First Spin Impressions

[Jez]

No worries Geoff - We will agree to disagree again mate. The Robby V and the Kim Mitchell are both absolutely top class discs for me so, I will leave it at that and Say no more. Deaf B**tard

 

 

At least you both agree on how awesome Cliff and Poison is.

 

 

Yes - We Do!! NOT

[metalmaniac777]

SHAKRA: "Infected"

 

Maybe my expectations were too high, but I didn't find this one to be any marked improvement over their last one, "Fall," which was a step backwards compared to their earlier CDs. Now, "Infected" doesn't really do any damage to their reputation (it's still melodic, still got plenty of hooks, good guitars, etc.) but they're pretty much treading water at this point; most of the songs on "Infected" could have easily appeared on "Fall" and vice versa. Taken on its own terms, this is a pretty fine slab of melodic hard rock, but as we know from the past, Shakra is capable of better, and I guess that's exactly what I was hoping for--something better. It's a keeper for me, but one more release like this and I'll officially label them stale & stagnent.

[TIM (2)]

STILL REMAINS - The Serpent

 

This is a big album. Following the Killswitch Engage/Shadows Fall tactic of adding more melody to the Metalcore battering, S.R deliver a giant leap forward which should see some commercial success. The keyboard touches are still there & it's still viciously heavy in parts but this is definitely a catchier collection of tunes & the choruses on here are killer. The vocals are still pretty harsh but this guy really shines on the stuff with the clean vocs. Not quite touching the Devildriver album for sheer quality, but edging out the likes of Sanctity & Shadows Fall IMHO.

[metalmaniac777]

BON JOVI: "Lost Highway"

 

Nowhere near as "countrified" as I expected, this actually reminds me of "These Days" a little bit, though it's not as good as that album. No real killer hard rock tracks, but several catchy, uptempo tunes ("Summertime" and "We Got it Goin' On") to keep the foot tappin' and the head bobbin'. Definitely not their best, but not the abomination many thought it would be.

 

L.A. GUNS: "Tales From the Strip"

 

Haven't really cared much for anything these guys have released since "Cocked & Loaded," so I really wasn't expecting much when I popped it in the player. When I finished listening to it, you could have knocked me over with a feather as easily as a bullet 'tween the peepers. I'm sure most of you already know this, but I'm gonna tell ya anyway, this is a kickass sleazy hard rock album. From beginning to end, this sucker grabbed me by the ears and made me its bitch and I thanked them for the abuse. Aggressive, hard-hitting, drenched with attitude...great stuff!

[heaven&hell]

BON JOVI: "Lost Highway"

 

Nowhere near as "countrified" as I expected, this actually reminds me of "These Days" a little bit, though it's not as good as that album. No real killer hard rock tracks, but several catchy, uptempo tunes ("Summertime" and "We Got it Goin' On") to keep the foot tappin' and the head bobbin'. Definitely not their best, but not the abomination many thought it would be.

 

L.A. GUNS: "Tales From the Strip"

 

Haven't really cared much for anything these guys have released since "Cocked & Loaded," so I really wasn't expecting much when I popped it in the player. When I finished listening to it, you could have knocked me over with a feather as easily as a bullet 'tween the peepers. I'm sure most of you already know this, but I'm gonna tell ya anyway, this is a kickass sleazy hard rock album. From beginning to end, this sucker grabbed me by the ears and made me its bitch and I thanked them for the abuse. Aggressive, hard-hitting, drenched with attitude...great stuff!

 

 

Yeah that LA Guns is a good album. Did you not like "Waking the Dead"?

[metalmaniac777]

BON JOVI: "Lost Highway"

 

Nowhere near as "countrified" as I expected, this actually reminds me of "These Days" a little bit, though it's not as good as that album. No real killer hard rock tracks, but several catchy, uptempo tunes ("Summertime" and "We Got it Goin' On") to keep the foot tappin' and the head bobbin'. Definitely not their best, but not the abomination many thought it would be.

 

L.A. GUNS: "Tales From the Strip"

 

Haven't really cared much for anything these guys have released since "Cocked & Loaded," so I really wasn't expecting much when I popped it in the player. When I finished listening to it, you could have knocked me over with a feather as easily as a bullet 'tween the peepers. I'm sure most of you already know this, but I'm gonna tell ya anyway, this is a kickass sleazy hard rock album. From beginning to end, this sucker grabbed me by the ears and made me its bitch and I thanked them for the abuse. Aggressive, hard-hitting, drenched with attitude...great stuff!

 

Yeah that LA Guns is a good album. Did you not like "Waking the Dead"?

Honestly, I don't really remember "Waking the Dead," but I can tell you I bought it the day it came out, listened to it once, and sold it the next day, so that kind of tells me I wasn't impressed. Maybe I need to pick it up again, give it another try...

[Fat Freddy]

Two more of my surprise freebies from the other day:

 

King Kobra - III

I never gave KK the time of day back in their short lived heyday (if they even had a "heyday"), so I didn't really know what to expect from this album, but it turned out to be an enjoyable, if derivative, hard rock disc. I wasn't aware till now that Mark Free was out of the band (and on his way to the sex-change clinic, ) by the time this disc was released, but the replacement guy has a pretty cool, rough-and-ready kind of hard rock voice. I noticed with some interest that two of the songs on here were co-written by Gene Simmons; I recognized one tune, "It's My Life," because Wendy O. Williams also recorded it on one of her post-Plasmatics solo albums (I believe it was the "W.O.W." album) A decent listen, and from what I can gather, an interesting collectible as well! I can't help but wonder how Carmine Appice must have felt when he had to release this album through the tiny indie New Renaissance Records (after getting booted out of major label land) and found himself label-mates with hardcore thrashers like Blood Feast and At War?

 

Killer Dwarfs - STAND TALL

Here's another band that I never paid much attention to back in the day. (Same old story, too many bands, not enough $$ to check'em all out...) The only Killer Dwarfs song I remembered from the '80s was their minor hit single "Keep The Spirit Alive," so I was kinda glad to see that this song was on this disc. Anyway, the first thing that struck me was how much the vocalist sounded like Geddy Lee of Rush (maybe it's a Canadian thing, eh?), while the music is pretty standard Dokken-style hard rock. I'm told that this one commands a decent amount of $$ on eBay these days, for some reason. I personally don't think I would've went out of my way to get one if it hadn't landed in my lap, but overall I'd call this one a keeper.

 

P.S. Yes, I realize I use the smiley entirely too much. I can't help myself. He's so damn cute.

[aMetalhead1966]

MERCILESS DEATH-Evil In the Night. I had read a few reviews on this and they were all spot on!! This sounds like Slayer with Steve "Zetro" Sousa from Exodus Singing..the Guitar

player solos Just Like Kerry and Jeff from Slayer..so much so that it's almost plagiaristic....

Very fast and raw...Good Stuff.

 

ARCH ENEMY-Rise of The Tyrant..Fucking Killer!!!! Sounds Great...of course I love AE...

if you like 'em this will not disappoint..if ya don't know em this might be a tad much for

your ears...I love it..easily in the top 5 of 2007 for me..

[heaven&hell]

Two more of my surprise freebies from the other day:

 

King Kobra - III

I never gave KK the time of day back in their short lived heyday (if they even had a "heyday"), so I didn't really know what to expect from this album, but it turned out to be an enjoyable, if derivative, hard rock disc. I wasn't aware till now that Mark Free was out of the band (and on his way to the sex-change clinic, ) by the time this disc was released, but the replacement guy has a pretty cool, rough-and-ready kind of hard rock voice. I noticed with some interest that two of the songs on here were co-written by Gene Simmons; I recognized one tune, "It's My Life," because Wendy O. Williams also recorded it on one of her post-Plasmatics solo albums (I believe it was the "W.O.W." album) A decent listen, and from what I can gather, an interesting collectible as well! I can't help but wonder how Carmine Appice must have felt when he had to release this album through the tiny indie New Renaissance Records (after getting booted out of major label land) and found himself label-mates with hardcore thrashers like Blood Feast and At War?

 

Killer Dwarfs - STAND TALL

Here's another band that I never paid much attention to back in the day. (Same old story, too many bands, not enough $$ to check'em all out...) The only Killer Dwarfs song I remembered from the '80s was their minor hit single "Keep The Spirit Alive," so I was kinda glad to see that this song was on this disc. Anyway, the first thing that struck me was how much the vocalist sounded like Geddy Lee of Rush (maybe it's a Canadian thing, eh?), while the music is pretty standard Dokken-style hard rock. I'm told that this one commands a decent amount of $$ on eBay these days, for some reason. I personally don't think I would've went out of my way to get one if it hadn't landed in my lap, but overall I'd call this one a keeper.

 

P.S. Yes, I realize I use the smiley entirely too much. I can't help myself. He's so damn cute.

 

 

 

If you wanna killer(no pun intended) Killer Dwarfs cd then pick up "Dirty Weapons", it should be right up your alley.

 

 

As for the KK III the singer is Johnny Edwards who after that release joined Foreigner for the "Unusual Heat" album. Marq Torien of Bulletboys fame had actually been the singer but took Mick Sweeda and Lonnie Vincent(who had joined as a replacement for Johnny Rod who had joined WASP) and split to form the Bulletboys.

Original vocalist Mark Free was actually in Signal at this point I believe still had his penis for a few more years.

[heaven&hell]

BON JOVI: "Lost Highway"

 

Nowhere near as "countrified" as I expected, this actually reminds me of "These Days" a little bit, though it's not as good as that album. No real killer hard rock tracks, but several catchy, uptempo tunes ("Summertime" and "We Got it Goin' On") to keep the foot tappin' and the head bobbin'. Definitely not their best, but not the abomination many thought it would be.

 

L.A. GUNS: "Tales From the Strip"

 

Haven't really cared much for anything these guys have released since "Cocked & Loaded," so I really wasn't expecting much when I popped it in the player. When I finished listening to it, you could have knocked me over with a feather as easily as a bullet 'tween the peepers. I'm sure most of you already know this, but I'm gonna tell ya anyway, this is a kickass sleazy hard rock album. From beginning to end, this sucker grabbed me by the ears and made me its bitch and I thanked them for the abuse. Aggressive, hard-hitting, drenched with attitude...great stuff!

 

Yeah that LA Guns is a good album. Did you not like "Waking the Dead"?

Honestly, I don't really remember "Waking the Dead," but I can tell you I bought it the day it came out, listened to it once, and sold it the next day, so that kind of tells me I wasn't impressed. Maybe I need to pick it up again, give it another try...

 

 

If you really like "Tales" then you should enjoy "Waking", give it another shot.

[Fat Freddy]

As for the KK III the singer is Johnny Edwards who after that release joined Foreigner for the "Unusual Heat" album. Marq Torien of Bulletboys fame had actually been the singer but took Mick Sweeda and Lonnie Vincent(who had joined as a replacement for Johnny Rod who had joined WASP) and split to form the Bulletboys.

Original vocalist Mark Free was actually in Signal at this point I believe still had his penis for a few more years.

 

Maybe he still had it, but he obviously wasn't enjoying it.

 

I wasn't even aware that the Bulletboys had a King Kobra connection. (I knew that Johnny Rod was once a KK member tho)...

[heaven&hell]

As for the KK III the singer is Johnny Edwards who after that release joined Foreigner for the "Unusual Heat" album. Marq Torien of Bulletboys fame had actually been the singer but took Mick Sweeda and Lonnie Vincent(who had joined as a replacement for Johnny Rod who had joined WASP) and split to form the Bulletboys.

Original vocalist Mark Free was actually in Signal at this point I believe still had his penis for a few more years.

 

Maybe he still had it, but he obviously wasn't enjoying it.

 

I wasn't even aware that the Bulletboys had a King Kobra connection. (I knew that Johnny Rod was once a KK member tho)...

 

 

Actually I think Mark was married(yes it was to a woman) before he the operation.

 

There's a song on the KK 'Lost Years' release that has Marq Torien singing, it's called "Your loves a Sin".

[Geoff]

BON JOVI: "Lost Highway"

 

Nowhere near as "countrified" as I expected, this actually reminds me of "These Days" a little bit, though it's not as good as that album. No real killer hard rock tracks, but several catchy, uptempo tunes ("Summertime" and "We Got it Goin' On") to keep the foot tappin' and the head bobbin'. Definitely not their best, but not the abomination many thought it would be.

 

L.A. GUNS: "Tales From the Strip"

 

Haven't really cared much for anything these guys have released since "Cocked & Loaded," so I really wasn't expecting much when I popped it in the player. When I finished listening to it, you could have knocked me over with a feather as easily as a bullet 'tween the peepers. I'm sure most of you already know this, but I'm gonna tell ya anyway, this is a kickass sleazy hard rock album. From beginning to end, this sucker grabbed me by the ears and made me its bitch and I thanked them for the abuse. Aggressive, hard-hitting, drenched with attitude...great stuff!

 

Yeah that LA Guns is a good album. Did you not like "Waking the Dead"?

Honestly, I don't really remember "Waking the Dead," but I can tell you I bought it the day it came out, listened to it once, and sold it the next day, so that kind of tells me I wasn't impressed. Maybe I need to pick it up again, give it another try...

 

 

If you really like "Tales" then you should enjoy "Waking", give it another shot.

Yeah, I'd agree. Best two LA Guns albums since the first 4.

 

BTW, I love 'Take it off' from King Kobra's 'III' album... awesome song.

[aMetalhead1966]

Municipal Waste-The Art of Partying...Yes it is...it is also the art of killer riffs,hooks galore,great songs,great sound...this thing is AMAZING!! I hear S.O.D and Suicidal(before

HWILTWICEST)...maybe a bit of Metallica(Ride the Lightning era)..yet they have their own sound..short songs..Great lyrics....Man ..I'm stunned...

[Fat Freddy]

Municipal Waste-The Art of Partying...Yes it is...it is also the art of killer riffs,hooks galore,great songs,great sound...this thing is AMAZING!! I hear S.O.D and Suicidal(before

HWILTWICEST)...maybe a bit of Metallica(Ride the Lightning era)..yet they have their own sound..short songs..Great lyrics....Man ..I'm stunned...

 

Sounds good... I heard one track by these guys ("Headbanger Face Rip") on a compilation CD earlier this week and I heard a lotta Nuclear Assault in their sound as well, particularly in the vocals... sounds like something I should check out!

[TIM (2)]

Municipal Waste-The Art of Partying...Yes it is...it is also the art of killer riffs,hooks galore,great songs,great sound...this thing is AMAZING!! I hear S.O.D and Suicidal(before

HWILTWICEST)...maybe a bit of Metallica(Ride the Lightning era)..yet they have their own sound..short songs..Great lyrics....Man ..I'm stunned...

 

Yeah & some early EXODUS in there. Fast with those chunky backing vocals.

 

Don't forget to check out their earlier stuff too, was equally awesome. Their 2005 disc "Hazardous Mutation" is essential too....

[aMetalhead1966]

Municipal Waste-The Art of Partying...Yes it is...it is also the art of killer riffs,hooks galore,great songs,great sound...this thing is AMAZING!! I hear S.O.D and Suicidal(before

HWILTWICEST)...maybe a bit of Metallica(Ride the Lightning era)..yet they have their own sound..short songs..Great lyrics....Man ..I'm stunned...

 

Yeah & some early EXODUS in there. Fast with those chunky backing vocals.

 

Don't forget to check out their earlier stuff too, was equally awesome. Their 2005 disc "Hazardous Mutation" is essential too....

 

I hear Exodus too..I'll be grabbing more of there stuff..

[heaven&hell]

Shadow King- s/t

 

I've been meaning to buy this since it was released back 1991 but for some reason never got around to buying it. I happened to come across it last weekend in a used cd shop for $6 so I grabbed it. I have to admit that I'm really enjoying this cd. Lou Gramm's voice sounds great and there's many great commercial Hard Rock songs on here like "What would it Take", "Anytime, Anywhere", "Once Upon a Time", "Don't even know I'm Alive", "This Heart of Stone", and "Danger in the Dance of Love". Highly recommended for fans of Foreigner and MHR in general.

[TIM (2)]

NIGHTWISH - Dark Passion Play

 

I was lucky enough to hear a couple of spins of this yesterday from a promo copy my friend has, & as a massive fan of the utterly amazing "Once" album I had mixed feelings on it. Now IMHO it was just never going to be as good as "Once", nor achieve the same level of crossover success it had in Europe (where it sold like hotcakes).

 

Firstly the good stuff, this sounds awesome. Huge production, that big wall-of-sound from "Once" is still there, & it's still wickedly heavy in parts but plays even more on the orchestration than "Once" did (quite a few tracks sound like the brilliant "Ghost Love Score"). The mix of female/male vocs is still there & works well, & there are so many spine-tingling moments of heavy guitar/orchestration magic (like on "Dark Chest of Wonders"). Album opener "The Poet & The Pendulum" is just a stunning piece of music, at 14 minutes most Dream Theater fans will love this stuff. "Amaranth" & "Sahara" are probably my highlights on here.

 

But, those vocals... The whole thing just sounds more mainstream - as evidenced on the dreary "Eva" - & much more like bands they are so much better than (After Forever, Visions of Atlantis, Within Temptation etc). The Operatic style has gone & now it just sounds like any other female vocalist on the Pop/Orchestral-Metal scene.

 

Disappointing vocals aside this is one pretty immense album IMHO.

[Geoff]

Maryslim - s/t ; I'd call this one kind of like a Crashdiet without the awesome production job. Somewhere between Crashdiet and Hardcore Superstar, these guys loom. Looks like they're not easily found. Anyone heard of them before? A sleaze band from Stockholm, I believe. I think sleaze fans would enjoy this... I thought it was a good, pretty raw hard rock album.

[heaven&hell]

Maryslim - s/t ; I'd call this one kind of like a Crashdiet without the awesome production job. Somewhere between Crashdiet and Hardcore Superstar, these guys loom. Looks like they're not easily found. Anyone heard of them before? A sleaze band from Stockholm, I believe. I think sleaze fans would enjoy this... I thought it was a good, pretty raw hard rock album.

 

That sounds good to me.

[Geoff]

Maryslim - s/t ; I'd call this one kind of like a Crashdiet without the awesome production job. Somewhere between Crashdiet and Hardcore Superstar, these guys loom. Looks like they're not easily found. Anyone heard of them before? A sleaze band from Stockholm, I believe. I think sleaze fans would enjoy this... I thought it was a good, pretty raw hard rock album.

 

That sounds good to me.

Check out the thread I just started with a link to their myspace site. Their official site is easy to find too, but there's not much on it. They have 3 studio albums and a live album!! Why have they not featured here before?

[Geoff]

Axe - 'Five' ; hmm, this one is pretty good but I'm not sure I'll hold onto it. It's closer to the CITA sound than the other Axe albums I've heard. It's good, and it's solid... just a little bland, I guess. Safe stuff.

[TIM (2)]

DAVID READMAN - S/T

 

Now this is better. I know I wasn't alone in thinking that PC69 have gone a little stale & samey, but this solo disc is in a more melodic direction. A few more keys & definitely some catchier choruses than the "In10sity" album carries. Fave tunes are opener "Without You" & possibly song of the year in "Dont Let It Slip Away". There are a couple of tunes that follow the PC69 formula but this is a more varied album, & a Top 10 for me this year no doubt.

 

 

AS I LAY DYING - An Ocean Between Us

 

Following Killswitch Engage's stubborn continuation with Metalcore when everyone else is recognising it has died on it's arse, AILD do the same. A slightly thrashier, & certainly more melodic disc than before sees this become easily their best album ever & probably a top 3 Metal release of this year. It's seriously heavy, but it's the melodies & catchy choruses that shine through on this disc. How to breathe life into a dying genre. GREAT.

 

MALEFICE - Entities

 

Awesome kick-ass British Metal here, in the LAMB OF GOD/HELLYEAH/CHIMAIRA full-on Metal style. A devastating production means every riff punches you in the face, this is one that should receive a lot of media attention. One of the top Brit Metal releases for some time....

[Geoff]

Valhalla - 'Hard rock with it's pants down' ; pretty cool hard rock disc. Maybe a bit straight-forward for me. Reminded me of Van Halen at times. The vocalist is good and I still think it sounds a little like Wanted (US indie band). Good stuff for fans of raw, solid hard rock.

 

Crowned King - 'Break the silence' ; These guys kind of remind me of Donots, and the songs are pretty damn good, to be honest. So why am I on the brink of hating it? F*cking horn section. There's a f*cking trumpet player in the band who comes in every now and then and all but destroys almost every song. I really cannot handle it. I view this CD as a wasted opportunity. Good songs though.