Back in 2001, Jeff Scott Soto was ready for a change. He had been touring with the group The Boogie Knights and he was ready to break out on his own again. He wanted to do something totally different. And what started out as a solo project for him became a band called Redlist. Redlist is actually another name for the endangered species list and they liked it so they used. Who are they? That would be Jeff, Dave Fraser (who played with Gary Richrath) and Neil Goldberg (Annihilator). They also Eric Malone (aka Big E, rapper).
Rapper? Did I just say rapper? Yes, I did. The Redlist project was not the typical Melodic rock that Jeff was used to. The time was 2001 and what was big was Industrial Rock. Think Linkin Park and you have the right idea. This is totally unexpected and out of left field which is exactly what Jeff was wanting. However, the project was shelved due to lack of interest from record executives. One thing lead to another and Jeff got busy again, he ended up doing a couple solo albums, Soul SirkUS and then Journey. Around 2007, they decided to dust off the cobwebs and release it.
They didn’t release it the normal way with a physical product. No, they did not. Instead they released it digitally through iTunes. And yes, I bought a digital product because it was the only way I could get it. Now, Jeff, if you ever find yourself reading these reviews, we would love to have a CD release of this product. Yes, I could burn it to a CD and print out the covers and put together my own CD version, but I want something official. Enough about that, let us get to the music and get ready as it isn’t what you’d expect from Jeff. Especially when Jeff does his own rapping.
The album kicks off strong with the heavy, industrial rocker, “Migraine”. It sees Jeff rap through the verses and he is very aggressive, angry and intense. The chorus is catchy and just as aggressive. The guitar sounds is gritty and pretty killer on this one. One of the better songs on the album.
Next ups is “World Today” which keeps the Linkin Park vibes going, but this song isn’t as aggressive. This is pure LP ripoff. Jeff spits out the lyrics in a rapid fire pace. The chorus is more melodic with some good harmonies. The electronic sounds are a little abrasive at times as to me they aren’t as crisp and clear as they should be. Blame production value on that one. But still a pretty good song, if you like this sort of thing.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 