By Jason Walker
Formed from members of Meta-Stasis and The Defiled, Red Method have seemingly come out of nowhere straight into some quite high-profile shows and show absolutely zero signs of slowing down. Last week signalled the release of their debut album, ‘For The Sick’ with an incredibly comprehensive UK tour in support of this, they’ve every intention of really getting their name out and showing everyone that they mean business.
Coming in at ten songs, one of which is a cover of Nirvana’s ‘Heart Shaped Box’, the album on the whole is a great mix of styles and influences that blend together all of the raw energy from the early days of Nu-Metal all the way to the more modern Metalcore approaches of infectious hooks and big choruses. It’s hard not to draw comparisons with the likes of Slipknot as the riffage often has that low-tuned, chunky tone with lots of string bending that is quite apparent through a lot of their work.
This by no means says that Red Method are not capable of having their own stamp on their work, it’s a solid album that carries a strong message about mental health and the challenges and struggles that go along with it. ‘Cycle of Violence’ kicks the album off in a big way with a straight headbanger of a song that is very straight down the line in delivering fast heavy riffs so you can see where the comparisons come from. ‘Split’ is notably a bit slower in this regard but the palm muted chugs in this really stand out before leading into an epic chorus and into a off-beat bridge that leads back into the verse.
‘The Narcissist’s Prayer’ stands out for me because not only is this is superbly atmospheric track but the guitar work reminds me really strongly of Gojira, that incredibly heavy rhythmic work mixed with pick scrapes and dissonant melodies makes for an interesting listen. It may only serve as an intermission of sorts before the next song, but I love stuff like that which builds an albums identity. ‘Ideology of the sick’ is fast, filthy and discordant, a complete moshpit anthem if I ever heard one, this I can imagine pushing around in a pit with flashing strobes before grabbing the nearest person to scream the chorus at each other then back to frantic bouncing around when the verse kicks back in.
Another atmospheric intermission in the form of ‘Euphoria Of Transformation’ leading into ‘My Psychosis’, a big, angry and straight up slice of heavy shit. This bounces between guttural growls and heavy string bending and a big uplifting chorus, it goes a great job of showcasing Jeremy’s vocal talents, those growls are super clear and well placed in the mix. This all builds up to a great outro with Red Method firing on all cylinders with more chugs than you can shake a stick at.
Wrapping up the album is ‘The Absent’ and Red Method’s cover of ‘Heart Shaped Box’, a significantly heavy and somewhat faster cover of the original but with Red Method definitely putting their own stamp on it with harmonics and double bass pedal use being used for added effect.
On the whole it’s a really solid album and is great debut to come out with which does a great job of showcasing what Red Method are all about – a band that can fuse the old with a new and produce something that both the old guard and the new blood can both enjoy.
FFO Slipknot, Killswitch Engage, Strapping Young Lad, Avenged Sevenfold.
- ‘For The Sick’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
- Red Method head out on the Amped Road Trip, with Cabin Boy Jumped Ship, Like Giants and Outta Peak, from next Thursday (12 March):
They have also just been confirmed to play UK Tech-Fest in July, and will play the ÜR-backed Badgerfest in Manchester in October.
www.facebook.com/RedMethodBand
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