Red Handed Denial – A Journey Through Virtual Dystopia

Red Handed Denial gave me one of the most instant hooks I’ve ever experienced with their single, ‘Father Said’ off their 2022 album, “I’d Rather Be Asleep”. That album offered some of the most satisfyingly bangin’ riffs and catchy choruses that I have ever experienced. And when I say catchy, I mean CATCHY! The CAPS are necessary. So with this band locked in my head as a stellar metalcore sensation, there was no way I was gonna miss out on their latest offering, “A Journey Through Virtual Dystopia“.

When they dropped the first single off this album, titled ‘Parasite’, I was fairly convinced that they’re sticking to the same patterns. Irresistible headbanging riffs and a massive chorus did the trick from the first listen. But after hearing the entire album, I’ve gotten the feeling they’ve been changing some things around. The iconic sound is still there, and the songs are still CATCHY, in CAPS. But the composition seems less riff-driven, and many of the songs come across more mellow and vulnerable. After the opener, ‘Parasite’, which kicks off with the expected bang, the album unfolds as a mixed bag of emotions and varying levels of energy. And I think it makes a lot of sense artistically when observed through the lyrical content, which is why through the rest of this review I will look at the album through the lyrical content.

When I first listened to “A Journey Through Virtual Dystopia“, I felt like the songs look at toxic relationship dynamics from different perspectives. ‘Parasite’ describes the feeling of being possessed and controlled by a force outside your control, along with a rage against that force. It is thus a very angry and heavy song. The drums display some awesome machine-gun double bass on this one.

Red Handed Denial – Parasite

The following three tracks are quite vulnerable. They feel like they could be hearty pop songs if you stripped away the riffs and occasional scream. The lyrics focus on need and desire as opposed to conflict, with ‘My Demise’ asking for a savior, ‘One More Night’ expressing a fear of being left alone, and ‘Falling Back to You’ describing the inability to let go of someone. It all seems to be described in a very dependent and powerless form. The vocals are softer, showcasing Lauren Babic‘s finesse and versatility. The riffs and drums are still strong enough, but it doesn’t feel like they’re the focus. They just have their moments. And when the heavy elements are toned down, this leaves room for more guitar lead melodies, noodling, and a mixture of synths and beats to shine through. The bridges still bring some aggressive moments with harsh vocals, where it feels like the vulnerability momentarily turns to anger before falling back into the general vibe of the song.

But then the album takes a turn with ‘Smokescreen’, which gets angry and rebellious. This is the heavy metalcore version of Red Handed Denial that I got used to from the previous record, with a slowing-down breakdown at the end to make things even more nasty. It is also strangely sandwiched between two short, fully instrumental electronic tracks. ‘Driving Towards a Neon Sunset’ is a beat-heavy EDM track that reminds me of the DOOM soundtrack while ‘and Then I Found Myself in a Virtual Dystopia’ is atmospheric, working with layers and melodic synth lines as well as some guitar leads. This is then followed by ‘Eat Glass’, the fastest, angriest and most technical track. This one shows plenty of lead guitar noodling in a Rings of Saturn fashion, fast running riffs, a death metal drum approach and almost fully harsh vocals, with the “clean” chorus coming in a harsh, dirty rock vibe. This section of the album looks like a pendulum swing to the other side of the emotional spectrum, like a breakout from the dependent pattern of the previous songs.

Red Handed Denial – My Demise

The last two tracks are soft again, but they feel liberating and peaceful, with homely and familial lyrical motifs. They’re like a conclusion after escaping the storm of toxicity. ‘I Hope You’re Happy’ is mostly an acoustic ballad with riffs only striking at the end while ‘Home’ relies once again on a lot of electronic elements.

Now here’s the kicker. I went through the album in this slightly track-by-track approach to display the journey that it takes you on. But I want to go back to when I said the lyrical content focuses on toxic relationship dynamics. After I got this interpretation, I saw an interview with Lauren where she mentioned the broad lyrical theme is focused on the effects of social media… what? Going back to the lyrics, I noticed not only that the lyrics were coherent when focused on this topic as well, but that they actually allowed me to draw a parallel between unhealthy online behaviour and abusive relationships, and some of the ways in which they’re similar, through addiction, deception and disconnect from reality.

Red Handed Denial – One More Night

So that’s the power of expressive music, honest creativity and expression, and well-written lyrics that don’t spoon-feed you. You can look at different topics through them and still draw the same emotional essence. I feel like there’s an endless amount of thoughts and ideas you could get based on how you look at the lyrics. And they could all be “correct”. But if you don’t care about any of that and you want to just enjoy some hooks and bangers, then I still encourage you to go on “A Journey Through Virtual Dystopia”.

Track List:

1. Parasite (03:27)
2. My Demise (03:37)
3. One More Night (03:56)
4. Falling Back to You (03:40)
5. Driving Towards a Neon Sunset (02:42)
6. Smokescreen (03:30)
7. …and Then I Found Myself in a Virtual Dystopia (01:12)
8. Eat Glass (02:53)
9. I Hope You’re Happy (03:29)
10. Home (03:35)