Red
End Of Silence
4.3
Don’t kill the messenger here, I’m just doing my job. I’d rather be spending time listening to something a little more my usual, rather than year-old radio rock, but one of us had to do it. Even though this was released last summer, I’ve never heard of this band before, but apparently they’re among the newest commercial rock darlings to be lumped in with the Linkin Park, Chevelle, 10 Years crowd. Fine, no problem, let’s give ‘em a try and see if they give us anything worth mentioning.
They do. It’s worth mentioning how it knocks me off my chair to think someone, somewhere, thought sending End Of Silence, by Nashville’s Red to be reviewed here was a good idea. Any publicity is good publicity? How much attention do you need? Hell, I’ll give anything a fair shot, but music like this is the exact reason why readers of this site don’t listen to fucking mainstream rock radio as a regular preferred habit in the first damn place. This is totally inoffensive, formulaic to the teeth, Gillmore Girls theme music that would do nothing but glaze over the eyes of most readers here with numbed indifference. Verses are smooth as glass, simple, and catchy, designed to get heads bobbing, or moving back and forth with eyes closed. The choruses burst into predictable, safe power chords and impassioned, sometimes screaming vocals, designed to get hands up in the air and waving in unison. If I was 14 years old and just discovered Tool within the past year, I’d probably think Red were pretty innovative and heavy for something played on the local FM, satellite, or whatever other station my mother allowed me access to. Again, there’s nothing wrong with it, but it is what it is: buttermilk biscuits in plain white gravy, no salt, no pepper, completely harmless and digestible for even the most sensitive stomachs, and washed back with plain tap water.
Admittedly, vocalist Mike Barnes is decent and capably carries along some cool melodies through these terribly bland compositions, and the chorus to “Already Over” isn’t too shabby. “Pieces” features the best of many piano openings seeping into acoustic guitar, but then Barnes’ snore-inducing melodies almost put me to sleep, in a bad way. Still, I feel like I’m reviewing theme music from some family drama, like the bastard cousin of emo, spawned from the ashes of nu-metal, and given the breath of life by the Goo Goo Dolls. Even if these guys were talented musicians, the material doesn’t allow for much room to display it.
Seriously, if you have a thirteen year-old niece that has really uptight parents but want to get her something for her birthday that is still edgy for a girl her age, but nothing her parents can reasonably object to, then pick this album up for her. If you have a girlfriend who hates anything faster than a heavy Skid Row tune, you might get away with playing this while the two of you are putzing around the house. Maybe there’s a wedding reception coming up for your redneck brother and you need some “rocking” music to put on a party compilation that won't give grandma a headache, here you go. I just said three nice things about it, so don’t bitch. End Of Silence is sparklingly produced, totally paint-by-numbers Christian rock that tones down the religious inflections enough to make Red marketable to the Breaking Benjamin crowd in mass quantity. Even for what it is, this album is amazingly white-bread, and anyone reading this who isn’t already a somewhat faithful fan of the band will have absolutely no productive use for it.
