Innocence & Instinct

RED's latest album Until We Have Faces was my second-favorite of 2011, but lately I've been coming to enjoy their previous one Innocence and Instinct even more. It's largely devoid of the crazy experimentation of their next album; instead it's pretty much the high point of the melodic, pseudo-symphonic style of metal they developed on their first album.

Instrumentation-wise, this album boasts two guitarists, unlike Until We Have Faces which makes do with one. Despite this, the guitars on this album are generally a bit less prominent, and the distinctive string instrumentation shines. RED's brand of symphonic metal is notably more aggressive and, dare I say, angsty than the European variety.

This is definitely metal for the heart rather than for the head; compositionally pretty simple with a focus on the vocals, but highly enjoyable and cathartic. Like so much power metal, and unlike RED's upcoming change in direction, this album focuses more on doing a few things extremely well than on musical exploration. It's a mix of aggressive songs whose edge is tempered by the strings, and considerably lighter ballads. Between this and Until We Have Faces, I honestly can't say which is darker.

In the first category are songs like lead single "Fight Inside", which starts off with an electronica intro before a titanic guitar riff explodes into your ears, only to disappear again for the more symphonic verse. Or the next track, "Death of Me", which has a nice blend of heavy riffs and strings simultaneously that plays with the tension quite nicely. "Start Again" is somewhat more melodic/major-key sounding than "Fight Inside", but structured pretty similarly.

I hope I'm not making it sound like all these heavy songs are carbon copies of each other. "Confession" is a very quick and aggressive with an amazing symphonic ending worthy of a European symphonic metal band. (I'm letting my Eurocentric bias show) "Overtake You" has a nice, crashingly huge chorus with double-bass drumming, though the "You come to get me but you'll end up dead" bridge is a bit off. "Forever" and "Shadows" are both more melodic, pop-inspired songs with the focus squarely on the strings.

And that takes me to the other vein running through this album: the ballads, the source of most of its variety. Not counting the quiet intro track "Canto III", Innocence and Instinct's symphonic metal attack doesn't let up until track 6, "Never Be the Same", which lets you know it's going to be different from the opening acoustic guitar. The metal sound comes back somewhat during the chorus, but over all it's definitely more on the light side. I was surprised to learn that "Ordinary World" was a Duran Duran cover, as RED does a great job on making it their own. The strings really come in handy here for giving it a beautiful, pensive mood.

The last two quiet songs are definitely on the darker side. "Take It All Away" is mostly a ballad between a quiet guitar and piano, with mournful low-key vocals. After the symphonic bridge the drums come in and the energy starts to build to an amazing conclusion that makes you want to get out a lighter and sway back and forth. Finally, the last song "Nothing and Everything" is a quiet piano version of "Fight Inside", similar to RED's two versions of "Already Over" on End of Silence. Exact same words, completely different mood.

I can understand if the above description of the music has you less than thrilled. RED is definitely a Christian band. The music is good, but the focus is on the lyrics, which come off as far more confessional than preachy, focusing on internal conflict, questions of meaning, and searching for escape from despair. (Even for a Christian band) On the one hand the lyrics may come off as whiny, but on the other they are easy to connect with and thought-provoking. "Fight Inside" is about the internal struggle we all face, as described in Romans 7 and metaphorically depicted on the album cover. "Nothing and Everything" offers an interesting mirrored look at the lyrics, from the point of view of despairing hope instead of angst.

Besides that, there are plenty of lyrics about faith, doubt, and questions about God--"Mystery of You", "Start Again", and "Never Be the Same" form a nice trilogy about realizing there is more to God than you can ever comprehend,  repenting and asking to start over in relationship with Him, and looking back on how vital He is. The lyrics are often intensely personal, even angsty, but they're never lonely or despairing. There is a definitely undercurrent of hope that I don't see in many secular lyrics. Even the Duran Duran cover works bizarrely well, with its context in the middle of the album effectively reinterpreting it.

Overall, this album has the definite mark of a great one: I enjoy it more each time I listen to it. Musically Until We Have Faces is much more interesting, but this one has much more of a gut-level impact that you can connect with readily. Give it a try if you have the chance.

And by the way, this review has been on the queue for months, but fear not; I have several newer albums that are quite deserving of full reviews that I hope to write in the next few weeks.