Review: Red- Gone

Grammy nominated band Red is what you get when you put punk, rock, electronica, and blood in a blender. Their latest album- Gone is just that. A mosh pit-worth collection of 17 songs (on the deluxe version). Championing survival through the worst life has to throw at you, this rollercoaster of an album is an excellent for road trips. It features an incredible range of sounds, from hard hitting “Step Inside, The Violence“ to softer and more emotional “Coming Apart”. Step Inside, The Violence: This song will make you understand what I mean by ‘blood in the blender’. It’s raw, emotional, and hard hitting, especially Michael Barnes’s ripping vocals. Still Alive: I can’t wait to see this song live. Enough said. Losing Control: While a classic Red song it’s good but doesn’t stand out from the rest of their previous work. Gone: Red pulled off a precise balance between the hard rock chorus and the softer verses for a great song. Coming Apart: Here, everything slows down, diving into dealing with, or not, loss. It’s a beautiful tribute to the band’s wide range of musical talent. Unstoppable: This power ballad rocks hard while maintaining an element of class. This is the song for long nights when you need a pick-me-up. If RED believes in you, than you can do anything. Chasing Your Echo: This song is stainless steel. Smooth and cold, with very sharp edges. A.I.: Combining futuristic and classic, this jam rises and falls so many times, I got dizzy. The instrumentals fell to the background when they actually hold all the power. The Mask Slips Away: This one hits right at home talking about giving up on pretenses and letting yourself fall apart every now and then. It’s piano is gorgeous and sweet. This unplugged ballad features a beautiful piano and even a bit of cello. Prepare for the emotions. Still Alive (Looking For A Reason): Having two songs with the same title get too confusing, which is unfortunate as this is one of the best on the album. Gone (JSapp Remix): This took a beautiful song and turned it into a moody Chainsmokers track. Take that as you may. Step Inside, The Violence (Alex Nice Remix): In short, this track feels like the background music for a horror-flick chase scene through a factory. All the power was sucked away. Coming Apart (Deconstructed): When artists revisit their material, sometimes a gem is born. This is one of them. This elegant acoustic takes everything down a notch and lets you breathe. Gone (.grav3s Version): This is a nice composition, but as is the case with most revisits, it’s just not as good as the original. Overall: This is a great album with beautiful lyrics and well composed music, but the remixes take away from the rest of the album substantially. Without them, Gone is award-worthy Total Rating: 7.5/10 -Samantha Morse