No.75 - ‘Declaration’ by Red (2020)

“We are fighting to survive; I'll never break; From the ashes we ignite; Don't fade away; We live, we die, we fall, we rise…”

There is a lack of heavy metal albums in this list, partly due to the fact that some metal bands are way too screamy, not too melodic, or start to merge into the hair/cheese flamboyent metal that I have never fancied. But I have been enjoying the heavier, more emotional side of rock music in the recent years, especially in the Christian side of the rock industry.

There were a few songs amongst the Christian heavy metal scene that I really like but most bands I’ve listened to fall short of producing truly great albums. But a couple have entered my ears, producing feelings of enjoyability and much excitedness. Enter the epic, cinematic, orchestral heavy metal sound of Red, whom I stumbled upon through the wonderful tool of Spotify.

This album brings together fantastic melodies with screams, heavy rock guitars and classical orchestral scores. And its bloody fantastic! There are moments that goosebumps appear (not least in the final track ‘From the ashes’). Barnes’ vocals are sublime, powerful and vastly ranged in tone, feel and character and the song structures are just incredible. 

You may not be into heavy metal, and this album probably wont float many of your boats. I am not the best educated to be offering advice on metal albums, but the more I listen to ‘Declaration’, the more I absolutely love it. The fact it was released independently and funded by the fans makes me like it even more. Huge respect guys!

Red formed in 2002 and have released nine studio albums. They are well known in the christian rock scene and well loved by metal fans of all backgrounds…theyre that flippin’ good! Declaration reached no.61 in the US Billboard 200 and no.2 in the US Christian charts. This album was released on vinyl and I own the Clear/Red Marbled version.

Favourite songs -  From The Ashes, The War We Made, The Evening Hate, All For You
Other great albums - Gone (2017)






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