metalmaniac777

Latest acquisitions... JANSTATE: "Shot to Pieces" THEORY OF A DEADMAN: "Gasoline" BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE: "The Poison" PRIVATE LINE: "21st Century Pirates"

SAINTS & SINNERS...awesome band...in-yer-face attitude, cranking guitars, ripping riffs, huge hooks, explosive choruses, monster vocals...what's not to like? Not a bad song in sight, but for me, "Kiss the Bastards" is an absolute masterpiece, but I'm a sucker for a good revenge tale.

Latest acquistions... BACKSEAT ROMEO: "Wanna Take a Ride" DOKKEN: "Under Lock and Key" GSO: "How to Get a Head in Life" PACIFIER: s/t

The Top 5 CDs getting the most play-time in my stereo... JESSE STRANGE: "Looking for Some Strange" BLUE TEARS: "Dancin' on the Back Streets" MISS CRAZY: s/t JADED HEART: "Helluva Time" HARDCORE SUPERSTAR: s/t

Folks, if Geoff recommends it, it's usually safe for me to buy a copy sight-unseen (or, rather, sound-unheard, or something like that). Two days ago, that's exactly what I did. While browsing the music store at the mall, my eyes happened to fall on The Used: "In Love & Death" and I said to myself, "Self, the self-proclaimed sexist man on earth a.k.a. Geoff on Heavy Harmonies claimed this is a good CD, so you should just go ahead and buy it without bothering to listen to sound samples first." With myself thoroughly convinced by myself that this was an excellent idea, that's exactly what I did. Well, myself needs to be bitch-slapped. I like modern/nu-metal/emo/screamo/whatever-the-hell-you-call-it as much as the next guy, but to echo what Tim(2) said, the songs just weren't there. Here and there a hook peeked its head out like an attention-starved stepchild hoping its abusive father wasn't lurking around waiting to give it a smack, but that only happened on a few songs, and most of the time I was left thinking, "Self, we have purchased an inferior metal CD that will not spend much time in our stereo and will instead gather much dust on the shelf." So it was not the occasional scream that turned me off (I like some screaming...especially when my wife does it ) but rather the lack of truly good songs. So unfortunately, The Used won't get used much by me. And in closing, lest there by any confusion, I'm not upset with Geoff, just busting his chops a little bit.

Picked this one up a couple weeks ago and while I wouldn't go as far as HSF and called it fantastic (then again, what would you expect from somebody who considers Butch Walker's "Letters" a masterpiece? ), it is a pretty solid slab of Cinderella/Kix-influenced hair-metal. And HSF, ol' buddy, ol' pal, lemme tell ya, if you think Miss Crazy belongs in the Top Ten of 2006, do yourself a favor and get your hands on the new Jesse Strange: "Looking for Some Strange." That one rawks so hard that you'll go home, slap your wife, spank your mama, and scream "OHHHH YEEEEAAAAHHHHH!!!!" at the top of your lungs. Of course, it's still good even if you're not in a wife-slappin'-mamma-spankin' mood. Miss Crazy...Jesse Strange...2006 is shaping up to be a good year for hair-metal maniacs!

Sorry mate. Wow, is that usd$15.98!!! That's expensive. Have you got Cauterize? They're much better. Still, give it a few listens as there are some great tracks on this one, especially on the first half of the disc. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> No worries, man. You win some, you lose some. And $15.98 isn't that ridiculous a price for a new CD around here. I pulled out my Cauterize to make myself feel better, but it reminded me of you because I know they're like you're favorite band, and being reminded of you reminded me that I bought The Used because you recommended them and the whole sick cycle started all over again. Oh my God, I think you have also ruined Cauterize for me!! For this there shall be no forgiveness...

I picked up THE USED: "In Love and Death" at the mall yesterday after reading Geoff's glowing praise of the album. Geoff, you owe me $15.98! (Actually, it's not THAT bad...just nowhere near as good as I figured it would be, based on his comments.)

Recent acquisitions... STEREOSIDE: "Wake Up" BLUE TEARS: "Dancin' on the Back Streets" JESSE STRANGE: "Looking for Some Strange" MISS CRAZY: s/t Good stuff, one and all, but the new Jesse Strange is absolutely smokin'!!

"The Big Huge"...wasn't that the name of that hardcore video Geoff starred in? Oh wait, my bad, that was "The Big Spooge: Drown Your Head With Sour."

Does that mean I won't be receiving any postive feedback from him when he gets the CD? Damn.

Only one new acquisition this week... P.O.D.: "Testify" Not exactly Heavy Harmonies approved, but hey, I like it.

He also paid me, but three weeks later did a chargeback with Paypal, claiming not having received. He has done this to countless people. Be prepared to get that e-mail from Paypaland hopefully you have tracking number. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks for the heads-up, but don't worry, I'm taking precautions to cover my hindquarters. I'm well aware of all his stupid tricks, but the reality is, he only paid $1.00 for the CD, so if he finds it worth his time to try and get a measly buck back, then he can have it. I've got more important things to do with my time than fight about 100 pennies.

Careful using that word around here. MJ might get excited. (God, I'm such a dick.) Whoops!

As a collector, I always prefer silver-pressed CDs. CDRs are to CDs what cubic zirconia is to diamonds. That said, the most important thing is the music, and as long as everything is legit, kudos to whoever makes unreleased albums available. Like everyone else around here, I am not a fan of Sam's (past?) juvenile behavior, but I freely admit I'm thinking about buying Shake City and Roxy Lane because the samples sounded pretty good. Frankly, I find 90% of the bands on Retrospect Records absolutely terrible. I can see why many of these groups never got signed. That's not a reflection on Sam or his label, it's a comment about the quality of the bands themselves. So, do I wish Sam silver-pressed his CDs? Yes. Do I think he could do a better job of running his label? Yes. Do I think he has a few things to learn about professionalism? Yes. Will I ever purchase any Retrospect Records releases? Maybe. Of course, as always, just my two cents' worth. Keep the faith. Mark

Here's James Arwine's latest eBay user name: nightshftr2nd He won my Feel: "Against the Grain" auction. To be fair, he did pay promptly, but seeing as how so many others have been screwed by him, I thought I'd bring his latest incarnation to everyone's attention. Since he paid me, I'm not going to report him to eBay, but those of you who get a kick out of getting him NLARU'ed, have at it. My work here is done.

Latest acquisitions... SURRENDER: "Better Later Than Never" JONAH 33: "The Strangest Day" POOR MAN'S RICHES: "Energy"

Harem Scarem by a country mile, an urban mile, a suburban mile, or any other kind of mile you care to throw in there. There are some other good choices on the list as well (Helix, Von Groove) but nothing that compares to Harry Hess & company. Of course, as always, just my two cents'...aw, the hell with it, you guys know the drill!

"Unbreakable" is unbeatable! (Uh, except in this poll, that is...)

For me, it's White Heart. Classic Christian melodic hard rock. "Freedom," "Powerhouse," "Tales of Wonder," and "Highlands" are all masterpieces.

I have to agree with Geoff on this one...I really can't stand southern rock, but if you put a .38 special ( ) to my head and forced me to listen to any of the bands listed, I would pick Iron Horse by a country mile.

There. I just voted and now "Neverland" has one vote. Yeah, you heard me--"Neverland" is my favorite Night Ranger album. Now, who wants to fight? Bring it on, mofos!

Geoff, you don't know what you're missing. Get yourself a copy mucho pronto. If you aren't impressed, I promise to...well, actually, I don't promise to do jackshit, but you should still get yourself a copy!

Latest acquisitions... SWEDISH EROTICA: "Too Daze Gone" JONAH 33: "The Strangest Day"

Right up front, let me state that I don't have any beef with Lonnie; he's a good guy and I have done dozens of trades with him, so what I'm about to say is not meant to be a hostile attack on the guy. However, I disagree with the mentality that if someone makes a large profit on a CD, he has "raped" the buyer. Rape is violating someone against their will; buying a CD is a voluntary act. If Michael Butt (another good guy, by the way) offers a CD for sale for $125 that could be had for only $40 but somebody pays $125, that buyer hasn't been raped, he made a voluntary decision to pay that price for that particular CD. Where did we get this mentality that nobody can make large profits on their CDs? It's a free country--people are free to ask for vast sums of money for their CDs, and potential buyers are just as free to not pay those prices if they feel they are unreasonable. A few years back, I found 6 copies of Pretty Wicked in a used CD shop for only $5 each. Does that mean I was obligated to sell them for under $20? Did I rape buyers when I sold them for anywhere between $75 - $150 a piece? No, I didn't rape anybody, because I didn't force anybody to buy them. Bottom line, folks, making money selling CDs isn't raping anyone. You don't like the price, go find it somewhere else, but don't accuse the seller of being a "rape artist." As always, just my two cents' worth. Keep the faith. Mark