Music Reviews: Red Novella - "Red Novella" Debut 3 Song EP

Heavy metal music is different things to different people. It's Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple to the 70's generation. Iron Maiden and Judas Priest to the early/mid 80's leather and studs generation. Lipstick and Aqua Net to the late 80's early 90's group. And rap/industrial sound to the Nu Metal generation of the late 90's early 2000's. Now, in 2011, heavy metal music is rearing it's head again in the form of Red Novella.

Red Novella isn't your dad's Deep Purple, your older brothers Iron Maiden or your kid brothers Korn. Red Novella take a little something from the early 80's, a splash of the late 90's and twist it into something different, yet familiar at the same time.

The bands self titled 3 song EP is heavy enough to please old school metal heads, and current sounding enough to make the modern day metal fans not feel like their listening to their dad's music.

The band, singer Jameel Lawson, guitar duo Emo Manuel and Jay Lovell, bass player Mike Perez and drummer Jeremy Feinberg, hail from Chicago. But from the sound and aggression of this EP, they wanna take the country by storm!

Lawson is a powerhouse vocalist of the highest caliber. He's got a strong sense of melody and urgency in his voice on "Amazing", the first song on the EP. In my opinion, Lawson's one of the strongest metal vocalists I have heard in some time. It's a great way of kicking off a fantastic EP.

"Vicious Games" starts off with Feinberg's double kick drum then goes into killer duo guitar riff by Manuel and Lovell that would make Dave Murray and Adrian Smith proud! Not only do you have amazing harmony vocals by Lawson, but you also get a small hint of screamo style too. But just a tad, so as to not overshadow the true beauty of the song. The band is full on harmonious on this track. Great lyrics along with tight musicianship = an amazing song.

"Brand New Ending" finishes this EP. It's got a nice chugging guitar riff and a solid bottom line by bassist Perez. Again Feinberg is a maniac on the double kick drum ( I'm a sucker for double kick drums). The lyrics are strong and positive. It's a song about staying focused, moving forward and not looking back. It's a great way to end this EP. I only wish there were a couple more tracks here.

Now if the band is as ferocious live as they are on this EP, this band will be a beast you won't be able to tame. And I like that!

Red Novella will be playing the Cubby Bear in Chicago this Friday (August 12) with Losing Scarlet, Imperial Sons, Left Setter and Daylight Dawns. And be sure to hit them up on Facebook for up to date news and show info. Check them out live, pick up the EP and show some support for a great local band.

4 ½ / 5 Stars

Track List:

Amazing

Vicious Games

Brand New Ending