Band:	Red
Album:	Release The Panic
Style:	Alternative metal, Alternative rock
Release date:	February 2013

01. Release The Panic
02. Perfect Life
03. Die For You
04. Damage
05. Same Disease
06. Hold Me Now
07. If We Only
08. So Far Away
09. Glass House
10. The Moment We Come Alive

Deluxe Version Bonus Tracks:
11. Love Will Leave A Mark
12. As You Go
13. Hymn For The Missing [Guillotine remix]
14. Death of Me [Guillotine remix]
15. Breathe Into Me [Acoustic remix]

Red is a fine example of the modern hard rock/alternative metal bands you can hear on the radio these days. You know the type - that post-grunge affected heaviness, with the raspy vocals and occasional twanging acoustic guitars buried behind the loud, tame riffs. How quaint.

That's right, it's the Hinder/Three Days Grace/Nickelback school of modern hard rock, for those listeners who need something heavier than Taylor Swift, aren't "hardcore" enough for Avenged Sevenfold, and don't know how to Google AC/DC. The angsty snarls, angsty cleans, and angsty lyrics overflow angstily. Distorted guitars bludgeon unmemorable riffs into the framework of ten average, mid-paced, this-is-what-passes-for-rock-music-these-days boredom. Red attack this one with all the swagger of an edgy-but-clean-cut suburban rock band that just appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone next to Papa Roach.

There are some keyboards and semi-electronic elements on this album, which, as far as I can tell, make it fairly unique in this particular niche of the commercial rock world that I have been trying to paint. In fact, these keyboards, combined with some simple, staccato riffing, sometimes give the impression that you are listening to a really, really tame Rammstein, but with a nasally Creed type singing instead of a barrel-chested, flame-throwing tank. "If We Only" breaks from the faux-heavy mold to exhibit some manner of actual heaviness. The result is a strange, symphonic Disturbed sound that is less a welcome break from the overwhelming oceans of bland than a reminder that you could be doing something much more constructive.

The keyword for Release The Panic is "bland." I could have heard the entire album on the radio before and not noticed. The melodies are insipid and banal, the lyrics more of the same, and the overall sound wholly unremarkable. The major upside to Release The Panic is that it is not a "bad" album, just incredibly average.