Dare - Sacred Ground

[CureTheSane]

 

Always came off as folky AOR to me.

I tried really hard to get in to their albums, but never could.

Check out "Blood From Stone" as it is excellent and the only release worth having....

 

 

I did try that, but I was listening to 4? albums at the same time which was a mistake.

Maybe I'll try again with BFS.

And this new one does sond pretty good.

Frustrating because every time I listened I felt like I was really going to like it but it never really clicked...

[mrbandwidth]

I loved Out Of The Silence in its AORish style, then loved even more Blood From Stone a great, great hard-rocker.

 

Then came Calm Before The Storm, which was much more mellow, so initially was difficult for me to like it. But finally I did, and I'm glad because it's plenty of great songs. Probably is my favorite album from Dare now.

 

 

 

The other ones, Belief, Beneath the shining water, and Arc of the dawn have some great songs (specially the last), but as full albums don't work for me.

 

And please forget Calm Before The Storm 2, I don't get why Darren wanted to do this re-recording. IMO the original is sublime.

[mrbandwidth]

It's out there

[heavyharmonies]

Listening through the whole album on Spotify... good GAWD, this is one boring album. Too slow paced and mellow. They've been getting quieter and slower with every passing release, but this one takes it too far. I just can't stay awake.

 

Sure, it's melodic and has the trademark Dare harmonies and sound, but shit they've gone geriatric.

 

Sponsored by Geritol and Depends.

[mrbandwidth]

Listening through the whole album on Spotify... good GAWD, this is one boring album. Too slow paced and mellow. They've been getting quieter and slower with every passing release, but this one takes it too far. I just can't stay awake.

 

Sure, it's melodic and has the trademark Dare harmonies and sound, but shit they've gone geriatric.

 

Sponsored by Geritol and Depends.

 

Lol

 

Well, I'm not so hard. Anyway, this is the best song of the album IMO:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yc5N-ZKezE

[Nightrain]

yeah I can feel the 'boring' comment, probably because of the similarity and the slow-ish/mid tempo, they could have pump 3-4 songs but all in all, this is a pretty good/consistent album but probably fall in the 70-75% range

[kourosofsteel3]

I'll Hear You Pray has the best aging bouquet from all the new tracks I've listened to this year so far. Circular backbone melody, mighty solo and some of the best melismata Wharton had ever sung.

[mrbandwidth]

yeah I can feel the 'boring' comment, probably because of the similarity and the slow-ish/mid tempo, they could have pump 3-4 songs but all in all, this is a pretty good/consistent album but probably fall in the 70-75% range

+1

 

My main problem with this are certainly the tracks 7, 8, and 9 which are too similar, too softy and one next the other. The rest is ok, as long as you don't expect the Dare of Out Of The Silence or Blood From Stone days.

 

Scores:

01. Home 7.5

02. I'll hear you pray 9.5

03. Strength 9.5

04. Every time we say goodbye 8

05. Days of summer 7.5

06. On my own 7.5

07. Until 5.5

08. All our brass was gold 6

09. You carried me 6

10. Like the first time 8

11. Along the heather 7.5

 

Total: 75.0%

[PeterS]

I thought the Dan Reed Network was music to send you to sleep. Then I heard this.

 

Not my bag.

[Stefan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF_OrxrXLf4

 

[Geoff]

Interesting comments. Is it really softer and slower than the recent albums? I would be lying if I said I was an expert on this band with regard to anything after their first two albums, but I thought this album had the most guitar of any of their recent albums. It seemed to me like they want to try to add a rock element into it, but they just forgot to write rock songs. Because on one hand I do agree, that the songs are so slow and dreary. Not awful, but the album is just so samey. The only thing I thought was different, as I say, was just a bit more guitar this time around. But maybe I'm wrong.

 

End of the day, all you need from this band is their first two albums and that's really it.

[Invisible_man]

new album is nice melodic rock

[Chisel Chin]

Interesting comments. Is it really softer and slower than the recent albums? I would be lying if I said I was an expert on this band with regard to anything after their first two albums, but I thought this album had the most guitar of any of their recent albums. It seemed to me like they want to try to add a rock element into it, but they just forgot to write rock songs. Because on one hand I do agree, that the songs are so slow and dreary. Not awful, but the album is just so samey. The only thing I thought was different, as I say, was just a bit more guitar this time around. But maybe I'm wrong.

 

End of the day, all you need from this band is their first two albums and that's really it.

 

"Out of the Silence" is an AOR classic, but I really don't care for their second album at all, and it doesn't help that the production/mastering on the CD isn't as good, not even on the remaster when I heard it.

 

Anyway, regarding this new album, it's been a while since I listened to the previous Dare albums of this "soft rock" style, but I consider this new one to be more of the same, so if you like those others (which I do), then you'll like this one (which I do).

[kourosofsteel3]

 

yeah I can feel the 'boring' comment, probably because of the similarity and the slow-ish/mid tempo, they could have pump 3-4 songs but all in all, this is a pretty good/consistent album but probably fall in the 70-75% range

+1

 

My main problem with this are certainly the tracks 7, 8, and 9 which are too similar, too softy and one next the other. The rest is ok, as long as you don't expect the Dare of Out Of The Silence or Blood From Stone days.

 

Scores:

01. Home 7.5

02. I'll hear you pray 9.5

03. Strength 9.5

04. Every time we say goodbye 8

05. Days of summer 7.5

06. On my own 7.5

07. Until 5.5

08. All our brass was gold 6

09. You carried me 6

10. Like the first time 8

11. Along the heather 7.5

 

Total: 75.0%

 

 

 

I love Days of Summer. The chorus has an identical melody to Lady Of The Valley.

[kourosofsteel3]

And I remembeeeeer

sweeeet surrendeeeeer

the summer's stiiiiiiil in my heaaaaaaaaart

 

Always Remembeeeer

Smoke on the wateeer

The Summer's steel in my heart

[Stefan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RxdBP2ksEg

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZq-AzKkV8Q

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLUZDJb8Wvg

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK1L5wX4zKw

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpZjPyPoKmE

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0pJ5Tokj1M

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LNzoJHqmzw

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vojwB-oqTM

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qa_mFQa3Lk

[kourosofsteel3]

Already booked my tickets for their Athens gig! And Fates Warning the day after!

 

And FM in the same club as Dare one month after! Gawd, I'm a gig bird.

[KarpetRydOFunk]

Already booked my tickets for their Athens gig! And Fates Warning the day after!

 

And FM in the same club as Dare one month after! Gawd, I'm a gig bird.

Damn. I really live in the wrong part of the world.

[Invisible_man]

online it says that ex-member of Dare Brian Cox is now a physics professor. Pretty cool!

[mrbandwidth]

online it says that ex-member of Dare Brian Cox is now a physics professor. Pretty cool!

 

Oh yes indeed, here you have him:

 

[KarpetRydOFunk]

 

online it says that ex-member of Dare Brian Cox is now a physics professor. Pretty cool!

Oh yes indeed, here you have him:

 

Yup. It's always weird to see him on the tele.