heavyharmonies

Josh, What you're not getting is that your proposed solution is to leave Peter having paid $450 for a homemade CD-R. While that mey be hunky dory from your standpoint, it's still a ripoff. Delbert, What you are proposing is untenable because that then causes me financial and personal liability. 1. One of them takes issue with what they received; the other party claims that isn't what they sent. Blammo, it now becomes my fault. Given that the two of them already distrust one another, that is not a minefield I am willing to step into. 2. Routing PayPal refunds and exchanges through me ( a ) causes potential tax issues and ( b ) leaves me personally vulnerable to future chargeback issues where I would be the one left holding the bag in all this mess. No. Heavy Harmonies is not and never will be an escrow service. The moderators and I have suggested a solution that we feel minimizes loss to both parties. Whether they decide to act upon it is ultimately up to them, but I will NOT be taking on liability because two traders here can't play nice with one another. I would sooner shut down the buy/sell/trade forums. -Dan [EDIT: I have changed the title of the thread so as to be less inflammatory, and it also has ramifications to people beyond the two parties currently involved.]

I goit tired of the limited storage capacity at the package level I was using, so I have upgraded to the next level up. It tripled my monthly costs, but also tripled the storage capacity. As a result, I can now expand the length of the rotation and not have to worry about cutting tracks as the year progresses to make room for others. http://www.heavyharmonies.com/cgi-bin/radio.cgi The playlist is now just shy of 12 hours of music, and all songs are 2014 releases. The list of artists included: 21 Octayne A Sound Of Thunder Adrenaline Rush Allen/Lande Amaranthe Arion Azoria Bailey Berggren Kerslake Band Brainstorm Brother Firetribe California Breed Captain Black Beard Cold Shot Crazy Lixx Crystal Viper Cullooden Dalton Delain Devil's Heaven Diesel Elvenking Empire 21 EZ Livin' Gaeleri Gemini Syndrome Gotthard Gun Barrel Harem Scarem Harmony Helix House of Lords House of X In Faith Iron Savior Julian Angel's Beautiful Beast Kissin' Dynamite Kix L.R.S. Laney's Legion Lawless Linda & the Punch Lordi Lover Under Cover Lyriel Mind Maze Moonland Moonshine Mother Road Neonfly Night By Night Outloud Overland Pavic Pretty Maids Pretty Wild Primal Fear Project Arcadia REO Speedwagon Seven Silent Force Skintrade Slears State of Salazar Steel Panther Ten Theory Of A Deadman Thomsen Three Lions Vanden Plas Vanishing Point Vega Voyager W.E.T. Within Temptation Work of Art X-Drive

Bringing this one back around, as it's deserving of a listen if people missed it when discussion was going on. Quintessential '80s lush AOR. Agree that the song 'Diana' is fatiguing, but the rest of the album is quite good. It probably won't hit my top 5, but it's just outside.

So... where is this actually buyable other than for $30-40 as a Jap import? I see individual songs available on iTunes and Amazon, but not the actual album.

??? Umm... WHAT? It is classic Harem Scarem. Like AC/DC, they can release the same album over and over and over, but who gives a damn, it's goddamned ear candy! They could sing the phone book and I'd buy it.

There you go. That makes all the difference in the world (literally). So what happens if it is a digipak or a CD with special embossing/lettering, etc.? Do you just eat the overage for having to ship parcel rates?

Originally, the moderation team and I had considered banning Josh for what seems to be a clear cut case of fraud (intentionally sending someone a home-made CD-R when they are expecting an original pressed disc is fraud and unacceptable, no matter how justified you feel; two wrongs don't make a right!) however after some reflection (and much discussion), I have decided to restore this thread. I think it is important that both sides of this issue remain public, and I am going to urge the two parties to try and come to a mutually acceptable solution. Banning would not help Peter, and would in effect push Josh to simply try the same tactics elsewhere, whereas hopefully public pressure here and the realization that everything is exposed to the public will help reach a solution that works for both parties. Now, that said, assuming that what both Peter and Josh have recounted is the truth, there is blame to be had on both sides. When trading/selling CDs (or any collectible for that matter), it is CRITICAL to accurately describe the condition of the goods. The condition flaws that Josh says existed with the discs he received are inexcusable. Peter should know better. That said, if Josh was unhappy with the results of the trade and felt he got a raw deal, the solution was NOT to delibrately rip Peter off, which he apprently did. He knew that what he was sending Peter was NOT what Peter was expecting to receive. Period. End of discussion. So what could Josh have done? He could have posted here in the good/bad sellet/trader forum. That's what it's here for: to bring issues like this to light in hopes of scrutiny and peer pressure making it right. He could have contacted me or any other moderator and asked us to intervene in the situation... but he did neither of these. If Peter did in fact make threats as Josh claims, that too is unacceptable, although I understand the frustration, as Peter at that point had no recourse (more on that later). I have not seen the actual language that was sent or received, nor do I wish to. Understanding Peter is difficult, as English is not his native language. There may have been misinterpretation or simply venting. Regardless, we need to be careful on what we say and how we say it. Threats of violence are not permitted. Peter made the mistake of Paying Josh via PayPal gift payment. THIS IS ALMOST ALWAYS A BAD IDEA! I don't care what the circumstances are. If you pay by Gift payment, you lose all recourse in the event things go wrong. If ANYONE is asking you to use a Gift payment option for merchandise, this should set off alarm bells as a possible scam! The only exceptions are (1) you are indeed sending the money as a gift or donation with no expectation of anything in return, or (2) it is to someone close that you have worked with MANY times before and that you trust IMPLICITLY. Otherwise, do NOT use the Gift payment option. Ok.... so there's what has been done, and now there's what needs to be done moving forward. What the moderation team and I are urging both Peter and Josh to do is the following: Reverse EVERYTHING, including the original trade that caused this. Each party pays for the shipping costs to return everything they received (using trackable methods), and then Josh refunds the remainder of the funds and you both go their separate ways. You both will be out some shipping costs, but better that than someone being a "winner" and the other a "loser". This thread will remain public as a cautionary reminder of how things can go bad in a hurry and how NOT to handle it. Prospective buyers/sellers/traders can then make choices accordingly. At this point, no one is being banned from the forum. I reserve the right to change that as I see fit. This should be a fun hobby, not a stressful one that causes loss or ill will. -Dan

I'm spinning this for the second time, and... Given all the hype it has garnered and all the "ZOMFG! BesthingEVERZZZZZZ!" comments all over the Interwebz, I'm actually disappointed. It's solid. Decent. Has its moments. But not a lot of staying/sticking power to these ears. I'd give it 4/5 stars at this point, but won't make my top 5 or anywhere close. It's weird, because at times the vocals and choruses are great, but at others they are cringeworthy and give me that "nails on a chalkboard" feeling. It just doesn't pass my "ear candy" test. There's no point during the album that I find myself hitting the "Back" button to immediately re-listen to the song again because it's just so damned good. That's somewhat of a litmus test for me. I mean hell, it's certainly no Babymetal. Seriously though, it just falls short and I can't quite put my finger on why. EDIT: As I listen further, I think part of the reason is that at times I hear Harem Scarem, Def Lep, Winger, et al., but... just not as well executed; a "poor man's version" if you will. It's like they are trying SO hard to be these bands, but it comes up short of magnificence. I'll give it some relistens along the way as it may be a grower...

I revel in my wrongitude! (Is that even a word?) Seriously though, it's remarkable how albums that *should* trip your trigger don't always do so. Also, perceptions and preferences change over time. I'm sure that if I were to go back and redo Top 5 lists from several years ago, the results would be completely different, for several reasons: 1. Hearing a particular artist or style for the first time bumps it up compared to subsequent releases. We had that discussion earlier this year about the new Brother Firetribe. Because they set the bar so high with the first 2 CDs, this one no longer hits you with the same impact because it's no longer new, despite being a musically superior album (IMO). 2. Follow-up releases and releases from other artists in the same genre may surpass what was originally a groundbreaking release in one way or another. 3. Tastes change. For example, so-called "modern hard rock" had many more detractors early on, especially from die-hard '80s hair metal fans, however that resistance has mellowed over the course of time, especially as the borders between the genres have blurred. Also, you can get "burned out" on one style or another over time and repeated plays. Sometimes you come back around; sometimes you don't. 4. What is "consistent" or "staying true" (a positive) to some people, others see as "worn out" or "rehashed" (a negative). See earlier discussion re: AC/DC releasing the same album 37 times over the course of their career. I find it interesting that occasionally I will hear a follow-up album from an artist that I perceive as "meh", then go back and re-listen to a previous release form the same artist that I thought was "OMFG! STUPERB!"... only to then realize just how similar the two are... so why does one garner a completely different aural or visceral reaction from the other? As far as Vega is concerned, through two complete listens it simple hasn't tripped those "ear candy triggers" that make a top album for me. That may change on subsequent listens, or it may not. P.S. Babymetal just plain rocks... deal with it.

No idea. I can't ship internationally for anywhere near that low, and certainly not on eBay. Possibilities (no idea if any of these are how he's personally doing it): 1. Ship without jewel cases (cuts the weight by 30-50%). 2. If you're a high-enough volume shipper and have an electronic shipping account with one of the providers, it's possible to garner discounts. The thing is though, shipping through PayPal/eBay gets you volume discounts and those still aren't enough to get the cost that low. 3. Build a certain amount of the shipping cost into every CD's price, thus lowering the appearance of shipping charges. THis goes back to my post above about the different perception across multiple pricing alternatives where the bottom line is identical. 4. Eating the cost overrun just to clear product.

Price on Amazon for the 2CD + Blu-Ray set has dropped from $29.88 to $19.88. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OAIHF1A/ref=ox_ya_os_product_refresh_T1

Samples of all of the following added to the main site. Click on an album cover to go to the page to listen.

Maybe fodder for a different thread, but as someone who is coming up on 5,000 eBay transactions (60% as buyer, 40% as seller) I seriously wonder why some people get hung up on shipping charges. $20 item + $10 shipping. $10 item + $20 shipping. $30 item + FREE shipping. More people will go for #1 or #3 before considering #2, yet they are all equal. When I shop, I ignore the shipping costs by themselves. When comparing items from various sellers, the only dollar amount that matters is the total out-the-door sum. How it's broken down is meaningless! If you feel an overseas seller is charging you too much for shipping, then buy from a different seller who you don't feel is overcharging for shipping. If the seller in question is STILL the cheapest when compared to other sellers even after shipping costs, then what is there to complain about? What does it matter then how much the seller is charging for shipping vs. the base item cost? P.S. "S&H" means "shipping and handling", which includes more than just raw postage. It's postage, insurance, packing, labor, overhead, etc.

Actually, I don't re-use packing materials, at least not for eBay sales. Some buyers will ding your stars or even leave neutral or negative feedback if you re-use shipping materials.

Just because it costs you $4.50 to ship from the UK to the U.S. doesn't mean that it costs the same to ship to ship from the U.S. to the U.K. Each country has their own postal rates. I charge $14 for international shipping on eBay. How does that break down? Most CDs are 4-5 ounces, with 2-disc sets or heaver CDs (like early Japanese imports, some promos, etc.) in the 6-7 ounce range. Depending on the country, the actual postage cost is $7-12. Then add the cost of packing materials, labels, and insurance. Finally, add the fact that both PayPal and eBay take their cut off the top, figure 13%. Not exactly getting rich on shipping charges...

I have PM'ed him and asked him to respond here publicly.

New full-length trailer in the form of a music video for "Covered By Roses". Who says that spectacle is gone from concert performances? They've come a LONG way from just doing short sets at music festivals.

I need to re-listen to Seven again, but Vega did absolutely nothing for me, sorry...

Giving this a more thorough listen today. Excellent stuff. Standout track to these ears, almost right out of Within Temptation's or Delain's playbook:

This is about the time of year I start narrowing down the list of contendors for the top 5 list. While I keep general lists of 1-5 stars throughout the year, I don't get as granular as some of you do. Now I start re-listening to all of the albums that I initially rated as 4.5 or 5 stars to establish a pecking order, re-examining when new releases come in (for example I still haven't heard the new Ten, Harem Scarem, or live Within Temptation). Right this second, my list of 4.5- and 5-star albums for 2014 are as follows, in alphabetical order: 21 Octayne - Into the Open A Sound of Thunder - The Lesser Key of Solomon Adrenaline Rush - ST Allen-Lande - The Great Divide Amaranthe - Massive Addictive Arion - Last of Us Babymetal - ST Brother Firetribe - Diamond in the Firepit Crazy Lixx - ST Devils Heaven - Heaven on Earth Elvenking - The Pagan Manifesto Gotthard - Bang! Harmony - Theatre of Redemption Iron Savior - Rise Of The Hero Kissin Dynamite - Megalomania Laney's Legion - ST Lyriel - Skin and Bones Moonland - ST Neonfly - Strangers in Paradise Outloud - Let's Get Serious Pretty Maids - Louder Than Ever Pretty Wild - ST Silent Force - Rising From The Ashes Sinbreed - Shadows State of Salazar - All the Way Three Lions - ST WET - One Live - In Stockholm Within Temptation - Hydra Work of Art - Framework

Seriously digging this album. Another track with a great a chorus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrMNLBszvzQ

You no likey?

Srsly? Geoff, Geoff, Geoff... smh. Heart of the Sun is not one of the better tracks on the album, but the two cuts I posted above in their entirety are just superb, IMO.

Samples of all tracks up on the main site: http://heavyharmonies.com/cgi-bin/glamcd.cgi?BandNum=4492&CDName=Crazy%20Lixx It's a corker!

S'ok. You're fully entitled to your listening preferences and prejudices... no matter how wrong they may be.