metalmaniac777

How anyone can say "The Elder" is cool and "X" is horrible is a mystery that not even an entire squad of Sherlock Holmeses could figure out. "The Elder" is so bad, it doesn't even deserve to be the yellow, sticky, rancid pus inside the bulging boil on the ass of hard rock.

Latest acquisitions... WASP: "The Crimson Idol" WASP: "Helldorado" WASP: "Unholy Terror"

In the house...UNREST ~ "Cold Steel Whisper" In the truck...KUTLESS ~ "Kutless"

"Vow" ~ Kutless

The f*ck you say?! Geoff, Geoff, Geoff, I feel so betrayed. You Judas! I rushed to your defense during the Def Leppard "X" fiasco, and now you go and rip my heart out by claiming Vain is better--and not just a little better, but vastly better--than Crashdiet. I expect that from the tasteless pagans around here, but not from you. NOT FROM YOU!! AGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!! (Grabs razor and slits wrists) Seriously, given our similar music tastes, I'm thinking I need to revisit Vain's "No Respect." Unfortunately, I haven't owned (or heard) the album in about 8 yrs., so if you (or someone else reading this post) could send me some MP3s, I would greatly appreciate it. Maybe my opinion has changed since I last heard it as a wee young lad in my early 20s. Or maybe you're all just smokin' crack and Vain really is as bad as I remember...

Comparing Crashdiet to Vain is like comparing filet mignon to hamburger. Sure, they're both beef, but the filet mignon is so much better and that pretty much sums up my feelings on the Crashdiet-versus-Vain poll. Vain just never did much for me--nothing really wrong with them, mind you, just nothing that whipped me into a lather--but Crashdiet absolutely blew me away. So, boys & girls, what we learned here today is that if you're satisfied with a basic ol' burger, then grab yourself some Vain, but if you want some truly sweet meat, Crashdiet is the, ahem, diet, you should choose.

Don't really listen to extreme metal much, but there's a guy here at work who plays it all the time, so I've been exposed to far more of it than I ever cared to, and pretty much the only band he plays that I can stand is IN FLAMES, so that's who I voted for. For the record, the heaviest band I actually like is DEMON HUNTER. But I'm guessin' if Dimmu Borgir isn't keepin' it "troo," then Demon Hunter don't count for much...

SCORPIONS: "Crazy World" (forgot how good this is)

Thought about keeping my mouth shut, but I'm not really particularly good at that, so here's some random thoughts on this thread/topics. Personally, I'm tired of melodic/glam/hair-rock fans acting as if they have some sort of God-given right to the music someone else created. Just because someone took the time to write & record an LP, EP, CD, or whatever, doesn't automatically mean you have the right to possess it. It's artistic property, and if, after recording the music, the band wants to let it rot in their basement and be gnawed on by rats, that's their right, and their decision, however foolish it may seem to some, doesn't give anyone else the right to bootleg that recording. I've used this example in the past, but it bears repeating. Many of you know I am a writer. People have paid me to publish my poems & short stories in various anthologies and magazines, but the vast majority of my writing remains unpublished. Does that mean someone who likes my writing has the right to take those unpublished projects without my knowledge and publish them himself? The answer is obvious--NO! I wrote the stories, they're my artistic property, and if I don't want to publish them, that's my perogative, and tough shit if some folks don't like it. Same applies to bootlegging CDs. As for bootlegging being a way to "push" a band into releasing (or rereleasing) their music, that's just retarded. It's the equivalent of a security system salesman robbing a jewelry store, then showing up the next day and saying, "See? Told you that you needed a security system." Again, to use an example from my writing experiences, I once sent a college buddy a copy of a short horror story I wrote. Turns out a friend of my buddy had started up a small-press underground horror magazine. That magazine editor came across the copy of my story at my buddy's house, read it, then contacted me and asked permission to publish the story, even paid me a small sum. That's how it's done, folks. He didn't just go ahead and publish my story, then wait to see if I found out about it and got upset. He asked permission before--BEFORE--printing the story. That man was honest. Bootleggers are not. Thus endeth the sermon...because there's a baby in the other room screaming for a bottle...

No, I don't think you're too far off base, though I think a case can be made that the lyrics are also talking about hypocritical Christians who go to church and act holy one day per week, but ignore their faith the other six days. In that respect, I suppose you could call it a "Christian" song, or at least a song with a spiritual message/truth to it, but I don't really think Altered is a Christian band in the strictest sense of the word. As far as the music goes, I gave 'em a listen, but they failed to grab me. I do agree that the singer has a great voice though. Bottom line, nothing wrong with them, but nothing too special about them either, though I certainly can understand why some folks 'round here would enjoy them better than I.

In the mail yesterday... PINK CREAM 69: "In10sity"

In the house, Ivory Tower: "Heart of the City" In the truck, Saliva: "A Blood Stained Love Story"

Latest acquisition... SEVENTH DAY SLUMBER: "Finally Awake" (Excellent Christian modern melodic hard rock)

Popped into Best Buy today and picked up CASINO ROYALE. Haven't actually watched it yet, but I've been hearing good things, so my expectations are high.

Had a problem similar to this on Half.com a couple months ago. Bought a Trivium: "The Crusade" CD from a seller who claimed it was "brand new, still-sealed, and included all inserts," but what I actually received was a used promo copy with no booklet. I contacted the seller and after a few semi-friendly back-and-forth emails, he refunded my money...minus the shipping, which was $3. He then informed me he expected me to send the CD back to him. I said, "Fine, please Paypal me $2.50 to cover the return postage." He got angry, but when I explained that from my point of view, if I did as he asked, when the whole thing was over, I would be out $5 with nothing to show for it, and since he had misrepresented his merchandise, it hardly seemed fair that I be out a single penny, let alone several bucks. His final response was, "Fine, keep the damn CD, see if I care." So I did.

In the mail today... BLOOD TRAILS (mountain bike slasher flick)

I posted a little message about "the loan" a couple weeks back, but it got deleted along with some other postings deemed "non-pertinent & inflammatory," but now that it's a free-for-all open season on Lonnie, let me post my remarks again. Two years ago, I took out a personal loan for $6000. From the moment I applied to the time I had the check in my hand was only 3 days. Last year I took out another personal loan, this time for $19,000 to purchase a new truck. From the moment I applied to the time I had the check in my hand was less than 48 hrs. This past Fall I took out a hefty construction loan to build our new house and even with all the unfathomable hoops the bank made us jump through, from the moment I applied to the time I had the money in my hand was only 3 weeks. Bottom line, there is no loan...just like there was no car wreck...just like there were no Ramiriez brothers...just like there were no Hurricane reissues...

"Close to Deliverance" ~ FINAL AXE

In the house, UNREST: "Watch Out" In the truck, FINAL AXE: "Beyond Hell's Gates" Guess I was in the mood for some heavier stuff today. (And all you death/thrash/speed fanatics out there can stop rolling around on the ground convulsing in laughter because I just referred to Unrest and Final Axe as "heavy.")

Short answer--yes.

To say I am not a thrash/speed-metal fan would be an understatement. The only band on that list that also has a place in my collection is Metallica, so I gave them my vote. As for Testament: "The Ritual"...I thought it was the best thing they ever released. See, I told you I'm not a true thrash fan.

I love that!!! Oh, I'll bet you do, milady.

Great CD if you're looking for that 80s hair-metal sound. "Lickity Split" is simply awesome--can't get enough of that chorus--and easily ranks among my all-time favorite songs. But while that track may be the best, all the others are pretty excellent too. Definitely one of those rare "no filler" albums.

Neither Flame album was great, in my opinion, but each had some good songs. I'm one of the rare ones that actually prefer the 2nd CD, not because of the almost sickeningly-glossy production, but because the latter half contains all my favorite Flame tunes, which are: "If you had a Heart" "Never say die" "Ball and Chain" "Blood for Blood" "Automatic" (my personal favorite by these guys) The debut had some cool tunes too (the opening rocker "Lorelei" immediately comes to mind) but overall, both releases were plagued by too many fillers and it probably speaks volumes about my true thoughts on this band when I tell you I have long since sold both CDs and haven't really missed either one of them.

Latest acquisitions... SPOKEN: "A Moment of Imperfect Clarity" EDGUY: "Hellfire Club"