Duran Duran's Red Carpet Massacre: A Welcome Departure

Duran Duran is one of the biggest groups in music. The group has sold over 85 million records. It has been four years since its last album Astronaut, which sold over three million copies. Now Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Roget Taylor are back with their new album, Red Carpet Massacre. On the new album, they are joined by predominantly urban producers Nate "Danjahandz" Hills and Timbaland. Will a more urban, cutting-edge album appeal to die-hard Duran Duran fans?

The first single off of Red Carpet Massacre is Falling Down featuring and produced by Justin Timberlake. The song was written by Justin Timberlake and Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran. The song is a solid pop song. Simon Le Bon's vocals are still as masterful as ever. The musicianship of the band is also evident on the track along with many subtleties that make the song a success.

On Nite Runner, Duran Duran are joined by Justin Timberlake and Timbaland over a track produced by Timbaland and Nate "Danjahandz" Hills. The song sounds as if it was a left over track from FutureSex/LoveSounds. The song is a solid dance track.

On Skin Divers they are once again joined by Timbaland. The song is very electro pop heavy. The beat sounds almost mechanical. The lyrics are very heavy for the beat. The song is definitely helped by Timbaland's guest vocal performance otherwise it would be an average track.

Zoom In is the other Timbaland produced track. The song is very different sounding. The track features a very hard urban beat but tons of electro pop elements. The song is just alright and is not one of the best on the album.

Dirty Great Monster is the closest thing to original Duran Duran. The song is very well written and very different than other songs out now. There are so many different layers and breakdowns throughout the song.

The title track Red Carpet Massacre is a very interesting sounding song. The track definitely is urban in nature as it was produced by Nate "Danjahandz" Hill. The chorus is more rock driven and the track is a genre bending hybrid.

The Valley is probably the most awkward sounding song on the album. The track just sounds like something from out of this world and it is hard to determine if that is a good thing or not.

Box Full O' Honey is more in line with what you would expect from Duran Duran. It is a solid pop song built around strong instrumentation. The song features all sorts of instruments which give the song an international appeal

Red Carpet Massacre is a departure from what you would expect from Duran Duran. They have aged well and mix well with more modern music. Red Carpet Massacre is a solid album and gets 7.5 out of 10 stars. If you're a fan of the legendary Duran Duran, make sure you purchase their new album Red Carpet Massacre when it is in stores on November 13.