Israeli melodic power metal band Red Rose have just signed a worldwide deal with Scarlet Records for the release of their second album.
Red Rose’s style is a mixture of melodic hard rock and classic heavy metal with a progressive touch, taking inspiration a lot from the 80’s metal style. Their debut Live the Life You’ve Imagined was released in 2011 (a year after the band has formed) under Bakerteam records, and received a lot of positive feedback both from critics and fans.
The new album, entitled On the Cusp of Change, was recorded at ‘Jailhouse studios’ with the renounced Danish producer Tommy Hansen (who has recorded the band’s debut as well.) Currently without a drummer, the band has enlisted the talents of Matan Shmuely – the drummer of well known Israeli band ‘Orphaned Land’.
The first track When Roses Fade is a melodic and majestic power metal song that is reminiscent of Austrian symphonic power metal band Serenity. Lead vocalist Leve Laiter vocal tone is similar to Serenity vocalist Georg Neuhauser. The second song Chasing Freedom begins with the pulsing bass of Eli Reeve and a keyboard melody by Deion Kristen which brings Greek power metallers Firewind to mind. The band turns up the 70’s prog influence a few notches on the swing boogie of King of The Local Crowd, a fun lighthearted romp with some pomp and circumstance. The band shows it’s darker side on the heavy yet melodic mid tempo crunch of Original Sin.
Alone in the Night is your standard by the numbers 80’s style power ballad. It’s done well, though not remarkable. Laiter particularly shines on this track. This Bitter World has a melodic AOR style with a touch of prog especially with Kristen’s keyboard flourishes. The bands Middle Eatern roots are quite apparent within the percussion and rhythms on Don’t Believe These Tales. The albums final track Seize The Day begins with a slow tempo and accompanying piano, building in intensity with a the grandiose style that reminds me of Serenity once again. There is a very pretty acoustic guitar solo midway through the song by guitarist Elnur Aliev. However the song never reaches a climactic finish, instead it slowly fades away without reaching a satisfying conclusion. Red Rose is a band that shows great potential. The band has a way to go before they reach the heights of bands like Kamelot, Firewind, or Serenity, but there is plenty of talent within Red Rose, therefore, given time and exposure they will only improve on what is already a solid foundation. Fans of progressive symphonic power metal will enjoy this release.
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