First Spin Impressions

[aMetalhead1966]

Girlschool - LEGACY

These gals have been around forever it seems (dating back to the NWOBHM era) but I've heard very little of their material over the years. Pretty good ol' fashioned rockin' stuff, sorta like a more polished sounding Motorhead (and in fact, Lemmy makes an appearance here on one track, as does Ronnie James Dio). Me likee.

 

Great band Keef - Try getting 'Demolition' and 'Hit And Run', probably their best 2.

Backed both of those are great releases...

[Fat Freddy]

Mongrel - FEAR, LIES & PROPAGANDA

Pretty cool old-school sounding metallic punk band with an early Suicidal Tendencies vibe. Fave lyric thus far: "Shut up, get dead, cuz you suck at life"

[Jez]

Girlschool - LEGACY

These gals have been around forever it seems (dating back to the NWOBHM era) but I've heard very little of their material over the years. Pretty good ol' fashioned rockin' stuff, sorta like a more polished sounding Motorhead (and in fact, Lemmy makes an appearance here on one track, as does Ronnie James Dio). Me likee.

 

Great band Keef - Try getting 'Demolition' and 'Hit And Run', probably their best 2.

 

Yea, I think I've seen you recommend some Girlschool round here before Jez -- I shall keep my orbs peeled for more from these gals.

 

Is this the release where they use the ashes or something of a past member as an instrument?

 

The press release that came with the CD does mention something to that effect, but I don't have it with me so I don't remember exactly what the deal is. I know one of the members passed away about a year ago and it sez something about her playing on the album "in spirit."

 

Yeah it was Kelly Johnson the guitarist that passed away last year I think. - very sad as she was only in her 40's. They are 'Tapping the urn' as they say on the new disc. Could catch on as a new percussion fad.

[Fat Freddy]

Winters - BLACK CLOUDS IN TWIN GALAXIES

 

The bio sheet that came with this one sez "Prepare to meet your new favorite band" ... ehhhh, no. Boring, slow, sludgy droning stuff with a whiny vocalist, this sounds like Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins singing over a Black Sabbath record that's being played at the wrong speed.

[Dark Star]

Mongrel - FEAR, LIES & PROPAGANDA

Pretty cool old-school sounding metallic punk band with an early Suicidal Tendencies vibe. Fave lyric thus far: "Shut up, get dead, cuz you suck at life"

 

 

Oh I LOVE that line!! Fucking CLASSIC!!!!!

[Glen]

Lovex - Pretend Or Surrender

 

Absolute Killer follow up to 'Divine Insanity'. 14 excellent tracks with not a filler in sight , 'If She's Near', 'Turn', 'Take A Shot' & 'End Of The World to name but 4 of my faves so far. I loved the debut, but this beats it by some way. Huge choruses throughout, killer production and to me, this is what the term 'Modern Melodic Rock' is all about, not all those hopeless bands that our resident 'Emo' fan (sorry mate ) keeps harking on about in great detail in the non rock thread.

 

Sorry mate but I listened to some samples of this and I wasnt blown away.....sounded like a spruced up Rasmus to me.............?

 

Do yourself a favour and take a listen to Disciple's song 'Falling Star' - it absolutely kills this stuff stone dead.

 

OK, so I might have been a bit premature in my summation of this album.

 

I still dont like the totally overproduced sound (almost no recognisable drum sound - soundwise like a cross of Kamelot and Linkin Park), but there are some good songs on this.

 

The first 3 are all good as you say and in particular I liked ''My Isolation' and 'Ordinary Day' when they rocked it up a bit and included some solos - very nice.

 

Could be a real grower and a good call here mate cos normally I wouldnt have given this the time of day.

 

PS - I was joking about the pulse (but you are getting on a bit )

 

 

Hmm - it's ok nothing special, I'll stick to the Lovex/Carmen Gray Thx. Check the whole disc out, rather than just soundbytes.

 

Jez mate, Im starting to worry about you - how can you say that song is just 'OK'....it encompasses almost everything I love about rock music...massive riff, great chorus and a ripping solo.

 

Check you pulse mate

 

No need to worry about me mate, my pulse is quite normal, which is exactly the problem. I've heard stuff like this thousands of times over and this doesn't stand out i'm afraid. I just listened to a few other tracks just incase and the same thing. It may be stuff that encompasses everything you like in rock music, but it doesn't do it for me im afraid. It's ok, but we'll have to beg to differ on this one mate.

[Glen]

Shit, not really sure what happened there, but I lost my entire post.

 

Anyways Jez, about the Lovex disc...........

 

I may have been a bit premature in my summation of this album.

 

Im still not a big fan of the totally overproduced sound (soundwise comes across like a weird cross of Linkin Park and Kamelot??), but there are some good songs this.

 

The first 3 as you say are all good and in particular I liked 'My Isolation' and 'Ordinary Day' when they rocked it up a bit and had some solos - very nice.

 

Good call here mate as this could be a real grower and normally I wouldnt have given this the time of day.

 

By the way I was joking about the pulse (but you are getting on a bit )

 

[Jez]

7TH HEAVEN - "USA-UK"

 

So setting aside the obvious issues I have with this album; 1. There's an ex-boy band member singing, 2. The packaging is AWFUL/EMBARRASINGLY BAD, 3. The Production is shocking (especially the mix; can hardly hear the vocals), 4. Some of the songs are re-records from the "Silver" album. This is actually a very very good album. And it sure as shit beats the last Def Leppard album. HUGE harmonies, lush melodies, and 18 tracks with very very little in the way of filler. It's much more pure MHR than the constant shifts in direction on "Silver", & it's all the better for it. Especially the opening 9 tracks or so, which are pretty much all killers. The remake of "Cellophane" is awesome, "Take Me Back" is lush AOR, but best of all is stunning opener "Better This Way" with it's colossal vocal harmonies. The sound is Goodbye Thrill mixed with classic Def Leppard, & this is absolutely essential to about 90% of HH posters....

 

Interesting you mention the packaging... mines starting to fall apart already..

There isnt even a band picture on it. 7th Heaven have put out a few releases in these cheap digipacks..

My case is still okay but I'm certainly not a fan of it. Did you guys get the poster with the CD, with a few piccies of the band including one with a girl in it???

 

I didn't get a poster. Or even any inlay, just a cardboard digi-pack that is already dog-eared. It's bloody awful, but you can look past it with the quality of the music....

 

Mine finally arrived and have been spinning it all afternoon. First impressions - some great songs on here, nicely done, but it is way too one paced and some of the songs started sounding very samey, plus it is about 20 minutes too long & my attention started to wander after track 10. Will defo be spinning some more of this though as there are some quality tunes on here.

[Jez]

Shit, not really sure what happened there, but I lost my entire post.

 

Anyways Jez, about the Lovex disc...........

 

I may have been a bit premature in my summation of this album.

 

Im still not a big fan of the totally overproduced sound (soundwise comes across like a weird cross of Linkin Park and Kamelot??), but there are some good songs this.

 

The first 3 as you say are all good and in particular I liked 'My Isolation' and 'Ordinary Day' when they rocked it up a bit and had some solos - very nice.

 

Good call here mate as this could be a real grower and normally I wouldnt have given this the time of day.

 

By the way I was joking about the pulse (but you are getting on a bit )

 

 

Good man, I was a bit surprised when you said your initial thoughts. I think it is a really strong album with some fantastic tracks on it.Their first album is a goodie aswell. Glad you have given it some more time. Check out the Carmen Gray as well if you get the chance.

[Faron]

Shit, not really sure what happened there, but I lost my entire post.

 

Anyways Jez, about the Lovex disc...........

 

I may have been a bit premature in my summation of this album.

 

Im still not a big fan of the totally overproduced sound (soundwise comes across like a weird cross of Linkin Park and Kamelot??), but there are some good songs this.

 

The first 3 as you say are all good and in particular I liked 'My Isolation' and 'Ordinary Day' when they rocked it up a bit and had some solos - very nice.

 

Good call here mate as this could be a real grower and normally I wouldnt have given this the time of day.

 

By the way I was joking about the pulse (but you are getting on a bit )

 

 

Good man, I was a bit surprised when you said your initial thoughts. I think it is a really strong album with some fantastic tracks on it.Their first album is a goodie aswell. Glad you have given it some more time. Check out the Carmen Gray as well if you get the chance.

 

Glen was right about one thing

[aMetalhead1966]

Journey - Revelation

 

This is just plain good, Pineda is a dead ringer for Perry. Whether you think that's good or bad will probably define your experience with this album. To me it's great, a true return to form in the songwriting area, drawing from early to late model Journey. Some good rockers, some great ballads, everything you'd expect from a Journey album. Well done gentlemen!

Backed...I finally got this and I must say it is really good..

The Guitars are ripping...well done guys...

[heaven&hell]

Eclipse-Are you Ready to Rock

 

This is a very good melodic rock release that's perfect for fans of JLT era Rainbow.

There's some classy tunes on this one like "Young Guns", "2 Souls", "Million Miles", "Under the Gun" and "Breaking my Heart Again". Highly Recommended.

[heaven&hell]

Talon-Fallen Angels

 

I'm really loving this disc so far. The title track is so good it's worth buying the disc for that one song. But there's other great ones too such as "Baby Jane", "Burn", "What about Me", "Paradise" and "Crying in the Dark. This is exceptional Melodic Hard Rock with a few songs such as the title track bordering on Melodic Metal, plus it's well played, well sung and doesn't have one bad song IMO. Highly Recommended.

 

 

Faith Circus-S/T

 

I'm probably gonna get killed for this(don't kill me John) but I am not a fan of this one at all. The first few songs I thought were good and the one track with Morty Black and Tony Harnell(Tried and True) is okay. I think most AOR lovers will adore this disc for the most part but with me not being a huge fan of all things Light and Fluffy this isn't something I don't see getting a whole lot of repeated listens from me. It is cool to hear the Eric Carr song "Can You Feel It"(my fav tune on the disc) get covered. I just wish this had more balls to it and rocked more but it doesn't. So if you're an AOR fan give this is a listen, but if you like your music to rock more then pass on this one and buy another copy of the Rockarma(Pete and Damon need to eat).

[phaffas]

Talon-Fallen Angels

 

I'm really loving this disc so far. The title track is so good it's worth buying the disc for that one song. But there's other great ones too such as "Baby Jane", "Burn", "What about Me", "Paradise" and "Crying in the Dark. This is exceptional Melodic Hard Rock with a few songs such as the title track bordering on Melodic Metal, plus it's well played, well sung and doesn't have one bad song IMO. Highly Recommended.

 

 

Faith Circus-S/T

 

I'm probably gonna get killed for this(don't kill me John) but I am not a fan of this one at all. The first few songs I thought were good and the one track with Morty Black and Tony Harnell(Tried and True) is okay. I think most AOR lovers will adore this disc for the most part but with me not being a huge fan of all things Light and Fluffy this isn't something I don't see getting a whole lot of repeated listens from me. It is cool to hear the Eric Carr song "Can You Feel It"(my fav tune on the disc) get covered. I just wish this had more balls to it and rocked more but it doesn't. So if you're an AOR fan give this is a listen, but if you like your music to rock more then pass on this one and buy another copy of the Rockarma(Pete and Damon need to eat).

 

Have you heard the first Talon?

 

I dont think it would matter if Porky Pete missed a meal or ten..

[heaven&hell]

Talon-Fallen Angels

 

I'm really loving this disc so far. The title track is so good it's worth buying the disc for that one song. But there's other great ones too such as "Baby Jane", "Burn", "What about Me", "Paradise" and "Crying in the Dark. This is exceptional Melodic Hard Rock with a few songs such as the title track bordering on Melodic Metal, plus it's well played, well sung and doesn't have one bad song IMO. Highly Recommended.

 

 

Faith Circus-S/T

 

I'm probably gonna get killed for this(don't kill me John) but I am not a fan of this one at all. The first few songs I thought were good and the one track with Morty Black and Tony Harnell(Tried and True) is okay. I think most AOR lovers will adore this disc for the most part but with me not being a huge fan of all things Light and Fluffy this isn't something I don't see getting a whole lot of repeated listens from me. It is cool to hear the Eric Carr song "Can You Feel It"(my fav tune on the disc) get covered. I just wish this had more balls to it and rocked more but it doesn't. So if you're an AOR fan give this is a listen, but if you like your music to rock more then pass on this one and buy another copy of the Rockarma(Pete and Damon need to eat).

 

Have you heard the first Talon?

 

 

I haven't heard the first one. After a 2nd spin of the Faith Circus it's a little better but still not really my thing.

[Geoff]

Shit, not really sure what happened there, but I lost my entire post.

 

Anyways Jez, about the Lovex disc...........

 

I may have been a bit premature in my summation of this album.

 

Im still not a big fan of the totally overproduced sound (soundwise comes across like a weird cross of Linkin Park and Kamelot??), but there are some good songs this.

 

The first 3 as you say are all good and in particular I liked 'My Isolation' and 'Ordinary Day' when they rocked it up a bit and had some solos - very nice.

 

Good call here mate as this could be a real grower and normally I wouldnt have given this the time of day.

 

By the way I was joking about the pulse (but you are getting on a bit )

 

 

Good man, I was a bit surprised when you said your initial thoughts. I think it is a really strong album with some fantastic tracks on it.Their first album is a goodie aswell. Glad you have given it some more time. Check out the Carmen Gray as well if you get the chance.

 

Glen was right about one thing

Yeah, he was right about Disciple killing these 2 releases.

 

Nah, but the reason I did post here was actually to agree 100% with Jez on the Lovex CD. I think I've been sitting alone raving about it in the thread for this CD somewhere hidden far away on this forum, but this is a great disc. One of the better MHR discs I've heard this year and I think my latest list was the first time it actually got pushed out of my top 10... but only just. I liked the debut, but the new disc is a lot better. Really excellent album.

 

Bloodline - 'Red Harvest' ; I just heard this after Tim's likening them to Disciple. Sorry mate, can't agree with you on this one at all. This is pure heavy/nu-metal but I'm not detecting an ounce of Disciple's ear for melody and superb song writing. It's not a bad heavy metal disc, but not something I'll spin again.

[Swazi]

SHADOWMAN - Ghost in the Mirror

 

Thanks to Wotty I am now a proud owner of this CD. And I am VERY happy to own it ! Andrew from Melodicrock.com gave this CD 94% and he is saying that it is their best effort by far. I can only agree with him. This is really GREAT stuff !!

[Jez]

SHADOWMAN - Ghost in the Mirror

 

Thanks to Wotty I am now a proud owner of this CD. And I am VERY happy to own it ! Andrew from Melodicrock.com gave this CD 94% and he is saying that it is their best effort by far. I can only agree with him. This is really GREAT stuff !!

 

 

It is pretty damned good in places - how good are 'Fire And Ice' and 'Here I Am Now'??. A Bit of a tougher sound to this compared to the previous 2 and all the better for it in my opinion. Steve Overland sounds fantastic on here aswell, his best performance for a long time. I agree, there best disc so far, by quite some way.

[Jez]

RAMOS/HUGO - "The Dream" (Frontiers advance)

 

I know quite a few people are very excited by this, but not me! Kinda reminds me of those Two Fires albums that were like a poor-mans Journey, & it's certainly not in the league of The Storm. Hugo's on good form here, his range & power are amazing (only blunted by the weak/tinny production), but truth be told there's so much good music out this year I'll probably put this album away & won't play it again...

 

 

Dull dull very dull. I love the opening track 'You're Not Alone' and a couple of others in the first half, but this is just dull AOR by numbers. As TIM says, Hugo sounds excellent as always and for a Grossi production, it isn't half as bad as some of his previous messes, although I think Dennis Wards mix has helped this out a lot. Put this up against say the Journey album and it's weaknesses become very apparent. Nothing strong or consistent enough material wise to stand out on here i'm afraid.

 

Oh and it's very Green - I hate green.

[Swazi]

SHADOWMAN - Ghost in the Mirror

 

Thanks to Wotty I am now a proud owner of this CD. And I am VERY happy to own it ! Andrew from Melodicrock.com gave this CD 94% and he is saying that it is their best effort by far. I can only agree with him. This is really GREAT stuff !!

 

 

It is pretty damned good in places - how good are 'Fire And Ice' and 'Here I Am Now'??. A Bit of a tougher sound to this compared to the previous 2 and all the better for it in my opinion. Steve Overland sounds fantastic on here aswell, his best performance for a long time. I agree, there best disc so far, by quite some way.

 

Errrr ... "Here I am now" ?? Do you have a different version than me ? This track is not on my CD.

[Blue Charvel]

Talon-Fallen Angels

 

I'm really loving this disc so far. The title track is so good it's worth buying the disc for that one song. But there's other great ones too such as "Baby Jane", "Burn", "What about Me", "Paradise" and "Crying in the Dark. This is exceptional Melodic Hard Rock with a few songs such as the title track bordering on Melodic Metal, plus it's well played, well sung and doesn't have one bad song IMO. Highly Recommended.

 

 

Faith Circus-S/T

 

I'm probably gonna get killed for this(don't kill me John) but I am not a fan of this one at all. The first few songs I thought were good and the one track with Morty Black and Tony Harnell(Tried and True) is okay. I think most AOR lovers will adore this disc for the most part but with me not being a huge fan of all things Light and Fluffy this isn't something I don't see getting a whole lot of repeated listens from me. It is cool to hear the Eric Carr song "Can You Feel It"(my fav tune on the disc) get covered. I just wish this had more balls to it and rocked more but it doesn't. So if you're an AOR fan give this is a listen, but if you like your music to rock more then pass on this one and buy another copy of the Rockarma(Pete and Damon need to eat).

 

Have you heard the first Talon?

 

I dont think it would matter if Porky Pete missed a meal or ten..

Dat's cuz I'm PHAT homes.

[phaffas]

Talon-Fallen Angels

 

I'm really loving this disc so far. The title track is so good it's worth buying the disc for that one song. But there's other great ones too such as "Baby Jane", "Burn", "What about Me", "Paradise" and "Crying in the Dark. This is exceptional Melodic Hard Rock with a few songs such as the title track bordering on Melodic Metal, plus it's well played, well sung and doesn't have one bad song IMO. Highly Recommended.

 

 

Faith Circus-S/T

 

I'm probably gonna get killed for this(don't kill me John) but I am not a fan of this one at all. The first few songs I thought were good and the one track with Morty Black and Tony Harnell(Tried and True) is okay. I think most AOR lovers will adore this disc for the most part but with me not being a huge fan of all things Light and Fluffy this isn't something I don't see getting a whole lot of repeated listens from me. It is cool to hear the Eric Carr song "Can You Feel It"(my fav tune on the disc) get covered. I just wish this had more balls to it and rocked more but it doesn't. So if you're an AOR fan give this is a listen, but if you like your music to rock more then pass on this one and buy another copy of the Rockarma(Pete and Damon need to eat).

 

Have you heard the first Talon?

 

I dont think it would matter if Porky Pete missed a meal or ten..

Dat's cuz I'm PHAT homes.

[Blue Charvel]

Talon-Fallen Angels

 

I'm really loving this disc so far. The title track is so good it's worth buying the disc for that one song. But there's other great ones too such as "Baby Jane", "Burn", "What about Me", "Paradise" and "Crying in the Dark. This is exceptional Melodic Hard Rock with a few songs such as the title track bordering on Melodic Metal, plus it's well played, well sung and doesn't have one bad song IMO. Highly Recommended.

 

 

Faith Circus-S/T

 

I'm probably gonna get killed for this(don't kill me John) but I am not a fan of this one at all. The first few songs I thought were good and the one track with Morty Black and Tony Harnell(Tried and True) is okay. I think most AOR lovers will adore this disc for the most part but with me not being a huge fan of all things Light and Fluffy this isn't something I don't see getting a whole lot of repeated listens from me. It is cool to hear the Eric Carr song "Can You Feel It"(my fav tune on the disc) get covered. I just wish this had more balls to it and rocked more but it doesn't. So if you're an AOR fan give this is a listen, but if you like your music to rock more then pass on this one and buy another copy of the Rockarma(Pete and Damon need to eat).

 

Have you heard the first Talon?

 

I dont think it would matter if Porky Pete missed a meal or ten..

Dat's cuz I'm PHAT homes.

Nice Photoshopping! Worlds better than my "Geoffadillo" from years back...

[phaffas]

Talon-Fallen Angels

 

I'm really loving this disc so far. The title track is so good it's worth buying the disc for that one song. But there's other great ones too such as "Baby Jane", "Burn", "What about Me", "Paradise" and "Crying in the Dark. This is exceptional Melodic Hard Rock with a few songs such as the title track bordering on Melodic Metal, plus it's well played, well sung and doesn't have one bad song IMO. Highly Recommended.

 

 

Faith Circus-S/T

 

I'm probably gonna get killed for this(don't kill me John) but I am not a fan of this one at all. The first few songs I thought were good and the one track with Morty Black and Tony Harnell(Tried and True) is okay. I think most AOR lovers will adore this disc for the most part but with me not being a huge fan of all things Light and Fluffy this isn't something I don't see getting a whole lot of repeated listens from me. It is cool to hear the Eric Carr song "Can You Feel It"(my fav tune on the disc) get covered. I just wish this had more balls to it and rocked more but it doesn't. So if you're an AOR fan give this is a listen, but if you like your music to rock more then pass on this one and buy another copy of the Rockarma(Pete and Damon need to eat).

 

Have you heard the first Talon?

 

I dont think it would matter if Porky Pete missed a meal or ten..

Dat's cuz I'm PHAT homes.

Nice Photoshopping! Worlds better than my "Geoffadillo" from years back...

 

i need to get out more..

[heaven&hell]

Talon-Fallen Angels

 

I'm really loving this disc so far. The title track is so good it's worth buying the disc for that one song. But there's other great ones too such as "Baby Jane", "Burn", "What about Me", "Paradise" and "Crying in the Dark. This is exceptional Melodic Hard Rock with a few songs such as the title track bordering on Melodic Metal, plus it's well played, well sung and doesn't have one bad song IMO. Highly Recommended.

 

 

Faith Circus-S/T

 

I'm probably gonna get killed for this(don't kill me John) but I am not a fan of this one at all. The first few songs I thought were good and the one track with Morty Black and Tony Harnell(Tried and True) is okay. I think most AOR lovers will adore this disc for the most part but with me not being a huge fan of all things Light and Fluffy this isn't something I don't see getting a whole lot of repeated listens from me. It is cool to hear the Eric Carr song "Can You Feel It"(my fav tune on the disc) get covered. I just wish this had more balls to it and rocked more but it doesn't. So if you're an AOR fan give this is a listen, but if you like your music to rock more then pass on this one and buy another copy of the Rockarma(Pete and Damon need to eat).

 

Have you heard the first Talon?

 

I dont think it would matter if Porky Pete missed a meal or ten..

Dat's cuz I'm PHAT homes.

Nice Photoshopping! Worlds better than my "Geoffadillo" from years back...

 

i need to get out more..

 

That is f#@king hilarious.