tts42572

58 minutes ago, Aordave89 said:

Not a bad song but nothing amazing either. Cool idea for a video. 

Definitely a different music video.....cool concept.  Don't see too many videos these days with that degree of thought and effort into them.

As for the song, basically agree.  Nothing amazing but still a solid tune.  I kind of like that it's a little bit different in terms of the vibe and subject matter for them compared to most of their other songs.

New tune out. 

Man, this just not doing much for me.  The music itself is pretty cool but these songs just aren't interesting me in the least for whatever reason.  I'm not sure if it's wonky titles like Sharoline & Perceval setting me off on a bad foot.  Overall it's mostly just reminding me of the last Art Nation album which also didn't do much for me.

13 hours ago, Glen said:

Maverick would prob be no 6 for me. Good album but not as melodic as before and not sure how many spins it will get tbh

Cant help feeling Temple Balls is just a second rate HEAT. We've been too spoiled with Erik crushing this style of melodic rock that everything else seems a bit sub par

Agree Maverick might not be quite as melodic as some of their previous stuff but I I think I'm liking it more than their last album. 

I guess I don't get that at all with Temple Balls although I suppose I could agree that a lot of stuff out there sounds second rate to Gronwall H.E.A.T   For me though, these guys have stepped up their game.  I've spun this album a ton and I'd say it's probably my favorite album since H.E.A.T II dropped last year.

And Erik is gone from H.E.A.T so I have a void to fill.  It remains to be seen what they'll sound like with Kenny on their next album.

Temple Balls #1 for me.  Followed by:

W.e.t, Maverick, Walk the Walk and Ronnie Atkins.

I expect Midnite City to crash that list when it drops later this month though.

Not for me.

Just thought I'd drop this tune in here.  Might be my favorite tune on the album.  Just sticks out as being something different for these guys and one of those tunes you find yourself humming after hearing it.

Believe Erik Gronwall and Jona Tee both had a hand in the writing of this one.  Not sure if it might've been a H.E.A.T tune that maybe never got done or if it was specifically written for this album.  Either way, digging it.

Have spun this album a lot.  The hooks and layered vocals are really what sets it off.  But the guitar work here is excellent too.

It's too bad about Jason but glad to hear this project will continue as these are clearly well crafted songs.  Looking forward to hearing how things sound with the next singer.

4 hours ago, Aordave89 said:

What can I say.. I knew the moment this was announced it would kick ass without even hearing a note of music. Man have they delivered.

Excellent slice of straight up Hard Rock. Melodic in the right parts with riffs and killer solos to boot. The band are on form and Jona does what Jona does best. Their previous album is awesome but this one tops it for me. More variation and everything is just next level.

Not a single bad track on this but ‘Unholy Night’... that’s some tune. 

Will be in my best of 2021 for sure.

For me their last album was really just so-so.  I mean, I liked it as a nice, new find but I really only go back to a few songs on it now (Kill The Voice, Distorted Emotions and The End).  I think my problem was that quite a few of the songs just didn't grab me for some reason...Stuff like Seven Seas of Wonder, Badlands, Leap of Faith, Hoist The Colors....None of those really had much appeal to me at all.

This new one though is definitely on another level from their past stuff.  I was even a little lukewarm on the opening single Thunder From The North when it dropped but that song really kicks off this album perfectly and I dig it quite a bit now after hearing it within the context of the album.  

At least for me, it's easily my favorite release so far this year.  

Got this CD today and think I have to take back any apprehension I had above.

This is some fantastic melodic hard rock and feel like this is probably my favorite release so far this year.

I do think Bad Bad Bad is my favorite tune but Long Ways Long Lies is right there too.  The ballad If I Only Could is really the only song I'm a little iffy on but it's not a bad tune by any means.

Can clearly tell Jona's influence here and there are some H.E.A.T vibes.  But these guys still have their own identity.

I listened to their last album earlier this week and for me this blows away their previous 2 albums.  Just better songs and more melodic to my ears.

Well...That's a kick in the nuts.

Best wishes to Erik for a speedy recovery.

On 4/9/2021 at 1:34 AM, Aordave89 said:

Think you’ve answered your own question there..

Yeah, think I did lol.

My thing is that I'm trying hard not to buy many CD's anymore.  I mean, I'm barely listening to them at all.  The last couple I've bought I've basically only pulled out the booklet to follow along lyrics while streaming on spotify.  I've been working to trim down my CD collection.

That said, still trying to buy a few for bands I really want to support or albums I know I'll just have to have.

I went ahead an pre-ordered this one.  It was only like $11 on Amazon with free prime shipping so really can't go wrong.

The more I've listened to the samples, the more I'm digging it.  I think it's pretty likely to become my favorite release so far year to date but we'll see 

5 hours ago, lettard said:

Couple of spins through now and its solid,more listens needed but it sounds very good indeed.

I've been listening to samples the past couple days trying to decide if I want to preorder this.  I know it can be tough to tell from samples but you can get a pretty good gist of a tune in 90 seconds most of the time...

From the samples, I'm really digging 5 tunes:  Long Ways, Long Lies, TOTC, Bad Bad Bad, What Is Dead Never Dies and Heart of a Warrior.  I have a hunch Bad Bad Bad will be my favorite tune on this based upon the samples but we'll see.  

The rest don't sound bad either though.  The only one I think that I'm not caring much for at all is the ballad If Only I Could.

Either way, while I liked their last album, thinking I'll be liking this one more.

Really like his first 3 albums but pretty much hated the last two.  Just felt like he got too poppy and really lost his edge. 

That said, the last 2 songs he's released have been excellent with World On Fire and this song.  There really wasn't anything like these 2 songs on those last 2 albums IMO.

If he indeed gets back to rocking the majority of the time I'll get back on board.

5 minutes ago, lettard said:

I actually prefer Big Red...but Quid Pro Quo does contain such belters as Got It Bad,for example,but I don't think they've released a bad disc,which is a good thing.

+1

I'd say Got It Bad easily remains my favorite Maverick tune but I'd probably say Big Red is my favorite album.  Quid is very good too though and probably their most varied album.  For me, I'd put this new one slightly ahead of Cold Star Dancer.    

As you say, either way a very consistent band and I enjoy all their releases.

Hadn't paid much attention to this for whatever reason.  I think mostly because I just didn't care much for the Black Swan stuff and thought this might be more of the same.

These tunes are excellent though.  Reminds me of the old McAuley Schenker stuff which I always liked.

This is on my radar now for sure.

1 hour ago, Glen said:

thanks for the heads up , I thought it was released tomorrow for some reason??? 

I thought that too lol....Thought everything basically came out on Fridays?  Nice surprise though.

Agree that it's just a straight ahead rock album that basically just continues what they've been doing.  It might be their heaviest sounding album from top to bottom but they're a pretty consistent band IMO. 

I think Never is probably my favorite song so far and it might be the most melodic/hooky tune.  I dig the heavier stuff here too though....some cool riffs in some of these songs.   

This is out today I think as the album is showing up on Spotify for me.  Not sure if it might be different in other parts of the world.

I did enjoy their last album but do think this one is topping it for me.

Maverick had a listening party on You Tube today and played the entire new album along with plenty of tidbits.  This is pretty long but can skip through to the songs if you'd like to check it out.  Not sure if they'll leave this up or take it down.

Sounding damn good to me.  It probably follows along with their last album in terms of being a bit heavier.

Lots of good tunes but think my early favorite is probably Never.  That one starts at the 1:19:40 mark in the video.

3 hours ago, KarpetRydOFunk said:

So many good songs. What the WTF was that @tts42572 guy talking about?

;}

Didn't say there weren't good songs....Just said there were a few that weren't doing much for me 

Basically dig 8 out of 11 tunes so that's still pretty good 

33 minutes ago, Geoff said:

Looks like the only one so far, but so surprised with this lukewarm reception. I think the album is fantastic - so far so that if it's not the best album of the year I'm going to be real impressed with the best album of the year. 

'Subjugated' and 'Before the Rise of an Empire' don't quite hit the mark for me, but the rest is splendid. Stuff like 'Frequency of love,' 'I prophesize,' 'When dreams are not enough' and 'Real' are up there with some of the best of PM. 'Scorpio,' 'One shot,' 'Miles away' and 'Picture yourself' also well above par. 

I was more or less in heaven listening to this one. It's kind of like the PM album I always wanted which leans heavily towards melody over the metal we all love... but let's not pretend that the melodic side of PM is the one most of us prefer.  

Just a little lukewarm initially but don't get me wrong, I like it plenty.  There's a few tunes that still aren't doing much for me with Subjugated, Miles Away and I'm not really caring for the Dreams Are Not Enough tune either....Just don't like the chorus and how it changes key.  I mostly dig the rest though. 

Agree that it's basically just the more melodic side of PM.   

At the end of the day, Ronnie has made a boatload of great music and I could make one heck of a playlist with all his stuff.  Hopefully his health holds out and there will be even more down the road.

Thoughts on this one as it's out today?

I gave it a listen and I'm not sure it's doing much for me.  Couple okay tunes like Rocket On The Radio and Ball N Chain and it clearly has a very 80's Vixen meets Crazy Lixx type vibe.  But I guess I was never huge on the female stuff in the 80s and still aren't.  

I will say my wife liked it though as she heard it playing this morning.  She thought it was some 80's act and when  I told her it was Chez Kane, she's like....I don't remember her.  I just chuckled but I think she added it to her playlist.

Any thoughts on this one as it's out today?

It's kind of a tough one as we all know where Ronnie is coming from with this album.  And there is definitely a lot of emotion in these songs.  It's the kind of thing you almost don't even want to be critical of at all.

Anyways, I guess I'll just say there's some good tunes here.  It basically feels like Pretty Maids "lite" to me.  I think my highlights are probably Real, Scorpio, One Shot, I Prophesize and One By One.

7 minutes ago, lettard said:

Dunno about top 5 but it sure is a good album,i'll give it that.

Yeah, too early to say top 5 with all the great releases to come.  Really nice surprise though and I've been spinning it a lot.  

Also was going to post in here that I reached out to Paul Alfery on FB to see if he had plans to try and continue this with a new singer or if it was a one and done affair.  He said he does plan to continue and already has a singer lined up and demos are in the works.  He's hoping to do more songs in the same style as this album.  

So it sounds like we could hear more from this in the future.

Haven't seen many reviews at all posted on this album but here's a pretty good review I saw posted over at rockposer.com. 

Sometimes an album just clicks for whatever reason and I this one has definitely hit the spot for me. 

https://rockposer.com/2021/03/11/review-walk-the-walk-walk-the-walk/?fbcli

Here's the text:

Review: Walk The Walk – Walk The Walk

AOR Heaven (March 26th 2021)

Reviewer: Jason Hopper

Oh my Sweet Lord!  Where did this band come from? Walk The Walk comes kicking in the doors of 2021, pushing other possible contenders for Album of the Year out of the way, grabbing the award, and walking defiantly with head held back out of the same entrance.  I was expecting some great stuff from a bunch of established bands this year, but was not expecting this.

So what makes this album so great?  A singer who at times resembles Sebastian Bach, ripping guitars, sign-along anthems, and awesome layered background vocals in every song.  Those background gang vocals are the strongest aspect of this album.  The production makes them pop.  Some may think they are overused, but they are one of my favorite attributes of hard rock (Huge Def Leppard fan here).

Those background vocals instantly stick out in opening track ‘Heaven’s On It’s Way Down‘. Very reminiscent of Winger’s Can’t Get Enough (especially the “Hey Hey” vocals) with a melody similar to the Saints and Sinners track ‘Walk That Walk’, it’s a slow heavy groove that gets the album off to a great start.

Lead single ‘Running From You‘ is a solid track about sticking by the love of your life, with more great harmonies in the chorus and a smokin’ solo from Paul Alfery, who plays all of the instruments on the album and does an incredible job.  While this would be considered an enviable song by most artists in the genre and a worthy single, this is nowhere near the best track on the album.

It’s track three where the comparisons to Sebastian Bach become more clear. ‘Are You There‘, a song that finds itself somewhere between a mid-tempo rocker and a ballad, reveals lead singer J. Adler to have similar capabilities to Mr. Bach when he pushes his vocals in the chorus. He may not be able to scream like Bach, but can sing like him. Also, kudos to saving the guitar solo for the end of the song. Changes in the verse/bridge/chorus/solo paradigm are always welcome.

As good as those first three songs are, the album really takes off with the start of track four.  ‘Two Miles To Go‘ immediately kicks you in the face with it’s take no prisoners rhythm. Yep, it’s a driving song and what a song it is! Those familiar with the Cold Sweat song ‘Four On The Floor’ will get an idea of what this song sounds like. From here on out, it’s one awesome melody after another.

I won’t go on about every single remaining track. I assure you all of them are worthy of listening to, but I will point out my favorite track on the album, ‘Fight On Your Feet‘. If there is one song you should listen to in order to get a grasp of what this album represents, look no further that this pinnacle of melodic rock prominence.

So are there any critiques? Depending on aural tastes, the only possible critique could be the production. While the lead, background vocals, and guitars sound great, the drums could have used a little more punch. Being that a certain label makes all of their releases sonically similar, I welcome differing production techniques so this does not negatively impact the album

I have a certain way of reviewing albums. I listen to each track two or three times and write small reviews of each before moving on to the next one. I eventually listen to the album straight through again as I write my full review. With ‘Walk The Walk‘, by the time I reached track six, I just stopped reviewing and listened to all the tracks one after another, as I was enthusiastic to get to my next adrenaline rush. It’s early into 2021, but this album will surely make my Top 5 of the year, without question. This is a MUST HAVE ALBUM!