Our primary piece of advice as you prepare to listen to the new album by RED: Check your levels.
Essential Records’ two time GRAMMY-nominated hard rock outfit RED packs a potent sonic punch on its third project, Until We Have Faces, a record that leaps out of the speakers with a ferocity and complexity reflecting the band’s growth and intensity. The new album releases February 1, 2011.
From the opening seconds of “Feed The Machine” through the final, contemplative moments of “Hymn For The Missing,” the four-man unit of vocalist Michael Barnes, guitarist Anthony Armstrong, bassist Randy Armstrong and drummer Joe Rickard shows both maturity and abandon can coexist within the various dimensions of rock RED inhabits.
The new album’s overarching theme is a search for true identity, inspired by a number of sources, including author C.S. Lewis’ book of similar title, Till We Have Faces. The band itself is working through its own new identity – as a four-piece with the addition of drummer Rickard.
Until We Have Faces takes listeners down the path of recognizing the hollowness of life until finding their true identity (revealed on “Faceless”), the idea of creative destruction unveiled in the midst of new life (found on “Let It Burn”), and simultaneously presenting the positive energy found even “in a world so cold” (explored on the infectious, melodic ballad “Not Alone”).
Paired again with award-winning producer Rob Graves, Until We Have Faces features RED in its most musically intense place to date – “a combination of our first two records, but on steroids,” Michael Barnes notes – daring both RED and its fans to catapult into new rock territories.
RED will push those boundaries, bringing its creative energy and high-octane live presence to next year’s Winter Jam tour, spanning nearly four dozen dates from January 7, 2011 in Chattanooga, Tenn. to the tour wrap-up April 3 in Peoria, Ill.
The band’s first single, “Faceless” goes for adds at CHR and Rock formats on Dec. 31, continuing RED’s powerful presence at radio, which has featured nine consecutive singles vaulting to No. 1 on the Christian Rock chart.
About RED:
Nashville-based rock outfit RED, made up of MICHAEL BARNES (vocals), ANTHONY ARMSTRONG (guitar) RANDY ARMSTRONG (bass) and JOE RICKARD (drums), has logged an impressive 1,300 + live shows since releasing its debut album End Of Silence in 2006.
Since the emergence of the band’s debut, RED has delivered two Top Ten Active Rock, Three Top Ten Mainstream Rock singles and nine consecutive No. 1 hits at Christian radio. In addition, the band has maintained a near-constant presence on the road, performing alongside notable rock names such as Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, Godsmack, Sevendust, Drowing Pool, Hinder, Flyleaf, 3 Doors Down, Creed, Seether, Papa Roach, Buckcherry, Saving Abel, Staind, Kutless, Trapt, Third Day, Switchfoot and others. Rave reviews for the band’s live shows and albums have been featured in top media outlets including USA Today and Billboard.
The band has sold more than 600,000 albums across its first two album projects, both of which were nominated for GRAMMYs. Innocence & Instinct released with first-week sales of more than 40,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which made it the No.15 best selling album on Billboard’s Top 200 chart that week. It also claimed the No. 5 spot on iTunes Overall Albums chart. To date, Innocence & Instinct has scanned more than 260,000+ units. The sophomore project built on the momentum of End of Silence, which has scanned nearly 350,000 units and earned several awards and nominations.
RED is currently preparing for the February 1, 2011 release of Until We Have Faces. Working again with award-winning producer Rob Graves, the anticipated third studio project unleashes a torrential outpouring of RED’s signature in-your-face rock. Look for massive online marketing and press campaigns, secured placement with AOL, YAHOO and MySpace and an aggressive licensing push as RED comes out swinging in 2011.
