Hailing from Seattle, Vendetta Red is a band recognized for its lyrically driven rock with metal and screamo undertones. It is seemingly the undercredited saviors of the mainstream rock world. Sisters of the Red Death, the band's second album to be released on a major label, develops some of the more profound themes encountered on their first Epic Records release, Between the Never and the Now. The new album took two years to write, but the band simplified the tracking process and cut production time to two weeks.
The churning guitars remain a constant, but are intermingled with tales of banshees, dead brides, silhouettes, and perverted religion. This album is a bit more calculated, both rhythmically and vocally; the lyrics are graphic and allow listeners to create images in their minds of the story that the music is unfolding. This is most prominent in the song "Shiver": "With a gorgonesque stare, her scale covered hair's got a snake in every curl. With her forked tongue and her ash colored eyes..." The band has traded in extensive heart-wrenching screams for more intriguing, thought-provoking lyrics.
Religion continues to be a strongly represented concept in this album, as is evident in the album art. The record displays vocalist Zach Davidson's disgust for the corruption of churches and organized religion. The title of the album is named for the Brothers and Sisters of the Red Death, a cult formed in Japan in the 18th century and later adopted by disaffected Russians.
On the date of the cult's demise, the Russian Red Death congregation killed themselves in what they saw as an act of purification before the apocalypse. Zach Davidson took this story and transformed it into music telling of suicide, betrayal, anger, hate?the same dark themes as from Between the Never and the Now, but more pronounced and formulated.
"Silhouette Serenade" titillates the listener's emotions. The strings add an emotional tone to the piece, and the melodic chorus makes it hard to resist singing along. "And I've been lonely like a silhouette, or a serenade / a heart attack, or a man betrayed / The arms of love are holding me like a silhouette, or a serenade."
The euphonic chorus is quite different from those of the previous album. One might ignorantly attribute this stylistic difference to the band's shift from an independent to a major record label. It is refreshing, however, to know that Vendetta Red, trusting its faithful fan base, is willing to risk a change in sound and style. It is energizing to find a band that is in the industry for the music and the creative experience rather than fame and recognition.
Vendetta Red takes the emphasis of the rock genre away from style and outward façade and toward what is actually audible through the speakers. Some groups think that a shoddy performance will be overlooked if they are clad in stud belts and black t-shirts, but Vendetta Red refuses to betray the integrity of its art form. This band is dedicated to its music, a fact that Sisters of the Red Death demonstrates through and through. This album is nearly flawless and represents Vendetta Red's most honest and eerily emotional work.