Scarlet 2013
Heavy chasers from Israel tickle all the right spots and ticks all the right boxes but trick themselves into a nice-painted corner.
On The Cusp Of Change
If the idea of power metal laced with progressive adventurousness doesn’t sound like much fun to you, this band’s second outing might blow some cobwebs off your mind.
Although it gets serious – almost as long-faced as Lancelot’s steed – towards the end, the album’s inception comes on as gloriously hilarious as the title of opener “When Roses Faded” suggests. With Deion Kristen’s keyboards set to the pop rampage and Elnur Aliev’s guitars running down the elegant lines, there’s no epic weight to what rises on Leve Laiter’s voice from delicate ballad to a lucid anthem which is balanced with the reckless, though glossy, swing of “King Of The Local Crowd” and the acoustic delicacy of “Alone In The Night” bearing the ’80s ghost on its dim wings.
RED ROSE don’t care to compress their dynamics like lesser mortals do; instead, the quintet give their all to marry catchy tunes to the pleasure of sounds, never more so than in “Chasing Freedom” where piano and Eli Reeve’s bass take the assault to the dancefloor. Yet, despite its instrumental heroism and a space scope, the flow of “This Bitter World” and “Original Sin” brings no innovation to the round table. And it’s a pity that country blues at the onset of “Don’t Believe These Tales” gets buried under its valorous jive, the balladry in “Seize The Day” offering no compensation – but a lot of promise.
***3/4
