Noisecreep is proud to host an exclusive weekly Escape the Fate tour diary while the band treks around the country with Five Finger Death Punch, Miss May I and Gemini Syndrome this fall. In this first installment, drummer Robert Ortiz discusses the beginnings of the trek and the relationships formed with their new tour mates. He also opens up about the return of bassist Max Green and the band's current vitality onstage.

Tour Diary, Chapter 1: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

After a hectic start to our tour with Five Finger Death Punch, Miss May I, and Gemini Syndrome, the tour has settled into a great flow. I don't often become great friends with the bands that we tour with but so far, just about everyone in every band has been super cool. I have especially become great friends with the guys in Miss May I. They pretty much saved our asses at the start of tour. Our gear was all in disarray and they totally helped us out to get through the first shows.

Since then we've become workout buddies. I know it's lame to a lot of people, but when you've been sober for a few years and need some sort of mental escape on the road, hitting the gym works wonders. I've been teaching those dudes to get ripped and they've now joined my #EscapeTheFat journey. Hopefully I can put my own plan into action with them.

Five Finger Death Punch have all been really cool. Ivan has kind of taken us under his wing and made sure that we got everything that we need. Most headlining acts don't really care too much for what the opening bands look or sound like on stage, or what they go through to get to the stage, they just want to make sure the opening bands don't f--- with their s--t. That is certainly not the case with FFDP or their entire crew. They've taken care of us and want to make sure the entire show kicks ass from start to finish. This is awesome to me considering I'm actually a really big fan of FFDP. A lot of times, and I'm sure this probably applies to me (definitely know this applies to me in the past), I'll meet artists that I love and it makes me not feel the same way about them. Meeting them actually made me like them even more.

I'm normally not this optimistic or grateful for everything, but this tour is really f---ing cool so far. I genuinely don't have much to complain about.

As for the reason we do this, the shows, well they have been kicking absolute ass. Sure it was a rough start but we survived and are now in full swing. Having Max back was certainly scary for all of us. For one the trust factor of whether or not he is truly sober was a giant concern. So far, he has proven to us and more importantly to himself that he is fully clean and committed to his sobriety. I feel like he understands at this point that his whole life, not just his career, relies on him staying clean. Maybe this newfound lease on life has given him an extra boost on stage because his energy level is intense. It feels great to share the stage with him every night. I can't wait for all our fans to see us, especially those who thought they'd never see us on stage together again.

Feeling stoked.

Robert, Escape The Fate

Our thanks to Escape the Fate's Robert Ortiz for this first installment of Escape the Fate's weekly tour diary. If you haven't picked up Escape the Fate's 'Ungrateful' album, it's currently available at this location. The band's dates with Five Finger Death Punch continue through Oct. 20. See the remaining itinerary below.

Escape the Fate With Five Finger Death Punch

10/4 -- Fargo, N.D. -- Concert Hall at the Venue
10/5 -- Milwaukee, Wis. -- Eagles Ballroom
10/6 -- Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Orbit Room
10/8 -- Detroit, Mich. -- Fillmore
10/9 -- Niagara Falls, N.Y. -- Rapids Theater
10/10 -- Clifton Park, N.Y. -- Upstate Concert Hall (with Miss May I)
10/11 -- Providence, R.I. -- Lupo's
10/12 -- New York, N.Y. -- Best Buy Theater
10/13 -- Lancaster, Pa. -- Freedom Hall
10/15 -- Raleigh, N.C. -- The Ritz
10/17 -- Bossier City, La. -- Century Tel Arena
10/18 -- Tulsa, Okla. -- Brady Theater
10/19 -- Kansas City, Mo. -- Midland Theater
10/20 -- Springfield, Mo. -- Shrine Mosque

Escape the Fate Begin Arena Set-Up Pre-Show

Photo Courtesy of Escape the Fate
Photo Courtesy of Escape the Fate
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