Rainbows Are Free – Silver And Gold

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · March 20, 2025

Rainbows Are Free is a heavy psychedelic proto-metal band from Norman, Oklahoma. Formed in 2007, the band has released 2008’s Self Titled EP, 2010’s Believers In Medicine, 2014’s Waves Ahead of the Ocean, 2019’s Head Pains, and a live record, 2023’s Heavy Petal Music. Their latest album called Silver And Gold, was released on March 7th 2025, on Ripple Music. The lineup consists of: Brandon Kistler on vocals, Richie Tarver on lead guitar, Jason Smith on bass, Joey Powell on rhythm guitar, Bobby Onspaugh on drums, and Josh Elam on synth. Silver And Gold contains nine tracks and is around forty minutes long.

Rainbows Are Free are the type of band that gets into your head and doesn’t wanna escape. There is something alluring about the band and the music they create that’s hard to really explain. I find myself drawn into these nine tracks in an almost hypnotic manner. The opener “Your Girl” begins with some bass and tribal drumming that sets you in a trance from the start. The synth and guitars sneak right in and the vocals have an almost haunting effect to them. The music has a carpet of psych and fuzz draped over a swinging drum beat. The music incrementally changes each measure though, tricking my brain that’s now fully immersed with the band’s captivating sound. The vocals have a low droning tone that shifts into a higher register of torturous sounds. Everything about Rainbows Are Free is engrossing and compelling. “Runnin’ With A Friend Of The Devil” has a rocking flow throughout with layers of synthesized psych blended in. Brandon Kistler’s vocals have an almost gothic vibe as the music trudges along. There’s also a metal meets alternative ambience going on with this track. The guitar leads are inviting and everything seems to just flow along in a majestic manner.

“Solar Flare” starts with a swirling array of different sounds of airiness, congo-esc percussion, clean guitar picking, and some cool eerie leads. The song transfers into some trippy and psychedelic tones and crashes. The unconventional formations of the audio arrangements are eccentric and mystifying. Each instrument, including the crooning and howling vocals, are designing a tapestry of peculiar and offbeat music. It somehow all works in such an amazing manner of mind altering madness. The fourth track called “Sleep” is another hallucinating experience. The bizarre sounds that Rainbows Are Free are dishing out are adventurous yet cohesive for each song. The effortless blending of spacy sounds and melodies with heavy bombings of riff rock is quite fascinating. “Hide” is yet another example of the dynamic musical essence that Rainbows Are Free are creating. The chugging rock rhythms are laced with synthesized keyboards and gothic singing in an enchanting vividness. The six piece band are all in with their role in creating such gripping and seductive tones. The music is very mesmerizing and each band member adds the right mixture to such sonically spellbinding sounds.

“The Light” is a more straightforward song for the band, which means that it is still ambitious in its core. The vocals have mostly the low and soulful drawl but incorporate the higher register on the chorus. The guitar leads on this track are fantastic and the overall flow is rocking. However, when “Dirty” plays next, it’s go time! The new wavy punk sound is striking on this song. The band travel down the sonic terrain of British pop punk with this raging rocker. It still overlaps the synth on top given the song the originality that it derives. “Fadeaway” starts mellow with acoustic guitars and soulful singing. It cranks in heavier and indulges in the band’s expansive and introspective sounds.

The final song on Silver And Gold is called “The Gift”. It has a touch of seance sounds on certain parts and the vocals are more raspy and gritty on this one. The song has a soul stirring and expressive feel that makes it eerie and evocative. The mid point in the song brandishes some scorching and animating guitar parts which mixes things up nicely. Overall, I am very intrigued with the music from Rainbows Are Free. The band is never predictable and how they are able to combine all six instruments together to create such arresting musical art is amazing. This is the first album that I have heard from the band and I am very curious about their other releases now.