metalmaniac777

4 hours ago, melodicrock said:

Sunbomb 1 was horrid. Russell/Guns is boring as batshit. No anticipation for this at all.

I'm going to need a little more clarification before I can figure out how you really feel. 

I miss the days when I could actually understand what Michael Sweet was singing.  Not sure if that's a "me" problem or a "Sweet" problem...

23 hours ago, KarpetRydOFunk said:

That's okay. 

...and nothing more.

God help us. Surely the existence of that musical atrocity is one of the signs of the Apocalypse.

No, you're not crazy--that's a really good find, several notches above some of the mega-rare gems we all hunted for back in the day. "Hard Ride" was filler material, but "Rock it Down" and "Feels Like Love" are melodic hard rock gems.

Just when you think you've heard every band out there, along comes a sweet surprise like this.

1 hour ago, Geoff said:

Jeez I've sung this band's praises in the past!

Anyway, new year (or two), new album. They're still the same band they were from day one but I guess the lyrics aren't that bad this time around as I didn't really even notice them separately, to be honest. So nothing scathing this time 'round, just letting y'all know that if interested, they released a new album. I think it's okay, but no keepers. 

These guys have gone heavier the last couple of releases and while they remain solid, I think they had better hooks back when they were not quite as hard. As for the lyrics ... from what I've read, they're gunning for crossover appeal in the secular market, which means dialing back the Jesus-speak in favor of vaguer topics. But Geoff is right when he states this album is just okay. I like it well enough, but it's nothing special.

Assuming you don't mind the climate crisis/global warming message, that songs rocks pretty good. The album is shaping up to possibly be Bach's best solo effort to date.

2 hours ago, Captain Howdy said:

I think the only thing they ever recorded that was worse than St Wank is that awful collaboration with Lou Reed.

That one was definitely worse. So bad that I tried to forget it exists. Thanks for reminding me. I have to go rinse the taste of vomit out of my mouth now.

I'll concede that it's still one of their worst efforts--if not THE worst--but the abysmal production made it nearly impossible to enjoy the handful of decent tunes on the album. But yeah, even with this re-recording, there are only 4 songs that I bothered with. Maybe it's not "badass," as you say ... but it's better, and the 4 songs that I like are now listenable. (For the record, one of those songs is "Purify," which you clearly don't care for.)

Every band has a low point, but this "St. (b)Anger" project manages to salvage something from the wreckage. But I think we're all grateful that Metallica moved past this moment and gave us better albums.

9 hours ago, KarpetRydOFunk said:

Did they spell their own name wrong in that YouTube video? I haven't listened, yet, but I'm a bit apprehensive. Is Rex Carrol in the band? Can what's his face still sing? Do they know how to write songs?

It's still Rex Carrol and he still blisters the six-string, and the new vocalist is decent enough (though Scott Wenzel was better, in my opinion), but I haven't cared for any of the songs they've released thus far. They just lacked the hooks that made early Whitecross so memorable.

Man, that is really well done. Metallica should just buy this version from him and re-release it.

@whiplash1972, thanks for letting me know about this. You're right, I'm kind of digging it. Make no mistake, Bad City was better, but it's good to hear Caddy singing again, and of course, the Christian lyrics don't bother me at all.

6 hours ago, auslander said:

I quite like that. A little bit proggy in places. Always loved Jamie's gruff voice.

There are considerably better songs on the album. Well worth checking out. "Hellfire Honey" and "Anthem" are my personal favorites.

Solid band and arguably the best thing Jamie Rowe has done since his Adriangale days.

These guys weren't even on my radar but that video has changed my mind. Good song, good sound, and it's got me interested in hearing the rest of the album.

Good God in Heaven, what did I just listen to?

Maybe not quite as awesome as the classic Bonfire version, but it ain't far behind. Nicely done, gents.

16 hours ago, Geoff said:

My biggest gripe with the album is actually something Glen brought up a few years ago in reference to the latest Stryper album...a lot of the time I just can't understand what Sweet is singing. Sometimes it's fine, many other times I just can't understand the words.

I'm a huge fan of Michael Sweet but you (and Glen) are not alone in this. While Sweet has pretty much fully retained the powerful vocals from his younger days, he has lost some enunciational clarity (yup, just made that up). At least half the time, I can no longer understand what he's wailing on about these days.

That latest single is better than the previous ones but still nothing to get too excited about.

12 hours ago, auslander said:

Apparently if you get your post total up to 5000 you get access to the hidden, naughty threads. But it takes a real dedicated poster to get up to 5000 posts.

It's true. Once you breach the magical 5000 mark, you get free access to the Heavy Harmonies OnlyFans page where you can watch archived videos of Dan doing unspeakable things with CDs that are still illegal in 13 states.

58 minutes ago, Geoff said:

If it’s not you, probably Jez? 

According to his profile, he joined exactly one day after me. Seniority rules!! 

I hit 21 years back in August. 

Wonder who has been here the longest?

As much as I like Michael Sweet, this is shaping up to be his worst project by far. Glad to see the guy is getting work--gotta be tough to make it in the music business these days--but he rarely seems to deliver good songs outside of Stryper or his solo albums. But hey, he still sounds better than Don Dokken...