Red - End Of Silence: 10th Anniversary Edition (2016) [Hi-Res]

Post-grunge outfit RED first got their start in Pennsylvania playing contemporary Christian covers to area youth groups. They soon grew tired of pop songs, however, and began crafting their own hard-edged rock tunes that often confronted personal issues from their lives. According to lead singer Mike Barnes, the name RED was chosen as a symbol "for the blood of Christ and what it represents: passion, pain, but ultimately, redemption." Comprising Barnes, Jasen Rauch (guitar), Hayden Lamb (drummer), and identical twins Anthony Armstrong (guitar/vocals) and Randy Armstrong (bass/piano/vocals), the group cited influences from bands like Chevelle, Linkin Park, and Muse.

Spearheaded by the single "Breathe into Me," RED's first nationally distributed album, End of Silence, was released in June 2006 on Essential Records. Always wanting to directly connect with fans through their energetic live show, the band spent the summer touring nationwide, including dates at multiple festivals. A van crash put injured drummer Hayden Lamb on the sidelines for their 2007 headlining tour, but RED soldiered on -- gaining mass appeal with their rapidly growing CCM fanbase. Later in 2007, the band took home the Rock Recorded Song of the Year award at the 38th annual GMA Dove Awards. Innocence & Instinct appeared in 2009, followed by Release the Panic early in 2013. A remix version of the latter LP, Release the Panic: Recalibrated, preceded the arrival of the group's fifth studio long-player, 2015's Of Beauty and Rage, which was promoted with a graphic novel telling the story behind the album. September 2017 saw the band drop a pair of singles, "Still Alive" and "Losing Control," in anticipation of the release of the full-length Gone, which arrived later that October. ~ Corey Apar