of Beauty and Rage

The spiritual intensity that typified Red’s earliest albums returns with a vengeance on Of Beauty and Rage. Released in tandem with a graphic novel, the album tells an epic tale of redemption in volatile rockers like “What Keeps You Alive” and “Gravity Lies” and anguished ballads like “Darkest Part” and “Of These Chains.” Michael Barnes shows off both his clean and harsh vocal prowess amid the swooning gothic strings of “Shadow and Soul” and the seething guitar roar of “Take Me Over.” By turns ferocious and exalted, Red raise the bar with this ambitious, compelling work.