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Both the tracks are amazing. It is almost as if Chris has found a way to keep the melodic beauty of earlier Red Flag moments while presenting it in a darker setting. Red Flag have had dark wave-styled releases but I believe this brings the beauty and intensity together amazingly well. Can't wait to get my greedy little hands on the whole disc but I believe Born Again is quite an achievement.
Martin Hennessy
80's Music Central
http://www.80smusiccentral.com
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Reverend Malice is beside himself in having the opportunity to be working with Red Flag, the legendary Synth-Pop duo of the 80's who has evolved into a dark wave industrial phenomenon! The Rev can't get enough of the song "I Love You To Death" but confesses a love-affair for their entire collection that spans over 10 albums! "Lyrical genius delivered via intoxicating music that leaves me lusting for another fix. The late Mark Reynolds, as far as I am concerned, continues to live on through his brother Chris who performs so well as to carry his name with all of its dark beauty." ~Rev M
malice radio
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Born Again - Review
This is the album that starts the new era of Chris Reynolds solo as Red Flag and I think that fans who have followed the band through the late 90's and early millenium will enjoy the current sound he is creating on this work. The album comes packaged in a simple, but well designed and cool looking cardboard digi-pack case containing lyrics and other info. It was really great to get my hands on this release after the long wait and surprising news that the band lives on.
The style of this album is moody and dark, though there are plenty of tracks with an uptempo club-friendly beat. One thing I learned with this album is you want to listen to it on a system that delivers a good amount of bass, otherwise, the mid and high frequencies sound strange and lacking. The music is mixed heavy on the lows and so it's best to listen to it with plenty of bass to get the full effect of the kick drums and awesome lower synths. This is pretty much true on the entire album or else you really just don't get a good taste of what's offered.
"Born Again" is the title track for the album, though I think the overall album name might be symbolic of Chris' comeback as Red Flag, the track speaks more about born again Christians. This is an excellent production and fun dance track that should do well on dancefloors and fans will enjoy as a style possibly closest to the new wave of the 80's, though with a much darker and brooding style. Though I wouldn't really compare Red Flag to Clan of Xymox in overall style, the pattern of their music development has been similar through the years going from new wave, on through a dark synthpop, goth-flavor and now a sort of electro-industrial sound. The dark and heaviness of the album shines through on "Doom & Gloom" with it's brooding and heavy pulsating synths and deep, melodic vocals dripping with cynicism. After this heavy, brooding piece we're brought back with a little energy injection with "Pouring Rain", while remaining somber in vocal structure and lyrics, the tempo and synth compositions keep the listener moving.
At this point we've gained a great taste of what we're offered with the current Red Flag and I think any doubts have been disspelled now as to what Chris is capable of. The album moves on drifting from somber to upbeat pieces, always with the heavy, pulsing bass synths and melodic vocals, at times with a lot of resonating echo and reverb. Rejoicing through "Wonderful" and falling into the groove and rut of "Crazy" and "Twisted", the lyrics take you on a journey through the mind of someone who has been through a lot. The music helps to portray these themes well from the moving dance-friendly beats of "Wonderful" and powerful accents of "Bangladome" to the softer, yet still emotionally charged "Last Call For Love".
After listening to the first eleven powerful pieces, we're treated with an "extended" remix of "Born Again" which I think people will enjoy as this piece will probably one of the most prominent selections from this disc. It's something that club DJ's can use to mix well with other pieces, or as just a slightly alternate version to mix things up a bit. And finally we're treated to a taste of the classical piano training that Chris has had in the form of "Gaslamp Paradisio". This piece is excellent, well composed for the piano lover and includes some great layers of synths for added ethereal and ambient moods that are spellbinding. This wraps up the album and all I can say is well done.
Rating: 4.5/5
Jacob L. Bogedahl
Gothic Paradise
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