According to Nielsen SoundScan, rock band
RED debuts its sophomore album this week atop multiple sales charts.
INNOCENCE & INSTINCT, scanning nearly
40,000 units its first week out entered the charts at No. 1 on the
Record Label Independent Current Albums chart,
No. 1 on the
Top Current Contemporary Christian Albums chart, No. 4 on the
Top Current Alternative Albums chart,
No. 6 on the
Top Current Rock Albums Chart and
No. 15 on
Billboard's Top 200 chart.
In addition, the project ranked high on iTunes' charts this week peaking
at No. 2 on the Rock chart and No. 5 on the Overall Albums chart. INNOCENCE & INSTINCT never dropped out of iTunes' Top 10 albums ranking throughout its street week.
RED launched its new project last week amid buzz surrounding its chart-topping single, "Fight Inside" and the steadily climbing singles "Death of Me" (Active Rock) and "Never Be The Same" (Christian CHR). Rave reviews in major outlets including
USA Today and
Billboard magazine (whose 1/31 review headline read: "Red Has Come Out Swinging In 2009”) and key MySpace Music promotions added momentum. RED fans rallied online with a multitude of fan-created efforts, including an alternate-reality game, spreading the word about the band's newest project.
Fans are flocking to the album's Deluxe Edition, which features four bonus tracks, the music video for the band's epic rock single, "Death of Me," behind-the-scenes footage and other exclusive content.
RED's Randy Armstrong, enthusiastically shares, "We have a lot of people to thank for today's success but we especially want to thank the RED Nation and RED fans. You believed early, supported us on the tour and hung with us through writing this project. We are thankful for you and can't wait to see you all on the road this Spring!"
In addition to celebrating incredible first-week success, the band announces tour dates with
Trapt this Spring. An updated schedule of dates and venues can be found at
www.myspace.com/dropofred.
The Nashville-based group, made up of
JASEN RAUCH (guitars),
MICHAEL BARNES (vocals),
ANTHONY ARMSTRONG (guitar) and
RANDY ARMSTRONG (bass), has logged an impressive 500+ live shows since releasing the debut album
End Of Silence in 2006, and has given fans a taste of new music on
Innocence & Instinct while on the road in late 2008.
Since the 2006 emergence of the band's debut, it has maintained a near-constant presence on the road, touring alongside notable rock names such as Three Days Grace, Flyleaf, 3 Doors Down, Breaking Benjamin, Seether, Papa Roach, Buckcherry, Sevendust, Staind, Kutless, Third Day, Switchfoot and others, and rave reviews for the band's live shows have poured in via both print and online outlets alike.
Much of the thematic material on
Innocence & Instinct deals with the duality of mankind's nature. The band also drew inspiration from the imagery of Dante's
Divine Comedy during the songwriting phase of the project. Included within the framework of
Innocence & Instinctis a faithful, yet thoroughly reinvented, cover of the Duran Duran classic "Ordinary World." The band simultaneously released a
Deluxe Edition of
Innocence & Instinct featuring four bonus tracks and a DVD featuring the "Death of Me" music video, a "making of" documentary and more.
