this is a 100% escape the fate blog, if you have any questions about the band or if you just want to nerd out with me then you should definitely message me!Ā š
please read my bullshit Iām onto something I want thoughtsā¦.TLDR below and full analysis or whatever below.
warning: mention/discussion of grooming
THEORY SUMMARY:
Escape The Fateās most recent song, Idle Potential is be about vocalistās Craig Mabbitās relationship with kicking out his bassist TJ Bell and the guilt of being oblivious and āidleā to his bandmate taking advantage of fans.
evidence and analysis below!!
My first point before we get into the song lyrics itself, is the title of the song. I believe itās a play on āidolā which often teens see other musicians as, and TJ Bell was likely not an expectation to that rule, which, like most predators, gives him a position of power, and potential to groom the people he chose to victimize, while Craig remained āidleā (in a sense) and unaware of the violation that someone he called his friend was causing to other people. So, thus the title Idle Potential.
The hourglass on the songās cover could represent so many things, but I like to imagine itās representing how Craig knows in post that somehow he was going to find out eventually.
Now, onto a lyrical analysis to support the theory, I wonāt cover every line, just verses that I feel are relevant.
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First Verse:
I shed my skin the weight of what I was/A little less regret a little more because/The cracks reveal a better view/
I fall apart and flow into/Another day, another fight/I'm wishing for another life/Got these memories I can't forget/A fragile mind is cancerous.
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This verse goes into Craigās realization and him finding out about the abuse, āthe cracks reveal a better viewā plus āgot these memories I canāt forgetā support this idea. He also acknowledges his guilt growing the more people come out about what TJ did to them.
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Chorus :
I've been wakin' up to the same old messs/Been tryna find a way outta this distress/Stuck up in my head/Knowin' I got idle, idle potential
Got a lotta trauma I can't address/And a million things that I should forget/Runnin' round my head/Knowin' I got idle, idle potential
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This one I find to be a little less sufficient, but I believe it describes Craig post-finding out, and trying to put together what heās supposed to say to the public, and how to remain professional despite all of it. (āstuck in my headā, āI got a lot of trauma I canāt addressā and ārunning around my headā)
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Second Verse:
They say the climb is worth the fall/But Iāve been bleedinā just to crawl/I see a stranger in the mirror/Searchinā for myself in all the failures
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Craig canāt even recognize himself for letting something like what TJ did fly right past him āI see a stranger in the mirrorā, āSearching for myself in all the failuresā could be a further explanation of his guilt.
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Third Verse:
Oh, I wanna know/Is everything Iāve done a waste? I wanna know/Am I a memory just lost in time? A losing fight?/I pick the scars, ignore the signs/ I know, there's no going back
/I know, I gotta face the facts/ I know, put trust in the process/Meditate, medicate, manifest
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This is a big one. He feels like heās been manipulated himself to giving TJ the platform to hurt the people around him. He feels like he was useless to TJ, and only a tool. Craig acknowledges that he picked up on little signs but brushed them off as nothing, and now he knows he canāt go back and correct himself (āI wanna know is everything I done a wasteā, āI pick the scars, ignore the signsā, āI know I gotta face the factsā).
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(Repeated Chorus)
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Bridge:
I wanna reach a higher frequency/Got no one to blame, no one to blame but me/I wanna reach a higher frequency, oh/No one to blame, no one to blame but me
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Self explanatory I believe, unsure if the higher frequency is a metaphor for something? But otherwise, Craig blames himself for not taking the signs he saw seriously.
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(Repeated chorus + end of song)
ANDDDDD thatās the end of my theory!!
Genuinely, let me know what you feel about the song and my theory. This song is incredible and it really resonated with me based after my own life experiences. Hopefully you found this as interesting as did I. I would love confirmation on it but no way are we gonna be told that. āļøš
Maybe Iām delusional and just hate TJ Bell so bad I made this all up but whatever I think Iām onto something. Repost ts to Reddit or something with credit or something I need this out there LMFAOā¦
random ass sketchbook finds yayyyy (all escape the fate related youāre welcome
this Craig one is killing me I caught the look of his scary ass venires like sir yes I get it you got your teeth gutted but I miss that āfucked upā grin šš
MAYBE Iām asking you too soon, given while Iām writing this it just came out today, but whatās your thought on Idle Potential?
Generally Iām lowkey thrown off a bit because itās miles (maybe ten miles but I might be reaching) better than Deja Vu which lowkey felt like a hate crime to me LMAO, and I have to wonder what drugs they gave them to lock back in.
Plus, cover is BEAUTIFUL my god. Iād love a shirt design based after it. Thatās enough of my dogshit yappingā¦ So whatās the verdict, chief?
I'm going to be completely 100% honest here as this blog is the only place on the entire internet where i speak my whole truth
I haven't listened to a new escape the fate song since maybe 2021
I just remember sitting down and going to listen to Chemical warfare and being so disappointed by it because it didn't sound at all like escape the fate to me, and I'd been feeling that way more and more since I am Human came out, and then when Kevin thrasher left I was just over that feeling of being let down by them
DO NOT GET ME WRONG I still love and adore escape the fate I just live in the past and am out of the loop with anything from recent years
What I'm getting from you is that I should give Idle potential a go but I'm SCARED
What do you think about the drama of ETF currently? Now that I think it all makes sense when TJ was kicked out and hinted at being betrayed by the band. If anything Ronnie has against TJ is false then I'll have to be honest, I'm kinda disappointed at the band, mostly Craig. :(
I'm disappointed but not surpised
To be honest, I kind of assume every famous band member has done some really shitty things. I wanna believe that TJ hasn't done what Ronnie accused him of but in reality the vast majority of guys in that scene have done creepy shit, including Ronnie himself
It does suck that Craig and Robert thought it would be the best option to boot TJ out instead of sticking by him but I really don't think there would be a "right" decision : (
I nearly had a heart attack casually scrolling ig on my lunch break to see Monte and Max teasing a rerecord or new installment of the Guillotine?? HELLO???????
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