TIM (2)

Yeah I think that's true. Even those slightly disappointed by this new disc (including me) are only disappointed because of the incredibly high expectations, hoping every tune would be an outright killer - which is a bit unrealistic.

I just can't stop playing it. The songwriting and production are just from another planet IMO. Have you seen the video for the new single: "Unity", with the girl taking pics? That song should be HUGE if there's any justice - though I expect Nickleback's "Lullaby" will outsell it. I honestly think this will be my no.1 for the year, though I hope I'm proved wrong!

I had 2 of these, sold one (a signed one) for quite a sum about 5 years ago. Kept the other one. No idea why I keep it as I don't even have a record player anymore! Oh, and no it's not worth the money! "Everytime" is a good song - the others not so much - but it pales against other Brit stuff from the time (like Blue Blud's first, and Dare's "Blood From Stone"). Trouble with this stuff is the "real value" is just the value that someone will actually pay for it. The "real value" to me is what I paid for it, about £7, and anything more would've been too much (and still is)...

You paid money for that?

ACCEPT - Stalingrad THE VEER UNION - Divide the Blackened Sky SHINEDOWN - Amaryllis

THE VEER UNION - Against the Grain THE VEER UNION - Divide the Blackened Sky One of my fave Modern Rock bands...

Other than Jez, has anyone else checked out the new "Rapture" disc? If not, you should. Seriously good stuff with some huge choruses. It's kinda lite in places, but the quality is very high. It scores as well as the major-league stuff like JSS and H.E.A.T IMHO...

It must be a special day. I'm honored. I think you deserved that one! I don't agree with the percentage score (is about 85% from me and I liked "Freedom Rock" more) but is a well-written review again, and given the criticisms of the last disc I knew Andrew would like this one more. The last 2 songs still aren't doing it for me at all though, which drags down the score...

I kinda think they have already said goodbye. This is not really a Tyketto album, well not in the classic sense anyway. That's all fine and I wish them well, but I wish they'd re-packaged this one as we didn't need to get all the reunion hype that's come with it. A few good moments but just much too patchy IMO. I'd have preferred another FROM THE INSIDE disc...

Yeah it's nice AOR, worth repeated spins as the hooks take a while to sink-in. Good stuff.

Holy shit, sounds killer. Ordered! This and the HUGE Shinedown might just make my year...

OVERKILL - The Electric Age TEXAS IN JULY - One Reality

I'm loving this one. More commercial is fine by me! As I mentioned in another thread, this humiliates the new Nickelback disc, it's so much more melodic and better written. The production is very slick and utterly flawless also. It edges-out H.E.A.T to be my fave disc of 2012 so far... 1. "Adrenaline" - Powerful opener, but missing a big hook. Decent but unspectacular. 7/10 2. "Bully" - Great verses, slightly weaker chorus but still a catchy tune. 8/10 3. "Amaryllis" - Great acoustic mid-tempo tune. Soulful vocals, lush chorus. 9/10 4. "Unity" - Huge epic anthem, similar to "Second Chance" but better. Flawless modern rock. 10/10 5. "Enemies" - Rockier tune, great riff and good songwriting make this a good one. 8.5/10 6. "I'm Not Alright" - Brilliantly written acoustic number, very melancholy but great hooks. 8.5/10 7. "Nowhere Kids" - More great writing, and a strong mid-paced rocker. 8.5/10 8. "Miracle" - Lush power ballad. Builds nicely with powerful/anthemic chorus. Killer. 9.5/10 9. "I'll Follow You" - More acoustics, very slick and sentimental song with great chorus. 9/10 10. "For My Sake" - Melodic modern rocker, probably the best mid-tempo tune. Very catchy. 9/10 11. "My Name (Wearing Me Out)" - Slightly more aggressive rocker, another great chorus. 8.5/10 12. "Through the Ghost" - Acoustic ballad, haunting stuff and great way to end. Killer chorus. 9.5/10 Overall I'd give this about a 9/10, and would rate it slightly above "Sound of Madness"...

Never heard of them, but the above comparisons sound like my kinda thing. They're not like Destrophy are they?!

Yeah I agree on both points. The SHY is a great example of a band sticking to their signature sound and making a great disc. I don't really care that bands haven't come that close to capturing their 80's sound. I don't want them to. The balancing act of retaining old fans but gaining new ones with a modern-rock edge and production is almost impossible to achieve. So the bands either stick to their old sound and make (usually) sub-par records, ditch the old sound and move on (like Europe did) taking a big risk of alienating old fans, or somewhere in the middle (like Danger Danger, Treat & Unruly Child have mastered). Personally I'd prefer they took a chance and made a relevant 2012 disc with a modern sound...

DYNAZTY - Sultans of Sin TEN SECOND EPIC - Better Off

AMARANTHE - S/T Thanks to Glen for the heads-up on this one. This is nice stuff, some decent growly vocals and a sweet-sounding chick to sing the sugar-coated choruses. This is hardly Scar Symmetry but the songs are catchier than on Sonic Syndicate's last album. There's a good ballad on here, though the rest is very samey. Frankly 4 or 5 songs of this stuff and you're done. Plus the production is pretty flat. Otherwise worth checking out if you like a tackier version of old Nightwish with a few cookie-monster vocals.

This should be arriving through my letter box in the next few days. Loved the last album, so really looking forward to this one. I think you'll love it mate. "Unity" is a monster track, better than "Second Chance" and the other good melodic tunes on the last disc, and there's barely a filler. I was slightly disappointed by the JSS and H.E.A.T discs (both are great, but perhaps I was expecting too much) and this is better IMHO.

ROMEO'S DAUGHTER - Rapture This is damn good stuff...

TAKE SHELTER Interesting psychological drama about a man who predicts a storm. A little slow, but very intriguing and worth sticking with for the ending (which is awesome).

SHINEDOWN - Unity

SHINEDOWN - Amaryllis This is a bit special. After the powerful intro song ("Adrenaline") it settles down into repeated melodic modern rockers, with more hooks than last time around. In fact it's strangely subdued in parts compared to the last disc, a few acoustic numbers (the title track, "I'm Not Alright", and "Through the Ghost") and at least 3 power ballads ("I'll Follow You", "Unity" and "Miracle") make this a much less intense/heavy disc. Even the heavier numbers are melodic, "For My Sake" is a lush anthem, and "Bully" and "My Name" are ultra-catchy modern rock tunes. The production is thick and crystal-clear, this thing sounds a million-bucks, and it's frankly a stunning disc. It slaughters the last Nickelback and is probably going to be my fave disc of 2012 so far...

Again ... pretty good stuff, actually !! Yeah I don't mind that one either... Np: SHINEDOWN - "Amaryllis"

In isolation these reviews are pretty accurate. Trouble is no-one buys CD's in isolation, you decide what is released and you prioritise your spending. With stuff around like H.E.A.T/JSS/Romeo's Daughter/Sunstorm/Shinedown etc etc then, unless you're rolling in cash & need every single AOR/MR album that comes out, I can't see why you'd buy this. If you dislike most of the above named albums then I can't see why you'd like this in the first place as it's just AOR/MR with a few heavier songs (which are shite)... I stand by my initial summation which was : SHITE. Is normally me that's the harsh one. Good to see you've been learning not to sit on the fence too!!

my 3 favs this year.....though that's not difficult ;-) Yeah the JSS and H.E.A.T are right up there. Neither are quite as amazing as I'd hoped, though perhaps I just got spoilt last year.