It’s here.
No I don’t mean baseball preseason (although it is here also). I’m talking about RED‘s New Album, “Innocence and Instinct” which just hit shelves on February 10th.
Being a RED fan since their first album, “End of Silence” earned my album of the year award in 2006, I was really anxious to see what they would deliver next. I wasn’t disappointed.
For those of you who don’t know, RED is a hard rock band with lyrics designed to make you think about things that you would normally take for granted, such as the war between your flesh and your spirit, or the subtlety of temptation.
Let’s take a look at the new album and its songs.
The album opens with another string and piano track “Canto III”, very similar to “End of Silence.” RED is nothing if not symphonic in their track layout.
Than, collectively you hold your breath as you wait for the first song, “Fight Inside.” From that moment on, the album doesn’t let off the gas except for one track. I was absolutely blown away. Tracks such as “Death of Me” and “Start Again” bring back the familiar RED signature rock anthems, while the Acoustic starting “Never Be The Same” is a nice foray into new territory.
RED also covers the Duran Duran tune “Ordinary World” on this album, staying true to the original while putting their signature sound in the middle of it.
However the song “Mystery of You” is the crowning jewel of this album. This song is an absolute masterpiece and you can tell that RED spent the majority of their time on it. I have not heard or been captured by a song like that in a long time.
All in all, this album is wonderful and although we have a lot of year left to go, something is going to have to come out of the blue to knock this one out of the number one spot on my charts this year.
Pick it up if you like bands such as:
* Three Days Grace
* Staind
* Breaking Benjamin
Four and a half out of Five Stars
