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Red Doesn't Need Faces; They're Already Excellent
Posted February 03, 2011
By REDHeadsRule,


The wait is over at last. One of the most anticipated albums I've seen in a while is here. And it's already #1 on the iTunes charts. This obviously means you're looking at a band who's going to be popular for a Christian band, up there with the likes of P.O.D., Switchfoot, and Flyleaf.

So Red has released their third album, and we didn't even have to wait *that* long for it (although I'll bet it felt differently to all the Redheads out there like myself). And this is the question: What do you get when you combine Red's first two albums, but "on steroids," as the band itself put it? Well, the answer is probably not what you think.

If you combine Red's first two albums together, you'd probably think a bunch of crushing hard rock, with a few ballads, although no more than the amount in Innocence & Instinct. You'd be surprised. There's more ballads on here than Innocence & Instinct, which could easily scare one that they're going soft just like other hard rock bands.

But there's an air of heaviness on here as well. The opener, "Feed the Machine," is very aggressive and easily the heaviest thing they've ever done. "Faceless" continues this energy, although it's less heavier. This could certainly be a major hit for some people, even if it's not my favorite.

"Lie to Me (Denial)" continues the energy on (as well as having great lyrics), although it introduces a new feel to the album: it's epic. This remains through much of the rest of this album, and goes right onto into the first ballad (and possibly my favorite track), "Let It Burn." The female voice adds to the power that this song has. "Buried Beneath" and "Not Alone" continue the trend of ballads. The former is the only track that doesn't work very well on this album, and even then it's not a "skip button" track. The latter is another favorite for me, with it being epic, and having more great lyrics.

"Watch You Crawl" returns to the energy of the first three songs with an excellent guitar intro, but other than that guitar, it's surprisingly slow. "The Outside" and "Who We Are" are ones that truly return to the heaviness of the first three tracks. The former is probably the 2nd heaviest song, and while the chorus is slightly mellow, that is made up for by the insane guitar riffs and the excellent growly bridge. The former works as another great anthem akin to that of "Faceless" and "Not Alone," thus making it another likely favorite for many.

The next to last track, "Best Is Yet to Come," certainly has that epic feel to it, and while it remains a minor highlight, it's certainly got some excellent lyrics. "Hymn for the Missing" is an excellent closer, having more power than almost any other track on the album. The female voice heard on "Let It Burn" returns for this close. It's not really a song to return to over and over again like "Feed the Machine," "Let It Burn," or "The Outside," but it works brilliantly as a closer.


Reception to this album could easily get a bit mixed. Fans of End of Silence could feel cheated when they hear "Feed the Machine" and yet only "Faceless," "The Outside," and a couple others really rock like heck. Yet people who listen to pop or basic rock more often may find more stuff to like about this band than they did before. Other people (like myself) who are able to leave room for some change will have this one in their ears for months.

I admit that when I first heard Innocence & Instinct, I was kind of surprised by the amount of ballads, and I didn't think it was good as End of Silence. But eventually it grew on me, and I found it better than EOS. I still hoped they wouldn't go soft, and I still do. But after hearing this album I realize that no matter what Red does, they'll still be awesome. It seems like these guys can do absolutely no wrong. Apart from the acoustic counterpart from "Already Over," I have never heard a song from this band that I disliked. True, some aren't as good as others, but they are still worth listening to.

This album and the band itself is truly one of, if not the best Christian hard rock band currently playing. And they are still a force to be reckoned with in all genres in my opinion. This is the best CD from Red to date, and I doubt that it could not go down in a hopefully long career for them as one of their best CDs.

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13TH ANNUAL WE LOVE CHRISTIAN MUSIC AWARDS: Live Ceremony Tuesday, April 6, 2025 - Franklin, TN - Get Tix Here

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