RED has done it again! I mean seriously, they never seize to amaze me. Just last year, I reviewed their album Release the Panic: Recalibrated only to find there was nothing new to hear except for the additional track ‘Run and Escape’, but now I know why…
On February 24th, they released their 7th and latest masterpiece Of Beauty and Rage. A heart-felt and beautifully constructed album from beginning to end; the mixture of a beautiful slow symphony to compliment the “Beauty” of both sorrow & life, & the heavy upbeat of electric guitars that strengthen the “Rage” feeling of suffering, guilt & the battle between ourselves & inner demons.
Now, I’ll be honest that at first I thought the album had this whole “Beauty & the Beast” love- hate story, but thing is I had it backwards. Actually… it kinda does in a way *referring to the concept behind ‘Darkest Part’, which is the fear of scaring those closest to you by revealing your darkest secrets & insecurities*. According to RED’s Bass guitarist, Randy “RED has always tried to challenge listeners to be real with themselves and confront their struggles head on”, which is why they’ve created this album about the struggles & sufferings we go through but also how we should find the beauty in life itself to shed at least some light to the darkness we live in. I’ve also learned that the album is also a “tie-in” to their previous ones. If you’ve seen their latest MV ‘Darkest Part’, you’ll notice that they placed a flashback to one of their previous singles ‘Feed the Machine’ from the album Release the Panic, which tells of how most of us would hide or give up our own identity just to fit in the society we live in & surrender to everything even the obstacles that life throws at us without fighting back. But in Of Beauty & Rage, it speaks of good vs. evil & “self-discovery” as they encourage us to find the strength within ourselves to battle our own shadows & be ourselves no matter what. They also remind us that everyone has their own difficulties in life & that no one likes to suffer, but instead of that bringing us down we should learn from our mistakes & hardships, for those are what help shape us to become the people we are now, and most importantly being thankful to God, for everything happens for a reason.
Written by: Farah Wahid
Edited by: Duha Mousa
