Friday, March 29, 2024

Review: Left For Red – All Things Known And Buried

You know you’re doing something right when you find yourself supporting the likes of  Chimaira, Revoker, Beholder and Breed 77. These guys also won the Kerrang! TNA competition which saw their track ‘Kneel Before You Die’ broadcast in 27 countries around the world. Coming from the UK Midlands, Left For Red have been dong their thing since 2010; they have built up a vast following and are reported to perform cracking live shows (on my to-do list).

All Things Known And Buried is the band’s debut album and follows two EPs: Vol 001 – Empty Shell and Vol 002 – Mercy Flight, both of which saw widespread praise and recognition from the likes of Kerrang!, Big Cheese and Rock Sound; this album is set to be no different.

Left For Red
Left For Red

The overall sound of the album is well polished; each instrument has its own space and none dominate. Rob Hadley and Dan Carter work well together to provide a solid rhythm section. Rob holds the pace on the drums offering beats and fills to complement each track without going overboard; although he does squeeze in a cheeky cow bell in ‘Crooked Path’ which brought a smile to my face, nice job! Dan’s meaty bass sound links rhythm to melody and, on more than one occasion, the duo deliver some truly sexy intros.

Between them, Phil Smith and Aaron Foy deliver tight rhythm and lead guitar parts with some skilfully understated parts throughout the album. There is nothing remarkable happening but the music is very good, delivering some superb and dangerously catchy riffs, and maintains a similar feel throughout; this is a good thing in my mind as it suggests they have definitely settled into a style.

The vocals are the one sticking point for me. Now, it’s important to recognise that LC has an extremely good and versatile voice; however, I have reservations about some of the verse vocals; that’s not to say they are poor, but, for me, they seem to be lacking something in production and are a little too far outside of the mix. He does not lack for power, throwing all he has into the chorus sections with great effect and, as evidenced by tracks like ‘Reborn’ and ‘Echoes of Strangers’, LC is clearly an accomplished screamer, but he doesn’t let it dominate his style and, for that, I tip my hat to him.
All Things Know And Buried is a cracking album and will be one that I come back to with some regularly; I am sure these guys are only going to get better and, although it’s early days, I’m sure that, like me, they will leave you wanting more. Left For Red All Things Known And Buried is out via Burning Halo Records on 27th April 2015.

Marcus L
Marcus L
Writer and sub-editor. Music fan with not enough time. Loves Megadeth, Porcupine Tree, Textures, and ZOAX. Join me on Twitter @infernal_wisdom

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