The official Redemption thread v. I Am the Storm - March 17th 2023

[Samsara]

Is this song the first anyone has heard with Tom and Redemption together? I haven't been following, so it is for me. But listening along, I really like the heaviness, and I see why Tom's voice will work for the band. Not sure what I think about it yet.

Still not an automatic buy. But I will put in the listening and see if things grab me. Best I can do. Again, respect to Nick, Tom, and everyone involved. Just a personal thing, like all music is. But I dig the song.

[Enigmachine]

Lol I didn't even know Ray Alder was gone and now they have a new album coming out. I assumed it was going to take like 4 years (at least) before the next one. Also, their website is ridiculously out of date.  Tom sounds pretty similar to Ray anyway so it makes sense for him to be the replacement. Also, that production is easily the best they've ever had. Those lyrics are cringe though, Not very subtle. Even taking the political element out, it just flows awkwardly. Great otherwise.

[Evermind]

I didn't quite like The Art of Loss when it was released, but I love it now. Almost every song is fantastic.

I'm not quite sure about this song, to be honest. Maybe I'm just used to Ray. I'll try it again later and see if it clicks.

[Enigmachine]

Maybe I'm just used to Ray. I'll try it again later and see if it clicks.

Ray is definitely more dynamic. Tom works in Everygrey but he can sometimes be a little monotone and dull.

[Grappler]

Is this song the first anyone has heard with Tom and Redemption together? I haven't been following, so it is for me. But listening along, I really like the heaviness, and I see why Tom's voice will work for the band. Not sure what I think about it yet.

Still not an automatic buy. But I will put in the listening and see if things grab me. Best I can do. Again, respect to Nick, Tom, and everyone involved. Just a personal thing, like all music is. But I dig the song.

Oh you like it.  Go buy it. 

I think this is the first debut of Redemption and Tom - I haven't heard anything prior, and it's as awesome as I thought it would be.  The riffs are beefed up a bit and Tom sounds awesome, as I knew he would.  Because unlike you, I love Evergrey and Tom's vocals and had zero doubt.   

The production is awesome though.  Certainly less "dry" than some of their albums have sounded.  And that artwork is cool!  So much better than the wineglass on the last record.

 

[jingle.boy]

I'm of the opinion that Art of Loss was Art of Bland (although, given Ruslan's comment, I may give it another chance).  I'm a big Evergrey fan, so Tom + Redemption works just fine for me.

[Samsara]

Maybe I'm just used to Ray. I'll try it again later and see if it clicks.

Ray is definitely more dynamic. Tom works in Everygrey but he can sometimes be a little monotone and dull.

Bingo, yeah, that was what I was searching for. But again, its just the first song. I'll listen to a few others, and then decide whether to buy it.

[Evermind]

I'm of the opinion that Art of Loss was Art of Bland (although, given Ruslan's comment, I may give it another chance).  I'm a big Evergrey fan, so Tom + Redemption works just fine for me.

I'm also a big Evergrey fan, so there's that.

I think what really attracts me in Art of Loss now is the (for a lack of better word) warmth of the record—what you get past the first two songs, that is. The title track is alright as an energetic opener and Slouching Towards Bethlehem I just can't stand. There are good moments (twenty centuries of sleep passage in the second half), but overall I don't like how plodding this track is.

But when you get past the first two tracks, that's where, in my opinion, the great stuff begins. The run from Damaged to Thirty Silver is excellent, and Hope Dies Last rivals Memory and Black and White World in my book for the best Redemption songs.

The Center of the Fire was a weird one, because I kept losing my attention at this song, and one day (and that was actually the thing that led me to revisit the album) I had those four beautiful "don't walk awaaay" ad-libs stuck in my head and I just couldn't remember which song was it. I actually considered asking that on DTF but then realized that was Ray's voice and checked some Redemption songs to find out it was from Art of Loss. I enjoy this song a lot now.

The cover is, well, a cover (even though it's cool to hear Ray doing different stuff than he usually does on this album), and the epic was a bit too much to digest on my first few listens, but I appreciate it a lot now. Maybe it could've been a bit shorter, but it's very good still.

I just wrote a fanboy post about The Art of Loss, something I never thought I would do if you asked me two years ago when this album was out. I love music.

[Nachtmerrie]

At first listen it feels more like I'm hearing a more technical version of Evergrey. This might take some time but I'm pretty sure I will enjoy this album.
Production is pretty good, especially the drum sound.

Let's hope they don't forget to take the plane to Europe when touring.

[Enigmachine]

Maybe I'm just used to Ray. I'll try it again later and see if it clicks.

Ray is definitely more dynamic. Tom works in Everygrey but he can sometimes be a little monotone and dull.

Bingo, yeah, that was what I was searching for. But again, its just the first song. I'll listen to a few others, and then decide whether to buy it.

He always sounds exactly the same though in Evergrey, so I don't think other songs are going to make up for this, unless he completely surprises us and goes out of his comfort zone. He's one of those singers who is super-unique, but never moves out of the niche he's created for himself.

[Mindflux]

Nope.. NOPE. I guess Redemption is dead to me now.  Not feeling it... maybe another track will change my mind later.

[bosk1]

After two listens, preliminary reaction is:  I REALLY like this song.  I've never been an Evergrey fan, so I'm not that familiar with them or Tom's voice, and I had some trepidation about whether he would be a good fit.  Nothing against Tom specifically--it is more that I was very sad to see Ray go, and I had some trepidation about anyone but Ray singing for this band.  And just knowing that this is a Redemption song, I found myself subconsciously disappointed that it wasn't Ray's voice.  But Tom sounds good here, and his voice fits the music nicely.  If this song is typical of what will be on the album (and I am sure it is), I have no doubt that I will be a happy fan.  I am REALLY looking forward to this now.

Reading that long description and Nick's comments, I am again reminded of a big part of why I have been drawn to this band ever since hearing Snowfall.  Nick just strikes me as such a genuine person, and that comes across every time I read something from him, whether it is song lyrics or a press release, or whatever. 

I hope Nick posts here, as he has occasionally done with former releases (although I am saddened by the fact that he has apparently been annoyed with my posts in the past where my reviews have been mixed, even though I have tried very hard to keep any criticism very objective and constructive, and I have always had tons of praised mixed in with any criticisms I have had).

[TAC]

So this is how I feel..

As much as I love Ray's voice, and he did have the ability to convey Nick's emotion, I honestly have always felt that Redemption's music needed a stronger heavier voice.

While I kind of welcomed the change (other than the fact that any Redemption Mix CD with now have THREE voices), I was disappointed to hear that it was Tom Englund. I do not care for his voice, delivery, and I am not a fan or Everygrey for mostly those reasons.

After listening to the song a couple of times, I am not impressed at all with the vocals. The music is classic Redemption, which means it's awesome, but in the background, I could definitely hear Ray singing this. But honestly, it felt like a vocal demo simply holding the spot until the actual vocalist comes in to record the real thing.

Redemption needs someone who can convey emotion, which Ray could do, even though he wasn't a perfect fit to the music for me.

I'd love to hear John Bush sing a Redemtion track.

[Mindflux]

I am not impressed at all with the vocals. The music is classic Redemption, which means it's awesome, but in the background, I could definitely hear Ray singing this.

Pretty much this. After the track ended I put on some Fates with Ray singing to wash the Englund out of my ears.

[cramx3]

I don't know Redemption or Evergrey's music, but I like this song.  Pretty solid musically.  The vocals aren't amazing, but solid and do the job.  They don't annoy me in anyway.  Kind of basic, but that's OK the music speaks for itself and doens't need the vocals to be a beast.  I am digging this.  Just a progpower attendee so I've been wanting to get into Redemption so I can enjoy their set, this may have done it.  I'm on my third listen now.

[Chris Hinton]

Music, top notch!  Vocals, dull and flat.  I'll have to hear a lot more before I buy this.  Sad, because Redemption had become a first-day buy for me.

[krands85]

Yeah, those new vocals are gonna take some getting used to. I really enjoyed that song musically though, would have loved to hear it with Ray's voice.

[Ninjabait]

Thoughts from initial listen:

-That acoustic intro is really kind of terrible. Sounds like a disjointed mess.
-Drumming is the highlight of the song for me. Not something I say often.
-Mixing and production sounds really tight, crisp, and focused. It's a good sounding song even if the composition is a little off. Drums are a hair loud though.
-Riffs are okay. Not great, not terrible. Just okay.
-Vocals are fine. I'm not too beat up about their choice, but it doesn't make me want to pick up Everygrey records. Fits the music at least.
-Outro went on for a bit long it felt.
-Overall pretty forgettable, but not bad. Just kinda vanilla.

Haven't been the hugest fan of Redemption so far outside of Snowfall, and this hasn't really changed my opinion at all.

[TAC]

-Drumming is the highlight of the song for me. Not something I say often.

Drumming is the highlight of every Redemption song. I was kind of hoping Quiarte (sp?) might've joined DT when MP left.

[Ben_Jamin]

After first listen...

The song was alright. I didn't mind Toms vocals, I only know him from Ayreon. I'll likely buy this as I enjoy Redemption. Although none of the recent ones beats Snowfall on Judgement Day, that album is just amazing.

[abydos]

This sounded a bit like Tom doing his best Ray impression. He's holding back on the song quite a bit, hope he goes nuttier in the other but I dig it. The only thing I am disappointed at is that the song would fit Ray's voice perfectly as well, did Ray not write his vocal melodies for Redemption?

The intro was my favourite part.

[Phoenix87x]

I love evergrey. I like this new song, so interesting hearing his voice over Redemption material

[Lethean]

This sounded a bit like Tom doing his best Ray impression. He's holding back on the song quite a bit, hope he goes nuttier in the other but I dig it. The only thing I am disappointed at is that the song would fit Ray's voice perfectly as well, did Ray not write his vocal melodies for Redemption?

No I'm pretty sure Nick writes the vocal melodies
  I agree that Tom sounds like he's holding back.  He sounds much better with Evergrey.

[Nel]

I'm of the opinion that Art of Loss was Art of Bland..

You're not alone in that. The last album of theirs that really stuck with me was Snowfall. Despite repeated listens, I can't recall a single song put out in the time since.

This song, I like the music besides that really weird and off-putting acoustic intro. I've never heard the singer before, but his singing isn't really grabbing me. I don't know if that's just how he sings all the time but sounds kind of... phoned in? Like that was the practice take and they used it. I'll still give the album a shot. I need to hear more of him.

Album artwork is really cool.

[nvandyk1]

Hello hello hello.  It's been a minute, as the kids say.

Addressing a few comments, and not to be defensive:

1. This is one song. We're not going to lead with a 9 minute long song. It's (relatively) direct. Like it or don't, we are hard to capture in six minutes.

2. Enigmachine, sorry about the three years in between the previous two albums. Given we had a live DVD to produce and we lost one of our founding members to a brain aneurysm and wanted to see if he would recover and then had to find talented people to contribute in his absence, I feel the delay is explainable.    More to the point, though...the lyrics...if you think they have anything to do with politics, the lyrics are more subtle than you might think. They have nothing to do with politics. I'd be curious to hear what you think they are about.

3. Evermind, thank you for giving Art of Loss a second or third chance. I do believe it is one of our best, along with Snowfall.  I would encourage you to listen to the main solo in Slouching...I'd put that up against any guitar solo ever recorded. It's mind boggling what Simone does there. And the cover is pretty awesome...John crushes it.  One man's non-objective opinion, of course.

4. Enigmachine again (re: the second comment) I predict you will be surprised at some of what Tom does on this record. He sounds fantastic.

5. Grappler, thank you!

6. Jingle.boy, glad you are open minded about Tom coming aboard! Also, "f*** you, Hans Brix!" 

7. Samsara, a very sensible response.

8. Mindflux, appreciate your previous support. Hopefully you will find something else to enjoy on this record.

9. Bosk1, hello, and thank you!   I don't recall being annoyed by anything so it couldn't have been that big a deal and bygones are bygones as far as I'm concerned.

10. TAC, when you hear Indulge in Color, let me know when you've changed you mind.

11. Cramx3, thanks for being open-minded! I hope you find a lot to enjoy about us.

12. Chris Hinton, I'm confident you are going to like this record if you like our other material.

13. Ninjabait...there isn't enough going on in the simple 4/4 intro for it to be a disjointed mess. You can say you don't like it, though.   The outro went on as long as it did because there is a Meshuggah thing going on with a different accent passing through each of the notes in the riff and it had to cycle through.

14. Lethal, I do write the vocal melodies but Tom came with a ton of ideas including a lot of harmonies, quiet background parts and some subtle differences to the phrasing. He sounds fantastic, IMO.

Hope all of you are well and thanks for listening!

8.

[Mister Gold]

Great to see you here again, Nick!

As for the new album, this first song sounds pretty great. I'll need to get used to hearing Tom in the band instead of Ray, as he has a different "color" to his voice so to speak, but so far so good! I LOVE the production on this song and the album cover is one of the best I've ever seen from Travis Smith (right there along with Death's The Sound of Perseverance imo).

I don't hate the past two records at all, but I'd definitely say the switch ups made for this album have sparked some new energy to the band. Not sure if it's Tom's singing or Jacob Hansen's production or both, but I'm pumped to see how things turn out with Long Night's Journey into Day!

[Enigmachine]

Enigmachine, sorry about the three years in between the previous two albums. Given we had a live DVD to produce and we lost one of our founding members to a brain aneurysm and wanted to see if he would recover and then had to find talented people to contribute in his absence, I feel the delay is explainable.

I'm not meaning to criticise for the long wait, bands can take as long as they want. I thought TAoL was great so no problem for me. Was just a bit surprised when this one came so quickly. Apologise if that's how it came off.

More to the point, though...the lyrics...if you think they have anything to do with politics, the lyrics are more subtle than you might think. They have nothing to do with politics. I'd be curious to hear what you think they are about.

Interesting. I had assumed that they were a dig at someone in particular (I'll leave it there). Might've spoke too soon on that, might've been a knee jerk reaction admittedly.

4. Enigmachine again (re: the second comment) I predict you will be surprised at some of what Tom does on this record. He sounds fantastic.

Open to being surprised, I know what being in a different band can do to a vocalist. Looking forward to the album regardless.

[NoseofNicko]

Song has some nice riffs. I like it.

[abydos]

Thanks for taking the time, Nick. Really appreciate it and I'm still super hyped about the album.

[wolfking]

Listened to it once, and I don't think it's completely fair to pass judgement just from this.  I think Tom sounds great and works really well with this track, but being a massive Evergrey fan for years now, I'm sure he will show more on the rest of the album.  Saying that, Tom is one of my fav singers ever and I think he's one of the best metal singers in the last 10 years.  I can totally see why Nick wanted him in the band. 

The song too seems like a grower.  The structure and melodies scream that it needs to be repeated to truly understand it, but on first listen, I'm very happy and optimistic about what is to come.

Riffs are great and production is awesome.  I personally loved The Art of Loss.  I agree on the first couple of listens, I wasn't quite sure either but it grew into possibly my second fav Redemption album after Snowfall.

In a day an age where I don't purchase many physical albums anymore, this is an auto buy for me.  I think the combo of Redemption and Tom has heaps of potential just from hearing this and I'm really pumped.

[wolfking]

Many such themes are touched upon over the course of the record's ten tracks, all of which are as thoughtful as they are relatable. To reference but a few, "Impermanent" is about learning to adapt, and realizing that life is about growth and change and making the best of the moment, while "Eyes You Dare Not Face In Dreams" focuses on the doubts that fill the void when one's integrity is lacking. Then there is "The Echo Chamber", the second political song of the band's seventeen-year career, focusing on how social media has led people to only engage with those of the same perspective, and the loss of emphasis on learning from those with different views. "Indulge In Color", which van Dyk counts amongst the top three or four songs the band has penned, "is a sequel to 'Black & White World' [from 2009's 'Snowfall On Judgment Day'], which is arguably the best song I've ever written. Life is hard, but it's a thing of tremendous beauty, and it's up to you to live it to the fullest. Like the song 'Perfect' on 'This Mortal Coil' (2011) says: suck the marrow out of every day." The new record's title track also embraces and advances this theme. "We see a lot of dreams and hoped-for-outcomes dashed by our own failings or by factors outside our control, but dreaming is essential to realizing the beauty of life. Life is amazing and depressing and carefree and terrifying and full of hope and love and full of fear and doubt…But it is, in the final calculus, beautiful and an incredible gift. And we must keep on dreaming."

This subject matter as usual sounds perfect, and seems like just what I need at this time in my life.  Can't wait.

So glad Simone and Chris are involved on leads again too, a lot of their work in contrast with Nick's was perfect.  Doesn't seem like Tom plays any leads which is a shame but fair enough.

[wolfking]

I would encourage you to listen to the main solo in Slouching...I'd put that up against any guitar solo ever recorded. It's mind boggling what Simone does there.

Yes, absolutely.  I had to rewind this about 10 times the first time I heard it.  I've been playing for 20 years and this is indeed one of the coolest solos I've heard in a long long time.  Figuring it out trying to play it is a bitch too, especially with the time signatures in between mainly haha.  Good call Nick.

[Evermind]

I would encourage you to listen to the main solo in Slouching...I'd put that up against any guitar solo ever recorded. It's mind boggling what Simone does there.

Yes, absolutely.  I had to rewind this about 10 times the first time I heard it.  I've been playing for 20 years and this is indeed one of the coolest solos I've heard in a long long time.  Figuring it out trying to play it is a bitch too, especially with the time signatures in between mainly haha.  Good call Nick.

I can't listen to the song right now, is it the solo after "turns its pitiless gaze to me, to me" part? This is exactly where the song gets my attention back. I remember it being quite a jarring transition, but yeah, that solo is pretty great.

[goo-goo]

Quite shocking  listening to Redemption without Ray. Having said that, the song is kicking ass and Tom sounds great. Can’t wait to hear the whole album. Love Nick’s lyrics and songwriting he quickly became one of my favoritres. Consider me stoked for the new material 

[wolfking]

I would encourage you to listen to the main solo in Slouching...I'd put that up against any guitar solo ever recorded. It's mind boggling what Simone does there.

Yes, absolutely.  I had to rewind this about 10 times the first time I heard it.  I've been playing for 20 years and this is indeed one of the coolest solos I've heard in a long long time.  Figuring it out trying to play it is a bitch too, especially with the time signatures in between mainly haha.  Good call Nick.

I can't listen to the song right now, is it the solo after "turns its pitiless gaze to me, to me" part? This is exactly where the song gets my attention back. I remember it being quite a jarring transition, but yeah, that solo is pretty great.

That's it.  It's around 4:20.