JC_AOR

Where are these stats being derived from? And are you suggesting that 2015 had a larger variance in release quality than previous years? If so I would like to know where the stats you speak of come from or is this just your opinion? If this is just your opinion then you should consider respecting the opinions of others including Andrew's rating on MR.com. I too don't believe many albums rate >90% and few (if any) rate at 100%, though I can understand that we are all unique when it comes to deciding what we enjoy listening to. Like Geoff mentioned about Cauterize, I have similar feelings about an Aussie band called Motor Ace. Andrew likes what he likes, it is his website and we should respect his thoughts and opinions even when we don't necessarily agree. I'll also add that Geoff makes a good point regarding the reason most of us likely came to know of and choose to spend so much time on Heavy Harmonies - this is unlikely to have anything to do with what is popular but rather the mutual respect we all have for each other's (sometimes strange) tastes in this whole melodic / hard rock world. Also I would like to pick up on a comment that I agree with from Jez - perhaps reading reviews is more valuable than reading ratings. I tend to agree. There are exceptions to this when you come across someone with very similar tastes and in those cases you can generally rely on ratings alone as a guide.

Wow that's pretty bad. I've made no secret on these forums that I enjoy a bit of country music eg Keith Urban, Rascall Flatts and some 80s country-AOR type bands. I also really like Mr. Tyler's voice. But this song is bland, uninspiring and doesn't make me want to hear anymore. Yuck!

I'm a big fan of Chris Ousey, especially The Distance. Love his vocals and looking forward to this. As for the above sample track- it's really just what I'd expect from him. Not mind blowing but still pretty darn good IMO.

Welcome from Bris/GC mate.

Another fucking pantomime act. Someone needs to seriously advise them that you don't necessarily need a gimmick, to ditch the absolute shit name and image (and I use that word politely) and let the music do the talking, which they obviously can Mate you make me laugh sometimes..... You say this, but your favourite release of 2015 was Cats In Space (an absolute shit name) with one of the worst photo shoots I've ever seen which would have 99% of the world's population (outside of our tiny genre) either shaking their heads or falling over themselves laughing Just saying............ Come on guys.. Just look at the photo.. You know what I'm saying here. If you have to have a gimmick/image make it a good one, not just stick crap wigs on that make you look like a bunch of fag hags...why bother. This thread's got to be way too much for me, but this. Honestly mate, have you seen and heard Lordi? If that's a good gimmick my penis is a pug that eats frogs and has bird wings on it. And it's a purple trumpet and vaginas are yuck. To be honest, Lordi are just massive c*nts. Huge, gigantic c*nts. They looks like fucking maggots, and more than that, their fucked up image translates into their music too. Their image is so horrid it actually angers me. Yeah these guys looks stupid, but I'm just not that phased by it. Out of curiosity, Justin, did you like the Lostprophets before? Did you get rid of all their music after what happened with the lead singer? I guess I'm a cold man, but to me a good song is a good song and I can't ungood it if it turns out the band rape baby penguins in the aftermath. Don't get me wrong; I don't think that still enjoying a good song means you condone what the band or it's members did... but if I tried to tell myself I didn't like the songs anymore it'd be a lie, and I don't like to lie. Thankfully I don't really know the Lostprophets or the story of the lead singer. There must be a topic somewhere that discussed this? If he committed terrorism, pedophilia, murder or raped baby penguins then I certainly would have burnt all Lostprophets CDs.

What did JSS do? I thought he was a nice guy?

Another example is Sebastian Bach. Love the dudes voice, love his music, SR are one of my all-time favourites. BUT when I saw him live he was a disrespectful wanker with a really shitty attitude. After that night I didn't bother with his music anymore and have basically ignored his solo albums.

If a terrorist, pedophile or mass murderer put out a really good MHR album I wouldn't listen to it. Note that I am not comparing HF1 to any of the above groups of disgusting people - the point I'm trying to make is that extrinsic factors like band image can influence some people, music quality aside. This doesn't worry you obviously and that's ok. But as for Lordi - sorry Jez I'll need you to explain that one ?

Oh, you mean that band that suck 60-50% of the time? In all honesty, I already prefer these guys to Edguy and I don't even own anything from them yet! Gotta be honest, and I couldn't possibly care less about their image with songs like that. I really couldn't. 99.9% of the time you're just going to be listening to songs on your stereo, so what on earth does it matter what they look like?? As for any indication that they may be a parody band musically, I don't get that vibe at all. Just straight up strong melodic hard rock songs. Love all 4 of the songs. Agree I don't really hear a parody band vibe here- just good MHR. Their promo photos however look so stupid and ridiculous it makes me cringe...just awful! Jesus mate, 99% of promo photos make me cringe and they are supposedly being 'serious'. Most promo photos don't make me cringe, in fact I think they're really cool and give an impression of the band, their attude and not just their music. Like I say image does influence my listening to a degree. If I saw an album cover showing a promo shot with five naked dudes hanging a shit, I'd be reluctant to buy or listen despite how good the music is. Re The Darkness - fair point Geoff and I see where you are coming from but to me I was never bothered by their image. Quite liked it actually. Similar to Cats in Space. But HF1 look so completely fucked up and stupid that it puts me off somewhat. I do like their songs, however and would hope that one day they lose the wigs and put out a really good album.

Oh, you mean that band that suck 60-50% of the time? In all honesty, I already prefer these guys to Edguy and I don't even own anything from them yet! Gotta be honest, and I couldn't possibly care less about their image with songs like that. I really couldn't. 99.9% of the time you're just going to be listening to songs on your stereo, so what on earth does it matter what they look like?? As for any indication that they may be a parody band musically, I don't get that vibe at all. Just straight up strong melodic hard rock songs. Love all 4 of the songs. Agree I don't really hear a parody band vibe here- just good MHR. Their promo photos however look so stupid and ridiculous it makes me cringe...just awful!

$5.99, can't go wrong!! Not sure what they're asking for postage though? http://azintex-music.com/index.php?productID=8839 Oh, thanks! I wonder when they put that up and how I missed it. Must have been before the US dollar died and I stopped buying from there, despite how cheap their stuff is. With the exchange rate, even these bargains aren't bargains anymore. Yeah gone are those days. Just had a look - $8 postage (free postage if you buy >100 discs!!) Now I remember Azintex - we had a discussion on them here years ago.

$5.99, can't go wrong!! Not sure what they're asking for postage though? http://azintex-music.com/index.php?productID=8839

Don't get me wrong Glen, I like the music as much as you, great melodic hard rock. The lyrics are not cheesy like SP, but this I hate: https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSYEhAjK44nl4m9S5fBElTt6KGbJGtrC5VG8yMsOdP2qdD_LHhh To be honest mate they could be dressed up as pantomime horses if the songs are this great. Sounds exactly as i imagine Steel Panther would if they played straight songs LOVE this sound. Fair enough, I get that, and respect your view as well. For me though image does matter and absolutely does have some influence on my listening habits. I'm not saying I won't listen to them but in the back of my mind when listening to HF1 I will always have an image of a bunch of clowns making a mockery of 80s hard rock. What else could they be doing dressed like that and wearing ridiculous wigs? As good as the music is (and I agree, it is good) this image will sour my opinion of them somewhat and lose them a few points in my book.

Don't get me wrong Glen, I like the music as much as you, great melodic hard rock. The lyrics are not cheesy like SP, but this I hate: https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSYEhAjK44nl4m9S5fBElTt6KGbJGtrC5VG8yMsOdP2qdD_LHhh

Where are you listening from? One page back in this topic there is an embedded video.

Another fucking pantomime act. Someone needs to seriously advise them that you don't necessarily need a gimmick, to ditch the absolute shit name and image (and I use that word politely) and let the music do the talking, which they obviously can Yep the gimmicks put me off a bit too, even if the music is great. I know it shouldn't matter as long as the music is good but I just can't stand bands who constantly take the piss. Having said that, from what I can see and hear, HF1 isn't quite in the same category as Steel Panther.

Not as cheesy as I expected...pretty decent!

Better than recent efforts by Bon Jovi!

These guys are great, would pick up an album from them for sure. Now listening to 'Aim for the Head' - excellent track.

Really nice samples, kinda basic but really nice and hard to fault IMO.

I think the site should expand in the direction of including cassette only releases. There are tons of bands that fit this site perfectly (better than every band in the list being discussed) and they miss out because they never released a CD. As for the list in question, I don't think any of them really in with the content of HH. Kenny Loggins maybe, snd Black Sheep perhaps but def not Pink Floyd, Cream or The Who - I get they might have influenced a lot of bands but they themselves are classic rock. Where would you draw the line? I think at the moment HH is kind of a specialty / niche site with a focus on AOR and hard rock. Adding these classic rock bands will give the site more of a general rock feel to new visitors. I dunno that's just my thoughts but like others I wouldn't lose any sleep over who is and isn't included.

They've been getting more and more popular, not just for music but almost any topic you can think of. Anyway it has taken me a while to catch on to the whole podcast thing but I'm now loving it. So far I know of Decibel Geek which has some good episodes but does anyone know of any good music (or other topics) podcasts to follow?

Some cool stuff there man. Unbelievable that so many bands can come out of one area...must have been a real happening music scene back then.

I was thinking the same. Hey it's all good - my bad for not keeping the flow going, I got a bit slack. ? But anyone who enjoys seeing this sorta stuff, jump on FB and look up my group, lots more to come there too.

Hey what was wrong with my memorabilia thread? ? http://heavyharmonies.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=32241&view=&hl=&fromsearch=1 Cool stuff though...really cool!! I'd be very keen to see more. Been posting some stuff like this on FB lately in a new facebook group I started called - "AOR & Melodic Rock: Treasure Trove". Feel free to chuck some of it on there as well if you are inclined to do so ?