Red excels at conveying passion and intensity. Frontman Michael Barnes can scream, but effectively mixes it with clear "normal" vocals to maximize the impact. I've always appreciated how well the band layers strings in with the crunching guitars, varying between peaceful passages and raging emotion to keep our attention with variety that eliminates the boredom caused by albums that never vary.
"Fight Again" is simply Romans 7 set to hard rock:
All the pain, I want it to end / But I want it again / And it finds me / The fight inside is coursing through my veins / And it's raging / The fight inside is hurting me again / And it finds me / The war within me pulls me under / And without You / The fight inside is breaking me again.
"Mystery of You" stands out as a passionate prayer of longing for wholeness:
You always said we'd meet again / You always said you'd be here / You touch the deepest part of me / The places I could not save / Just tell me why I'm so dark inside
The band surprises us with a cover of Duran Duran's "Ordinary World," which works a lot better than you might guess and is actually one of the stand-outs. "Start Again" starts with a sound vaguely reminiscent of "November Rain" by Guns'n'Roses, opening with piano and a swelling orchestral part. Barnes pleads, "Can we start again?" as he confesses his failures. Much of Innocence & Instinct carries that confessional tone of failure and regret in a fallen world, like the cry of desperation, "Out From Under," one of the most powerful tracks.
If you're looking for pat answers, Innocence & Instinct won't provide them--rather it's an honest cry in the darkness, carrying a glimmer of hope that Someone greater is the only answer.
Visit Red.