Customer Reviews

End Of Silence

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Prior to last Sunday, I had no idea who Red were. I went to see Kutless for one of the shows on their "Hearts of the Innocent" tour. Red was one of the opening acts, along with Disciple and Run Kid Run. They only played four songs, but I was thoroughly impressed.

To be perfectly honest, when Red came out on stage I thought "hey, their singer, is that Chris Daughtry (of American Idol fame)?" to myself, hah. But while frontman Michael Barnes and Mr. Daughtry may look somewhat similar, the former by far has more vocal talent. Mike puts such an undeniable passion behind every lyric he sings, and the man has a phenomenal stage presence as well. The other band members are no slouches either. Right after their four-song set, I went to Red's merchandise booth and picked up my copy of "End of Silence." Now, with many CDs I have purchased, it was mainly because I heard a single I liked and ended up only liking two or three other songs. This is not so with "End of Silence." Every song on here has the words "hit single" written all over it.

The only song I'm not entirely crazy about is "Lost," but even that one is excellent. Standouts for me include "Breathe Into Me," "Let Go," "Already Over" (and its acoustic counterpart "Already Over, Pt. 2"), "Pieces," and "Hide." These guys take an aggressive hard rock sound and seamlessly mix it with spine-chilling piano, emotive string arrangements, and some of the most passionate vocals I have heard in ages. Whether Mike is crooning beautifully or letting out an in-your-face hardcore style scream, you feel every word he is saying. The instrumentation is also great; having two guitarists (Jasen Rauch and Anthony Armstrong) allows the band to experiment sonically a bit more than others in their genre, backed up by a tight rhythm section comprised of bassist Randy Armstrong (Anthony's brother) and drummer Hayden Lamb.

Upon first listen, one might not be inclined to believe that Red are a Christian rock band. But all you have to do is listen closely to their lyrics to see that they are all about glorifying the Lord. Take the chorus of "Already Over" as an example: "I give it all to you, letting go of me, reaching as I fall. I know it's already over now. Nothing left to lose, nothing you won't do. I know it's already over, already over now." My interpretation of this song is that it is about one who feels like they are at the end of their proverbial rope and feels like giving up, but instead of relying on their own imperfect understanding they give their problem(s) over to God and let Him handle it, and that alone makes the end of their misery that much closer.

Several artists, both Christian and secular, have been cited as influential to Red's sound. Personally, I hear traces of each of the following: Breaking Benjamin, 30 Seconds to Mars, Blindside, Kutless, Linkin Park (save the hip-hop beat driven parts of their sound), Killswitch Engage, and even a little bit of Howie Day (tell me with a straight face that "Pieces" doesn't sound something like Day's hit single "Collide"). Still, despite all of these influences, Red have their own unique sound that is distinguishable from other bands in the Christian rock realm. I think a big reason for this is Mike Barnes' unique vocal stylings, but that's just my opinion.

So yeah, to sum this review up, buy this album. Whether you are totally into Christian music or are not even remotely religious and can't stand it, pick it up anyway. It is chock full of great tunes that just about anyone can get into.

I was fortunate enough to see this band live in concert, but I didn't particularly like them at first because I'm not much into screamo music. Don't get me wrong- they are crazy, passionate, and entertaining live- it just didn't seem like my cup of tea.

But I bought their album anyway and I'm glad I did...

While the CD still contains the same craziness and hardcore passion, the screaming is balanced out by excellent musical composition and magnificent lyrics. It is very well done, and after listening to it more in depth, I would love to see them live again.

Like any of Disciple's albums, this CD is also great to give to non-Christian friends who enjoy this type of sound...they may be surprised to learn that the music they're rocking out to is all about Jesus. (Even the name of the band- "Red"- is a reference to the blood of Christ.)

Certainly a must have for any fan of Christian rock/alternative.

Every year or so, there is one CD or band that comes along in the music world and somehow stands out among the others surrounding it on the shelves in the Music Store. For 2006, Red is one of these bands.

Listening to the entire CD, I find a unique, non-repetitive sound with solid lyrics and a hardcore message. Red conquers the world of hard/alternative rock and becomes one of those bands that you cannot easily place in a genre when you start talking about the difference between rock, hard rock, alternative, etc.. Red makes their own style and sounds and compels you to keep checking their website to learn when their next release will be on shelves in stores.

I can honestly say that RED was one of my favorite new bands of 2006 and I very much look forward to their Sophomore album which I anticipate will be an even bigger hit.

The Good

Originally released 6-6-06, the Nashville rockers deliver an expanded edition of their debut album as a treat to their devout fans. "Breathe Into Me" has thick bass lines that mix well with the meaty guitar riffs. Vocalist Mike Barnes is powerful and passionate in his delivery. "Already Over" uses haunting piano to set the dark tone. Subtle drums and guitar fuzz add texture to the lyrics.

"Lost" treads emotional ground with tortured vocals and enduring choruses. There is also an acoustic version at the end of the album. Heavy riffage and fiery wails are brought out on "Wasting Time," but that's not to say it doesn't focus on vocal melodies though. "Already Over, Part 2" revisits its predecessor with and even darker tone. Only this time the band swaps the piano for soft strings and acoustic guitars.

The deluxe edition adds a bonus DVD of a special "invitation only" live performance (in 5.1 sound) that Red put on for their fans in Nashville, Tennessee. The DVD also contains a documentary on the making of the album, plus interviews and backstage tour footage.

The Bad

Nothing notable

The Verdict

You may be asking yourself, how can a band I never heard of have a deluxe version of their album? I was thinking the same thing, until I took a listen. Then I was asking myself, why haven't I heard of this band? Red mix strong and powerful rock music with dynamic vocals on their debut album. Isn't that what all rock fans are looking for?

Red's album, End of Silence, starts out a little eerie, and slowly kicks in with an awesome riff and solid drums. The songs on this album span a large range of musical spectrums. From the guitar heavy songs "Let Go" and "Already Over" then CD starts to go in a completely different direction. The songs get symphonic and have several keyboard driven moments. For me, I was expecting solid rock from front to back, and though I do like to hear programming, sampling, and keyboards in hard rock bands, I wasn't expecting the music to change so drastically. Red do the rock thing a lot better than they do the ambient/experiement thing. The album does still get 4 stars, due to some really killer rock songs that are included, but I do find myself skipping past quite a few tracks to find my favorites.

This is one of best CD's from any group from any genre (and believe me, I listen to everything)that I heard in a long time. The songs are written so well with tempo changes that take you on a roller coaster ride of emotion. A ride that once it's over you want to go on it again and again. The orchestration really adds to the songs and it doesn't wimp out the songs (this band rocks!!) in fact, it adds to their emotional intensity.

Before I bought this CD I read other reviewers complaints of how short the CD is with only 11 songs but, I'll tell you, I'd rather have 11 superbly written songs with no filler than more songs with some sounding like they were written on the fly just to make the CD longer. There's no filler here, just masterpiece musicianship. I can't wait for their next one. Red's only dilemma is how do you top this one?

My ultimate favorite song is "Breathe Into Me" but their are so many songs that come close it's really not fair to them even to have one. The strings have a Led Zeppelinesque feel to them sometimes (i.e, Kashmir). The piano work is worthy of mention in the same breath as Chopin or Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" due to the emotion behind the playing.

Still haven't bought it?! What are you waiting for?!! You need to end your silence!!!!

End of Silence is a collection of power rock with a couple of very good songs.

My daughter is a fan of Red and I recently went to a concert with her where Red was one of the featured bands. I had listened to the CD a couple of times before we went so that I would have some familiarity with them first.

I am not normally a fan of hard rock, but this group has at least two songs that are very good - 'Breathe Into Me' and 'Pieces'. They still have very heavy guitar music. 'Breathe Into Me' in particular has vocals that are virtually screams, but it works on this song.

The lyrics are good. There are none of the typical hard rock type words in them. While I wouldn't want to have a steady diet of music like this, I do find this album pretty good and the songs mentioned above to be very good.

If you have teenagers who likes hard rock, this would be a good CD to give them.

I bought RED's cd last week and I've been addicted to it ever since. They are my favorite new band at this moment. They're right up to par with the style of Linkin Park (my all time fav band). My favorite tracks are: 1,2,3,4,6 and 9. Tracks: 5 and 10 are a little too slow for my taste but the lyrics are good. Tracks: 7 and 8 are upbeat and good, but not my favs. The drums and guitars and vocals are just crazy!!!! I recommend you to buy this cd if you want to hear a great, new hard rock/alternative Christian band, its worth it!

Why must people continually make comparisons to other works? These guys sound nothing like Linkin Park, they sound like RED. Ever think that they have their own style, no matter what your twisted little brains tell you, They have very much a different style than LP. Don't get me wrong, I love LP, but these guys are great in their own way.

Anyway, I bought this cd for the song Breathe Into Me (who didn't?), and I am very impressed with the rest of the cd. I was a little surprised for the "Christioan Rock" categorization, but there have been others that surprised me in this way as well. This bands vocals, guitars, percussions, pianos and strings are all VERY well done, and make every second of this production worth the listen. A bold piece, all the tracks here are the best one.

Where did they come from? I was looking to get the new Linkin Park but after I read mixed reviews people were actually recommending RED so I gave it a shot. RED gets more play than the new Linkin Park now. Great CD, no need to fast forward, just put it in and let it play.