INTERVIEW: ESCAPE THE FATE IN CONVERSATION WITH ROBERT ORTIZ
Interview by Cecilia Pattison-Levi
Las Vegas genre-busting band Escape The Fate are returning to Australia this June to bring their “emo or metalcore punk rock” songs their loyal fans here. They are also bringing along Arizona metalcore band The Word Alive for a high-octane national tour covering every capital city and a couple of regional concerts in Newcastle and Geelong.
No Barriers was so lucky to gain an interview with Robert Ortiz. He is the founding, and current drummer, for Escape the Fate. And as the sole remaining original member, he has played drums, written songs, and provided backing vocals for the band since their formation in 2004.
“We are excited about this tour. We want to get our new music out, and we are proud of the latest album ‘Redefined’,” enthused Robert Ortiz. “We feel like we are in that sweet space now. We are grateful to be musicians and loving what we are doing. Our fans have given us this great gift. As a band, we feel blessed to be playing. We are loving being on stage, we are better musicians now, and it excites us. Yes. There have been hard yards with drum practice. I never thought I’d master the drums, but our fans have supported us, and it has happened. There is no more ‘what are we supposed to do?’ We play music that excites us and the fans”.
The tour promises to be a high-energy, and Robert Ortiz was excited when stating what fans can expect. “We are going to have sets packed with variety,” he stated. “What we are going to do is have fun. We know fans still love the older albums, but we have unreleased songs we played on tour across America and our new single ‘Déjà vu’, and these songs make us feel invigorated, and the fans were energized. Yes. We will play the hits as well. We know our Australian fans are very loyal to our music. But we just know they will love the new songs as well. It will be an awesome mix”.
For more than 20 years, Escape The Fate has been at the forefront of modern hard rock.
“Yeah. It’s amazing to think we are still here,” mused Robert Ortiz. “Are we an “emo band”? Metalcore band? Rock band with punk leanings? It’s a wide spectrum. I don’t know. It’s funny to see my kids and what they think, they see any band with guitars and drums as “emo” and it’s like an umbrella term for ‘nu-metal’. But for me, we are a rock band who likes metal, and we have all these elements to us. We don’t want to be labelled nor get stuck in one lane”.
What is certain is that Escape The Fate love crafting ferocious guitar riffs, big drum attacks, soaring choruses, and stadium-ready melodies and hooks.
“We love writing music,” stated Robert Ortiz. “Every song is different. We were lucky we were around before the internet hit hard, but also lucky and able to take advantage of the new technology when it hit. The chance to experiment gave bands an edge. Playing your songs live provides the grit. No one in the band has a specific role when it comes to writing our songs, the seed of an idea can come from anyone. Then, the band craft it to tell a story, and instruments and melodies might come first, or a skeleton of a phrase or words might generate an idea, then we fight it out together until the song has a shape. We have never had a limitation on style, genre, or what makes an Escape The Fate song”.
2025’s ‘Redefined’ is an album that continues to demonstrate a band at the height of their powers, balancing crushing heaviness with anthemic rock moments.
“We are just looking forward to bringing our songs and connecting to our fans in Australia,” said Robert Ortiz. “We want fans to hear what we have been doing. We are on a mission now. And, the line-up for the tour is great with The Word Alive joining us. We hope our fans really like ‘Redefined’. We are really proud of the album, the songs and what we are writing now”.
Escape The Fate are at their cohesive best and they promise to bring Australian fans, the fun, the music, the singalongs, and moments of pure metalcore intensity.
Tickets are on sale now for Escape The Fate and The Word Alive joint Australian Tour 2026 and the dates are:
