heavyharmonies

Yup. Last year was pretty slow for top releases (for me at least) until after the mid-year mark, after which the selection improved immensely. There's no guarantee that 2015 will pick up in the same vein, but it's happened before. As far as new topics being posted about every release under the sun, IMO this is a GOOD thing. I've encountered plenty of music that I would not otherwise have considered or been aware of. As the Geoffadillo says, the ones that are of no interest slide down and fade into oblivion and the ones that are actually good get discussed and bumped up. The threads sort themselves out in that regard.

Disagree on the assessment of 2015 thus far. 3 months in and there are (IMO) several excellent releases: In no particular order: Revolution Saints Eclipse Serious Black A Life Divided Ordan Ogen

I bought the two Japanese Blu-Rays and the vids are all available from YouTube at 720p or higher resolution, so I'm good until some new material comes out.

On the 22nd of May 2015, after more than four years, the long awaited fifth solo album "Closer" by Michael Bormann will see the light of the world. 2014 has been an eventful and exciting year. With his impressive performance at one of todays biggest TV-Shows The Voice of Germany Michael reached millions of people. All songs were written, recorded and produced within a three-month studio session by the end of 2014. Due to the huge demand of the Demi-Lovato song "Warrior", that got him into The Voice - show, Michael had no chance but taking it on the forthcoming CD. Downright refreshing, versatile and rocking Bormann presents "Closer". Ballads, mid-tempo songs and pure Rock´n´Roll: you got it all! Defining a favorite is pretty hard as every single song has its own magic. "Because we are the world" goes straight to the heart. The childrens choir makes this tune very special. Not only radio stations will love this song. It should be mentioned, that a valuable contribution to this album has been given by Eric Ragno and Bobby Stoecker. Knowing what and how he wants it, Bormann played most of the instruments by himself. Its impressively showed on Closer. His strong Voice - performances got Michael the long deserved attention. Now it´s time for the next level. Closer will be drawing in the crowds under its magic spell. Line-up: Michael Bormann Drums, Bass, Keyboards, Guitar & Leadguitar, Acoustic guitar, Vox Jean Bormann Guitars, Backingvox Marco Grasshoff Keyboards, Backingvox Eric Ragno Keyboards Bobby Stöcker Leadguitar Katie Juraschka - Backingvox 1. Im not your entertainment 2. Lets make history 3. Never say die 4. Cant get a touch too much 5. Because we are the world 6. Living it up 7. I wanna be a rock star 8. For this one time in life 9. Closer 10. Rich mens world 11. Down to the bottle 12. Warrior

"Ten thousand douchebags in one..."

Naming the album after a Disturbed album?... hmmm...

Why I oughtta...

In all fairness though, this is a completely different animal from Babymetal. For one, the style is straight ahead hard rock, and for the other it appears the girls are actually performing on instruments, not just fronting the band. Different level entirely. Babymetal is interesting as a spectacle and for the backing band. This is more impressive musically IMO.

Can't understand a word of it, but musically that is fucking AWESOME! Dig the bass solo.

Ummm.... which one? I posted 3 (1 vid and 2 mp3s).

New album out this month on AFM Records. We've discussed this band before. The new album continues in the same vein. If you loved the first 2 albums, you'll dig this one. And if you can't stand them... well poo on you. Burst The Most Beautiful Black Inside Me Own Mistake Right Where I Belong Just Nothing (digipak bonus track) Could You Drive My Apology Believe Live Forever (digipak bonus track) Lay Me Down Happy End Samples from all tracks are up on the main site: http://heavyharmonies.com/cgi-bin/glamcd.cgi?BandNum=6406&CDName=Human First official video: Two of the better later tracks in their entirety: Could You: http://www.heavyharmonies.com/audio/ALD_CouldYou.mp3 Human Drive: http://www.heavyharmonies.com/audio/ALD_HumanDrive.mp3

Tony Harnell + Skid Row = ... does not compute.

Nasal vocals... eww....

Just based on the intro and arrangement, I seriously (HA!) expected them to make an appearance. Sounds,like vintage Ten, just with a bit more of an edge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNWcdvgktu8

Great idea guys. Done.

Yup. If there's a criticism to be made, it's that all the songs blur together after a while. Not enough variety. I enjoy it, but the relisten factor is very low. I likely will have forgotten about the album by mid-year...

A few people have asked about this 2015 release. I dig it, although some here may be put off by the electronica elements in some of the songs. Is it just me, or is there something Sting-esque about the lead vocals at times? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQEaQx-3wFE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIoOfSzMM00 And my favorite track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DnFDZ0BVtE

I'm torn. It appears to be a band with an identity crisis. The clean vocal songs and sections are quite good, but they still embrace the cookie monster shouting in many places, which IMO ruins several songs. They have been trending towards proportionally more clean vocals in recent years, but I'd be much happier if it was 100% clean vocals.

Overall, definitely more rocking than I was expecting... could be interesting.

I listened to the album again this afternoon, and the grunge comparison I originally used probably wasn't the right one to use. On certain verses his vocals meander a bit with respect to pitch and that combined with use of minor keys gives me a vibe I just don't care for. However, once he gets to the chorus things are fine. Most people might not even notice it. Overall, the album is solid. It's just that every now and then there's just the wrong combination of vocals, harmonies, and guitar tuning that make me wince. I don't know how to describe it. At any rate, I have put samples of all the tracks over on the main site: http://www.heavyharmonies.com/cgi-bin/glamcd.cgi?BandNum=6852&CDName=Reflections+in+a+Rear+View+Mirror

Jeebus, the replayability on this album is VERY high. I just don't find myself tiring of it at all. Favorite song on the album at the moment:

Considerably better than the debut IMO.

I've given this a spin and... there are songs I really like and others I despise. It's all over the map. It is *NOT* laid back. At times there's a bit too much of a '90s "Seattle Sound" ala grunge in places that puts me off, but then it will hit some good licks and chorus and all is well again. I haven't decided whether I love it or hate it at this point. Needs digesting.

And yet ANOTHER death this week... Bonfire R.I.P.

I have added songs from several 2015 releases to the Heavy Harmonies radio station. The playlist now runs a bit over 16.5 hours. http://heavyharmonies.com/cgi-bin/radio.cgi 2015 albums represented: Black Star Riders - Killer Instinct (2015) China Sky - China Sky II (2015) Eclipse - Armageddonize (2015) Eden's Curse - Live With The Curse (2015) Falling In Reverse - Just Like You (2015) FM - Heroes and Villains (2015) Impellitteri - Venom (2015) Issa - Crossfire (2015) Jorn Lande & Trond Holter present DRACULA - Swing of Death (2015) Kiske-Somerville - City of Heroes (2015) Leah - Kings & Queens (2015) Level 10 - Chapter 1 (2015) Mark Slaughter - Reflections In A Rearview Mirror (2015) Papa Roach - F.E.A.R. (2015) Peterik / Scherer - Risk Everything (2015) Revolution Saints - Revolution Saints (2015) Rob Moratti - Tribute To Journey (2015) Rock 'n' Roll Rebels & the Sunset Strip - Discs One & Two (2015) Sweet & Lynch - Only to Rise (2015) Talon - Fouplay (2015) The Dreaming - Rise Again (2015) 2014 albums represented: 21 Octayne - Into The Open (2014) A Sound Of Thunder - The Lesser Key Of Solomon (2014) Adrenaline Rush - Adrenaline Rush (2014) Allen/Lande - The Great Divide (2014) Amaranthe - Massive Addictive (2014) Arion - Last of Us (2014) Azoria - Seasons Change (2014) Bailey - Long Way Down (2014) Berggren Kerslake Band - The Sun Has Gone Hazy (2014) Brainstorm - Firesoul (2014) Brother Firetribe - Diamond In The Firepit (2014) California Breed - California Breed (2014) Captain Black Beard - Before Plastic (2014) Cold Shot - Cold Shot (2014) Crazy Lixx - Crazy Lixx (2014) Crystal Viper - Possession (2014) Cullooden - Silent Scream (2014) Dalton - Pit Stop (2014) Delain - The Human Contradiction (2014) Devil's Heaven - Heaven On Earth (2014) Diesel - Into The Fire (2014) Elvenking - The Pagan Manifesto (2014) Empire 21 - Empire 21 (2014) EZ Livin' - Firestorm (2014) Free Spirit - All the Shades Of Darkened Light (2014) Gaeleri - Gates of Rome (2014) Gemini Syndrome - Lux (2014) Gotthard - Bang! (2014) Gun Barrel - Damage Dancer (2014) H.E.A.T - Tearing Down the Walls (2014) Harem Scarem - Thirteen (2014) Harmony - Theatre Of Redemption (2014) Helix - Bastard Of The Blues (2014) House of Lords - Precious Metal (2014) House of X - Redemption (2014) In Faith - There's A Storm Coming (2014) Iron Savior - Rise Of The Hero (2014) Julian Angel's Beautiful Beast - Kick Down the Barricades (2014) Kissin' Dynamite - Magalomania (2014) Kix - Rock Your Face Off (2014) L.R.S. - Down to the Core (2014) Laney's Legion - Laney's Legion (2014) Lawless - Rise (2014) Linda & the Punch - Obsession (2014) Lordi - Scare Force One (2014) Lover Under Cover - Into the Night (2014) Lyriel - Skin And Bones (2014) Mind Maze - Back from the Edge (2014) Moonland - Moonland (2014) Moonshine - Moonshine (2014) Mother Road - Drive (2014) Neonfly - Strangers in Paradise (2014) Night By Night - NxN (2014) Outloud - Let's Get Serious (2014) Overland - Epic (2014) Pavic - Is War The Answer? (2014) Pretty Maids - Louder Than Ever (2014) Pretty Wild - Pretty Wild (2014) Primal Fear - Delivering the Black (2014) Project Arcadia - A Time of Changes (2014) REO Speedwagon - Live at Moondance Jam (2014) Seven - Seven (2014) Silent Force - Rising From The Ashes (2014) Skintrade - Refueled (2014) Slears - Far Away From Getting Somewhere (2014) State of Salazar - All the Way (2014) Steel Panther - All You Can Eat (2014) Ten - Albion (2014) Theory Of A Deadman - Savages (2014) Thomsen - Unbroken (2014) Three Lions - Three Lions (2014) Vanden Plas - Chronicles of the Immortals - Netherworld (2014) Vanishing Point - Distant is The Sun (2014) Vega - Stereo Messiah (2014) Voyager - V (2014) W.E.T. - One Live - In Stockholm (2014) Within Temptation - Hydra (2014) Work of Art - Framework (2014) X-Drive Get Your Rock On (2014)