Serpentine

[rockdoc]

Here is another band from AOR HEAVEN with Tony Mills . Very solid songs and reminds me of SHY !!

 

CD also will get a release on the brilliant Avalon/Marquee Label in Japan.........

 

Check them out at ......... http://www.myspace.com/planetserpentine

[Chris]

Seems like its too much by-the-numbers AOR. Nothing original here. Talented yes but just doesn't stand out for me. Sorry.

[rudders73]

im hoping it will grow on me.had a chat with tomy mills the singer.seems to be only filling in untill they find a perment singer.mitch

[JamesEagle]

Agree with the last 2 comments. The sound is good, but to me the songs are nothing special. Yet.

[Glen]

This is a pretty decent album, but the songs are all too similar......just roll into each other.

 

Nice enough stuff with some decent solos. But I must admit I am becoming a bit demoralised with these AOR albums these days - nothing seems to stand out. I find myself preferring the MHR sound.

[Ali Rock]

Tony Mills is a great singer. I have allways liked him especially in Shy. But he is all over the place at the moment and I'm start to get tired of him. He is close to be what Jeff Scott Soto was in the 90-ies and Jorn lande was a couple of years ago. A singer might be really great but when you hear him on almost each and every release you tend to get tired of hearing him.

[zacharyamelie]

Is it just me or do Tony Mills and Jorn Lande look identical. Chubby faced guys with long blond hair...the comparisons end there.

[Geoff]

Tony Mills is a great singer. I have allways liked him especially in Shy. But he is all over the place at the moment and I'm start to get tired of him. He is close to be what Jeff Scott Soto was in the 90-ies and Jorn lande was a couple of years ago. A singer might be really great but when you hear him on almost each and every release you tend to get tired of hearing him.

Yeah, I agree... except the part about him being a good singer. I like him in Shy because he is the voice of Shy and that's what I know and am used to. Outside of Shy, I would prefer any other vocalist to him, I think. I don't think he has a good voice at all, and quite frankly I dislike it. I think this State of Rock CD from this year would be so much better with another voice.

[T-BONE]

The music is fine, but Mills' voice has gotten really worbley these last few years. He's trying to hard to keep that upper register just like on the State Of Rock CD... I loved it at first, but within a few spins, his voice annoyed me.

[Ali Rock]

Is it just me or do Tony Mills and Jorn Lande look identical. Chubby faced guys with long blond hair...the comparisons end there.

[melodicrockoz]

This is a good solid AOR / MHR album with some outstanding lead guitar & imho Tony's got a great voice & there's not too many left with his high register.

[Glen]

the only real stand out track is 'Let Love Rain Down' which is an excellent track.

[Geoff]

Well, finally getting around to actually hearing this one and song-wise, this really ain't bad at all. Yeah, it's pretty by-the-numbers AOR/melodic rock, but it's good stuff. Not the really bland shit some bands offer these days. But what was said above is definitely relevant. I feel exactly the same about this as I do about State of Rock. Two good CDs, but both would have been much better with another vocalist as I don't like Mills' voice on either CD.

[Jez]

I'm undecided whether to get this one or not, as I have heard about 5-6 songs, 3 I really liked and the others were just ok. I thought Tony Mills was ok though to be honest and his vocals didn't put me off.

[Glen]

I'm undecided whether to get this one or not, as I have heard about 5-6 songs, 3 I really liked and the others were just ok. I thought Tony Mills was ok though to be honest and his vocals didn't put me off.

 

Yeah to be honest his voice wasnt the problem for me, it was the songs. The songs arent fillers by any degree, but are pretty one dimensional....and in a lot of cases drone on for far too long. Some could have been cut by a good 30 seconds at least.

 

Im gonna wait for some decent AOR this year like Work Of Art and Vega.

 

Cheers

[JamesEagle]

So am I the only one loving the second album by these guys? Hard to tell as there's no thread on it and it's not on the HH site yet.

 

I didn't get the first one as I heard a few songs and found them quite dull, but 'Living And Dying in High Definition' is fantastic imo. Really good, consistent album, sounds heavier than the debut to me with much better songwriting. Standouts are 'Dreamer', 'Heartbreak Town' (my favourite, an awesome rock song) and 'Nuremberg' (great chorus, would be an even better song but for the keyboard solo).

[Jez]

It's not bad and a big improvement on the debut, but nowhere near lots of the other stuff released this year imo. I'd rate it a genreous 75%

[Nightrain]

I like it James and have rated it around 85%, a nice thing to have, still waiting for the price to drop on Amazon, weird that it's one of the few that price still hanging on the top

[Geoff]

Sorry for getting off subject in the Steel Panther thread. But like I said there, it's a solid, good AOR album which rates deservingly around the 70% mark, but like Jez says, it's pretty insignificant compared to what else this year has dished up. Here's my little write up for your info:

 

1 - Best days of our lives - good melodic rock - 7.5

2 - Cry - good melodic rock - 7

3 - Deep Down (There's a price for love) - good melodic rock - 7.5

4 - Dreamer - good melodic rock - 7

5 - Forgotten Heroes - good melodic rock - 7

6 - Heartbreak town - good melodic rock, would be better with other vocalist - 7.5

7 - Love is blue - good melodic rock - 7

8 - Nuremberg - good melodic rock - 7

9 - Philadelphia - good melodic rock - 7

10 - Where do we go from here - good melodic rock - 7

Total Score of all Songs - 71.5

Average Total Percentage of all Songs (%) - 72

TOTAL SCORE inc Songs, Vibe, Production etc. (%) - 72

Consistently good melodic rock songs, but extremely samey and the vocals are a killer.

 

I know that's a stupid review, but the album brought out that little excitement from me that there really wasn't much more to say. Like I said in the other thread, I'm surprised that someone who has such a harsh opinion of some truly classic CDs has settled on something so run-of-the-mill and average as your favourite album of the year. It baffles me, mate, but to each their own. Enjoy this mofo... someone's got to.

 

Oh, and for people keeping score, I think Shy's new CD destroys everything combined together that Mills has done since leaving the band.

[Nightrain]

hm I don't have a problem with Mills vocal, in fact I think in here, he's pretty good and quite different than in his early Shy days, not as high as he used to be like Harnell, that's why for the first time I heard him, I thought it's the new singer. Still a great album to have for me, only thing I still haven't have it, so might be good if someone's throwing this off for a penny

[TIM (2)]

This is bland stuff. In isolation it's pretty okay, but is so far removed from the best stuff from the past two years that it's just not worth getting IMO. The new Shy disc kicks-dirt-in-it's-face...

[JamesEagle]

Like I said in the other thread, I'm surprised that someone who has such a harsh opinion of some truly classic CDs has settled on something so run-of-the-mill and average as your favourite album of the year. It baffles me, mate, but to each their own. Enjoy this mofo... someone's got to.

 

This is bland stuff. In isolation it's pretty okay, but is so far removed from the best stuff from the past two years that it's just not worth getting IMO. The new Shy disc kicks-dirt-in-it's-face...

 

 

Steady on fellas - this is about opinions and for me this album is hands down better than Dynazty, Steel Panther, and what I've heard by The Magnificent. 'Heartbreak Town' and 'Nuremberg' are easily the best songs I've heard from 2011 so far and I reckon there's a good chance it will end up being my album of the year.

 

I haven't heard the Shy CD yet, the consensus that most of the songs are overlong is putting me off.

[Nightrain]

This is bland stuff. In isolation it's pretty okay, but is so far removed from the best stuff from the past two years that it's just not worth getting IMO. The new Shy disc kicks-dirt-in-it's-face...

 

Disagree friend.

IMO, this album was somehow poorly undervalued because it's shadowed by the likes of WoA, WW, Reckless Love, etc.

 

The new Shy is also a great album but definitely not worth anything beyond 85%, in fact I still rate it 80% for now because it has at least 4 weak tracks that should be around 60-65% but it has 3-4 tracks that's worth of 90%-100%, while Serpentine is pretty balance from start to finish, and it has the arrangement that simply melodic rock fans will embrace with only 2 tracks I rated 75% (sorry James, 'Nuremberg' is one of em) while the rest are between 80%-85%, but nothing is beyond that.

 

After a quick spin again, I came to a conclusion that Serpentine deserved around 82%, so I'll just round it down to 80% which means can't touch WoA or Toby, but at the moment, it's simply a head-to-head competitor to K/J, Fergie, Shy and Steel Panther.

[JamesEagle]

This is bland stuff. In isolation it's pretty okay, but is so far removed from the best stuff from the past two years that it's just not worth getting IMO. The new Shy disc kicks-dirt-in-it's-face...

 

Disagree friend.

IMO, this album was somehow poorly undervalued because it's shadowed by the likes of WoA, WW, Reckless Love, etc.

 

The new Shy is also a great album but definitely not worth anything beyond 85%, in fact I still rate it 80% for now because it has at least 4 weak tracks that should be around 60-65% but it has 3-4 tracks that's worth of 90%-100%, while Serpentine is pretty balance from start to finish, and it has the arrangement that simply melodic rock fans will embrace with only 2 tracks I rated 75% (sorry James, 'Nuremberg' is one of em) while the rest are between 80%-85%, but nothing is beyond that.

 

After a quick spin again, I came to a conclusion that Serpentine deserved around 82%, so I'll just round it down to 80% which means can't touch WoA or Toby, but at the moment, it's simply a head-to-head competitor to K/J, Fergie, Shy and Steel Panther.

 

The voice of reason! I don't share your view completely, but it's very well put. I like the cut of your jib.

[Glen]

Ha ha, this thread is getting funnier by the second.

 

Serpentine better than The Magnificent?? Ye Gods, James sometimes you amaze me.

 

Serpentine on a par with the new Steel Panther

 

I think Im in the twilight zone........and its scary.