H.e.a.t - H.e.a.t II

[Glen]

32 minutes ago, Geoff said:

'We are the gods' is defo a cool tune - I just need to get past those lyrics. Like I said, if I could see a bit of light heartedness in it I'd take it a lot better, but it sounds dead serious and therefore is just a bit of a toss to me. 

I tell you the solo that drives me absolutely insane - the 'Dangerous Ground' one. Sweet christ that is how to structure a guitar solo. Absolutely in love with that. 

The ballads are a shame because Erik's voice is so awesome and he sounds great on the ballads - they're just not their best songs by any means. 

except Eye of the Storm of course which is stunningly brilliant. 

also Redefined is a fine ballad of sorts 

[Glen]

12 minutes ago, tts42572 said:

Pretty much echo your thoughts on the songs...Although I do like We Are Gods quite a bit.  I just dig the vibe of it...little different to me than other stuff they've done.  

For me, Nothing To Say and Under The Gun are definitely the weakest moments.  Still okay tunes but just weaker than the rest.  

There's a handful of absolutely classic melodic rockers though that will make for killer additions to their live set.  And Rise is absolutely a gem live as it's one people can easily get into.

And yes, some killer Dave Dalone solos on this that are all perfectly done.  It's just so great that he came back to the band.  Also, seems like Dave and Jona wrote most of the songs here so there's that too.  Erik kinda gets all the accolades as the frontman but the other guys clearly play big parts in the band.

Just a great return to form and I think they tried hard here to give the fans what they wanted after many complaints about the last album being too commercial, experimental or whatever. 

 

I do hate this 'return to form' phrase. personally I loved the last album and many tunes on that are better than some here. 

[Glen]

41 minutes ago, Geoff said:

'We are the gods' is defo a cool tune - I just need to get past those lyrics. Like I said, if I could see a bit of light heartedness in it I'd take it a lot better, but it sounds dead serious and therefore is just a bit of a toss to me. 

I tell you the solo that drives me absolutely insane - the 'Dangerous Ground' one. Sweet christ that is how to structure a guitar solo. Absolutely in love with that. 

The ballads are a shame because Erik's voice is so awesome and he sounds great on the ballads - they're just not their best songs by any means. 

PS. have you actually read the lyrics? It's a very anti God / Christian message. ie that there is no God and humans rule the universe. 

[Glen]

they are definitely NOT meaning that they the band are gods. if that's what is causing you trouble??

[Kim_Hp]

20 minutes ago, Glen said:

PS. have you actually read the lyrics? It's a very anti God / Christian message. ie that there is no God and humans rule the universe. 

That's how I interpeted these lyrics as well. bit unusual and obscure lyric topic for these guys...not least considering Jona Tee is a Christian from what I remember. or maybe I have him mixed up with some one else...

[Kim_Hp]

35 minutes ago, Glen said:

I do hate this 'return to form' phrase. personally I loved the last album and many tunes on that are better than some here. 

Yeah, me too. By any other bands standards, "Into the Great Unknown" would have been a monster album. but just because it's H.E.A.T, people find things to whine about. I can't remember how many comments I've read on YouTube etc about how this record sucked, and how they've now "returned" to their roots.

Save for 2 or 3 songs, it wasn't an experimental album at all but 100% pure, classic H.E.A.T.

[Kim_Hp]

If anything, what this album is lacking is a few pure AOR numbers like they had on "Address the Nation" or "Freedom Rock". That is the missing piece that would have pushed this album over the top for me. I guess "Nothing To Say" is the closest to that here but it's more of a ballad of sorts...

Edited February 24, 2020 by Kim_Hp

[Gotthardline]

1 hour ago, Glen said:

I do hate this 'return to form' phrase. personally I loved the last album and many tunes on that are better than some here. 

Agreed !

some of my favourite H.e.a.t songs on that album 

Edited February 24, 2020 by Gotthardline

[Glen]

yep I agree. 'return to form' is more accurately described as return to Tearing Down The Walls sound which in itself was a step down overall from Address the Nation.......and Freedom Rock. 

[Tabe]

9 hours ago, Glen said:

rejected by Eclipse lol. What after some of the average stuff they released on the last album

I'll take Victory over Viva La Victoria any day 

I actually like "Viva La Victoria" even if it is cheesy as heck.

[sirlemonhead]

Aye Dave and Jona were always the main writers, back on the first few albums.

We are gods is cack though. I've been skipping it every time I've listened to the album the last few days.

[Mafisen]

Extensive listening to this album done. I love it. It's their best one yet. As I've said, I love the harder and heavier HEAT. The only song I don't like is Nothing To Say, but then I don't generally like ballads and have to be in s certain mood to like them, so I usually skip that one. 

Apart from that, there's not a filler on here. My favourites are all of them. 

[Kim_Hp]

15 hours ago, sirlemonhead said:

Aye Dave and Jona were always the main writers, back on the first few albums.

We are gods is cack though. I've been skipping it every time I've listened to the album the last few days.

We Are Gods seems to be the least popular song judging from comments elsewhere too. Personally I have no problem with it, but it certainly isn't one of the best tracks.

[Geoff]

20 hours ago, Glen said:

they are definitely NOT meaning that they the band are gods. if that's what is causing you trouble??

 

20 hours ago, Glen said:

PS. have you actually read the lyrics? It's a very anti God / Christian message. ie that there is no God and humans rule the universe. 

Yeah, I'll admit straight out I haven't analysed the lyrics yet but I was getting the impression it was more a song about their supposed greatness than anything else. Fair enough if it's not. I must say, after a few more listens today, regardless of the lyrics, it and 'Under the gun' are easily my least favourite two songs on the album. Kind of loving the opener already and the ballad is a good song - just not as good as others.  

20 hours ago, Glen said:

I do hate this 'return to form' phrase. personally I loved the last album and many tunes on that are better than some here. 

Yeah, HEAT have never been out of form, imo. Some of their albums are a bit weaker than others, but all are extremely worthwhile in their own right. 

20 hours ago, Glen said:

except Eye of the Storm of course which is stunningly brilliant. 

also Redefined is a fine ballad of sorts 

Yeah, don't get me wrong. HEAT have good ballads, and some very good ones. But they are never the best, or even close to the best songs on their albums. 

[Crazysam]

The last album didn't do much for me.  Outside of 2 or 3 tracks I rarely listen to it.  I much prefer the guitar driven style used on this one.  As far as the songs themselves, my favorites are similar to most: Dangerous Ground, Come Clean, One by One and Rise.  But really outside of "Rock Your Body" which has an annoying chorus and "Nothing To Say" which was just OK, I found the rest of the songs to all be either good or great.  Future spins will determine how it stacks up, but I'd be surprised if this is not in my top 5 come year end. 

[Glen]

my favourites are We Are Gods and Adrenaline.....followed closely by the 4 singles.

Then the rest which would rank in the region 7.5 to 8.5 

[Geoff]

28 minutes ago, Glen said:

my favourites are We Are Gods and Adrenaline.....followed closely by the 4 singles.

Then the rest which would rank in the region 7.5 to 8.5 

Very interesting. 

'Dangerous Ground,' 'Come Clean,' 'One by One' and 'Heaven Must Have Won An Angel' are the clear standouts for me. 'Rise' not far behind.

'We are the Gods' at the bottom and 'Adrenaline' bottom half of the album. 

But. To each their own.

[Glen]

45 minutes ago, Geoff said:

Very interesting. 

'Dangerous Ground,' 'Come Clean,' 'One by One' and 'Heaven Must Have Won An Angel' are the clear standouts for me. 'Rise' not far behind.

'We are the Gods' at the bottom and 'Adrenaline' bottom half of the album. 

But. To each their own.

Heaven plods along goes nowhere does nothing. Quite bland to me.

Adrenaline is easily the mightiest hook on the whole album. permanently stuck in my head. The intro and verses are great too. 

[tts42572]

Putting the tunes in order for me:

1. Rise
2. Come Clean
3. One By One
4. Dangerous Ground
5. Adrenaline
6. We Are Gods
7. Heaven Must Have Won An Angel
8. Rock Your Body
9. Victory
10. Nothing To Say
11. Under The Gun

Now 1-4 would probably all be "10" songs for me and it's splitting hairs between them.  Songs 5-7 would all be in the 9-9.5 range as I still really dig them all but just a tiny notch below the first 4.  I'd probably put Rock Your Body and Victory as about 8.5 songs and the last two at 8.

Overall, just freaking love it.  I know it's probably too early to say it but If I had to list my favorite albums of the past 5 years, this would be a strong contender for #1.

[CureTheSane]

So for what it's worth, here's my take on HEAT after 5 listens.
I'll likely end up with 6 songs off the album.
As I originally posted upon my first listen, it's the second half of the disc that does it for me.
I've been ripping on it a bit, which has been a bit unfair, it probably should be interpreted more as me ripping on the love fest for this one.
It's a good album, but (for me) nothing like the porno mag replacement that it is for everyone else.

I rate withan A B C D E F system, where D isa song that isn't total shit, C is OK, B is good/great and A is an excellent song.
all these 90.256987564% ratings I still find pretty weird.
 

Rock Your Body – boring, repeated chorus with a bland monotone. Bridge is ok, but can’t make the song work for me. (D)

Dangerous Ground – “dangerous, dangerous ground” This was the best they could do? This may grow on me. I kinda hope it doesn’t, kind of like I was hoping Hide Your Heart lyrics wouldn’t, but they did. For now, a (C+)

Come Clean – This is a good song. I know it will continue to be a grower for me, hooks, tempo changes, melodies – ticks all my boxes. (A)

Victory – Again, the chorus “Vic tor ry!!!” The rest of the song is good, hopefully I can get past the boring chorus Imma go with a (B)

We Are Gods – AGAIN the chorus “WE…….. ARE….. GODS…..” I mean it’s an ok, song. Kind of is the Gene Simmons song on the album in that it has that thumping backbeat and it a little different to the rest of the vibe. (C)

Adrenaline – Can I get past the word “drenaline”? as in “my adrenaline, drenaline” if that isn’t bad enough, there is a lot of other repeating in this song. Weak. Good music can be undone with poor lyrics, and this is yet another example on this album (D+)

One By One – This is an ok song, one of the ones I’d be trying to decide if it’s a keeper or not. Nothing too special or new here, but a good rocker. I’ll probably keep it (B)

Nothing To Say – I like a ballad, and this is no exception (A)

Heaven Must Have Won An Angel – corny song title, smacks of weird Scandanavian band not realising that this was pretty bad 30 years ago, not it’s just cringe. Not sold on this song. I like the drop back to the drums and bass, build up, then it gets to what I’ve heard many times before which is a bit of a let down. I think it will grow more on me, so (B)

Under The Gun – This one has a bit of balls and it’s almost like it’s the first song they took a risk on and just went with it rather than allowing it to be rounded and produced. (A)

Rise – Probably the best song on the album (A)

[Gotthardline]

I do like the album a lot but the lyrics are terrible and bad lyrics don’t usually bother me

[KarpetRydOFunk]

3 hours ago, CureTheSane said:

Nothing To Say – I like a ballad, and this is no exception (A)

I like ballads, too. Not this one, though. 

[Glen]

7 hours ago, CureTheSane said:

So for what it's worth, here's my take on HEAT after 5 listens.
I'll likely end up with 6 songs off the album.
As I originally posted upon my first listen, it's the second half of the disc that does it for me.
I've been ripping on it a bit, which has been a bit unfair, it probably should be interpreted more as me ripping on the love fest for this one.
It's a good album, but (for me) nothing like the porno mag replacement that it is for everyone else.

I rate withan A B C D E F system, where D isa song that isn't total shit, C is OK, B is good/great and A is an excellent song.
all these 90.256987564% ratings I still find pretty weird.
 

Rock Your Body – boring, repeated chorus with a bland monotone. Bridge is ok, but can’t make the song work for me. (D)

Dangerous Ground – “dangerous, dangerous ground” This was the best they could do? This may grow on me. I kinda hope it doesn’t, kind of like I was hoping Hide Your Heart lyrics wouldn’t, but they did. For now, a (C+)

Come Clean – This is a good song. I know it will continue to be a grower for me, hooks, tempo changes, melodies – ticks all my boxes. (A)

Victory – Again, the chorus “Vic tor ry!!!” The rest of the song is good, hopefully I can get past the boring chorus Imma go with a (B)

We Are Gods – AGAIN the chorus “WE…….. ARE….. GODS…..” I mean it’s an ok, song. Kind of is the Gene Simmons song on the album in that it has that thumping backbeat and it a little different to the rest of the vibe. (C)

Adrenaline – Can I get past the word “drenaline”? as in “my adrenaline, drenaline” if that isn’t bad enough, there is a lot of other repeating in this song. Weak. Good music can be undone with poor lyrics, and this is yet another example on this album (D+)

One By One – This is an ok song, one of the ones I’d be trying to decide if it’s a keeper or not. Nothing too special or new here, but a good rocker. I’ll probably keep it (B)

Nothing To Say – I like a ballad, and this is no exception (A)

Heaven Must Have Won An Angel – corny song title, smacks of weird Scandanavian band not realising that this was pretty bad 30 years ago, not it’s just cringe. Not sold on this song. I like the drop back to the drums and bass, build up, then it gets to what I’ve heard many times before which is a bit of a let down. I think it will grow more on me, so (B)

Under The Gun – This one has a bit of balls and it’s almost like it’s the first song they took a risk on and just went with it rather than allowing it to be rounded and produced. (A)

Rise – Probably the best song on the album (A)

if you give each track a score out of 10 and divide by the number of tracks you generally get a decimal point. It's not a difficult concept

 

[zacharyamelie]

One thing that would have improved the album is the running order of some tracks. “Rise” which is a top favourite for many should have been the opener and “Rock Your Body” which is unanimously accepted as the weakest track should have been buried in the middle somewhere. 

[CureTheSane]

5 hours ago, Glen said:

if you give each track a score out of 10 and divide by the number of tracks you generally get a decimal point. It's not a difficult concept

 

Still a stupid concept to me.
Just stick with shit, ok, good, great, excellent an d on RARE occasions, perfect
How anyone can say, "oh, this one is a 9.75 and the next track is a 9.8" is just weird
Sometimes people like to be so specialist and expert in these things. I don't profess to be, I simply like what I like.

I get an album, then I listen to it, cut out the shit and save the good songs.
A good album for me has at least 50% tracks I like enough not to throw to the curb.
But then I'm just as happy to find 3 killer tracks only off a 12 track album and save them, disgarding the 9.

All about saving the music I like and want to hear again without wasting my time on shittier songs.