Redkey - Rage Of Fire
Dockyard 1 - DY100350 - June 16th, 2006
By Brandon Strader
To open the red door, you need the red key.
Redkey is a power metal (
actually closer to heavy metal, for those of you who will take this term literally) band from the presumably frosty depths of Germany. They play a more modern and entertaining mixture of power metal, and heavy metal, though it is much closer to the heavy metal side. The vocalist has one of those harsh, raspy heavy metal voices we've come to love so much from bands like
Beyond Twilight,
Adagio, and... well yes, I was name dropping there, but you get the idea. Guitarist Sascha Paeth, who is actually a guy, mastered some of the greatest albums of 2006:
Rhapsody Of Fire's
Triumph Or Agony, and two full-length side-projects from
Luca Turilli. The album,
Rage of Fire, was most-likely named in tribute to
Rhapsody of Fire, but who knows for sure? The album opens with "Man 'N' Machine", which is an ambient peice with a series of electronic screwdriver-type sounds with a collapse afterwords, ending with a very low pitch-shifted voice.
Why should you check out
Rage of Fire? Well, it's been rotating here for quite a while now, yet it failed to really attach to us, the listeners here, on a significant level. The title track rips its way out with some well-placed powerchords
(get used to them!) and the vocalist's raspy heavy metal voice. The vocals are especially great, and make me want to ride a motorcycle whilst sporting leather pants. Many will hear the catchy vocal melodies in "Rage of Fire", and immediately think
'Wow, this is totally cliche'... Well, it is. It's heavy-freaking-cliche metal for those who like to bare their chests and expose their package... Hey, at least it's not wimpy enough to make you want to put on makeup and lipstick and prance around like Dee Snider. Man, that was one ugly, twisted chick! "Be My Guide" starts up with some clean electric guitar chords, with the vocalist's odd vibrato clean vocals. They don't sound too good when he's trying to be quiet and dramatic, yet when he put some more power and volume into them, they're great. The guitar work is not especially technical, and the songwriting is pretty similar to that of
Hammerfall and a plethora of other heavy metal bands. Check it out if you really like the style, regardless of who's playing it. Also make note, Tobias Sammet of
Edguy and
Avantasia fame appears on the last track, "The Fortune", and provides a fantastic performance on what may be the most orchestrated track of the CD, which isn't saying much. There's some organ hidden beneath the guitars, but keyboard elements are scarce if not non-existent throughout the album. While we're on the subject, if you're looking for something a bit more entertaining, check out
Rocket Ride!
Redkey Haiku
Feel the Rage of Fire
Bang your head with much passion!
But you soon get bored.
7.5/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Official Redkey Website
Official Dockyard 1 Website
