First Spin Impressions

[glam_junkie]

Celafain Vain - s/t ; Wow, what a surprise for an Aussie band! These guys reminded me of a mix between Star Star and PBF at times. A few fast-paced punk/glam type numbers, but some great glam rock songs on here too. I thought there was a direct rip-off of PBF's '48 hours' on here - something about a girl climbing on top so he could come inside (yes, the lyrics are very, very discreet lol) but overall this was a cool glam rock album.

 

 

still hanging out for a proper release of this one. 2nd favourite glam album ever right behind big bang babies s/t.

[Geoff]

Celafain Vain - s/t ; Wow, what a surprise for an Aussie band! These guys reminded me of a mix between Star Star and PBF at times. A few fast-paced punk/glam type numbers, but some great glam rock songs on here too. I thought there was a direct rip-off of PBF's '48 hours' on here - something about a girl climbing on top so he could come inside (yes, the lyrics are very, very discreet lol) but overall this was a cool glam rock album.

 

 

still hanging out for a proper release of this one. 2nd favourite glam album ever right behind big bang babies s/t.

Wow, you plucked that one from the archives! I'd take a hard copy too, as f*ck knows where that CDR ended up.

 

Van Stephenson - 'Righteous anger' ; don't know about this one. It was essentially pretty good, but had a kind of "creepy" feel to it, for lack of a better word. I don't know, the lyrics just didn't really rub me the right way. It's a good AOR disc, but I'm not sure I'd reach for it too often.

 

Van Stephenson - 'Suspicious heart' ; now this one is MUCH better. Some real classic AOR here, apparently. Funnily enough I'd already heard half of these songs before... covered by other artists. Who'd have guessed they all came from here? A real top class melodic rock / AOR disc, this one.

 

Vayden - 'Children of our mistakes' ; really not bad at all. Another $1 purchase from Mark, which I admittedly had little hope for. And it's not great, but it's a pretty decent heavy metal disc. Worth a 2nd listen if nothing else.

 

Violent Divine - s/t ; another cheapie that went okay. It's a bit patchy, but it was decent. Not sure if it's a keeper, but again, worth a 2nd listen.

 

Vengeance - s/t ; scrappy hard rock / metal affair. Pretty drab production job and pretty lifeless for their debut. Glad I got it anyway for the collection, but they were a much better band than this.

 

Vengeance - 'We have ways to make you rock' ; and this is proof of that. It's stil not a great album, but definitely an improvement on the debut in every regard. Much better production, good backing vocals, better choruses / hooks. Good improvement and a pretty decent hard rock disc.

[glam_junkie]

Celafain Vain - s/t ; Wow, what a surprise for an Aussie band! These guys reminded me of a mix between Star Star and PBF at times. A few fast-paced punk/glam type numbers, but some great glam rock songs on here too. I thought there was a direct rip-off of PBF's '48 hours' on here - something about a girl climbing on top so he could come inside (yes, the lyrics are very, very discreet lol) but overall this was a cool glam rock album.

 

 

still hanging out for a proper release of this one. 2nd favourite glam album ever right behind big bang babies s/t.

Wow, you plucked that one from the archives! I'd take a hard copy too, as f*ck knows where that CDR ended up.

 

 

 

I was listening to the album so did a search to see if there had ever been any discussion on them previously... but yes, it was a post plucked from obscutiy.

[Nightrain]

Toby Hitchcock - Mercury's Down (2011)

 

another champion of the genre. Erik Martensson's melodic metal touch is there, giving the majority of the songs here with an uplifting and energetic touch, bordering on Eclipse's melodic metal, and honestly, this is far better than Pride of Lions. Not that I don't like Jim Peterik's songwriting, he's a very good one, but somehow PoL tends to make me sleepy, but this one is a hell-raiser!

 

What makes me surprised is that Erik handles all the instruments himself, what a frikkin' genius he is, Toby's voice is also superb here. Some fave tunes of mine are 'This Is The Moment', 'How To Stop', 'I Should Have Said', 'If It's To Be', and 'Just Say Goodbye'. Overall a solid album with probably the last two songs are the weakest, but still very good songs. This should falls between 9 or 9.5 and quickly shot up to my top 5

[Glen]

Toby Hitchcock - Mercury's Down (2011)

 

another champion of the genre. Erik Martensson's melodic metal touch is there, giving the majority of the songs here with an uplifting and energetic touch, bordering on Eclipse's melodic metal, and honestly, this is far better than Pride of Lions. Not that I don't like Jim Peterik's songwriting, he's a very good one, but somehow PoL tends to make me sleepy, but this one is a hell-raiser!

 

What makes me surprised is that Erik handles all the instruments himself, what a frikkin' genius he is, Toby's voice is also superb here. Some fave tunes of mine are 'This Is The Moment', 'How To Stop', 'I Should Have Said', 'If It's To Be', and 'Just Say Goodbye'. Overall a solid album with probably the last two songs are the weakest, but still very good songs. This should falls between 9 or 9.5 and quickly shot up to my top 5

 

'Tear Down The Barricades' is just crazy....like Tyketto debut with bordering on Iron Maiden style guitar solos.....mad!

 

Also I LOVE 'I Should Have Said'........that is freakin excellent!

 

The last 2 songs are a (bit) weaker, but still very good, just overshadowed by the excellence which comes before ;-))

[Geoff]

Vengeance - 'Take it or leave it' and 'Arabia' ; may as well group these 2 as they're much the same. These guys were a good band. They did have fillers on their discs, but the highlights are always worth giving them a go. I must say, whoever compiled the 'Best of' CD I got about a decade ago really knew what to look for. It consistently seems that all of the band's best songs were on that 'Best of' CD... which is rare. Either way, 2 good, solid CDs.

 

Vengeance - 'The last of the fallen heroes' ; sadly for their original lead singer, this disc with Ian Parry at the helm is easily their best CD. Aside from a real brain snap in songs 9-11, which are all dreadful, this is consistently very good, thankfully ending with a great closer 'Outta my head.' I still think 'As the last teardrop falls' is the best song they ever did too.

[Nightrain]

BRIDGER - s/t (2011)

I'm intrigued with Terry Ilous on vocal but on the first spin, this is between average and good for me. Too many ballads/laid back track and probably only 1 or 2 uptempo tunes, overall it has that Great White vibe, some songs with country flair, and some winners here are the first two tracks, 'I'm Free', and 'Live For The Moment'. The 'Heaven and Hell' cover is also nicely done, probably will end up around 7 or 7.5 max for me.

 

BRIGHTON ROCK - A Room For Five - Live (2002)

basically a greatest hits compilation, played live, sound production is quite good, and this disc is quite rare I guess. Best to buy if you find a decent price, I think I paid quite high for this one, but just can't pass up on this one when I saw it on a CD store in Singapore week ago.

 

GEORGE & G - So Much To Say (2011)

 

part of AoA archives, westcoast band, very light and very close to the pop side, but somehow I enjoyed this one a lot. Very good disc and try wearing up your Sennheiser headset and crank the volume up in 11 or 12PM while playing mini games on your PC, great experience lol not recommended for fans of harder music, but if you're into the softer side, this one is a doll.

 

LADY ANTEBELLUM - Need You Now

a contemporary country rock band ? what the hell am i doin with this lol well yeah, i love the title track, i remember the Glee movie is covering this song and I recall a very old song, probably Alan Parsons Project song which is very similar to this one. I just dig up the downloads and gave a sneak listen, well this is quite a guilty pleasure for me. Easy listening type of album you can safely play in your car along with your family, I even think of buying the CD later

[Nightrain]

7TH HEAVEN - Pop Media (2011)

as i suspected, no matter how good most songs in this disc, it suffered with a similar structure of songwriting. With 22 songs scattered, the quality of the whole album is spreaded thin. Some wonderful songs for me here are 'Sing', 'Go For A Ride', Dance of A Lifetime', 'Snapshots..', 'Animals', 'Photographs', 'Should I Stay', and 'Living In A Mystery'. It's definitely a better idea to squeeze the disc to a 10-11 songs, but apparently the band is too creative and generous to the fans

 

FLAMEDOWN - s/t (2011)

Argentinian westcoast band is an ultra-rare commodity to the scene. Bringing lots of influences from Toto and Chicago, this is an interesting disc for fans of lighter AOR, but unfortunately, looks like the songwriting is uneven, and while some are good, many are quite weak. Don't know if this is going to be better in the second or third spin, but the disc makes a very good background music. Winners here are tracks like 'Someday I', 'No One', and 'Voices'.

 

MR.BIG - Live from The Living Room (2011)

an intimate acoustical concert for the Japanese fans, consisted of 7 new songs from 'What If' and 3 classic tunes (Voodoo Kiss, Take Cover, and To Be With You), if you like the new album, chances are you're going to like this one. Martin's voice is always one of the best, Gilbert and Sheehan are godly in playin' acoustics. Too bad this is a Jap-only release, so you will need at least $30 to grab this. Very good disc, like it!

[Glen]

7TH HEAVEN - Pop Media (2011)

as i suspected, no matter how good most songs in this disc, it suffered with a similar structure of songwriting. With 22 songs scattered, the quality of the whole album is spreaded thin. Some wonderful songs for me here are 'Sing', 'Go For A Ride', Dance of A Lifetime', 'Snapshots..', 'Animals', 'Photographs', 'Should I Stay', and 'Living In A Mystery'. It's definitely a better idea to squeeze the disc to a 10-11 songs, but apparently the band is too creative and generous to the fans

 

 

Having initially panned 7th Heaven for including 22 songs, I have on reflection changed my mind. This is a difficult subject cos normally I dont like albums with fillers........why have 14 tracks when 3 of them are crap....just make it 10 or 11 and be done with it. However with the case of 7th Heaven cos they have gone sooooo far over the top I can only fairly rate this album by judging the number of songs equal to the most tracks on any other album I have bought this year.....which I believe is within temptation @ 15 tracks (itunes duluxe)....so that's what Im doing - rating the top 15 songs only. Should rate pretty well I think.

[Geoff]

Waltham - s/t ; one of the most criminally absent bands in recent history, imo. 'Permission to build' to me was brilliant. And shame on me for assuming this was the same album with one or two songs. There are quite a few songs that do overlap, but this is still well worth it for the ones that only appear on this CD. Truly one of the more brilliant bands in recent years, and I love everything on this. I hope we hear from them again, though I doubt it.

 

Zebra - s/t ; Haha! What the f*ck was this?? Is this the same dude that did that China Rain CD? Utterly dreadful. Sounds like a hair metal band trying 50's rock or some shit. Man, this was just a really awful disc, despite a decent opener. Avoid. No wonder I took so long to give it a go.

 

Waysted - Save Your Prayers ; love it. Really great disc with Danny (Tyketto) Vaughn on vocals. Great melodic rock from start to end.

 

WWIII - s/t ; okay, I guess. Harsh vocals, not brilliant songs... but probably a keeper. Needs some more spins.

 

X-Sinner - Get It ; another okay one. I owned 'Pace treaty' once and I remember it was decent AC/DC style stuff with a great last song. This album is pretty much a carbon copy. Decent songs with those Cinderella-type vocals, but the album highlight is once again the album closer. I got both of these discs from Azintex and will probably keep both. Solid enough band.

 

XXX - Heaven, hell or hollywood ; not sure about this one. Very bad vocals and some pretty lacklustre songs. It needs a few more spins to get a true feeling from me, but I wasn't really into the first spin at all.

[heaven&hell]

 

Zebra - s/t ; Haha! What the f*ck was this?? Is this the same dude that did that China Rain CD? Utterly dreadful. Sounds like a hair metal band trying 50's rock or some shit. Man, this was just a really awful disc, despite a decent opener. Avoid. No wonder I took so long to give it a go.

 

 

So many great tunes on that one especially "Tell Me What You Want" but since you're not a Zeppelin fan there is no surprise that you wouldn't like this disc as they were basically Atlantic's hope for a replacement for Zep after Bonham's death and their breakup.

[Nightrain]

[quote name='Glen' date='11 August 2011 - 06:20 PM' timestamp='1313061659' Having initially panned 7th Heaven for including 22 songs, I have on reflection changed my mind. This is a difficult subject cos normally I dont like albums with fillers........why have 14 tracks when 3 of them are crap....just make it 10 or 11 and be done with it. However with the case of 7th Heaven cos they have gone sooooo far over the top I can only fairly rate this album by judging the number of songs equal to the most tracks on any other album I have bought this year.....which I believe is within temptation @ 15 tracks (itunes duluxe)....so that's what Im doing - rating the top 15 songs only. Should rate pretty well I think.

 

I'm not saying the new album is packed with fillers, all I'm saying is that it's quite monotonous because of the amount of tracks and that's the risk of putting too many songs in an album

 

Sure thing there are couple of passable tunes, the rest are between average, good, and great. If they only put the great tracks, it will be much better, but then it's impossible because taste is varied, so the idea might be to please everybody and give a bargain price for a huge number of songs

 

I actually saw this coming because I own the USA/UK disc and it's an 18-tracks disc, I ended up giving that one 85%, but this one might end up around 75%

[Geoff]

double post - nude nachos

[Geoff]

Eleventyseven - Galactic Conquest ; very cool band. Their EP from this year - 'Quota' - is one of my favourite recordings from 2011. Although they weren't quite as good as that in the past (as in on this CD) they did create some pretty cool, sickly sweet pop rock. Not bad.

 

Runner Runner - s/t ; more sickly sweet pop rock, released this year. I actually really like this. Some great hooks, and a good solid collection of tunes.

 

Augustana ~ Can't Love, Can't Hurt ; surprisingly good, discreet modern rock ala Goo Goo Dolls. I didn't expect much, but got some really strong choruses from this... again, some very strong hooks. Surprisingly good CD.

 

Augustana ~ All the Stars and Boulevards ; this one wasn't as good as the other one, and more what I expected. Laid back modern rock in line with a few of the more popular mellow rock bands in the charts these days. I think it was okay, but forgettable on first spin and not as good as the previous disc. Could be a grower?

 

Patent Pending ~ Save Each Other, the Whales Are Doing Fine ; pretty shithouse pop punk, bordering too much on throwaway punk for me.

 

Stan Meissner - Undertow ; excellent melodic rock. Sounds like his CD from a few years ago mixed with something like Michael Morales. Don't know how I never heard this before, but great re-issue to pick up. It's home now.

 

Masi - Downtown Dreamers ; not too bad. Pretty straight forward "hair metal." No surprises, nothing ugly on here. Good solid mid 80's hard rock disc.

 

Oliver Weers - Evil's Back ; I can't remember his debut, only that I wasn't too impressed, but maybe a bit more lenient on 2nd spin? I think it had a few moments. This one ain't bad either. Solid, unspectacular but enjoyable enough hard rock. Worth checking out for sure. There was one killer song on it at the end of the first half... the name escapes me.

 

Taking Back Sunday - s/t ; man this band has a distinct / unique sound. Aside from recording

they've only been a middle-range kind of band for me. Done enough to keep me interested, but never blown me away. And that about describes this CD. Good solid effort with a few stand-out tracks and some nice hooks, but nothing to tear your ears off. Safe choice if you already liked the band before.

 

Every Avenue - Bad Habits ; after absolutely loving their 2nd album from a couple of years back, I have to say the first spin of this didn't blow my ballsack apart. It's another very solid, consistent CD, but on first impression, doesn't seem to quite have the appeal of the last one. Still, a very strong sounding disc, excelling in the ballads and mid-tempo tunes if first impression serves correctly.

 

Everyday Sunday - Stand Up ; pretty bland modern rock disc. Like an even more boring Lifehouse... and enough creepy christian lyrics to stay away.

 

Everyday Sunday - Anthems for the Imperfect ; better, but still pretty christian and the songs aren't great. But they are better. Again, they sound like Lifehouse and this is half worth checking out for cheap enough, if you like Lifehouse and Jesus.

 

Everyday Sunday -Wake Up! Wake Up! ; better album, much more spirited and noticeably less god influence. Only the lead vocalist remains from early versions of the band, and they do sound a lot better. Good, solid modern pop rock.

 

I was saying to Justin the other day, but correct me if I'm wrong if the 00's for modern rock aren't going along just like the 80's to 1990 did for "our" music. Plenty of great releases in early 00's from bands like SR-71, Butch Walker/Marvelous 3, Story of the Year etc, but they were more the exception than the norm (just like there's a few classics from 1982-1986). Fast forward to 2007/2008/2009 (like 1987/88/89) and you had the glory years of modern rock where there were a banquet of excellent albums flooding the market. Now in 2010/11 you have most of the bands who hadn't already tried it, opting for a more commercial route and there are some really, really solid discs coming out, with a good solid commercial rock sound. Although not of similar quality, the way the scene has gone reminds me alot of how the 80's bands transitioned into the 90's.

 

I wonder if it means, with modern hard rock at such a commercial peak, if that by 2013/2014 some horrifying new type of grunge will turn the world black again.

[TIM (2)]

 

Fast forward to 2007/2008/2009 (like 1987/88/89) and you had the glory years of modern rock where there were a banquet of excellent albums flooding the market. Now in 2010/11 you have most of the bands who hadn't already tried it, opting for a more commercial route and there are some really, really solid discs coming out, with a good solid commercial rock sound. Although not of similar quality, the way the scene has gone reminds me alot of how the 80's bands transitioned into the 90's.

 

I wonder if it means, with modern hard rock at such a commercial peak, if that by 2013/2014 some horrifying new type of grunge will turn the world black again.

 

I doubt grunge will come back, but a sound/style does soon get completely saturated. Modern Rock is well past it's best now - especially the pop/punk variety (Green Day, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, etc), so those bands have to evolve. Which is what 30STM and My Chemical Romance did on their last discs. The very best artists will always survive though...

[Geoff]

 

Fast forward to 2007/2008/2009 (like 1987/88/89) and you had the glory years of modern rock where there were a banquet of excellent albums flooding the market. Now in 2010/11 you have most of the bands who hadn't already tried it, opting for a more commercial route and there are some really, really solid discs coming out, with a good solid commercial rock sound. Although not of similar quality, the way the scene has gone reminds me alot of how the 80's bands transitioned into the 90's.

 

I wonder if it means, with modern hard rock at such a commercial peak, if that by 2013/2014 some horrifying new type of grunge will turn the world black again.

 

I doubt grunge will come back, but a sound/style does soon get completely saturated. Modern Rock is well past it's best now - especially the pop/punk variety (Green Day, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, etc), so those bands have to evolve. Which is what 30STM and My Chemical Romance did on their last discs. The very best artists will always survive though...

Yeah, I don't think grunge as such will return either, but I wonder if the door is open for something completely bland, soul destroying and rubbishy, like grunge was. Melody is as alive now as it was back in 1990, but it'll be interesting to see if it stays a focal point for bands. It was lost for a long time there in the mainstream, and no reason it couldn't happen again.

 

I still think there are literally dozens of current bands who are 100 times better than stuff like Green Day (who always have and always will suck), Paramore and Fall Out Boy... they're probably just not getting the chart time those guys did. Though I've heard both Simple Plan and We The Kings on radio in recent months. Who knows exactly what the state of play is... all I know is that without being truly exceptional, 2011 has so far been extremely solid and consistent for modern rock. A few outright gems, but a massive supply of strong if unspectacular albums. I'm enjoying it and the divide between MHR and modern rock decreases daily for me.

[bangerdave]

 

Zebra - s/t ; Haha! What the f*ck was this?? Is this the same dude that did that China Rain CD? Utterly dreadful. Sounds like a hair metal band trying 50's rock or some shit. Man, this was just a really awful disc, despite a decent opener. Avoid. No wonder I took so long to give it a go.

 

 

So many great tunes on that one especially "Tell Me What You Want" but since you're not a Zeppelin fan there is no surprise that you wouldn't like this disc as they were basically Atlantic's hope for a replacement for Zep after Bonham's death and their breakup.

I agree but then i'm a big Zebra fan as well as Led Zep fan.Geoff give it a few more spins,give it a chance and it may grow on you.

[Glen]

 

Fast forward to 2007/2008/2009 (like 1987/88/89) and you had the glory years of modern rock where there were a banquet of excellent albums flooding the market. Now in 2010/11 you have most of the bands who hadn't already tried it, opting for a more commercial route and there are some really, really solid discs coming out, with a good solid commercial rock sound. Although not of similar quality, the way the scene has gone reminds me alot of how the 80's bands transitioned into the 90's.

 

I wonder if it means, with modern hard rock at such a commercial peak, if that by 2013/2014 some horrifying new type of grunge will turn the world black again.

 

I doubt grunge will come back, but a sound/style does soon get completely saturated. Modern Rock is well past it's best now - especially the pop/punk variety (Green Day, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, etc), so those bands have to evolve. Which is what 30STM and My Chemical Romance did on their last discs. The very best artists will always survive though...

Yeah, I don't think grunge as such will return either, but I wonder if the door is open for something completely bland, soul destroying and rubbishy, like grunge was. Melody is as alive now as it was back in 1990, but it'll be interesting to see if it stays a focal point for bands. It was lost for a long time there in the mainstream, and no reason it couldn't happen again.

 

I still think there are literally dozens of current bands who are 100 times better than stuff like Green Day (who always have and always will suck), Paramore and Fall Out Boy... they're probably just not getting the chart time those guys did. Though I've heard both Simple Plan and We The Kings on radio in recent months. Who knows exactly what the state of play is... all I know is that without being truly exceptional, 2011 has so far been extremely solid and consistent for modern rock. A few outright gems, but a massive supply of strong if unspectacular albums. I'm enjoying it and the divide between MHR and modern rock decreases daily for me.

 

Your summation of the 80s has always baffled me, but now you seem to be extending it to 1986 which seems even more weird.....weirdo ;-))

 

Anyhoooo....to modern rock.

 

I entirely agree that 07/08/09 were the strongest years for modern rock - whether we will see the return of grunge or something similar, I sincerely hope not.....perhaps we'll see bands taking a more electronic route whilst maintaining some degree of melody - a bit along the lines of Bulletproof Messenger maybe. Whatever happens I think that Tim is right in that boy band sounding pop/punk bands have pretty much had their day. Ive listened to some of the new Simple Plan album and whilst they are one of the better examples around it is still pretty purile....I think I detected about 2 songs which could genuinely be classed as a rock song.

 

What we need to see in 2012 is MASSIVE comebacks from the likes of Shinedown, Story Of The Year, Hinder, Skillet, Nural, Papa Roach, Daughtry, Disciple, EndEverafter, No Love Lost etc...........wouldnt that be a great top ten!!

 

Then we could be looking at a KILLER year again.

 

Cheers

[TIM (2)]

 

Fast forward to 2007/2008/2009 (like 1987/88/89) and you had the glory years of modern rock where there were a banquet of excellent albums flooding the market. Now in 2010/11 you have most of the bands who hadn't already tried it, opting for a more commercial route and there are some really, really solid discs coming out, with a good solid commercial rock sound. Although not of similar quality, the way the scene has gone reminds me alot of how the 80's bands transitioned into the 90's.

 

I wonder if it means, with modern hard rock at such a commercial peak, if that by 2013/2014 some horrifying new type of grunge will turn the world black again.

 

I doubt grunge will come back, but a sound/style does soon get completely saturated. Modern Rock is well past it's best now - especially the pop/punk variety (Green Day, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, etc), so those bands have to evolve. Which is what 30STM and My Chemical Romance did on their last discs. The very best artists will always survive though...

Yeah, I don't think grunge as such will return either, but I wonder if the door is open for something completely bland, soul destroying and rubbishy, like grunge was. Melody is as alive now as it was back in 1990, but it'll be interesting to see if it stays a focal point for bands. It was lost for a long time there in the mainstream, and no reason it couldn't happen again.

 

I still think there are literally dozens of current bands who are 100 times better than stuff like Green Day (who always have and always will suck), Paramore and Fall Out Boy... they're probably just not getting the chart time those guys did. Though I've heard both Simple Plan and We The Kings on radio in recent months. Who knows exactly what the state of play is... all I know is that without being truly exceptional, 2011 has so far been extremely solid and consistent for modern rock. A few outright gems, but a massive supply of strong if unspectacular albums. I'm enjoying it and the divide between MHR and modern rock decreases daily for me.

 

Your summation of the 80s has always baffled me, but now you seem to be extending it to 1986 which seems even more weird.....weirdo ;-))

 

Anyhoooo....to modern rock.

 

I entirely agree that 07/08/09 were the strongest years for modern rock - whether we will see the return of grunge or something similar, I sincerely hope not.....perhaps we'll see bands taking a more electronic route whilst maintaining some degree of melody - a bit along the lines of Bulletproof Messenger maybe. Whatever happens I think that Tim is right in that boy band sounding pop/punk bands have pretty much had their day. Ive listened to some of the new Simple Plan album and whilst they are one of the better examples around it is still pretty purile....I think I detected about 2 songs which could genuinely be classed as a rock song.

 

What we need to see in 2012 is MASSIVE comebacks from the likes of Shinedown, Story Of The Year, Hinder, Skillet, Nural, Papa Roach, Daughtry, Disciple, EndEverafter, No Love Lost etc...........wouldnt that be a great top ten!!

 

Then we could be looking at a KILLER year again.

 

Cheers

 

Definitely be good to see some of those bands release big albums as this year really needs it IMO, as aside from the David Cook (which is hardly a masterpiece) nothing much has grabbed me. Even the Cook album is nothing we haven't heard before, it's written in the same style as his debut and the 2 Daughtry discs. Simple Plan is good but slightly disappointing they reverted to pop/punk-type again after their awesome S/T disc. MHR started slow and has now hit us with Toby Hitchcock and Work of Art, so am sure Modern Rock can do the same...

[Glen]

 

Fast forward to 2007/2008/2009 (like 1987/88/89) and you had the glory years of modern rock where there were a banquet of excellent albums flooding the market. Now in 2010/11 you have most of the bands who hadn't already tried it, opting for a more commercial route and there are some really, really solid discs coming out, with a good solid commercial rock sound. Although not of similar quality, the way the scene has gone reminds me alot of how the 80's bands transitioned into the 90's.

 

I wonder if it means, with modern hard rock at such a commercial peak, if that by 2013/2014 some horrifying new type of grunge will turn the world black again.

 

I doubt grunge will come back, but a sound/style does soon get completely saturated. Modern Rock is well past it's best now - especially the pop/punk variety (Green Day, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, etc), so those bands have to evolve. Which is what 30STM and My Chemical Romance did on their last discs. The very best artists will always survive though...

Yeah, I don't think grunge as such will return either, but I wonder if the door is open for something completely bland, soul destroying and rubbishy, like grunge was. Melody is as alive now as it was back in 1990, but it'll be interesting to see if it stays a focal point for bands. It was lost for a long time there in the mainstream, and no reason it couldn't happen again.

 

I still think there are literally dozens of current bands who are 100 times better than stuff like Green Day (who always have and always will suck), Paramore and Fall Out Boy... they're probably just not getting the chart time those guys did. Though I've heard both Simple Plan and We The Kings on radio in recent months. Who knows exactly what the state of play is... all I know is that without being truly exceptional, 2011 has so far been extremely solid and consistent for modern rock. A few outright gems, but a massive supply of strong if unspectacular albums. I'm enjoying it and the divide between MHR and modern rock decreases daily for me.

 

Your summation of the 80s has always baffled me, but now you seem to be extending it to 1986 which seems even more weird.....weirdo ;-))

 

Anyhoooo....to modern rock.

 

I entirely agree that 07/08/09 were the strongest years for modern rock - whether we will see the return of grunge or something similar, I sincerely hope not.....perhaps we'll see bands taking a more electronic route whilst maintaining some degree of melody - a bit along the lines of Bulletproof Messenger maybe. Whatever happens I think that Tim is right in that boy band sounding pop/punk bands have pretty much had their day. Ive listened to some of the new Simple Plan album and whilst they are one of the better examples around it is still pretty purile....I think I detected about 2 songs which could genuinely be classed as a rock song.

 

What we need to see in 2012 is MASSIVE comebacks from the likes of Shinedown, Story Of The Year, Hinder, Skillet, Nural, Papa Roach, Daughtry, Disciple, EndEverafter, No Love Lost etc...........wouldnt that be a great top ten!!

 

Then we could be looking at a KILLER year again.

 

Cheers

 

Definitely be good to see some of those bands release big albums as this year really needs it IMO, as aside from the David Cook (which is hardly a masterpiece) nothing much has grabbed me. Even the Cook album is nothing we haven't heard before, it's written in the same style as his debut and the 2 Daughtry discs. Simple Plan is good but slightly disappointing they reverted to pop/punk-type again after their awesome S/T disc. MHR started slow and has now hit us with Toby Hitchcock and Work of Art, so am sure Modern Rock can do the same...

 

The best 'true' modern rock disc so far is Adelitas Way, which is arguably better than the debut (I know Geoff has Destrophy at No 1 - which I also know you hate Tim, but for me that is NOT modern rock, but straight ahead 80's styled hard rock)....aside from that nothing much to write home about in the modern stakes for 2011.

 

High expectation for 2012 tho.

[Geoff]

 

Fast forward to 2007/2008/2009 (like 1987/88/89) and you had the glory years of modern rock where there were a banquet of excellent albums flooding the market. Now in 2010/11 you have most of the bands who hadn't already tried it, opting for a more commercial route and there are some really, really solid discs coming out, with a good solid commercial rock sound. Although not of similar quality, the way the scene has gone reminds me alot of how the 80's bands transitioned into the 90's.

 

I wonder if it means, with modern hard rock at such a commercial peak, if that by 2013/2014 some horrifying new type of grunge will turn the world black again.

 

I doubt grunge will come back, but a sound/style does soon get completely saturated. Modern Rock is well past it's best now - especially the pop/punk variety (Green Day, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, etc), so those bands have to evolve. Which is what 30STM and My Chemical Romance did on their last discs. The very best artists will always survive though...

Yeah, I don't think grunge as such will return either, but I wonder if the door is open for something completely bland, soul destroying and rubbishy, like grunge was. Melody is as alive now as it was back in 1990, but it'll be interesting to see if it stays a focal point for bands. It was lost for a long time there in the mainstream, and no reason it couldn't happen again.

 

I still think there are literally dozens of current bands who are 100 times better than stuff like Green Day (who always have and always will suck), Paramore and Fall Out Boy... they're probably just not getting the chart time those guys did. Though I've heard both Simple Plan and We The Kings on radio in recent months. Who knows exactly what the state of play is... all I know is that without being truly exceptional, 2011 has so far been extremely solid and consistent for modern rock. A few outright gems, but a massive supply of strong if unspectacular albums. I'm enjoying it and the divide between MHR and modern rock decreases daily for me.

 

Your summation of the 80s has always baffled me, but now you seem to be extending it to 1986 which seems even more weird.....weirdo ;-))

 

Anyhoooo....to modern rock.

 

I entirely agree that 07/08/09 were the strongest years for modern rock - whether we will see the return of grunge or something similar, I sincerely hope not.....perhaps we'll see bands taking a more electronic route whilst maintaining some degree of melody - a bit along the lines of Bulletproof Messenger maybe. Whatever happens I think that Tim is right in that boy band sounding pop/punk bands have pretty much had their day. Ive listened to some of the new Simple Plan album and whilst they are one of the better examples around it is still pretty purile....I think I detected about 2 songs which could genuinely be classed as a rock song.

 

What we need to see in 2012 is MASSIVE comebacks from the likes of Shinedown, Story Of The Year, Hinder, Skillet, Nural, Papa Roach, Daughtry, Disciple, EndEverafter, No Love Lost etc...........wouldnt that be a great top ten!!

 

Then we could be looking at a KILLER year again.

 

Cheers

 

Definitely be good to see some of those bands release big albums as this year really needs it IMO, as aside from the David Cook (which is hardly a masterpiece) nothing much has grabbed me. Even the Cook album is nothing we haven't heard before, it's written in the same style as his debut and the 2 Daughtry discs. Simple Plan is good but slightly disappointing they reverted to pop/punk-type again after their awesome S/T disc. MHR started slow and has now hit us with Toby Hitchcock and Work of Art, so am sure Modern Rock can do the same...

 

The best 'true' modern rock disc so far is Adelitas Way, which is arguably better than the debut (I know Geoff has Destrophy at No 1 - which I also know you hate Tim, but for me that is NOT modern rock, but straight ahead 80's styled hard rock)....aside from that nothing much to write home about in the modern stakes for 2011.

 

High expectation for 2012 tho.

Just to go into a little finer detail. The one patch of my parallel that didn't quite match up was 1984 to 1986 compared to 2004-06. An abundance of great melodic rock albums from 1984-1986. And whilst these were pretty good years for modern rock... actually, yeah, from about 2005 onwards there were quite a few good releases... I think more to the point, 1980-1983 were pretty much a wasteland (bar Motley Crue, Ratt and that's about it, lol), much like modern rock from 2000-2003 (bar, as I said above, stuff like SR-71, Marvelous 3 and Donots). Anyway, a lot of my parallel is awesome, so just concentrate on those bits and marvel at how intuitive I am.

 

I think the higher involvement of electronic influence is a good call in modern rock... seems to be all the rage at the moment. To be honest, though, not sure exactly how far it will go.

 

Nice list of hopeful 2012 comebacks, Glen. I'd take any and all of those. Although Hinder could only come back to being stunningly awesome, back from a measly amazingly awesome.

 

And just to explain why I just bit the bullet and threw Destrophy in the modern list; The reason? Try convincing any 'traditional' MHR/AOR fan that it's just a pure 80's style hard rock disc, and it's just not going to happen. So for the sake of the haters, I left it on my modern list.

 

As for "nothing to write home about," that depends on what you're giving a fair go or not. Certainly compared to MHR, there is no way in the world MHR is faring any better in "anything to write home about" stakes if you look at both honestly. Destrophy, Trust Company, Adelita's Way, Forever the Sickest Kids and Stealing Eden have all warranted letters to home from me, and I am also loving stuff like Simple Plan (minus the few fillers), Save Your Breath, David Cook, The Blackout, The Friday Night Boys, Close to Home, Sixx AM, Bowling For Soup, There for Tomorrow, A Change of Pace, Coldrain, All Time Low, I See Stars (LOVE this one), Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows, Every Avenue, Syndicate, The Click Five, Madam Adam and 3 Doors Down, just for a start. All of which are at least as good as most melodic rock releases. Which is a similar story. You have your few standouts like Toby Hitchcock, Miss Behaviour, Bad Habit, Human Zoo and Bai Bang, followed by great stuff like Hell In The Club, Wicked Jester, The Poodles, Farcry, Outloud, Lionville, Alyson Avenue, Lovex, Dynazty, Beautiful Beast, Victory and Within Temptation for example.

 

But my point is, if modern rock's not going that well, what's this statement made in comparison to? I think it's been an extremely even year so far. I know there's still some supposed classic MHR/AOR releases due, which I'll believe when I see. But at the moment, pretty much an even keel for me.

[TIM (2)]

 

But my point is, if modern rock's not going that well, what's this statement made in comparison to? I think it's been an extremely even year so far. I know there's still some supposed classic MHR/AOR releases due, which I'll believe when I see. But at the moment, pretty much an even keel for me.

 

I don't agree with that at all. I know it's hard for you, but try to differentiate the good stuff (7/10) from the great stuff (9 or 10/10). Nothing you listed in the modern rock category is any better than 7 or 8/10. So is most of the MHR stuff, like Alyson Avenue/Bad Habit/Lionville/Within Temptation (Bai Bang is crap IMO). All very good discs and well worth getting, but not amazing. Not Treat/H.E.A.T/First Signal greatness. Only Toby Hitchcock and maybe Work Of Art (only heard soundbytes) are in this category, and nothing so far in Modern Rock... Oh, and Trivium.

 

And if you mention White Widdow there'll be a full-on (virtual) street brawl.

[Nightrain]

Work of Art - In Progress (2011)

the first touch of WoA's latest album is just magical. The sound is very similar to their debut, 'In Progress' comprised of lots of strong tracks and in the first spin, I found at least six superior tracks whilst there are probably 1-2 weaker tracks, but like Toby Hitchcock's solo, they are still very good. 'The Rain', 'Once Again', 'Never Love Again', 'The Great Fall', 'Call On Me', and 'Fall Down' are winners in my book, and those tracks propelled the album to debut #1 in my top 10.

 

Still four months to go, but looks like this one is gonna stay on top together with 'Mercury's Down', great solid stuff, and probably right now, only Martin Brothers that have the capability to compete with Martensson and Sall in the top melodic scene.

 

If anyone still doubt a 100% rating is even exist, this is the proof.

 

Ferreira - Are You In? (2011)

the solo album of Goodbye Thrill's frontman. I always love Marc's voice, and this album is somehow pretty good, but not as good as GT. There are big hits and there are some misses. My faves here are 'Tab of Yesterdays' which reminds me of 'Metallic Blue'; 'Pay With Pain' with its Mr.Big dancey riffs; the Beatles/Enuff Z'Nuff flavor at 'Manner's Song'; and the great hard rock stuff of 'Send It On'.

 

Looks like this disc is pressed by demand on reverbnation so probably need to buy there, for me, the first spin is valued around 75%

[Geoff]

 

But my point is, if modern rock's not going that well, what's this statement made in comparison to? I think it's been an extremely even year so far. I know there's still some supposed classic MHR/AOR releases due, which I'll believe when I see. But at the moment, pretty much an even keel for me.

 

I don't agree with that at all. I know it's hard for you, but try to differentiate the good stuff (7/10) from the great stuff (9 or 10/10). Nothing you listed in the modern rock category is any better than 7 or 8/10. So is most of the MHR stuff, like Alyson Avenue/Bad Habit/Lionville/Within Temptation (Bai Bang is crap IMO). All very good discs and well worth getting, but not amazing. Not Treat/H.E.A.T/First Signal greatness. Only Toby Hitchcock and maybe Work Of Art (only heard soundbytes) are in this category, and nothing so far in Modern Rock... Oh, and Trivium.

 

And if you mention White Widdow there'll be a full-on (virtual) street brawl.

No, no, no, no, no, no. No.

 

I didn't really mean that, just used it for effect. Now, to business.

 

I just re-read your post and you're pretty much agreeing with me, amirite, except for the fact that you don't think the likes of Destrophy, Trust Company, Adelita's Way, Forever the Sickest Kids and Stealing Eden are as good as the top 5 MHR discs. And okay, I can give you that. The top MHR discs would probably score around 85-90% and these would score around 82-87% on average, for me... but jeez, it's still freakin' close.

 

And I think we both agree (do we?) that a lot of the rest of the stuff is around that 7-8/10 bracket. Which I also agree with. But I don't know when music critiquing got so brutal. What's wrong with 70-80%? That's a bloody brilliant score in my books. How many sub 50% albums are out there? Billions! It's like me going for a surf and expecting perfect waves every single time or I don't enjoy myself?

 

I'm not saying all the modern discs I listed are perfect 10s by any means... I just think the average score of both the better modern and MHR is sitting around that 70-75% mark this year, each with a few exceptions. And I'm cool with that.

 

The one thing that really stood out for me was when someone posted that top 10 songs of 2011, without even thinking about it I rattled off almost a list entirely of modern rock songs... and I'd stand by that. It may just be me, but I do think that overall the 2 styles/genres are pretty damn equal.

 

And have you heard Trust Company and I See Stars? I thought you'd dig stuff like that... and Close to Home too? Also very cool.

 

Oh well, to each their own.

 

Punk.

 

Oh, and the only time I'll mention White Widdow is when someone asks me what the equal best album of 2011 is. Where I will mention White Widdow and Steel Panther in the same sentence.

 

Seriously, though... Dying to hear both as I think they're both contenders.

[Glen]

 

But my point is, if modern rock's not going that well, what's this statement made in comparison to? I think it's been an extremely even year so far. I know there's still some supposed classic MHR/AOR releases due, which I'll believe when I see. But at the moment, pretty much an even keel for me.

 

I don't agree with that at all. I know it's hard for you, but try to differentiate the good stuff (7/10) from the great stuff (9 or 10/10). Nothing you listed in the modern rock category is any better than 7 or 8/10. So is most of the MHR stuff, like Alyson Avenue/Bad Habit/Lionville/Within Temptation (Bai Bang is crap IMO). All very good discs and well worth getting, but not amazing. Not Treat/H.E.A.T/First Signal greatness. Only Toby Hitchcock and maybe Work Of Art (only heard soundbytes) are in this category, and nothing so far in Modern Rock... Oh, and Trivium.

 

And if you mention White Widdow there'll be a full-on (virtual) street brawl.

No, no, no, no, no, no. No.

 

I didn't really mean that, just used it for effect. Now, to business.

 

I just re-read your post and you're pretty much agreeing with me, amirite, except for the fact that you don't think the likes of Destrophy, Trust Company, Adelita's Way, Forever the Sickest Kids and Stealing Eden are as good as the top 5 MHR discs. And okay, I can give you that. The top MHR discs would probably score around 85-90% and these would score around 82-87% on average, for me... but jeez, it's still freakin' close.

 

And I think we both agree (do we?) that a lot of the rest of the stuff is around that 7-8/10 bracket. Which I also agree with. But I don't know when music critiquing got so brutal. What's wrong with 70-80%? That's a bloody brilliant score in my books. How many sub 50% albums are out there? Billions! It's like me going for a surf and expecting perfect waves every single time or I don't enjoy myself?

 

I'm not saying all the modern discs I listed are perfect 10s by any means... I just think the average score of both the better modern and MHR is sitting around that 70-75% mark this year, each with a few exceptions. And I'm cool with that.

 

The one thing that really stood out for me was when someone posted that top 10 songs of 2011, without even thinking about it I rattled off almost a list entirely of modern rock songs... and I'd stand by that. It may just be me, but I do think that overall the 2 styles/genres are pretty damn equal.

 

And have you heard Trust Company and I See Stars? I thought you'd dig stuff like that... and Close to Home too? Also very cool.

 

Oh well, to each their own.

 

Punk.

 

Oh, and the only time I'll mention White Widdow is when someone asks me what the equal best album of 2011 is. Where I will mention White Widdow and Steel Panther in the same sentence.

 

Seriously, though... Dying to hear both as I think they're both contenders.

 

Well, firstly if White Widdow & Steel Panther end up beating Toby Hitchcock & WoA I will be a very happy man, cos we'll have 4 albums comfortably sitting around the 95% mark which would be the first time since about 1992.....so lets hope eh???!

 

Now modern rock for 2011. All Im comparing it with is the previous 3 or 4 years and in my opinion the quality has dipped - most albums ive heard have probably been around the 70% mark which is OK, but my point is, when Ive already got loads of modern albums to play from previous years which are miles better whats the point in buying these albums just to gather dust or sit redundant in my itunes library....cos they sure as hell wont get played.

 

All I can say is thank God for Spotify as I can weed out all of these releases and save myself loads of bucks :-))

 

I know its all down to taste, but for me its increasingly becoming the case that I want my 'modern' stuff to sound more like my 'mhr' stuff. The only 2 I can really say bridge that gap this year is Adelitas Way and Madam Adam. Stealing Eden is pretty good too, but a bit too close to nu-metal sound for comfort in parts. Also a strong mention to Sixx AM cos that is a blinder...only just heard that album, and yeah I guess its a modern disc as there is some very strong Muse influence, but bottom line is this rocks and is a very varied and interesting album - me likes. lots.

 

I think come year end that those 3 (unless something else spectacular is due??) are the only 'modern' discs which could impact my top 30 MHR.