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     For reasons that are beyond this reviewer, the name SupaRed stuck with Kiske, and he was able to turn his attention further towards the music. When he was done, he had produced, mixed and mostly written the self-titled debut.
     The result of his toil is a 14-track modern rock and roll album that comes across as alternative without the angst. SupaRed is essentially what mainstream rock would probably have evolved into had Nirvana not come around. Imagine Richard Marx with some testosterone playing with a simple play-along backing band. This isn't to say that this is especially bad, or especially good; it comes across as mediocre.
     For the most part, the songs are very similar in topic and rhythm. There are a few songs that stand out, and just one that perhaps should have been left off of the final recording. The lone track that is irksome is "Ride On", a dull, slow, piano-based ballad that seems to go nowhere over its five minute span. On the other side of the ledger is "Freak-Away", easily the best song on the album. The chunky guitars are kept at bay while Kiske's voice seduces the listener and the simple keyboard line helps give the song depth. Unfortunately Kiske decided to tack on a guitar solo at the end and fade it out, which is a shame that it couldn't be incorporated within the song. "Can I Know Now?" sets itself apart from the rest with a pleasant call/response chorus that is nice on the ear. For the fans of groups like Coldplay, "Let's Be Heroes" is a nice, catchy song--the music has a nice groove and the vocal line is pretty. Sadly, the keys are mixed too low to have the impact they should.

	SUPARED S/T SANCTUARY	LINKS: supared.com
	When Michael Kiske, the former lead singer of Helloween, formed his new band he searched all over for an appropriate name. "I didn't want anything bumptious or cliché. I thought of dozens of possible names, but what sounded great at first, got dumped pretty soon after." Kiske explained on SupaRed's website.
For reasons that are beyond this reviewer, the name SupaRed stuck with Kiske, and he was able to turn his attention further towards the music. When he was done, he had produced, mixed and mostly written the self-titled debut. The result of his toil is a 14-track modern rock and roll album that comes across as alternative without the angst. SupaRed is essentially what mainstream rock would probably have evolved into had Nirvana not come around. Imagine Richard Marx with some testosterone playing with a simple play-along backing band. This isn't to say that this is especially bad, or especially good; it comes across as mediocre. For the most part, the songs are very similar in topic and rhythm. There are a few songs that stand out, and just one that perhaps should have been left off of the final recording. The lone track that is irksome is "Ride On", a dull, slow, piano-based ballad that seems to go nowhere over its five minute span. On the other side of the ledger is "Freak-Away", easily the best song on the album. The chunky guitars are kept at bay while Kiske's voice seduces the listener and the simple keyboard line helps give the song depth. Unfortunately Kiske decided to tack on a guitar solo at the end and fade it out, which is a shame that it couldn't be incorporated within the song. "Can I Know Now?" sets itself apart from the rest with a pleasant call/response chorus that is nice on the ear. For the fans of groups like Coldplay, "Let's Be Heroes" is a nice, catchy song--the music has a nice groove and the vocal line is pretty. Sadly, the keys are mixed too low to have the impact they should.
----Scott Olivenbaum