Single Review: Sever Red - One More Time (2025)

Written: 5th July 2025

Virginia’s Sever Red have made vulnerability a virtue. In little over a year, they have carved out a distinctive space with a brand of serrated alternative hard rock / post grunge that pairs poetic lyricism with the bruised weight of lived experience. The tracks that made up their 2024 EP Sick and Tormented formed the foundation of a deeply personal debut. The single Conjuring – released in January this year – was darker, marking a subtle evolution, as vocalist Kevin Riner’s lyrics shifted from anguished reaction to analytical reflection.

One More Time - the band's first track with new drummer Eric Green - begins with a crunching and hypnotic guitar riff before stripping back as Riner begins his latest ominous sermon. Sever Red draw from the sound of the early-2000s alt-rock bands but with each offering, they have become increasingly unique and have carved their own identity that, as Riner sings, is instantly recognisable as their own. Knowing something of his personal history (interview here), the first lyrics - A lie I have lived so long / All my life, my friend – cut deep. There is never any pretence with Sever Red, just raw pain that is as much about truth as performance. It is an invitation into something real.

When the chorus hits, it is not a shout of victory but one of quiet disbelief. Riner’s voice carries doubt, as though joy is something foreign to him. When I looked into your eyes / I finally felt alive. The band matches the mood: guitars swell but never scream. There is no closure here – just reference to a cycle that keeps turning. You break me / To save me one more time repeats like a prayer, half pleading, half broken. Tyler McKinney’s bass and Josiah Wilder’s guitar wrap around the vocals like shadows – somehow simultaneously comforting and corrosive.

Riner continues to be a fascinating lyricist with his words often appearing deceptively simple, but with an understanding of his own internal demons, there is a naked, unmasked reality to them. I soaked my dreams in gasoline. It grabs you - bold and sharp. It is the signature Sever Red brand of self-destruction: burning it all down while holding the match. Still, there is a fragile hope buried within. I will believe in a better day / One where I can finally say that I am free and I am okay - a line from someone who does not quite believe it yet but has to say it anyway. The single's cover with a bird breaking free shows that Riner has more conviction in his life's direction than ever before.

When Wilder lets loose with his guitar solo, it is intoxicating and unrestrained - a perfect release in the midst of the tension. The extended notes of longing carry as much weight as the faster sections. Sever Red know how to make space mean something. It is the kind of moment that demands attention without ever needing to raise its voice. Wilder brings texture and depth, reminding us just how powerful a solo can be when it is driven by conviction, not showmanship.

On One More Time there is no fake drama, just someone sitting in the ashes, not ready to stand. The band plays with real empathy, lifting Riner’s words instead of drowning them. For a band still in relative infancy, Sever Red have already shown remarkable command over their emotional language and sonic direction. One More Time is not a song about healing: it is a song about the need to be healed. There is a difference and it is precisely in that difference that the song finds its place.

Sever Red are not here to offer answers. They are here to ask the hardest questions of themselves, allowing the rest of us to listen in. With every step forward, this band proves they are worthy of all the recognition they receive.

One More Time is out now.

Sever Red online

https://linktr.ee/severred