RED ROSE – ON THE CUSP OF CHANGE 2013
On the Cusp of Change may be an appropriate title for Red Rose’s second album. Their debut album was largely an exercise in melodic hard rock, the classic style with a sometimes metal edge. It was interesting and entertaining, but still rather rudimentary stuff.
With this new album, it seems Red Rose want to turn the corner to something more akin to melodic heavy, sometimes progressive, metal. One thing they have done, to their credit, is give the listener more this time around. The first work was eight songs at 35 minutes; here you get eight songs at nearly one hour.
Curiously, Red Rose begins the album with their longest song, When Roses Faded, and you get your first sense of their expansion into melodic prog metal. Later the same comes around again in Original Sin and This Bitter World. Alternatively, other songs smack of that past melodic hard rock groove, only with a more heavy metal tone, like Chasing Freedom and especially King of the Local Crowd. Red Rose offers two metal ballads with Alone in the Night and the closing Seize the Day, the latter almost has the flavor of West Coast AOR.
1. When Roses Faded 07:54
2. Chasing Freedom 04:10
3. King of the Local Crowd 04:11
4. Original Sin 05:48
5. Alone in the Night 04:13
6. This Bitter World 05:29
7. Don’t Believe These Tales 04:15
8. Seize the Day 06:31
Leve Laiter – vocals
Elnur Aliev – guitars
Deion Kristen – keyboards
Eli Reeve – bass
RED ROSE – ON THE CUSP OF CHANGE 2013