Red Cell - Endings And Beginnings

After the two industrial metal / EBM releases in 'Hybrid Society' and 'Lead and Follow' from 2005 and 2008, things got silent from the Swedish trio Red Cell. After almost seven years of silence, Red Cell released a single called 'Taking Back The Crown' in 2015, hinting about new things to come. And "new" might be the correct word here, because not only was a new album on the way, their style had made a complete 180 turn as well. I think that the name of the album describes it very well. Things will end and you will instead find new beginnings.

At first it was hard trying to figure out Red Cell as a synthpop act rather than an industrial act. With the love I have for their two first albums, I was not sure if the sound of 'Endings and Beginnings' was the right way for them to go, however, I can understand that when 6-7 years have passed, you might want to try something new in your big comeback, rather than trying to rehash something that feels old. 

There's been a total of three single releases from this album. 'The Ladder', 'Vial of Dreams' and 'Taking Back The Crown'. Not bad choices at all and the three tracks cover the album quite well. However, I think that "Vial of Dreams" is probably the weakest one at the bunch and they miss out on what I think is the strongest track of the album, "(We'll never have) Another Moment)". The sound of the track makes me instantly think about Depeche Mode's classic "Enjoy The Silence". Not really sure why yet, because if you compare the two directly to each other, they're not THAT similar, but there's just something about it. Another track worth mentioning in this 10 track strong release is the final track "Persistent", with its almost dragging momentum and a strong chorus.

Despite the fact that I honor Red Cell's legacy, they still have a place to fill and they do it well. Let's just hope we hear from them again before 2023. 


Nov 28 2017