Red Sun Rising Shows Off Its Hard Edged "Side"

Akron, Ohio, home to rubber (think Goodyear). It claims hard rocking foursome Red Sun Rising as brethren as well. Piercing licks jump off this foursome like sweat jumps off of a pumped up aerobics class. Ryan Williams and Tyler Valendza tag team to ignite some pretty hellacious hooks, and I say that as flatteringly as possible. Red Sun Rising knows it's perfecting maximizing the moments with "The Otherside", a ditty asking us all what does falling from grace really mean when we end up on the other side of life anyway. Kind of flies in the face of a notion that a life left unexamined really isn't much of a life at all. You couldn't ask for drumming any more compact and making the most of the beats allotted than Pat Gerasia does. The mood he concocts matches the super intense subject matter. He doesn't whistle past the boneyard and we know those prickly heats aren't too far away from turning into a stark reality. Ricky Miller gets the festivities started the right way with a super dark contained bass riff. That alone tells you you're not likely to be lifted from the malaise you want refuge from. Vocalist Mike Protich can be clearly heard above the din but he holds back so as to allow the entire Red Sun Rising package to be judged as a unit rather than as a vocalist commanding supporting cogs. The cool riff shifting at the bridge fits ideally with the chord directions throughout this effort. The elasticity lifts "The Otherside" to heights that couldn't be reached if Mike and crew simply stared at their navels bellyaching about how futile their existences are. If you're looking for chords that tend to veer towards minor, icicle creating dirges you'd be better served going for Slipknot's "Killpop". Red Sun Rising never quite leaps off that cliff. It's all about how much zip can you get from a song that's in no hurry to let you up from its murky depths. I'd say Red Sun Rising's chorus stays in psychologically probing territory yet Mike sings as a man trying, in vain maybe but that's for you guys to conclude for yourselves, to come to grips with Life, as most of us do with varying degrees of success. I do admit that I don't think any of us ever really has adulthood figured out. We all try to put enough of the right moves together to craft a life we can live with, occasionally popping up to live with style, grace and, dare I say it, some readily available humor. "The Otherside", as it stands now, demonstrates how Red Sun Rising ably magnifies emotional minefields. This isn't funeral pyre resignation by any means. Heavy is the head, but the burden not so awful that keep on keeping on isn't rendered impossible. Akron can be proud rock and rubber go hand in hand and don't skimp on the lightly salted gusto.