Ra "Duality"

I have to say, this week was pretty devoid of notable new music releases. I had to dig pretty deep to find an album that I was interested in reviewing. But I’m pretty glad I did the digging, because I came across a pretty great album. You may remember their angry metal stylings from a few years back when they had some decent airplay with their single “Do You Call My Name”, but chances are you’ve never given much thought to Ra other than that. You may not have even known their name. I would describe them as a metal band with a great singer. Their new album Duality was released this week and after spending some time with it, I was glad that I chose it to review.

“A war against time, destined to lose, I’ll just sit here and watch tv.” That’s a line from Ra’s first album. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great album, but it was full of this post Korn, self loathing, dark depression, mad as hell, fed up with the world stuff. Let’s face it, 90% of the modern metal we listen to is full of lyrics like these. It’s as much a staple of the genre as the open e minor chord is (gratuitous guitar quip there, sorry folks). I fully expected their new album to be full of the same angry attitude, but was surprised to find that the lyrics ran much deeper here. Don’t get me wrong, Ra is still angry, but they’ve apparently gotten much better at expressing themselves. Songs about loss, longing, and just general introspection run rampant here. The lyrics are delivered beautifully over the metal music.

I was sincerely impressed by the newfound depth and subject content of the lyrics, but at the same time I was a bit thrown off by it. It represents one of the albums great strengths and one of its great weaknesses as well. The music still plays like an angry band that’s pissed off at the world. However, when the singer starts skillfully and melodically singing about his loss of direction in life, I can’t help but feel a bit confused. Suddenly I’m not sure if I should throw my buddy through a wall or sit down and have a heart to heart with him.

There are some great tracks on this album, a few worth mentioning. The lead single “Fallen Angels” is a high point for the album as it rocks just as hard as anything else playing on the radio right now while flirting with some interesting lyrical content. The vocal stylings near the end of “I Lost Everything Today” are truly unique and very cool. The song that’s sure to get a lot of airplay if they ever release it as a single is “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”, a great cover of the Police classic.

Overall, if you’re looking for a solid rock album to throw on while you sit and do something else, Duality is the disc for you. While I doubt it’ll make its way onto anyone’s top ten list, this is truly solid metal/rock music that wouldn’t be a mistake to buy. If it weren’t for its case of not quite knowing if it’s an angry metal band or an introspective rock group, I would’ve labeled this as a must have. As is, the album is just a bit unbalanced feeling. Ra is on a good course, and hopefully they stick around long enough to find their identity. I’m sure it would lead to some great music.

Three and a half out of Five Stars

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