Eric3

I could do without the last song on the album, but the rest of it is absolutely A+ material.

Definitely worth the wait.

2 hours ago, AlphaMale said:

I had a lengthy conversation with Guy Allison earlier today. Really cool dude. I apologized for my snide remark above about possibly pissing off Guy when I said they guitars were too soft on their last few records. That it needed more balls. Guy was not pissed at all and has heard his fair share of "too soft" comments. Guy says they just write what they feel. They weren't a hair band and weren't even trying to sound like one. 

Guy said the band started with three songs that most fans wouldn't consider metal or rocking in "Let's Talk About Love", "To Be Your Everything", and "Take Me Down Nasty". Everything they've done since then has been a natural evolution in whatever direction inspired them. And that they still operate the same way. They record the music they "feel".

They try to produce the most balanced and full sound that they can. Knows they are never going to please everybody. But they are also not trying to copy themselves. He said they could though. He jokingly asked Bruce "wanna make a metal album?". Partially joking, partially not. They choose to go where the creative music takes them.

I asked about the production on "Can't Go Home". Guy states that they accidentally short-changed the mix because of time constraints. He was leaving for a tour and the due date for the record was fixed. Says they didn't rush this new one out. It was due earlier but they learned valuable lessons from "Can't Go Home".

I told Guy some of the new tracks would sit nicely on their debut. Guy said he thinks that too and that it wasn't strictly an intention. It just worked out that way.

He says UC might have hit the scene with all those other hair bands, but the truth is, that's not who they were or who they necessarily liked. He said UC was a product of their collective influences. And trust him, it wasn't metal or hair bands or that genre. He says timing was the reason the debut wasn't huge. It was where they were in 1991 and that they were into Led Zeppelin, Elton John, The Beatles, Motown, Steely Dan, and Yes. 

Guy said that there are a subset of racists out there who give them grief because of Marcie. He said that they are lucky they don't say that to her face because she's as tough as nails.

In closing, Guy told be to let the other UC fans know that they don't chase Unruly Child formulas and that there's not enough money in the process to even cover their electric bills. They make this music because they love it and want to share it with the fans. He said a tour would only happen if it makes sense. Costs covered and some profit to stop them from taking other work.

And that's it. I found him to be a great dude. Thanks Guy!

Great post. Thanks for the information.

The production on Can't Go Home was absolutely unacceptable but sounds fine here to me. The songs aren't really my thing unfortunately but maybe I'll check it out anyway just because of Marcie.

On 7/19/2019 at 7:08 AM, tts42572 said:

Just fantastic!

 

Oh my god this chorus.

Also IMO Laine is on a completely different level than Poley and always has been.

YES, finally! One of the few really good Frontiers projects to come out recently. Hoping for no sophomore slump.

 

 

 

On 5/15/2019 at 6:18 PM, Tabe said:

I think this album is alright but none of the tracks really stand out to me.  Pretty much every album before this has had one or more tracks that I thought were killed.  Not so much with this one.  And I *really* don't get the pre-release hype comparing this to "Double Eclipse".  It's not even in the same stratosphere in terms of quality or the sound.

They're never making an album of that caliber again. Full stop. Nice try by whoever said that but that iteration of Hardline is loooooooong gone.

On 3/8/2019 at 12:33 PM, lettard said:

Was just thinking the same thing,there have been quite a few suggestions.

Give me a few days to listen to them, guys! Didn't expect this many suggestions! (Good thing of course) 

Love the song. The production is getting boring to me, but again, if Harry is singing I can look past that. Amazing performance from him as always.

THIS. THIS RIGHT HERE.

9 hours ago, Glen said:

First Signal

Khymera

WET

Eclipse

White Widdow

Reckless Love

 

9 hours ago, Glen said:

Degreed 

I'm a fan of all except Reckless Love (haven't heard)

Who's producing? Both albums were excellent but much different guitar tones and mixes. Think I'd prefer this so sound closer to the first one, especially because we've had so many Flores-produced albums recently.

Regardless, I'll listen to anything Harry sings at least twice.

Thanks guys. I already own the following:

Dalton - first 2 albums

Zinatra - Great Escape

Glory - Danger In This Game

Zeno - s/t

Skagarack - s/t and Hungry For A Game

Masquerade - s/t

HEAT - s/t and Address the Nation

Wigelius - first 2 albums (kinda poppy though)

TNT - Tell No Tales and Intuition (FUCKING RULES)

Care of Night - everything so far

I will listen to the rest. Thank you again!

4 hours ago, All Nights Reserved said:

Talking about the groove trend their albums between 1993 and 2003 were groove metal in a way or two.

Yeah, I meant that the material they put out then was still pretty decent. Bloodletting is in my top 5 Overkill albums.

Didn't Jorn Lande do one a while ago too or was that just one song?

Is there a more consistent thrash metal band that survived the groove trend of the '90s and is still putting out killer material after all these years? Both the back and front ends of their catalog are amazing.

I seem to have left my thrasher days in high school but I have nothing but respect for these guys. One of the greatest bands of their subgenre, maybe the greatest ever honestly if you consider longevity+consistency of quality.

Hey all, I could use your expertise here. I've been on a major Treat kick lately and I'm looking for similar bands, specifically ones with the big choruses. Any suggestions? Doesn't have to be from Scandinavia but figured I'd start there.

Thank you in advance.

15 hours ago, Glen said:

I haven't even listened to it yet but my prediction is 3 or 4 good but cheesy tunes and the rest pretty forgettable 

This is very much in the same vein as their first two albums (the debut being the best of the three). If you didn't like those then you can probably skip this one. Keeping it real here.

13 hours ago, Geoff said:

It's a good cover song on a good album. I have no issues with this one. Every song is good and imo it's a better album than the Hitchcock one. Favourite song is actually the album closer, 'Only the lonely.' Otherwise, second favourite song is 'One last kiss' (the proper version, not the waste of space bonus acoustic track - which is an instant skip!!). 

Yeah, it's not going to set the world on fire but it's a good album from start to end.  

Agreed, Geoff. It's better than the Hitchcock album.

Also, those bonus acoustic / piano tracks usually do nothing for me and that was an odd choice for this album. The original track is piano-based anyway so what's the point? I would have preferred the bonus to maybe be another cover song, honestly I wish Frontiers would do this more often given how frequently the blow the horn of their '80s influences.

On 2/20/2019 at 1:39 PM, Glen said:

I heard these teasers a while back. all 3 are magnificent.

very strong contender for album of 2019 this one. 

In fairness, not much in 2019 has really blown me away.

But yeah. I have no doubt this will be excellent. No one writes a hook like these guys. No one!

Why do I love this band so? Let me count the ways:

• Great musicianship
• Great songwriting
• Well-produced backing vocals no matter who the lead singer is
• Amazing hooks and melodies
• Sludgy guitar tone
• Intelligent, thought-provoking lyrics
• Keyboards that add atmosphere

I could go on and on. These guys really are the quintessential prog metal band IMO; you know what you're getting every release, they have their own sound down pat but add something new every time to the point where it doesn't sound samey. Wish more bands took their approach instead of huge wankfests and/or djent chugging.

I'm a huge Dream Theater fan. They were my bridge from metal to prog and I worshipped everything they did for a good long while. I might be in the minority when I consider A Dramatic Turn of Events and their self-titled to be far superior to The Astonishing (it's interesting to see how opinions of that album differ between prog communities and others), so I was pleased to see the song lengths on this one cut back a little.

Still waiting for something from this album to really grab me though. I agree that LaBrie isn't much of a force here (which has nothing to do with his performance, the dude can still sing well). But I have no problem listening to it and giving it time to digest. The Astonishing was just boring as all get out.

Holy shit they covered Desperate Dreams. That's my favorite Survivor song. I didn't even notice it in the tracklisting for some reason, so my heart skipped a couple beats when I first heard those opening notes. I dunno guys, I think the cover is terrific...Too Hot To Sleep doesn't get nearly enough credit for the masterpiece it is anyway, and I loved LaBlanc's vocal take on it.

True, though, that Jimi is immortal. He can't be touched. 

I think the album is a little long. In a vacuum it's great, but I fear this project is starting to succumb to the usual Frontiers samey-ness. Songs are good but, like, if I put on Dark Angel and then this, I'm probably going to get bored.

Still miles ahead of most projects on the label these days.

Care of Night and Wigelius sound like a decent combination. Guessing the production will be excellent, if nothing else. I'm looking forward to this.

I'm Eric. Obviously. I'm a sarcastic and self-deprecating twenty-something whose life has been saved by music on several occasions. You might have seen my reviews/comments on the main site, but I feel like this forum is much more interactive (and paragraph-friendly) so I decided to sign up. Hi!

Also, I need to thank you all for the website. It is an incredible database and I've discovered so many great bands because of it. Y'all are keeping the golden age of rock alive here and that's just awesome.

That's all, I guess.

Amorphis is, to me, the gold standard for contemporary metal. Great songwriting, KILLER vocals both clean and harsh, great production value, and consistently excellent material ever since Eclipse. You know what you're getting from them each time around, but it never gets stale because the songs and the musicianship are just that good. Skyforger is going to go down as a classic when it's all said and done, that album is just unbelievable. 

to beat the UNDEFEEEEEATED

UNDEFEEEEEEATED

*ahem*

For those asking, this album is IMO more consistent than Ghost of Graceland. You can listen to it all the way through and pick out at least four or five really good songs that will be stuck in your head all day. 

They'll never top Coup de Grace, but that's an unrealistic expectation anyway.