Red Line Chemistry

Tug Of War

Brett Ditgen – Lead Vocals

Tom Brown – Bass, Vocals

Mike Mazzarese – Percussion

Dave Fyten – Guitar, Vocals

Andrew Breit – Guitar, Keyboard, Vocals

Red Line Chemistry is an American hard rock band formed in 2004, hailing from Kansas City, Missouri. They have toured with many bands like Three Days Grace, Sevendust, and Godsmack to name a few. The band had released several independent albums since arriving on the scene. 2006 seen Chemical High & A Hand Grenade and the band began to release albums every two years. Escape Plan came in 2008 while Dying For A Living arrived in 2010. Now in 2013 they are back with their fifth effort Tug Of War. The album features 12 tracks and spreads nearly an entire hour. The record gets going with “Black Roses” which soars to great heights. The guitars rip through cords and shreds notes while the drums pound out a killer beat. The vocals also hit the ground running with a smooth voice as they give up some nice lyrics. It’s an easy track to get into and it really is a nice start to the album. The titled cut, “Tug Of War,” steps up to the plate next. The tune hits hard once again, but is a bit more controlled as well. The slower spots let the vocals take center stage while the music in the background glides along. The fast places also have the vocals up in front, but the tunes are harder and more demanding. It’s a cool number, especially the guitar solos. “Paralyzed” opens up with a great intro before the vocals come strolling in with poise on top of an awesome sound. Everything works together in this offering. It’s a star track with clear vocals that you can sing along with and a vibe that is infectious. This one will get a lot of play and should be hitting the live stage as well. “The Fighter” slows the album down, sort of. The vocals are drawn out a bit more and the music is chilled out for the most part. There are still a few places where the track spikes, but for the most part it’s a bit calmer. It’s a nice tune to chill out to every once in a while. “Quiet Hurricane” glides along with ease just like the title suggests. The vibe is infectious like a couple of tracks ago while the vocals have a sweet attitude about them. This is one that I feel the fans are going to latch onto and run with. It has a great sound to it and sticks with you. It’s at the top of the class. “Eyes To The Sky” really slows the album down with an emotional set of tunes and vocals. You will find yourself getting lost in the track as I know I did. I really like the music and there is a nice little cord that sounds like a lightened version of the Halloween theme track. That really stuck out in my head. “Unspoken” is a descent track with powering tunes and sweeping vocals that offer up some solid lyrics. It does however seem to get a bit boring in some spots as it doesn’t hold your attention. I do like the way the track ends and the music shines in a few places. “Through The Haze” blazes the scene with a near 8 minute tune. The track slows the album down and does offer up some good vocals and lyrics; however it does seem to drag on an in spots. “Sucker Punch” does just that after the slow offering that just finished up. The tempo is turned up and the guitars show back up with a nice little solo. The drums are steady and move the track along while the vocals offer up some cool lyrics that you can run with. There are better spots of the track than others, but overall I like this number and you should keep coming back to it. “One More Day” opens with a blast of music before being reeled in when the vocals come back into the mix. After everything smoothes out the track sounds really good. It offers up some great vocals that are easy to follow along with while the music steps up from time to time (notably the guitars) and gets the job done. It’s a nice number. “Fall Of Man” is a slower track with passionate lyrics that are giving up perfectly by Brett. The track weights heavily on your once you really dive into the lyrics. The added keyboard also brings the somberness of the track out. It’s a killer track that you can just soak up. “What Do You Want From Me” wraps up the album with an 8+ minute tune that begins with some nice acoustic guitar picking before the electric stuff chimes in. The intro to the track is great and really grabs your attention and pulls you in. The vocals then enter and take over the track. They offer up a well written set of lyrics on a silver plate for you while the guitars soar to new heights several times in the track. It concludes the album on a high note. Overall this album is solid. There are several tracks that you can enjoy time and time again while the rest you can just let flutter in the background without skipping them. I really like the way they change things up throughout the record. The vocals aren’t boring while the music goes from fast to slow tempos and back again. The last song is a really good indicator of that as they do it in the track just like the rest of the album is. I can see many people falling in love with this record and not letting it out of their sight.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Tracks to Watch:

Paralyzed, Sucker Punch, Fall Of Man

Track List:

1. Black Roses
2. Tug Of War
3. Paralyzed
4. The Fighter
5. Quiet Hurricane
6. Eyes To The Sky
7. Unspoken
8. Through The Haze
9. Sucker Punch
10. One More Day
11. Fall Of Man
12. What Do You Want From Me