take the microphone during “You Are So Beautiful” and sang for 30 seconds or so alongside with Craig Mabbitt and the rest of the band, quite epic if you ask me! The band wasn’t mad at him, they looked like they were having an amazing time, just like the rest of us. “This War Is Ours (The Guillotine II)”, one of their best metalcore tracks, was next and was a delight to experience live. It fired like a metalcore cannon aimed at the crowd that kept shooting through every note. It hit hard and kept the crowd awake and asking for more. Right after finishing up with the last song of the album, “It’s Just Me”, the band, just like Blessthefall right before them, moved on to some of their greatest hits. These included “Do You Love Me?”, “Empire”, and “Gorgeous Nightmare” among others. Escape The Fate proved that even after 15 years of existence (and 10 with Craig Mabbitt as a lead singer), they still have what it takes to give their fans some of the best live experiences they could ask for.

Blessthefall Setlist