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With Red’s grammy-nominated success of their first album, End of Silence, this Nashville quintet proves that relating to their audience is a shoo-in for making it big. According to vocalist Mike Barnes, Red was chosen as a symbol “for the blood of Christ and what it represents: passion, pain, but ultimately, redemption."

The band is made up of Barnes, identical twins Anthony Armstrong and Randy Armstrong, Jasen Rauch and Hayden Lamb. On their myspace page, Randy Armstrong was quoted as saying, “We all have experienced the same feelings of anger, sadness, and confusion. Our music addresses a lot of those experiences; those feelings, and the situations that caused them. I hope our music inspires people and let's them know that they are not alone.”

Red clearly uses their relationships as material for their songs and throughout the album; it portrays the ups and downs of a relationship. Barnes’ voice is both melodic in the ballads and thrilling in his screaming parts.

From the first seconds of the intro track, the beginning sounds and melody of a different era caught my attention. The transition into Breathe into Me was excellent. Breathe into Me and Let Go were both catchy and relatable.

After initially thinking that this album would be full of the same sad breakup songs over and over, Already Over and Lost in you proved otherwise. The music styling of what appears to be a piano and string instrumentation is beautiful and perfectly suited for the lyrics.

Other tracks like Hide were exceptional but after listening to End of Silence repeatedly, the lyrics really stood out over the music and melodies.
Although only a few songs really stand out (Breathe into Me and Already Over), the band is still riding the wave of success across the US. Red is currently on tour providing some very exhilarating -- and bloody -- shows for their new-found fans. I missed their stop in cities close to me, but I would love to catch Red the next time around.

To sum it all up, If you’re interested in a no holds barred album with great ballads and powerful, relatable rock songs, check out Red's End of Silence already!