Red

Of Beauty And Rage

Written by: PP on 13/08/2015 23:51:14

While most people commonly believe nu-metal and post-grunge to be dead, the truth is that within the mainstream rock circles especially in the United States this is far from the case. A multitude of bands from Taproot to Chevelle to, yes, Red have successfully carved a niche for themselves with arena-sized shows to mostly Midwestern and Southern audiences without bothering to do much promo across the pond. It's no coincidence I mention two of the better bands in the same sentence as Red, because unlike Default, Nickelback and other post-grunge artists roughly qualifying in the same group of artists, they actually have delivered a few enjoyable nu-metal albums to date considering the genre they are established in.

For their fifth album "Of Beauty And Rage", they've notched up ambition levels significantly. While intro track "Descent" and real opener "Imposter" are your quintessential expansive soundscape nu-metal tracks with orchestral instrumentation adding for dramatic flair, "Shadow And Soul" is where the album begins to take form. It is namely here that their Muse-worship begins to take form. Everything from the classical piano through the riffs to especially the majestic vocal performance is straight off Matthew Bellamy's songbook - of course with classical violins creating further drama in the background - with the exception of backing screams that give the song a heavier edge. There's no denying the song is excellent: the singing talent on display is enough to make most girls drool for the rock star charisma of singer Michael Barnes, while the dynamics of the song overall highlight songwriting prowess few nu-metal oriented bands possess in general.

"Of These Chains" also Muse-esque, but in between the band sandwiches more straight-forward nu metal tracks like "Fight To Forget" that are a little bit too heavy for the Muse parallel. Here, Taproot and Chevelle are closer references, although Red goes to almost metallic lengths for their soundscape occasionally. It's a very complete package with solid production values keeping the dramatic effects at bay just enough to make it feel like the band have their feet on the ground, while still providing for echoing, majestic soundscapes suitable for the arena-sized stages. It's exactly the formula that Muse have excelled at, and although Red go to great lengths separating themselves from the alternative rockers through a heavier style, it's not exactly a secret which band lies behind this newfound inspiration.

Either way, Red surprise again with a relatively fresh interpretation of nu-metal on their newest album. It's less formulaic than many of their counterparts, offers lots of catchy melodies, but not at the cost of good composition neither instrumentally nor vocally. If there's one nu-metal band you should get into in 2015, it's Red.

Download: Shadow And Soul, Fight To Forget, Imposter
For the fans of: Taproot, Chevelle, Muse
Listen: Facebook

Release date 24.05.2015
Essential Records

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