RedTower – ‘Afterall’ [Review]
And we’re back! After major heart surgery, a round of Type-A flu, acute appendicitis, and many other less-than-fun experiences, The Musical Melting Pot is finally back online and ready to bring you even more epic new music.
Needless to say, the past several weeks have been brutal, difficult, and not a little dark – but there were moments of positivity and clarity scattered about as well. One such moment was the release of this EP – a Facebook news feed discovery that yielded many hours of blissful escape from windowless quarantine rooms and slowly healing surgical wounds. I owe a debt of gratitude to RedTower simply for existing; some intangible quality separated Afterall from its peers in terms of sheer immersive potential, providing many much-needed periods of relief. As TMMP’s archives demonstrate, my musical tastes are nothing if not eclectic; therefore, that this EP consistently topped the entire contents of my iCloud library and Spotify’s bottomless catalogue for seven full days is testament to the existence of some potentially imperceptible x-factor.
But what might it be?
I’ve had a fair amount of time to ponder this question, and I think that the difference that made the difference is this: RedTower mean it. This Brighton-based three-piece mean what they say, and mean what they play. Recorded for zero pounds and zero pence (bar the long-ago-paid costs of their recording equipment) in guitarist Rob Chapman’s seafront flat, Afterall is a labour of love akin to a newly-crafted weapon forged by the most venerable of swordsmiths. Having recently watched Kill Bill, I have to say this: Afterall is a musical Hattori Hanzo sword that has already proven itself capable of fending off the rest of my Crazy 88-level music collection for a solid week. In short, Afterall succeeded where even Beatrix Kiddo would eventually falter and fail.
Another key x-factor for consideration is RedTower’s focus on deeply emotional, spiritual, and philosophical themes. I can appreciate a good song written for its own sake, but each of Afterall‘s three songs (and the closing acoustic version of second track Gone) overtly yearn for some form of deeper and/or higher understanding. RedTower know how to dig into themselves and pull their deepest feelings and fears to the surface in the name of their art.
A careful listen to each track’s lyrical content yields an emotional connection frequently lacking from the precise and overstudied work of many contemporary metal acts – and it certainly helps that Natassja Saliba is a top-notch vocalist par excellence. Given that RedTower are a rock/metal band with a female vocalist, comparisons to Nightwish, Evanescence, and Paramore are inevitable – but here we clearly hear something else, easily capable of distinguishing Saliba from Turunen, Jansen, Lee, and Williams. An awesome talent backed up by a pair of multi-talented and respected instrumentalists in solid rock guitarist Rob Chapman and rhythmic powerhouse Rabea Massaad.
Overall, Afterall is but the beginning of a fresh journey into the collective creative consciousnesses of three passionately devoted individuals. If this EP were a game of Minecraft, we’d still have yet to hit obsidian and lava. When RedTower get to that point, the results are going to be explosive.
Watch this space. We will.
Links
Buy Afterall on iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/afterall-ep/id823943565
Connect with RedTower on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redtowerband
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