First Spin Impressions

[aMetalhead1966]

Hatebreed-For The Lions.

 

Never knew much about this Band 'cept that singer (screamer) Jamie Jasta was a

Headbangers Ball Host for a while. This is a Covers release and It Rocks

pretty hard..It's a hardcore/metalcore style but they cover some cool

songs..i.e. Slayer's " Ghost of War", Suicidal's "Suicidal Maniac"..some Sepultura

and a few others I'm not familar with. Overall it's a good slab of tunes...perfect

music for trashing sumpin!!

[Geoff]

Vicious Mary = s/t

Geoff has been trying to get me to listen to this for years by saying it sounds like Talon. Idiot. Sounds nothing like Talon. Talon is hard melodic rock like Dokken. This is more on the melodic metal side. But i do love you Geoffy. This is awesome! Rocks, big choruses, and plenty of twists and turns to keep even the proggy boys happy.

AND.. everyone can afford it = http://www.nuclearhell.com/store/product.p...at=0&page=1. US$7.99 with free postage worldwide. HOW CAN YOU NOT BUY IT (it is russian pressed... but do i care.?.... no i do not care,)

Come on party-goer! I don't think I ever said it sounded like Talon, did I? They're similar styles of bands but I LOVE this CD and it was in my top 3 the year it was released - good, passionate melodic hard rock - and Talon - safe, boring and very average rock - wouldn't have even been in my top 50. Did I seriously say these things?

[phaffas]

Vicious Mary = s/t

Geoff has been trying to get me to listen to this for years by saying it sounds like Talon. Idiot. Sounds nothing like Talon. Talon is hard melodic rock like Dokken. This is more on the melodic metal side. But i do love you Geoffy. This is awesome! Rocks, big choruses, and plenty of twists and turns to keep even the proggy boys happy.

AND.. everyone can afford it = http://www.nuclearhell.com/store/product.p...at=0&page=1. US$7.99 with free postage worldwide. HOW CAN YOU NOT BUY IT (it is russian pressed... but do i care.?.... no i do not care,)

Come on party-goer! I don't think I ever said it sounded like Talon, did I? They're similar styles of bands but I LOVE this CD and it was in my top 3 the year it was released - good, passionate melodic hard rock - and Talon - safe, boring and very average rock - wouldn't have even been in my top 50. Did I seriously say these things?

 

yes.

jerk

[TIM (2)]

Hatebreed-For The Lions.

 

Never knew much about this Band 'cept that singer (screamer) Jamie Jasta was a

Headbangers Ball Host for a while. This is a Covers release and It Rocks

pretty hard..It's a hardcore/metalcore style but they cover some cool

songs..i.e. Slayer's " Ghost of War", Suicidal's "Suicidal Maniac"..some Sepultura

and a few others I'm not familar with. Overall it's a good slab of tunes...perfect

music for trashing sumpin!!

 

One of my fave bands, and one of the best live bands on the planet. Jasta is a good a frontman as you'll ever see....

[aMetalhead1966]

Hatebreed-For The Lions.

 

Never knew much about this Band 'cept that singer (screamer) Jamie Jasta was a

Headbangers Ball Host for a while. This is a Covers release and It Rocks

pretty hard..It's a hardcore/metalcore style but they cover some cool

songs..i.e. Slayer's " Ghost of War", Suicidal's "Suicidal Maniac"..some Sepultura

and a few others I'm not familar with. Overall it's a good slab of tunes...perfect

music for trashing sumpin!!

 

One of my fave bands, and one of the best live bands on the planet. Jasta is a good a frontman as you'll ever see....

I've just got into them but I'll say they can really deliver!! I just picked up their new S/T release..so far

pretty good stuff!

[Geoff]

A few from the last week:

 

Mama Kin - 'In the city' ; Great slice of sleaze hard rock. This one seemed to be very consistent from beginning to end, with vocals a little reminiscent of Paul Stanley. Nice.

 

Innocent Rosie - 'Bad habit romance' ; Another good, solid slab of sleazy hard rock. It definitely did trail off at the end for sure, but the start of this album was awesome.

 

The New Shining - 'Hedges against the night' ; Wasn't expecting this, but a nice surprise. These guys blew me away with their song 'Red eyes' a couple of years back, with a good album behind them. And they've done it again. A few more excellent songs on this one surrounded by more good tracks. A band worth checking out.

 

Three Days Grace - 'Life starts now' ; Not bad I guess. I thought they may have gone a little more melodic this time round but it's pretty much the same old Three Days Grace. After a few spins I reckon this'll sound pretty decent.

 

Switchfoot - 'Hello hurricane' ; pretty poor to be honest. These guys have always been extremely patchy at absolute best, but do have some good tunes. This album seems a little more experimental and doesn't work at all. Still some decent songs, but I didn't like the vibe on display here at all.

 

Shelflyfe - 'The art of solitude' ; Nice. Good solid modern rock maybe a little like Three Days Grace while we're on the subject, but I prefer this CD.

 

Praying Mantis - 'Sanctuary' ; I have to admit that I actually thought there were 3 or 4 good songs on this. I thought I'd hate it all, but they did well a few times. I am completely uninspired to hear it again, but not bad for the guys at all.

 

Penny Lane - 'Midnight tales from the funhouse' ; Pretty average, but nice. Just another Steve Summers release, but not as good as Pretty Boy Floyd or Shameless. Still, it's not bad. Predictable, but nice.

 

Onerepulbic - 'Waking up' ; YUCK!!! I defended these guys a few years back when they did actually release a good commercial pop-rock CD despite the remix with some homo rapper being all most people knew of them. I still say that CD is good, but this is total shit. Mellow beyond mellow and really weak songs. From a guy I thought was a really good songwriter, this is just piss-weak.

 

The Ending - 'Freakshow' ; Great four track EP! Good hard rocking stuff and looking forward to some more spins.

[Jez]

The Score - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

 

Our very own Paul (swriter) old band and a damned fine one they were. I have had 5 of the mp3's of this disc that Paul sent me 6 months or so ago and have played them pretty much religiously since I had them, but it is really nice now to have the finished product in my hands. If you like your AOR with a bit of balls and like Survivor, Refugee, Franke & The Knockouts and a hint of Toto here and there, then this will be right up your street. I think this is made up of 3 recording sessions from various times between 1986 & 1989 (I am sure Paul will correct me if I am wrong) . Opening cut 'She's Got A Way' straight away reminds me of Survivor, especially with the Jimi Jamison style vocals (which are excellent throughout this disc) and is an excellent opener. 'Chyna' carries on the Survivor style AOR and is another excellent tune. 'Call On Me' really reminded me of Refugee and is another strong song and it is the high quality of the songwriting on here in general, that is one of the real highlights of this disc.

Sound quality for an independant release is really good aswell, with a nice warm mix and seeing as these were recorded at varying times, you can't really tell one session from another, such is the quality of the recording and the seemless mix of it all (my pressing does have a fault as it features 'Just For You' twice - but that is evidentally only on the first 500 copies and is no real problem at all).

As Sam over at Retrospect says, this band really did have something special going on compared to some of their peers at the time and really deserved to get to the next level with quality songs like these. At least now we have these recordings avaliable for us all to hear and very excellent they are too. Take a bow Paul (send the cheque to my normal address mate )

[aMetalhead1966]

5 Finger Death Punch-War Is The Answer

 

I've heard people call this band Rap Metal(???) WTF...this is Modern Heavy Rock/Metal...mixing some great melodic voices with a

more screaming style to great effect. Killer songs and great hooks...and these guys aren't afraid of shredding out some

great solos!! High points are "Walk Away", No One gets Left behind, Hard to See, Canto 34..really the whole thing.

Fans of Scar Symmetry should dig this...there is also a Great Cover of Bad company's "Bad Company"....Awesome Stuff!!

[Geoff]

Bad Sign - s/t ; Pretty good hard rock disc. If anyone remembers a band from the mid-90's called Dirty Deeds that's who these guys reminded me of. Mixed with Whitesnake maybe (or is that just influenced by the 'Crying in the rain' cover at the end of the CD)? Either way, good solid hard rock CD.

 

Spin Gallery - 'Still standing' ; Pretty good stuff actually. Better than the norm from Denander, but didn't really make me want to break out and move my body parts and get nude. I don't think it's as good as On The Rise personally (refer to some other thread) but to be honest it's pretty decent. I'd pick this one up for a good price.

 

Spin Gallery - 'Embrace' ; ... But not this one. This one was pretty awkward and more what I expect from Denander. Not many truly awful songs, but quite a few pretty poor ones. Yeah, I wouldn't want to pick this one up at all I don't think.

[Dead Planet]

Big Guns.....Bustin Out.............really wasn't expecting much but damned if this 7 song ep didn't blow me away.....many more spins will occur.....

[Dead Planet]

Crossroads......Hype..........the best release from these guys IMO......still nothing fantastic but a decent hard rocker.....

[swriter]

The Score - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

 

Our very own Paul (swriter) old band and a damned fine one they were. I have had 5 of the mp3's of this disc that Paul sent me 6 months or so ago and have played them pretty much religiously since I had them, but it is really nice now to have the finished product in my hands. If you like your AOR with a bit of balls and like Survivor, Refugee, Franke & The Knockouts and a hint of Toto here and there, then this will be right up your street. I think this is made up of 3 recording sessions from various times between 1986 & 1989 (I am sure Paul will correct me if I am wrong) . Opening cut 'She's Got A Way' straight away reminds me of Survivor, especially with the Jimi Jamison style vocals (which are excellent throughout this disc) and is an excellent opener. 'Chyna' carries on the Survivor style AOR and is another excellent tune. 'Call On Me' really reminded me of Refugee and is another strong song and it is the high quality of the songwriting on here in general, that is one of the real highlights of this disc.

Sound quality for an independant release is really good aswell, with a nice warm mix and seeing as these were recorded at varying times, you can't really tell one session from another, such is the quality of the recording and the seemless mix of it all (my pressing does have a fault as it features 'Just For You' twice - but that is evidentally only on the first 500 copies and is no real problem at all).

As Sam over at Retrospect says, this band really did have something special going on compared to some of their peers at the time and really deserved to get to the next level with quality songs like these. At least now we have these recordings avaliable for us all to hear and very excellent they are too. Take a bow Paul (send the cheque to my normal address mate )

 

 

Thanks Jez, the check should be there soon!!!!!! heheheh thanks for sharing the band history Jez!! we played at the same club as Cinderella, BFox, Tangier, WFoxx, Krank, Network, Heaven's Edge, Dead End Kids, ITower, and a few more, we were not in the same genre and much lighter. I joined in 87 and the last recordings in 89 were Angel of Love, Just for you, and Night which are live, although Night may have been from the last studio session, ! hehe I still enjoy Angel of love, the studio session before that was recorded in 89 consisted of Chyna, She's Got a Way and How Long, Borderline was a little before that, the remaining 4 tracks were before I joined with a different drummer as well. we did have a few interests from NYC and actually played at CBGB's for a few companies! Thanks again Jez!!!

[Dead Planet]

Siam......The Language of Menace......decent rocker....will need a few replays to decide how good it is....

[Dead Planet]

Fastback........The Pain of Beauty............excellent hard rocker.....recommended......

[Geoff]

Strike Twice - s/t

I knew I was going to like this one before it hit my ears and gladly it did not disappoint. The sound quality was a great surprise for me considering I'd heard half these songs before, but in a barely audible format. 'Intoxication' is undoubtedly the weakest song on this, imo, but the rest are all great slabs of early 90's hard rock. 'Never Let Go', 'Back door' and 'DFWM' would be my early faves, but both ballads were great too - really just loved the whole thing.

 

Dr Grind - 'Speechless'

This one's been getting a pretty good wrap and I guess I'd have to agree. With 17 songs there's a lot to choose from, and there's some pretty good stuff here. Ranging from pretty simple hard rock like the awesome 'Love Will Find A Way' and a few filler-type songs towards the end of this CD to excellent more serious-type tracks like the great trio of 'Shotgun', 'Speechless' and 'Janie'. Generally the sound quality is pretty decent and overall it's a great disc to add to the collection.

[TIM (2)]

HARTMANN - III

 

I didn't hear the last one from this guy, but I did kinda enjoy the first. This one is a bit modern-sounding, and kinda bluesy. Oh yeah, and it's not-very-fucking-good either. Avoid this.

[Geoff]

HARTMANN - III

 

I didn't hear the last one from this guy, but I did kinda enjoy the first. This one is a bit modern-sounding, and kinda bluesy. Oh yeah, and it's not-very-fucking-good either. Avoid this.

Really? He tried again? I hadn't even heard about that one. I still think the comparisons this guy ever got to Blanc Faces were grossly complimentary to him. No good at all.

 

Felony - 'Helltown Hotel'

Wow, loved the first 4 songs and the '93 version of 'Heist in Helltown' too. The last couple of older songs were cool too. I did enjoy the other stuff recorded from '93, but definitely found a little grungy influence creep in on a few of the songs. Sound quality was pretty damn good on this album... I just wish there were more tracks like the first 4 'cause they kick ass. Good disc, though.

 

Sgt Roxx - 'Weapons of Miss Distraction'

I must admit off the bat that I always thought these guys were severely over-hyped. And I can't say this has changed things. It's a good, solid hard rock CD and I'm extremely happy to have it residing in my collection. Most of it is very good hard rock... it just fails to live up to the hype others have laid out for it. First 10 tracks all sound great and the second half, though varying in sound quality, has some gems too. Loved 'I don't know' and 'Thinkin' about you' which I don't think I've heard before. Anyway, great to have this CD - another good one from Eonian.

[heaven&hell]

HARTMANN - III

 

I didn't hear the last one from this guy, but I did kinda enjoy the first. This one is a bit modern-sounding, and kinda bluesy. Oh yeah, and it's not-very-fucking-good either. Avoid this.

Really? He tried again? I hadn't even heard about that one. I still think the comparisons this guy ever got to Blanc Faces were grossly complimentary to him. No good at all.

 

Felony - 'Helltown Hotel'

Wow, loved the first 4 songs and the '93 version of 'Heist in Helltown' too. The last couple of older songs were cool too. I did enjoy the other stuff recorded from '93, but definitely found a little grungy influence creep in on a few of the songs. Sound quality was pretty damn good on this album... I just wish there were more tracks like the first 4 'cause they kick ass. Good disc, though.

 

Sgt Roxx - 'Weapons of Miss Distraction'

I must admit off the bat that I always thought these guys were severely over-hyped. And I can't say this has changed things. It's a good, solid hard rock CD and I'm extremely happy to have it residing in my collection. Most of it is very good hard rock... it just fails to live up to the hype others have laid out for it. First 10 tracks all sound great and the second half, though varying in sound quality, has some gems too. Loved 'I don't know' and 'Thinkin' about you' which I don't think I've heard before. Anyway, great to have this CD - another good one from Eonian.

 

That Sgt Roxx is one of the best from Eonian yet IMO along with Dr. Grind, Strike Twice and Shake City.

[Fat Freddy]

Halford - WINTER SONGS

When I first heard that Rob Halford was doing a CD of Christmas songs, I hated the idea, but curiosity got the better of me when a buddy of mine who had this CD offered to bring it up to the house this past weekend for me to check out. I dreaded hitting the "play" button at first but ended up liking more of it than I expected. It's about 50% cool and 50% goofy. I gotta say that Halford's arrangements of the old timey traditional hyms like "O Holy Night" and "O Come All Ye Faithful" are very well done and are better than I anticipated. The man can still belt 'em out when he wants to!

 

It's the "original" songs that are a mixed bag. I really liked the title track, which is a cool, moody piece that sounds like it could've come off of one of Priest's late 70s albums. The album's opening song "Get Into The Spirit" is a pretty decent rocker (sounding a bit like a CRUCIBLE-era B-side), but "Christmas for Everyone" is just godawful sentimental crap and "I Don't Care if It's Christmas Eve" sounds like Rob trying to cop the vibe of the old Phil Spector pop holiday records (i.e. "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," unsuccessfully.

 

So it's not a total bomb but not a raging success either. Whether or not you want to spend your $$ on it (keeping in mind that after Dec. 25, this album will have zero replay value till next December) depends on how much of a Halford fanboy you are I guess.

[Dead Planet]

France......Lay it on me....decent but nothing fantastic.....

 

Cobra Dane.......S/T....very nice...many more spins to come....

[Dead Planet]

Dirty White Boy.......Bad Reputation..........sounds decent on first listen but will need to hear it a few more times to decide just how good it really is.....

[Glen]

HARTMANN - III

 

I didn't hear the last one from this guy, but I did kinda enjoy the first. This one is a bit modern-sounding, and kinda bluesy. Oh yeah, and it's not-very-fucking-good either. Avoid this.

Really? He tried again? I hadn't even heard about that one. I still think the comparisons this guy ever got to Blanc Faces were grossly complimentary to him. No good at all.

 

 

His second effort 'Home' was way off the mark so i'll be avoiding any 3rd effort.

 

To be honest I absolutely love his debut tho............some really excellent songs on that disc.

[Dead Planet]

Paul Laine.......Stick It In Your Ear...........Good stuff, well worth cranking.....

[bangerdave]

Dirty White Boy.......Bad Reputation..........sounds decent on first listen but will need to hear it a few more times to decide just how good it really is.....

Give this a few more spins it's a good solid cd,i think so at least.

[Geoff]

HARTMANN - III

 

I didn't hear the last one from this guy, but I did kinda enjoy the first. This one is a bit modern-sounding, and kinda bluesy. Oh yeah, and it's not-very-fucking-good either. Avoid this.

Really? He tried again? I hadn't even heard about that one. I still think the comparisons this guy ever got to Blanc Faces were grossly complimentary to him. No good at all.

 

 

His second effort 'Home' was way off the mark so i'll be avoiding any 3rd effort.

 

To be honest I absolutely love his debut tho............some really excellent songs on that disc.

If I recall correctly I think I pretty much preferred the 2nd album. I can't remember, though. I bought the debut (and traded it off) but only heard MP3s of the second one, which I'm pretty sure I binned not long after hearing them.