H.E.A.T - Address The Nation

[Nightrain]

Kim, if you have access to the other 5 demos, you have my email man, I'll be waiting !

[Kim_Hp]

Kim, if you have access to the other 5 demos, you have my email man, I'll be waiting !

 

I wish, mate!!

[Glen]

 

I wonder whether anyone else was expecting a huge chorus in "Downtown"? All the way through I just thought 'now it's going to take off completely over the top', but somehow that didn't happen (I DO like the song!).

 

I thought exactly the same. It builds nicely but just ends-up being a pleasant tune with no big hook. Weakest track for me...

 

sounds like Magnum to me.

[TIM (2)]

 

I wonder whether anyone else was expecting a huge chorus in "Downtown"? All the way through I just thought 'now it's going to take off completely over the top', but somehow that didn't happen (I DO like the song!).

 

I thought exactly the same. It builds nicely but just ends-up being a pleasant tune with no big hook. Weakest track for me...

 

sounds like Magnum to me.

 

Crikey, that's a bit harsh mate.

[TIM (2)]

My summary is below...

 

01. Breaking The Silence - Perfect opener, nice anthemic chorus. 8.5/10

02. Living On The Run - Killer lead-off single, great keys & big 80's AOR. 9/10

03. Falling Down - Nice verses but slightly average chorus by their high standards. 8/10

04. The One And Only - Absolutely stunning ballad. Like The Magnificent's "Angel". 9.5/10

05. Better Off Alone - Lush verse and pre-chorus, pure AOR heaven. 9.5/10

06. In And Out Of Trouble - Saxophone? Really? Strong AOR, but needs bigger chorus IMO. 8/10

07. Need Her - Big highlight with strong vocals and hooky-chorus. 8.5/10

08. Heartbreaker - More great mhr with killer catchy chorus, great songwriting. 8.5/10

09. Its All About Tonight - Harder-edged rocker. Decent chorus, but average song. 6/10

10. Downtown - This one builds nicely but just doesn't go anywhere. Decent but unspectacular. 7/10

 

Overall I'd give this about 8.5/10, which is a lower rating than "Freedom Rock" (which is a 9 or more IMO). This one's better produced and I do love the new vocalist, and frankly if they'd replaced the last 2 songs with better ones then I'd probably like this about the same. "The One & Only" is a stunning/epic ballad, but otherwise it also kinda lacks a big stand-out track (in the way the previous albums had). Despite these small criticisms this is still AWESOME and essential.

[zacharyamelie]

My summary is below...

 

01. Breaking The Silence - Perfect opener, nice anthemic chorus. 8.5/10

02. Living On The Run - Killer lead-off single, great keys & big 80's AOR. 9/10

03. Falling Down - Nice verses but slightly average chorus by their high standards. 8/10

04. The One And Only - Absolutely stunning ballad. Like The Magnificent's "Angel". 9.5/10

05. Better Off Alone - Lush verse and pre-chorus, pure AOR heaven. 9.5/10

06. In And Out Of Trouble - Saxophone? Really? Strong AOR, but needs bigger chorus IMO. 8/10

07. Need Her - Big highlight with strong vocals and hooky-chorus. 8.5/10

08. Heartbreaker - More great mhr with killer catchy chorus, great songwriting. 8.5/10

09. It’s All About Tonight - Harder-edged rocker. Decent chorus, but average song. 6/10

10. Downtown - This one builds nicely but just doesn't go anywhere. Decent but unspectacular. 7/10

 

Overall I'd give this about 8.5/10, which is a lower rating than "Freedom Rock" (which is a 9 or more IMO). This one's better produced and I do love the new vocalist, and frankly if they'd replaced the last 2 songs with better ones then I'd probably like this about the same. "The One & Only" is a stunning/epic ballad, but otherwise it also kinda lacks a big stand-out track (in the way the previous albums had). Despite these small criticisms this is still AWESOME and essential.

 

To quote myself from post#95

 

The production is much better than on Freedom Rock, which despite having some killer tracks was void of balls and the debut which was crunchier had a few fillers that kept it from being an all out classic. Address The Nation seems to have it all, good production, excellent vocals, players and as well as no obvious fillers, although I do believe the two 'weakest' tracks are the last two.

 

So does this mean that great minds think alike, maybe not, but when it comes the H.E.A.T. Tim and I agree pretty much on everything.

[Glen]

My summary is below...

 

01. Breaking The Silence - Perfect opener, nice anthemic chorus. 8.5/10

02. Living On The Run - Killer lead-off single, great keys & big 80's AOR. 9/10

03. Falling Down - Nice verses but slightly average chorus by their high standards. 8/10

04. The One And Only - Absolutely stunning ballad. Like The Magnificent's "Angel". 9.5/10

05. Better Off Alone - Lush verse and pre-chorus, pure AOR heaven. 9.5/10

06. In And Out Of Trouble - Saxophone? Really? Strong AOR, but needs bigger chorus IMO. 8/10

07. Need Her - Big highlight with strong vocals and hooky-chorus. 8.5/10

08. Heartbreaker - More great mhr with killer catchy chorus, great songwriting. 8.5/10

09. It’s All About Tonight - Harder-edged rocker. Decent chorus, but average song. 6/10

10. Downtown - This one builds nicely but just doesn't go anywhere. Decent but unspectacular. 7/10

 

Overall I'd give this about 8.5/10, which is a lower rating than "Freedom Rock" (which is a 9 or more IMO). This one's better produced and I do love the new vocalist, and frankly if they'd replaced the last 2 songs with better ones then I'd probably like this about the same. "The One & Only" is a stunning/epic ballad, but otherwise it also kinda lacks a big stand-out track (in the way the previous albums had). Despite these small criticisms this is still AWESOME and essential.

 

To quote myself from post#95

 

The production is much better than on Freedom Rock, which despite having some killer tracks was void of balls and the debut which was crunchier had a few fillers that kept it from being an all out classic. Address The Nation seems to have it all, good production, excellent vocals, players and as well as no obvious fillers, although I do believe the two 'weakest' tracks are the last two.

 

So does this mean that great minds think alike, maybe not, but when it comes the H.E.A.T. Tim and I agree pretty much on everything.

 

lol, it doesnt take a rocket scientist to work out that this has more balls than Freedom Rock and that the last 2 tracks are the weakest.......I'd be gob smacked if anyone didnt come to that conclusion to be honest.

 

BUT, the ballad being the strongest song? Mmmm I question that....would be in the bottom half for me......but then everyone around here does seem to love ballads eh??!

[TIM (2)]

 

BUT, the ballad being the strongest song? Mmmm I question that....would be in the bottom half for me......but then everyone around here does seem to love ballads eh??!

 

Yeah but then the only ballads you seem to like are from Westlife. Ooops, I mean Blessed By A Broken Heart. Easy mistake to make.

[Glen]

 

BUT, the ballad being the strongest song? Mmmm I question that....would be in the bottom half for me......but then everyone around here does seem to love ballads eh??!

 

Yeah but then the only ballads you seem to like are from Westlife. Ooops, I mean Blessed By A Broken Heart. Easy mistake to make.

 

LOL, I dont dislike ballads, but hardly ever would I rate them in amongst the best songs on a CD. 'Angels' was different as that was a pretty special song with an awesome chorus and solo....wouldnt quite rank 'One and Only' alongside that.......and as for BBABH - that song definitely ranks in the lower half of that album too. For the record

[TIM (2)]

 

BUT, the ballad being the strongest song? Mmmm I question that....would be in the bottom half for me......but then everyone around here does seem to love ballads eh??!

 

Yeah but then the only ballads you seem to like are from Westlife. Ooops, I mean Blessed By A Broken Heart. Easy mistake to make.

 

LOL, I dont dislike ballads, but hardly ever would I rate them in amongst the best songs on a CD. 'Angels' was different as that was a pretty special song with an awesome chorus and solo....wouldnt quite rank 'One and Only' alongside that.......and as for BBABH - that song definitely ranks in the lower half of that album too. For the record

 

Yeah I was just kidding. I do, like Dave, struggle to find a real stand-out tune on this one. Lots of songs I love, with "Living on the Run"/"Better Off Alone" and the ballad as highlights, but just needs a real storming tune that's perfect from start-to-finish. Oh, and 2 better closing songs...

[Glen]

 

BUT, the ballad being the strongest song? Mmmm I question that....would be in the bottom half for me......but then everyone around here does seem to love ballads eh??!

 

Yeah but then the only ballads you seem to like are from Westlife. Ooops, I mean Blessed By A Broken Heart. Easy mistake to make.

 

LOL, I dont dislike ballads, but hardly ever would I rate them in amongst the best songs on a CD. 'Angels' was different as that was a pretty special song with an awesome chorus and solo....wouldnt quite rank 'One and Only' alongside that.......and as for BBABH - that song definitely ranks in the lower half of that album too. For the record

 

Yeah I was just kidding. I do, like Dave, struggle to find a real stand-out tune on this one. Lots of songs I love, with "Living on the Run"/"Better Off Alone" and the ballad as highlights, but just needs a real storming tune that's perfect from start-to-finish. Oh, and 2 better closing songs...

 

Im not quite as harsh as you guys, as I mentioned before there are at least 5 songs on this that I like all the way through and that I would nt really change - they will all be 9+ songs for me so I see this coming in at around 85-90%, closer to 90% I reckon. Room for it to be topped though in 2012 which I didnt see hapening to be honest.

[Kim_Hp]

Finally received my copy of this today and here are my initial thoughts after two listens.

 

First of all: all comments describing this as their "heaviest" album to date are misleading, to say the least. Sure, "Breaking the Silence" and "It's All About Tonight" are more hard rock than AOR, but the rest is pure H.e.a.t with no particular shift in sound.

 

Also starting to see the point in 10 tracks: all songs float perfectly into one and another, and every song fills a function. There's not even a hint of a filler here, and afterwards you just sit there wondering where the last 40 or 50 minutes went. Although that's not to say more tracks wouldnt have been nice, but I get why they've done this.

 

Another thing to point out is the obvious and sudden Bon Jovi influence on several tracks. Some might even call it a rip-off, but I wouldn't go that far. I think it's because of Erik's voice they've gone in this direction.

 

In conclusion, I can't honestly find a fault on this one. I had my doubts about Erik G, but even I have to admit he puts in an excellent performance here. The songwriting is brilliant, the production top-notch, every song is an instant classic. The only thing I would say is that they go a bit overkill on the sax on "In And Out Of Trouble", especially on the solo. But other than that, I can't see what would stop this from being a 10/10.

[Jeff]

I am gonna take Tim's review and just note my opinion differences...which aren't many. This is a really good CD.

 

 

04. The One And Only - Absolutely stunning bland ballad.

*I dunno, just the opposite of Tim's take for me 5/10

 

06. In And Out Of Trouble - Saxophone? Really? Strong AOR, but needs bigger chorus IMO.

*The saxophone, while cool in some ways, catches me way off guard every time this song starts. It is totally 80's but in the George Micheal Careless Whisper sorta way....still a good tune so yeah, 8/10

 

09. It’s All About Tonight - Harder-edged rocker. Decent chorus, but average song. 6/10

*Not much to add other than I like this song a bit more, I'd go 8/10

 

*10. Downtown - This one builds nicely but just doesn't go anywhere. Decent but unspectacular. 7/10

I agree it does not go anywhere but in a strange way I actually think this is a cool ending to a great CD. It's like they purposely didn't go any further with it and that adds to the story they are telling in the lyrics. Sure, not spectacular but I'd go a notch higher, 8/10

 

 

Anyway, thanks for allowing me to be lazy and say ditto to your review with a few noted differences.

[Kim_Hp]

Just brilliant...

 

 

In And Out Of Trouble

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6uyovjOuEM&feature=channel

 

Need Her

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wiIguUaBdI&feature=relmfu

[Kim_Hp]

For once, a Melodic Rock.com review I agree with : H.E.A.T

[melodicrock]

For once, a Melodic Rock.com review I agree with : H.E.A.T

 

It must be a special day. I'm honored.

[Kim_Hp]

For once, a Melodic Rock.com review I agree with : H.E.A.T

 

It must be a special day. I'm honored.

 

[melodicrockoz]

Has anyone heard the Japanese bonus track BACK INTO YOUR ARMS ?

[Kim_Hp]

Wow only one bonus track? That's cheap...

[melodicrockoz]

So we get 11 songs released of the 28 songs demoed, is the band saving the rest for an anthology of unreleased tunes as they've already got alotta songs left off the first 2 albums.

[TIM (2)]

For once, a Melodic Rock.com review I agree with : H.E.A.T

 

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...

[Geoff]

I had this on this morning but was viciously distracted after the possible death of my camera at the hands of the mighty ocean, but it sounded pretty good. Gotta say, definitely wasn't blowing my face off at every opportunity, liked I hope it would. But everything did sound very good - good choruses, nice hooks, great ballsy music... good vocals. Sounds like it'll be a deadset winner and I can't wait to hear this mofo in a happier state of mind, but I wonder if I'll agree with the doods who are a little underwhelmed... just slightly.

[Glen]

I had this on this morning but was viciously distracted after the possible death of my camera at the hands of the mighty ocean, but it sounded pretty good. Gotta say, definitely wasn't blowing my face off at every opportunity, liked I hope it would. But everything did sound very good - good choruses, nice hooks, great ballsy music... good vocals. Sounds like it'll be a deadset winner and I can't wait to hear this mofo in a happier state of mind, but I wonder if I'll agree with the doods who are a little underwhelmed... just slightly.

 

Yeah I think you have to put 'underwhelmed' into perspective. We were expecting massive things from this album but probably only got great. Saying that it is still probably better than anything else so far this year...just. Room to be topped though by maybe WET or Vega?? Who knows?

[zacharyamelie]

I really like it, it is the band's strongest release as a whole no doubt. However I'm not blown away either. The fact I've been hearing these songs for over a month made me playing the cd I received yesterday a little less exciting.

 

A big stand out track, another big ballad and maybe 12 or 13 songs in all would have vaulted this one to the upper stratosphere.

 

Still one of the finest of 2012.

[KarpetRydOFunk]

What is your guy's definition of a "stand out" track? How do "Living on the Run," "In and Out of Trouble," and "Need Her" not meet the requirements. Is the album perfect? No. There are songs I wish I could tweak slightly, but the effort is pretty f*cking incredible, nonetheless!!