TIM (2)

yeah mate, currently it's #2 on my list.

How're ya doin Tim, long time no see

Cheers mate, had a few pc problems back back in the game now.

I agree with Glen on this one, no duff tracks at all. Virtually flawless.

Jimi Jamison - Never too late ; good solid melodic rock / AOR. Pretty much sounds like it could be a missing Survivor disc from the late 80's / early 90's. It's all strong, good songs. Nothing truly amazing, but a few very good tracks and no plodders. Good solid effort.

 

Rick Springfield - Songs for the end of the world ; one or two fillers on this one, but for the most part it's pretty great. The man knows a great hook, even if I feel his song writing may not be as good as usual here, but that's just me getting used to the new songs, I'm sure. This is a good one.

 

As I Lay Dying - Awakened ; much heavier than All That Remains, this is actually some damn fine "metalcore." Heavy tunes and mostly all screaming vocals, but good catchy choruses, and a lot of the screaming is actually audible. I dunno, I wouldn't really have given a band like this a go a little while back, but I actually liked this album plenty.

 

 

Probably my 3 fave discs of 2012. The AS I LAY DYING is utter genuis, so many memorable tunes.

 

Just out of curiosity, mate, what do you think of the new All That Remains album? I really wasn't expecting to hear a couple of pure AOR tunes on that one...

Yeah they've really toned it down on the last 2 albums. I like the sound / production but the songs are not as strong as they could be IMO....

Haven't seen Tim around too much lately, but have a good one! Cheers

Yeah had computer problems - and financial problems, which is why couldn't go to firefest - so been having to use my iphone for internet usage (HH is rubbish on the iphone!), but back now.

Thanks for all the messages!

My faves are (in no particular order):-

H.E.A.T

Eclipse

Rick Springfield

As I Lay Dying

Jimi Jamison

 

Jimi Jamison - Never too late ; good solid melodic rock / AOR. Pretty much sounds like it could be a missing Survivor disc from the late 80's / early 90's. It's all strong, good songs. Nothing truly amazing, but a few very good tracks and no plodders. Good solid effort.

 

Rick Springfield - Songs for the end of the world ; one or two fillers on this one, but for the most part it's pretty great. The man knows a great hook, even if I feel his song writing may not be as good as usual here, but that's just me getting used to the new songs, I'm sure. This is a good one.

 

As I Lay Dying - Awakened ; much heavier than All That Remains, this is actually some damn fine "metalcore." Heavy tunes and mostly all screaming vocals, but good catchy choruses, and a lot of the screaming is actually audible. I dunno, I wouldn't really have given a band like this a go a little while back, but I actually liked this album plenty.

 

Probably my 3 fave discs of 2012. The AS I LAY DYING is utter genuis, so many memorable tunes.

Stunning disc this. Every song is a winner, the production is staggering, and the vocals are the best I've heard from him in decades. Of course, it's pretty similar sounding to the Toby Hitchcock disc (though with a bit less guitar in the mix) but is equally as good as that almost-flawless disc. I strongly suspect this will be my fave disc of 2012...

I still don't like those vocals. Great great songs (Regatta's "Wherever You Run" is my personal highlight) and some damn fine arrangements on here. But a lousy and muddy production, and those vocals that-are-always-a-pitch-too-high really spoil this IMO. Why does she have to screech all the time, even during the verses? Worth getting IMO, but she's still yet to make a great album...

Surprised not many comments on this. Top-class stuff with only a couple of weaker tracks early on, the second-half of this is near flawless IMO. "Falling Down" is the pick of the bunch....

OK, after 20 or so spins its time to lay down some thoughts on this. Excellent album overall....EM sings amazingly well, the solos are blistering, great hooks throughout and a flawless production - really adds up to a winning album. Here's a quick track by track

 

1. Wake Me Up - (9.50) - perfect melodic opener/genius pre chorus...just slightly repetitive in the chorus, but man the hook is great...always singing this one

2. Bleed & Scream - (10) - flawless melodic rock. Cant fault this song

3. Aint Dead Yet - (8.00) - change of style to a more Masterplanish track, Great energy. solo could be better, but I still love this track

4. Battlegrounds - (8.50) - huge Gary Moore vibe here, and this again is a winner. Just the spoken bits put me off.

5. A Bitter Taste - (10) - Wow is all I can say. I freakin love this track. Big Whitesnake 1987 type song with a massive ending. Magic stuff.

6. Falling Down - (9.25) - Great melodic tune with perfect verses.

7. SOS - (9.25) - more great verses, nice melodic chorus and killer musicianship

8. Take Back The Fear - (8.25) - back to the Masterplan sound but this is more melodic than track 3. Great solo. That rhythm section kills.

9. The Unspoken Heroes - (9.50) - first time I heard this I nearly fell off my seat...killer combo of Whitesnake and Lizzy. Massive anthemic chorus and killer solo. love it.

10. About To Break - (9.75) - near flawless ballad. Huge vocal. Awesome solo

11. After The End Of The World - (9.75) - Monster rocker to end the album true. Massive chorus.riff.solo...brilliant stuff....and really like the haunting bell and thunderstorm at the end...but this does drag on which detracts ever so slightly.

 

[overall 92.2% but will round up as the production and packaging is pretty great]

 

Verdict : 93%

 

 

[for the record - bonus tracks -

Into The Fire (9) - great track let down slightly by some generic lyrics

Come Hell...(9.50) - excellent rocker with crazy solo. Whole thing just rocks]

Nice review. You like it a bit more than me, and I like "S.O.S" more than you, but otherwise I pretty much agree. I'd still rate the Hess disc slightly higher though...

Bit workmanlike the new disc IMO. Their last 2 have been stunning. "The Gathering" and "The Formation..." are 9/10 discs for me, right up there with their best. This one has some obvious weaker spots, and i don't like the combination of bluesier/subtler guitar combined with the heavy stuff. Nice dynamics, just not crunchy enough. Good, but a little off what I expected...

 

For me, 'Formation...' was 7/10 at best, maybe less. Hopefully the new one will be more to my tastes.

The new one's more melodic. Plus the production is not that great IMO. The title-track is pretty epic, and on a few numbers they really nail it, but it's patchy. I've played it a lot now as it just doesn't stack-up to the last 2 discs at all, with the first 2 songs being truly average.

Yellowcard - 'Southern air' ; this one seems to be a good one. On first spin I didn't detect any fillers and it all seemed quite solid, very much in line with their 'Ocean Avenue' and 'Lights and Sounds' albums. Unfortunately it's no 'Paper Walls' but I think we can safely assume that as a once off. On first spin I think this is probably better than the last album, 'When you're through thinking say yes.' We'll see, though, as they're probably both quite close. Both good albums.

 

Pete Lesperance - 'Fade into stars' ; This one started out terribly but after a few really bad songs the rest was actually all pretty good. It's all very mellow and merely a collection of ballads. It's no Harem Scarem, that's for sure, but I did think most the songs were pretty good, with good strong chorus hooks. Mellow, but nice.

 

That Yellowcard is a good one IMO. Where'd you get the PL disc, is it download only?

This magazine is shit. It's a waste of money. Sure they might have a diverse set of reviews and musical tastes, but most of the reviewers are illiterate and incompetent, and the interviews are utterly pointless and filled with irrelevant trivia. DON'T BUY IT!

Some of the reviews are quite badly written and the scores occasionally do not reflect the comments, but I still much prefer Powerplay to Fireworks.

That's like saying you prefer being shot in the head to being set on fire.

YELLOWCARD - Southern Air

WHATNOW?! Is this a new disc? Google here I come...

Yes mate - I got an advance copy last week with no cover or anything. You can hear "Always Summer" (great song) the first single on youtube. Good disc...

YELLOWCARD - Southern Air

TREMONTI - As I was

TESTAMENT - Dark Roots of Earth

After a really poor opening couple of songs, this one kicks pretty hard. Killer title-track and some amazing guitar work - especially the solos. Given they're one of my all-time fave bands this is a little bit workmanlike though...

YELLOWCARD - Always Summer (their best song in years IMO)

Beggars & Thieves - We Are The Broken Hearted

 

(mature and excellent song writing - an album which seems to improve with every listen)

 

I agree. Depending what mood you're in it can also be ever so slightly boring and drags a little, but a massive surprise (I expected very little) and it delivered big-time...

 

 

 

Np:

 

A few new and awesome discs (apart from the Testament, which isn't quite as good as I'd hoped...)

 

TREMONTI - All I Was

TESTAMENT - Dark Roots of Earth

THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM - Handwritten

 

I agree about the Beggars and Thieves. Such a great disc that I still play often.

 

I'm about to buy the Testament and their my fav thrash band and most reviews I've read have been positive so i'm a little surprised to read that you've been dissapointed by it. I read it was going to be a little more melodic than the last one but i've done my best to avoid samples.

Yeah the Testament is good, but is a bit more melodic and the production is not that great IMO. The last one was definitely better, and "The Gathering" is light-years better....

Awesome. His "Down In It" disc was epic...

I was never a fan of Matchbox 20, to me they were simply just another prototypical 90's pop rock band.

 

But the new one called She's So Mean sounds like the 80's just exploded in Rob Thomas' pants. A blend of Rick Springfield, The Cars and even some Billy Joel.

 

I love this song and without a doubt this will be my fav track of the summer that plays on local radio.

 

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Wow, thanks mate - I like this band and this sounds killer...

Beggars & Thieves - We Are The Broken Hearted

 

(mature and excellent song writing - an album which seems to improve with every listen)

I agree. Depending what mood you're in it can also be ever so slightly boring and drags a little, but a massive surprise (I expected very little) and it delivered big-time...

Np:

A few new and awesome discs (apart from the Testament, which isn't quite as good as I'd hoped...)

TREMONTI - All I Was

TESTAMENT - Dark Roots of Earth

THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM - Handwritten

GASLIGHT ANTHEM - "45"

TREMONTI - New Way Out

GASLIGHT ANTHEM - Handwritten

TESTAMENT - Dark Roots of Earth

TREMONTI - All I Was

I've pre-ordered this before hearing any (I never do this!), so it better be good.

Bit workmanlike the new disc IMO. Their last 2 have been stunning. "The Gathering" and "The Formation..." are 9/10 discs for me, right up there with their best. This one has some obvious weaker spots, and i don't like the combination of bluesier/subtler guitar combined with the heavy stuff. Nice dynamics, just not crunchy enough. Good, but a little off what I expected...

Tremonti - Decay

 

(now this is how you end an album....not with some sappy acoustic ballad)

 

great song. I'd have liked another ballad though (there is only 1 / 12)....

 

The Things I've Seen qualifies as a ballad surely?

I don't remember that one!