Album Review :
Red - Gone

By in Reviews | 9 Comments

Label: Essential
Release Date: October 27th, 2017

Tracklisting:

  1. Step Inside, the Violence
  2. Still Alive
  3. Losing Control
  4. Gone
  5. Coming Apart
  6. Unstoppable
  7. Fracture
  8. Chasing Your Echo
  9. A.I.
  10. Singularity

For over 10 years, Red has been a staple in the music scene rising quickly to fame from their incredible debut album. Over these years they’ve released relatively consistent solid albums. The only exception is the 2013 “Release the Panic;” a subpar and disappointing effort. On the adverse, 2015’s “Of Beauty & Rage” was the band’s greatest achievement. It was a journey through hell and escaping to heaven much like The Divine Comedy – a theme from their music since “Innocence & Instinct” in 2008. Coming off from their strongest album, how does this newest LP hold up?

Step Inside, the Violence begins the album with a thick and mean riff but with the entrance of the verse, the guitars disappear. Only vocals, ambient percussion, and synth can be heard. It’s not a new formula for Red. The style can be done effectively, however, it can also be overdone. For all this, the song serves the purpose that a first song on a hard rock album is supposed to accomplish. It gets the head moving and it’s simple.

The next three tracks are all singles released before the album. Still Alive is prime Red. It sounds like “Innocence & Instinct” but evolved. It’s heavy, fast paced, and carried with a synth that compliments in all the right places. Best of all, the song ends with a vicious riff and Michael Barnes signature scream. Losing Control is served similarly. The two singles are classic Red, showcasing the sound we’ve come to love for so long now.

The title track is where things get dicey. The near ever-present synth begins with a build-up on the drums and disappear again with the verse.  The chorus is catchy, but more importantly, the lyrics hit  home. Red has a way of either writing songs in one of two ways. A song can either be vague to the point of being a cliché lyrical track, or one that is like a razor sharp knife cutting into all your heartstrings. Barnes’ asks in the chorus, “When I’m gone, When I fade away, Is the air I breathe my only legacy? When I’m gone.” Lyrically the song is a memorable one, but musically is endlessly confusing. The song turns into a pop song on the Top 40 along the likes Taylor Swift or maybe Owl City. This synth that nearly goes into light dubstep absolutely ruins the feel of the song. It’s forced, and makes no sense.

Coming Apart is a nice change of pace with the album’s first ballad. Even though it does again, carry the synth, it’s used in a secondary fashion. The center of the song isn’t the synth, it’s the vocals, the drums, and piano.

However, this is where the album goes downhill once again. The next track, Unstoppable is best used by hitting the skip button. Sometimes it’s best to leave pop songs alone. The Sia cover seems forcibly placed in the album but has no business being there. The lyrics like I said before are one of two things. “I’m unstoppable, I’m running with no brakes, I’m invincible, Yeah, I win every single game, I’m so powerful, I don’t need batteries to play, I’m so confident, I’m unstoppable today.” When you pair these adolescent lyrics with the pop-esque way they’re delivered, the song is still a mediocre pop song, not even Red can save it.

“Gone” returns to its previous glory with Fracture and Chasing Your Echo. Singularity closes the album on an intriguing note. The five minute track builds slowly around Barnes’ soaring vocals that touch on a haunting nature. A spoken word part comes in almost like a radio broadcast speaking equally haunting words. “It is dark, because it is darkness. It is over, because it is the end.” The song explodes into chaos with screams and heaviness and disappears quickly into a ranging synth and closes with just the radio broadcast-like voice.

Such an amazing end to a strange and confusing album. Red is a tremendous band and each musician is talented and devoted to what they do. But this album has too many weak points. When stood up against their previous album, the magnificent and dark “Of Beauty & Rage,” there’s too much missing.

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Dave
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Dave
November 16, 2017 6:59 am

Of Beauty and Rage still remains my favorite Red album, but I still have found plenty to enjoy with Gone. It’s not as artistically cohesive as the last record, but it still is a very enjoyable listen from start to finish. One thing that I noticed with Red is that they have included a lot more hooks in these last two albums. They are certainly more memorable to me and tend to draw me back for repeated listens.

Austin Garrett
Member
Austin Garrett
November 9, 2017 11:39 am

I find a lot of good points in your review, but don’t see how an electronic pop cover and electronic influenced title track equate to “too many weak points.” While I personally have a love/hate relationship with the presence of synth and drum machines in hard rock/metal, I find the second half of the album uses it effectively and creates a sonic tension that goes perfectly with the Man vs. Machine theme that unfolds in Fracture, Chasing Your Echo, Singularity and A.I. There’s also a digital-only Deluxe Edition which includes new and re-worked tracks that did not make the standard… Read more »

Austin Garrett
Member
Austin Garrett
November 9, 2017 11:44 am
Reply to  Austin Garrett

I was referring to the album closer Singularity, not A.I.

Alastair
Guest
November 8, 2017 2:09 pm

Their debut is still one of the best debuts of all time. Losing Control really reminds me of End of Silence, so that’s really cool. I’ve barely listened to this band since Innocence & Instinct, but Losing Control really draws me back in.

Brandon Ivy
Member
November 12, 2017 4:38 pm

What if they had covered a Peter Furler song, instead of Peter Furler’s cousin’s song

John
Member
John
November 8, 2017 10:11 pm

Completely agree about “Unstoppable.” It doesn’t fit at all and is a huge misstep, in my opinion. I didn’t realize it was a cover the first time I heard it, but I knew almost immediately that they didn’t write the lyrics. It’s a serviceable cover, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s not a good song to begin with. I’m honestly surprised they went with that song when the one other cover (only?) they’ve done was Duran Duran’s “Ordinary World,” which was fantastic. There is part of me that wants to like the title track, but I agree, once… Read more »

WarriorSam
Member
November 9, 2017 1:56 pm

Totally agree on this review.. Of Beauty & Rage was such a great album.. i had high hopes after hearing Losing Control but it is just a big let down…

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