Review Summary: A poorly executed mess of industrial experimentation and radio-ready rock in which the band loses it's identity and fanbase in.
In 2013, RED released the panic.. Both figuratively and literally… The album was a massive change from the band’s prior releases and featured a heavy industrial influence that didn’t sit well with fans and controversially caused many to leave the band behind and never come back. It is a very polarizing record that is the source of MANY heated debates in the Christian Rock community with many newer fans embracing the album, while most older fans still loathe it like they did since day one. Now I’ll admit, it has been years since I took the time to listen to this record fully, I felt like I never truly gave it a chance despite checking it out fairly quickly after it’s release. Of course, there are songs I have come back to over the years, but the record still years later doesn’t do it for me as of the multiple times now having listened recently in preparation for this review. The album falls flat on its face many times with poor production and poorly executed sonic experimentation that makes it clear as to why it is both severely hated, but loved by many, to say the least. RED is one of my favorite bands of all time and I love most of their records, so don’t get the impression I’m just jumping on the hate bandwagon because that is not at all the case. RED is a band that has played a massive role in getting me into heavier music and I've listened to their music almost daily for years, which makes it sad to still have seen them fall so hard back in 2013, and even worse now as the album has aged terribly, especially with the masterpiece of an album the band released a few years later known as "Of Beauty & Rage".
Release The Panic opens with the title track, which already shows a change in sound for the band with a heavy emphasis on fast drums and bass and industrial elements. However the song feels somewhat try-hard and cheesy, and definitely is the band’s weakest opener to date. The song maintains a quick pace and a repetitive song structure that doesn’t allow for many repeated listens and the song overall hasn't aged well pretty much at all. It’s actually worse than I remember.
“Perfect Life” is a radio-friendly anthem which again replaces the orchestral elements with glitched electronics and has a catchy hook. While somewhat simple and generic, it’s still a good song, just not up to par with what RED has previously released. The song doesn’t have the greatest production but it’s good enough… just kind of bland overall. This song hasn’t aged the greatest either.
Next up we have the industrial rocker “Die For You”... which to say the least… is one of my least favorite songs RED has ever made. The sound doesn’t fit RED at all and the chorus hook actually gets pretty annoying. The song does have some nice lead guitar work and solo which is a rare occurrence for RED before going into some terrible sounding vocal effects and the song overall is just not well put together and tries too hard to sound like a 90s industrial band without the creativity.
“Damage” actually opens up with a pretty sick riff and a whammy pedal… before the verse starts and the song is just cringy… The chorus is short and the song is just not a good vocal performance from Mike Barnes. The drums are incredibly low in a terrible mix and it just sounds like a band trying again to sound industrial but don’t know how to pull it off. It’s easily one of the worst tracks on this dumpster fire of an album.
“Same Disease” continues the 90's industrial sound with drum samples and a repetitive guitar riff that barely changes throughout the entire song. The song continues the mediocre mix and production and the entire song is incredibly repetitive and sticks out like a sore thumb, with super cheesy vague lyrics and poorly done electronics. The song runs for what is a very long feeling 3 minutes and this track is just skippable.
“Hold Me Now” finally brings a change of pace with a hint of the sound RED is known for and is the first ballad on the album. The song marks a huge turning point for the album, as it finally starts to get interesting and goes for an electronic-infused rock sound that fits a lot better for RED. The song has a great vocal performance from Mike Barnes with guitars reminiscent of previous RED ballads such as “Not Alone”. It’s an emotional song that is good for what it is, but still doesn’t have the repeatability of previous RED tracks.
“If We Only” is an experimental firecracker of a track that opens fast and heavy with an industrial bent before going into a soaring chorus and just has an awesome pump-up riff that most of the record misses. The song contains a nice build and an electronic orchestra that while it definitely sounds synthesized, it definitely is nice to hear on this record. The song features multiple modulations with a great breakdown and one of the better vocal performances on the album. The drums finally stand out for the first time since the opener and it’s a great headbanging song.
Next up we have “So Far Away”, which is one of my favorite songs off the entire record. It’s in a similar vein to the song “Let it Burn” from their previous album, but it fits nicely on the record and is better in my opinion than the aforementioned song. Mike finally sounds comfortable vocally on the record, (which is a huge plus because at times on previous tracks he sounds like he’s struggling), and the song gets stuck in your head for days. It’s also the most Christian song on the album and is impossible to not sing along to.
“Glass House” brings back the electronic orchestra and fast drums and a hard hitting chorus that gets stuck in your head and is insanely catchy. While the song overall keeps a mid-tempo pace, its kind of punchy and while it’s a pretty standard RED song, it’s one of the best tracks on the record and one of the few I have come back to in the years since this record was released.
“The Moment We Come Alive” continues the slower pace and tone from the previous track with a keyboard intro before going into more guitar driven moments and a mini-solo after the choruses. It’s a decent enough track, and I definitely don’t mind it when it comes on, just it doesn’t really stand out much at all and the lyrics get pretty cheesy, especially with the line “The energy fueling us ignites us forever”, which feels almost laughable with it’s placement.
“Love Will Leave A Mark” boasts wah-pedal heavy guitars and a mix between the new industrial sound with a classic RED chorus and a great guitar drive. The guitars take the forefront of the song with a great build into a super fast paced breakdown and modulations. The song suffers from even more mediocre production but it's decent enough in its own right.
“As You Go” feels reminiscent of Linkin Park with samples and scratches opening the song with a pop vocal melody. The song takes a long time to really go anywhere and feels somewhat boring overall that, despite the good, christian message, it feels cheesy in its delivery and feels oddly poppy for the instrumentals. Even once the song builds it doesn’t feel satisfying at all and definitely doesn’t suit it’s placement as an end to the record. The song is also easily the worst album closer in the history of the band, who is known for insanely satisfying and epic closers.
BONUS TRACK REVIEW: On the recalibrated version of the album, there is a bonus track called “Run and Escape”, which is easily better than most of the actual record with fast, nu-metal inspired riffs and a chorus similar to the likes of Motionless In White, It is easily a highlight of the record. The song has a sudden change of pace and key with a glitched out breakdown and an epic tempo change as it leads into a sped-up version of the chorus and a bouncy outro riff. The song definitely should have been on the record in my opinion and pulls off the experimentation they failed at on the record.
To say Release the Panic is a disappointment is an understatement. After coming off of three solid and at times amazing records… This album fails to compare and really doesn’t feel like RED. While it is refreshing to hear the band try new things… It just wasn’t executed well at all and suffered from out of place vocal effects and bad production. The album contains some of the worst delivered lines in REDs entire discography and just falls flat in every way possible. It’s clear upon first listen to see why this album was so insanely controversial and ultimately seriously hurt the band’s success, as a massive majority of their fanbase left and became disinterested in the band after a very disappointing outing and a failure to successfully evolve the sound they were loved and known for. While part of the fanbase returned with their excellent follow-up record, many people actually forgot RED existed and wrote them off without ever giving them a new chance. While the band now has a more dedicated fanbase than ever, there is no denying the massive negative impact the record had at the time and easily in my opinion, is the band’s only bad album to date. I commend RED for experimenting and trying new things, just the industrial sound did not fit them at all and parts of the album felt very forced in a way. Despite all of it’s problems there are definitely some upsides to this album, especially the second half of it, with songs like “So Far Away”, and “Glass House” being the best parts of the album, and are tracks that I have come back to in the years since it’s release. Perhaps, what the biggest problem with this record is, is the lack of satisfaction and execution of a majority of the songs on the record, because there are some great ideas here... they're just poorly executed and leave the listener desiring much more than RED had to offer on this record.
Rating: 2.3/5
Favorite tracks: “So Far Away”, “Glass House”, and “If We Only”
Least faves: “Die For You”, “As You Go”, “Damage”, and “Same Disease”.
