Red [Innocence & Instinct]
Posted February 23, 2009
By KevinDavis_NRT, Staff Reviewer
I only really knew Red’s hit songs “Breathe Into Me”, “Already Over” and “Let Go” before I first heard “Fight Inside” in January, 2009. Since then I have listened to the rest of “Innocence & Instinct” and the rest of “End Of Silence” almost daily over the past couple of weeks and I’m truly a fan of this band now. Since getting hooked by the amazing music and excellent vocals by Mike Barnes, I’ve had some time to listen more closely to the themes of both albums. Just today, the lyrics of “Start Again” really struck me, particularly the idea of how God gives us another chance when we mess up “what if I want to make it right, what if I give it up, what if you take a chance, what if I learn to love, what if we start again”. There are some other songs with seeker-filled lyrics like the closer “Take It All Away” which includes the bridge “I'm breaking, I can't do this on my own, Can You hear me screaming out? Am I all alone?”
The cover of Duran Duran’s “Ordinary World” is one of my favorite songs on the album along with “Never Be The Same”, which is a wonderful ballad and reminded me of the softer songs on “End Of Silence” like “Pieces” and the softer parts of “Lost”. I especially love the chorus of “Never Be The Same”: “I'll never be the same, I'm caught inside the memories, the promises, our yesterdays when I belonged to You, I just can't walk away, ‘Cause after loving You, I can never be the same.” I am so impressed by the music and production mingling the harder rock guitars, soft strings and the emotive vocals of Mike Barnes, I am even starting to enjoy the ‘screaming’ in some of the harder songs like “Fight Inside”, “Death Of Me”, “Confession” and “Out From Under”.
The message of many of the songs is very positive and although Red has had mainstream success, I don’t question the spiritual seeking nature of the lyrics, which are naturally much more Christ-centered than mainstream metal bands like Linkin Park that many have accurately compared to Red. If you like Pillar, Linkin Park and 80’s hard rock bands Motley Crue and Judas Priest, then you’ll enjoy Red. View All Music And Book Reviews By KevinDavis_NRT | View KevinDavis_NRT's Profile
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