Red Tide Rising – Voices (Album Review)

In 2012, Denver band Red Tide Rising made a name for themselves when they slammed into the national music scene when they hit the road in direct support of In This Moment on the band’s non-festival ‘Blood’ tour dates, which also included one date with Hatebreed. “Touring with In This Moment really showed us what it takes to have a successful run on the road,” says guitarist, Andrew Whiteman. “We learned how things work on a larger scale and ‘in the real world,’ so to speak. It was a great learning experience for sure.”

These young noisers have delivered an EP that breathes life into modern metal. It is a five track hand of power that channels all that was good from Industrial and Nu Metal, whilst not forgetting the need for melody and memorable songs.

Kick-off track “New Breed” sounds quite a bit like Fear Factory on the Digimortal album, but Red Tide Rising makes it their own, with constant sonic shifts between the gruff and soulful vocals of Matthew Whiteman. The song urges the band’s fans to distance themselves from people who claim to have their best interests at heart while leading them down a path that is essentially destructive.

“Sound of the Voices Screaming” talks about an audience being given the power to rise as one. “We will arise” is the refrain and the song chugs along with a metalcore groove that brings to mind Pantera, mixed with some Faith No More clean singing.

Next along comes the serenity in the storm, with the brooding precision of “Suffocate“, starting with a doleful piano and which then moves on to a chug-tastic crescendo of crunching chords and damped down riffing. The structure is like modern Trivium, but with a more powerful sense of melody. This is possibly the most effective song on the EP and lingers long in the memory. The song touches on the different types of addiction through life, whether from the pursuit of material possessions or by giving into to drug culture. Pretty deep and haunting.

Gentle acoustic guitars usher in “Writing on the Wall”, which gives out a message about making sure you don’t allow yourself to be held down by your past. The song is like Staind in their doom-laden pomp, but with a more contemporary take.

Final song “You’re Nothing” is more up-tempo, again reminding me of a metalcore Faith No More. It has a killer chorus, which spews out anger, but is a real catchy ball of a temper tantrum. The band state that it is “dedicated to the a**hole who repeatedly tells you how great his life is, all the while living a complete facade” and it doesn’t hold back!

Overall, this is a pretty great collection of modern metal anthems and I recommend you check it out. The band are all exceptional musicians (Matthew Whiteman on vocals, Andrew Whiteman on guitars, Matt Guerin on drums and Michael LeBois on bass) and the backing of subtle keys make it a treat to listen to.

Buy: Red Tide Rising – Voices