Rocker Ronnie Radke trying to rise from ashes

It's an album that began in solitary confinement.

Ronnie Radke used to get in trouble, which got him in prison, where he got in more trouble.

In lockdown, all alone, serving a two-year sentence after violating his probation -- stemming from an incident in which a man, Michael Cook, was shot and killed following a confrontation with Radke -- he knew that something had to give, lest that something be him.

"I just woke up one day and was like, 'You gotta change now or you're never going to change,' " Radke recalls. "I was like, 'I'm just going to make the best record possible.' Then I just started writing. I figured I had to. There were no other options."

The album that would result, "The Drug in Me is You," the debut from Radke's new band Falling in Reverse, is raw as a fresh wound, a mix of pop buoyancy and metalcore density that seethes with betrayal, loss and eventual comeuppance.

Radke, former frontman for Vegas rockers Escape the Fate, picks scabs and fights in equal measure.

"I have learned that my fate is something I can't escape," he sings on album opener "Raised By Wolves," obviously referencing his previous band, whom he seemingly views through eyes squinted hard with anger.

The main thrust of the album is redemption, revenge and rebirth, with Radke attempting to rise from the ashes of his charred past.

"I turned tragedy, into melodies / Sold for catchy beats / It comes so naturally / So smooth and casually / That's why they call me king of the music scene."

But for all Radke's bullet-proof confidence -- dude's self-esteem is seemingly cast of iron -- there are moments of vulnerability.

"I feel the madness creeping slowly, loved by many, I'm still lonely," he sings on "The Westerner," a song that chronicles his drug abuse and his abandonment by his mother at a young age.

It's a candid record, one that has gotten off to a strong start commercially, debuting in the top 20 with more than 18,000 copies sold its first week of release in July. It's catalyzed sold-out shows, as the band is currently ensconced on its first headlining tour, which stops Friday at the House of Blues.

Radke knows that it will be an emotional night, returning home, but he has learned to confront his past.

It's the only reason he's here in the present.

"I went to prison for a reason. And I'm glad I went," he says. "I'm a totally different person now -- in a better way."

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.