Exclusive: Ronnie Radke Says Ex-Escape The Fate Guitarist Stole His Songs While He Was In Prison

February 27, 2015

Falling In Reverse frontman Ronnie Radke has accused ex-Escape The Fate guitarist and founding member Monte Money of ripping off his musical ideas, including some of his songwriting, while he was in prison.

Radke, himself a founding member and former vocalist of ETF, sat down with Music Feeds just a few hours before taking the stage with his former band for the Falling In Reverse & Escape The Fate Bury The Hatchet Soundwave Festival sideshow in Sydney, and said Money had stolen his ideas for the Guillotine song series.

The Guillotine was written and recorded while Radke was still frontman for the ETF, and the musical saga has just been given its closing chapter in the form of Guillotine IV (The Final Chapter), a cut from Falling In Reverse’s new album, Just Like You, which was released in Australia last Friday.

In an interview for Music Feeds LIVE, interviewer Mike Hohnen asked whether The Final Chapter was a statement to fans, or to the bands involved in the series, and Radke delved into the song’s coloured history.

“I already had a talk with ETF, or the singer, Craig [Mabbitt]. I told him, ‘Hey, I’m gonna put this as the final chapter.’ It has nothing to do with him. He really doesn’t care.

The old guitar player in Escape The Fate was the one that was continuing the ‘Guillotine’s. I don’t mean to talk crap, but he would steal my stuff, like, my ideas. He did that with a lot of people, though.

‘The Guillotine’ – it was my idea to make these sequels, but I couldn’t ’cause I went to prison. So Monte [Money] stole my idea, along with some of my songwriting too. He made [‘Guillotine’] ‘II’ and ‘III’, and I never got a chance to do it.

I wanted to create a sequel to it, so I was like, “Alright, there’s three of ’em?” I could have made ‘The Guillotine II’ and pretended like theirs never existed. I thought that would’ve been rude and I didn’t want fans to get upset since there’s a ‘Bury The Hatchet’ [tour].

And I just think it’s, like, cooler. It’s like a ‘Star Wars’ thing where you’re adding to it instead of going against it.”

The frontman also dropped some exciting bonus news for fans. After the band’s first visit to Australia wraps up, fans may not have to wait long for their return.

“We’re talking about coming back to Australia and doing a headlining tour,” Radke added. “Definitely this album cycle. So if not this year then the very beginning of next year.”

Check out the full Music Feeds LIVE interview with Ronnie Radke here.