First Spin Impressions

[Geoff]

Battlegrounds is a nice melodic metal outfit. I don't know but I can't seem to find a weak track on that disc, maybe 'Unspoken Heroes" ? but that's still a good Whitesnake-feel tune. Anybody love 'Ain't Dead Yet' that much ? that's a ballbreaker, massive killer

 

Ha ha Unspoken is one of my favs - see there are going to be some differing views on these songs, but at least everyone is praising it - good job by the boys me thinks!!

 

Well yeah i can't actually call an 8/10 track a weak one, but maybe the rest are just simply above it for me, but who knows after several more spins sunk in. BTW, Erik has another project called 'THE FRIDAY NIGHTS', probably not for everybody, but it shows a bit powerpop side of him, I love the project. The other day I got the MP3 samples, but when I asked him, he said it's not ready yet and probably what I've heard is some kinda leaked demos, don't know, I asked him how to order the CD and he said maybe later when it's ready. So, you might want to check it out also because fans of modern melodic rock should dig that too I guess, you can find it on the net for now

 

Yeah I've heard of that & will definitely check cos as you know I do like a bit of modern stuff & love EM!

 

Wow, I'd love to hear that. I wonder if it sounds like those handful of brilliant super commercial tracks on Eclipse's debut. They had some kind of modern edge. I imagine this'll be awesome because the kid knows how to write a hook.

 

Here's some tracks to check out: http://www.thefriday.../tfn/music.html

 

Been waiting for this album since 2007, hopefully they'll finally release something!

Awesome, thanks mate!

 

Angela - pretty awful except for the chorus. Very nice... the chorus, that is.

Never let go - much nicer... very nice catchy tune.

On My sleeve - wow, lots of keys. Love this tune too.

 

Yeah, I'd definitely go for an album like this, asap please.

[Glen]

Lovebite - Lock n Load

Oh man I freakin love this. OK the production isnt amazing, and the singer's voice is going to be an acquired taste for some, but the songs. Big fat juicy riff laden sleaze anthems. I could hardly find a filler in the 11 songs. The last 5 are particularly killer......really cool hooks/choruses & amazing solos. Yeah this is good.......easily top 20, maybe pushing top 10.

[Nightrain]

Lovebite - Lock n Load

Oh man I freakin love this. OK the production isnt amazing, and the singer's voice is going to be an acquired taste for some, but the songs. Big fat juicy riff laden sleaze anthems. I could hardly find a filler in the 11 songs. The last 5 are particularly killer......really cool hooks/choruses & amazing solos. Yeah this is good.......easily top 20, maybe pushing top 10.

 

i missed this one, will check it out asap, what's the closest comparison ?

[Nightrain]

Awesome, thanks mate!

 

Angela - pretty awful except for the chorus. Very nice... the chorus, that is.

Never let go - much nicer... very nice catchy tune.

On My sleeve - wow, lots of keys. Love this tune too.

 

Yeah, I'd definitely go for an album like this, asap please.

 

hey G, check your PM

[Glen]

Lovebite - Lock n Load

Oh man I freakin love this. OK the production isnt amazing, and the singer's voice is going to be an acquired taste for some, but the songs. Big fat juicy riff laden sleaze anthems. I could hardly find a filler in the 11 songs. The last 5 are particularly killer......really cool hooks/choruses & amazing solos. Yeah this is good.......easily top 20, maybe pushing top 10.

 

I hear bits of Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, even Vain but more focused toward sleaze, particularly the vocals. The guitars are very cool. Great album, just on second spin now & it's even better which is a good sign!

 

i missed this one, will check it out asap, what's the closest comparison ?

[Glen]

Awesome, thanks mate!

 

Angela - pretty awful except for the chorus. Very nice... the chorus, that is.

Never let go - much nicer... very nice catchy tune.

On My sleeve - wow, lots of keys. Love this tune too.

 

Yeah, I'd definitely go for an album like this, asap please.

 

hey G, check your PM

 

Any pm for me ;-)

[JamesEagle]

I hear bits of Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, even Vain but more focused toward sleaze, particularly the vocals. The guitars are very cool. Great album, just on second spin now & it's even better which is a good sign!

 

Sounds amazing. Is it really that good?

 

Glowing review on Sleazeroxx:

 

http://www.sleazeroxx.com/bands/lovebite/locknload.shtml

[Glen]

I hear bits of Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, even Vain but more focused toward sleaze, particularly the vocals. The guitars are very cool. Great album, just on second spin now & it's even better which is a good sign!

 

Sounds amazing. Is it really that good?

 

Glowing review on Sleazeroxx:

 

http://www.sleazerox...locknload.shtml

 

I'd say that review is pretty accurate. The guys voice will not be everyone's cup of tea, but in the main it didnt bother me too much (does spoil the end of 'Mr Lonely' slightly, which otherise is an awesome song!). But the riffs and solos are amazing. Most choruses hit the spot too. In a year which has only really seen Crazy Lixx and Peepshow shine for me on the sleaze front, this is up there.

[Geoff]

I hear bits of Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, even Vain but more focused toward sleaze, particularly the vocals. The guitars are very cool. Great album, just on second spin now & it's even better which is a good sign!

 

Sounds amazing. Is it really that good?

 

Glowing review on Sleazeroxx:

 

http://www.sleazerox...locknload.shtml

 

I'd say that review is pretty accurate. The guys voice will not be everyone's cup of tea, but in the main it didnt bother me too much (does spoil the end of 'Mr Lonely' slightly, which otherise is an awesome song!). But the riffs and solos are amazing. Most choruses hit the spot too. In a year which has only really seen Crazy Lixx and Peepshow shine for me on the sleaze front, this is up there.

 

Yeah, I got a quote from their direct site for this mid last month. Sadly it amounted to £13.29 which is a bit outside my range. A real shame as I loved what I heard too. If I build up some coin maybe I'll bite the bullet... maybe. Anyone know somewhere to get it cheaper?

[Glen]

I hear bits of Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, even Vain but more focused toward sleaze, particularly the vocals. The guitars are very cool. Great album, just on second spin now & it's even better which is a good sign!

 

Sounds amazing. Is it really that good?

 

Glowing review on Sleazeroxx:

 

http://www.sleazerox...locknload.shtml

 

I'd say that review is pretty accurate. The guys voice will not be everyone's cup of tea, but in the main it didnt bother me too much (does spoil the end of 'Mr Lonely' slightly, which otherise is an awesome song!). But the riffs and solos are amazing. Most choruses hit the spot too. In a year which has only really seen Crazy Lixx and Peepshow shine for me on the sleaze front, this is up there.

 

Yeah, I got a quote from their direct site for this mid last month. Sadly it amounted to £13.29 which is a bit outside my range. A real shame as I loved what I heard too. If I build up some coin maybe I'll bite the bullet... maybe. Anyone know somewhere to get it cheaper?

 

I'd be amazed if you didn't love this - right up your street mate

[phaffas]

Dallas - 'Over the edge EP' ; simply stunning to be honest. If you're like me and think that Blue Tears was better than anything Def Leppard ever recorded, I'll just skip the obvious comparison of Def Leppard and call this EP comparable to the Blue Tears debut. I absolutely love this. Unfortunately you can only get this 5 track EP by way of free digital download, but the simple truth of the matter is that if you have something against downloading MP3's you're going to miss 4 of 2012's best songs, in my honest opinion. No beating around the bush - 'The devil is rock n' roll' sucks dog balls, but the other 4 songs are utterly brilliant. I don't know how to pick from them, but I guess 'I close my eyes' and 'Open your heart' would be my faves. Just perfection... If you don't have it already go here now - http://thisisdallas.us/

 

 

Had this for a few months - its killer!

[Geoff]

I hear bits of Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, even Vain but more focused toward sleaze, particularly the vocals. The guitars are very cool. Great album, just on second spin now & it's even better which is a good sign!

 

Sounds amazing. Is it really that good?

 

Glowing review on Sleazeroxx:

 

http://www.sleazerox...locknload.shtml

 

I'd say that review is pretty accurate. The guys voice will not be everyone's cup of tea, but in the main it didnt bother me too much (does spoil the end of 'Mr Lonely' slightly, which otherise is an awesome song!). But the riffs and solos are amazing. Most choruses hit the spot too. In a year which has only really seen Crazy Lixx and Peepshow shine for me on the sleaze front, this is up there.

 

Yeah, I got a quote from their direct site for this mid last month. Sadly it amounted to £13.29 which is a bit outside my range. A real shame as I loved what I heard too. If I build up some coin maybe I'll bite the bullet... maybe. Anyone know somewhere to get it cheaper?

 

I'd be amazed if you didn't love this - right up your street mate

 

I want to buy it... just really tried to, but no one wants me to. I just bought Marchello and Andy Rock from AOR Heaven, and I had this in my basket, but it turns out it's even more expensive than buying direct from the band. I know I should just get it, but it annoys me that it's more expensive than anything else.

[The Rocker]

Tango Down- Identity Crisis "AWESOME"

[Nightrain]

JEREMY FREDERICK - Every Little Thing (70%)

curious to listen to this as Andrew awarded a 90% for this, but aside from the fact that the first three songs are great, 'Can't You See It's Gone' is very Journey and love it, but it went downhill after that. As typical AOR, this has many slower tracks but I found the quality, especially on the 2nd half, are average, but ain't bad. The production isn't really top notch, quite okay for an indie release.

 

LOVEBITE - Lock N Load (80%)

dig this one - a nice sleaze meets MHR kinda stuff, it has Motley feel to it, the guitar parts are very good, but a bit struggly at the lead vocal part. My fave tracks here are 'Sin City', 'Breakin The Rules', the acoustical power ballad 'Hey Baby', 'Lock N Load', 'Can't Fight Your Love', and 'Too Much Is Never Enough'.

 

MILLION $ RELOAD - A Sinner's Saint (80%)

Surprisingly great, although still plodded with several average songs, overall I like it. A strong sense of no-frills hard rock all around, 'Fight The System' is a massive opener, 'Bullets In The Sky' is like melodic-AC/DC, 'Blow Me Away' is also very nice, 'Broken' is a nicely done ballad, and three tracks on the second half I love are 'Smoke N Mirrors', 'Headrush', and 'Protest'.

 

SCANDAL CIRCUS - In The Name of Rock N Roll (80%)

Swedish hard rock meets heavy metal outfit. Actually I could have rated this down to 75% because of the vocal part that bug me but I like most of the songs here so maybe that matters more. It seems that I have encountered many new indie releases with many average singers, that's too bad. The guitar parts are heavy, and highlights here are 'In The Name of RNR', 'The Race', 'Big Bad Clown', 'Losing All Control', 'Society of Evil', and 'Freakshow'. For fans of heavy rock, this one's worth a shot.

 

THE LAST VEGAS - Bad Decisions (75%)

a bag mix of sleaze, hard rock, and classic rock and roll. Could have been a nice album but maybe too many fillers around. Not bad though, songs like 'Other Side', 'Evil Eyes', 'My Way Forever', 'Leonida' could have some improvement. 'Beat To Hell' is very nice, 'Bad Decisions' reminds me to old ROLLING STONES, 'Don't Take Is So Hard' is also great stuff, and that goes to 'She's My Confusion' as well. 'It Ain't Easy' is patchy, an attempt to play some kinda dreamy/psychedelic stuff but they ain't no Pink Floyd here so a filler for them. The production isn't very nice I guess.

 

VALERIE - s/t (70%)

Average stuff, actually it's probably around 67-68 and got rounded up for me. Again, the underlying part is the weak vocal, although the guitars are very good. Why can't we find a good singer nowadays, oh my. 'When Two Hearts Collide' and 'Love Is Like A Heart Attack' are probably the best tracks here. 'Vixen' is potential but doesn't really live up to those two great tracks, and the rest are at 6.5 to 7.5

[heaven&hell]

Tango Down - Identity Crisis

 

All the Reece fans will freak out of this one as IMO it's probably the best thing he's been involved in since the Gypsy Rose or even possibly since the Bangalore Choir debut. If you're a fan of BC, Reece or just MHR in general you will love this one. My fav songs so far are "Crying to Me"(written by Rif and Jamie Rowe for Adriangale back in the day and recently recorded by Talon), "Alone", "Blame", "Corners of My Mind"(same song as Chasing Magic but this version blows it away), "Enlighten Me"(written with Paul Logue of Edens Curse so is a little heavier but still awesome), "Back to Life"(another Jace Pawlak tune and I may say it might be one of his best he's ever written), "Hearts Catch Fire"(written by Bombay Black's Erik Johnson and has a huge chorus) and "Calling Out". There is also two other tunes in "Dream Child" and "Magic Pudding" and both are collaborations between Reece and Christian Tolle and both are very good songs too with "Magic Pudding" also being on the Reece/Kronlund disc 'Solid' but it has been reworked here to fit into more of the MHR mold and maybe is slightly less bluesy as it was in it's original form. All in all a great album that has been well worth the wait and I'm sure will find itself in many fans top 10 lists at year end.

[The Rocker]

Tango Down - Identity Crisis

 

All the Reece fans will freak out of this one as IMO it's probably the best thing he's been involved in since the Gypsy Rose or even possibly since the Bangalore Choir debut. If you're a fan of BC, Reece or just MHR in general you will love this one. My fav songs so far are "Crying to Me"(written by Rif and Jamie Rowe for Adriangale back in the day and recently recorded by Talon), "Alone", "Blame", "Corners of My Mind"(same song as Chasing Magic but this version blows it away), "Enlighten Me"(written with Paul Logue of Edens Curse so is a little heavier but still awesome), "Back to Life"(another Jace Pawlak tune and I may say it might be one of his best he's ever written), "Hearts Catch Fire"(written by Bombay Black's Erik Johnson and has a huge chorus) and "Calling Out". There is also two other tunes in "Dream Child" and "Magic Pudding" and both are collaborations between Reece and Christian Tolle and both are very good songs too with "Magic Pudding" also being on the Reece/Kronlund disc 'Solid' but it has been reworked here to fit into more of the MHR mold and maybe is slightly less bluesy as it was in it's original form. All in all a great album that has been well worth the wait and I'm sure will find itself in many fans top 10 lists at year end.

Not a single filler to be found, great cd!

[lettard]

Wish mine would arrive,this is agony

[Jez]

A nice mixed bag of stuff

 

 

Skunk Anansie - Black Traffic

 

Last years 'Wonderlustre' was a good/ great comeback album, but this is in another dimension. It's got the lot ..rockers, ballads and mid paced stuff..great production and a band sounding completely refreshed and ready to go. Top tunes in 'I Will break You', 'Sad Sad Sad', 'Drowning' and the awesome ballad 'I Hope You Get To Meet Your Hero. A major surprise and a top tenner

 

Magnum - On The Thirteenth Day

 

Straight to the point..Their most consistent album in a long long time. A good mix of stuff with even a couple harking back sound wise to the good old days. 'Dance Of The Black Tattoo' is excellent as is 'Putting Things In Place' but no real duffers to be heard. Good, solid disc this one

 

Sturm Und Drang - Graduation Day

 

Average, run of the mill debut, most excellent follow up and now this one. A couple of more commercial/ poppier bits on here 'Molly The Murderer' (which our own Stefan nailed when he described it as sounding like Car Park North) and 'Light Years Apart'. Besides those 2, it's pretty much as before. Solid, hooky tunes throughout and one of the better MR discs I have heard this year.

 

Docker's Guild - The Age Of Ignorance

 

This is good....It's prog, but prog of the commercial, easily accessible type ala Asia (Asia's John Payne and Guthrie Govan show up on here as well as a plethora of other talented types inc. Goran Edman, Jeff Watson, Tony Franklin & Tony Mills)). Great tunes too..'The Mystic Technocracy' is fab as is 'Legion Of Aliens' and there is also a cover of David Bowie's 'Loving The Alien' which works very well in the context of the album. Really good album this one and many more spins to come I think

 

Demon - Unbroken

 

Love this band and most of their back catologue, so was quite excited when I heard this was on the way. The end result is good solid Hard Rock, with a good range of tunes that keeps the typical Demon sound on track. Good to see them back and still releasing quality music.

 

Tygers Of Pan Tang - Ambush

 

Another veteran band still releasing good stuff. 2008's 'Animal Instinct' was a really good slice of early 80's Brit metal and this new one is no different and carries on pretty much where 'Animal' finished. The songs are simple, straight forward with that typical 80's sound to them, so anyone into the 'Wild Cat' 'Spellbound' era of the band will find plenty on here to sink their teeth into, Good to see bands still doing this type of Metal and very well too.

 

Muse - The 2nd Law

 

One of my fave bands outside of the typical HH fodder and one that continuously keeps changing and moving forward on each disc. OK, non Muse fans will remain so with this and the 'Too clever for their own good' tag will still remain, but this really is a superb disc in every way for the people that do appreciate. There is so much going on here, so, many spins will be needed for it all to sink in... there is everything from Hard Rock, Prog, Pop Rock ,Electronica, Orchestral and even a bit of Dub step thrown into in the mix here and some of it is a challenging listen, but.... it works in almost every department, and some of the songs are just out of this world. My fave at the moment is the 2 part title track, part 2 especially 'Isolated System' which is one of the most haunting themes I have heard in a long while. Brilliant stuff.

[Nightrain]

 

Skunk Anansie - Black Traffic

 

Last years 'Wonderlustre' was a good/ great comeback album, but this is in another dimension. It's got the lot ..rockers, ballads and mid paced stuff..great production and a band sounding completely refreshed and ready to go. Top tunes in 'I Will break You', 'Sad Sad Sad', 'Drowning' and the awesome ballad 'I Hope You Get To Meet Your Hero. A major surprise and a top tenner

 

i'm interested to check this one out Jez. Sounds like a strong album although I'm not familiar at all with this band, are they also in the alternative-sounding zone ? Also made me curious as I just spotted that a reviewer gave a damning 1/10 rating for this one

 

http://www.nme.com/reviews/skunk-anansie/13673

 

Muse - The 2nd Law

 

One of my fave bands outside of the typical HH fodder and one that continuously keeps changing and moving forward on each disc. OK, non Muse fans will remain so with this and the 'Too clever for their own good' tag will still remain, but this really is a superb disc in every way for the people that do appreciate. There is so much going on here, so, many spins will be needed for it all to sink in... there is everything from Hard Rock, Prog, Pop Rock ,Electronica, Orchestral and even a bit of Dub step thrown into in the mix here and some of it is a challenging listen, but.... it works in almost every department, and some of the songs are just out of this world. My fave at the moment is the 2 part title track, part 2 especially 'Isolated System' which is one of the most haunting themes I have heard in a long while. Brilliant stuff.

 

Cheers to also a fellow MUSE fan. I've been a follower since 'Showbiz'. A very interesting alternative-meets-prog modern band and Bellamy is one of the few that has the beautiful silky falsetto. I was lucky to caught them once live in 2007 when they came to Jakarta promoting 'Black Holes' album, which I personally think is their best.

 

Talkinga bout this album, I like it but still unsure about it. It's difficult maybe because they gone down the electronic path too much, but I also heard a lots of QUEEN influence, especially some Brian May guitar sound there. 'Madness' is very 'Under Pressure' and I love it, but I doubt about 'The 2nd Law' tracks. 'Explorers' reminded me of 'Unintended', very slow track. 'Survival' is heavy and 'Follow Me' a bit commercial. This one's running 75% for me as of now, but intrigued to explore further.

[Jez]

Skunk Anansie - Black Traffic

 

Last years 'Wonderlustre' was a good/ great comeback album, but this is in another dimension. It's got the lot ..rockers, ballads and mid paced stuff..great production and a band sounding completely refreshed and ready to go. Top tunes in 'I Will break You', 'Sad Sad Sad', 'Drowning' and the awesome ballad 'I Hope You Get To Meet Your Hero. A major surprise and a top tenner

 

i'm interested to check this one out Jez. Sounds like a strong album although I'm not familiar at all with this band, are they also in the alternative-sounding zone ? Also made me curious as I just spotted that a reviewer gave a damning 1/10 rating for this one

 

http://www.nme.com/r...k-anansie/13673

 

Muse - The 2nd Law

 

One of my fave bands outside of the typical HH fodder and one that continuously keeps changing and moving forward on each disc. OK, non Muse fans will remain so with this and the 'Too clever for their own good' tag will still remain, but this really is a superb disc in every way for the people that do appreciate. There is so much going on here, so, many spins will be needed for it all to sink in... there is everything from Hard Rock, Prog, Pop Rock ,Electronica, Orchestral and even a bit of Dub step thrown into in the mix here and some of it is a challenging listen, but.... it works in almost every department, and some of the songs are just out of this world. My fave at the moment is the 2 part title track, part 2 especially 'Isolated System' which is one of the most haunting themes I have heard in a long while. Brilliant stuff.

 

Cheers to also a fellow MUSE fan. I've been a follower since 'Showbiz'. A very interesting alternative-meets-prog modern band and Bellamy is one of the few that has the beautiful silky falsetto. I was lucky to caught them once live in 2007 when they came to Jakarta promoting 'Black Holes' album, which I personally think is their best.

 

Talkinga bout this album, I like it but still unsure about it. It's difficult maybe because they gone down the electronic path too much, but I also heard a lots of QUEEN influence, especially some Brian May guitar sound there. 'Madness' is very 'Under Pressure' and I love it, but I doubt about 'The 2nd Law' tracks. 'Explorers' reminded me of 'Unintended', very slow track. 'Survival' is heavy and 'Follow Me' a bit commercial. This one's running 75% for me as of now, but intrigued to explore further.

 

Haha ignore the NME..always was a shite paper and still is. The new album is getting lots of good reviews I've seen too, so to each their own. Bottom line is If you like Skunk Anansie then this will hit the button no problems. They can slot into quite a few genres, Alternative being one, but they are definitely more than just your average Alt. rock band. Check them out and let me know what you think

 

Yeah Muse..It takes a lot of listens, but I love the variety on offer..I am loving the 2 part title track especially, part 2 of it definitely reminding me of Mike Oldfield...very haunting track. 'Madness' I didn't really like at first when I heard it a month or so ago,. but I'm loving it now, especially when you put it in the context of the whole album. 'Follow Me ' is also great and I like 'Save Me' too..reminds me a little of It Bites for some reason. They have always had quite a bit of 'Queen' going on and this one is no different, especially on some of the vox and the solo in 'Madness' as you mention. Anyways a super album for me and personally way way higher than a 75%.

[Glen]

Who the fuck does, or ever has, read NME ??? lol

 

or given a fuck what they think.............

 

?

[Dark Star]

Kiss "Monster"

 

Ok just got this today and gave it a spin?? The album title is correct it IS a Monster!!!! I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars!! NO ballads, and ALMOST no filler.. I say almost cause there MIGHT be one or two songs I may skip,but I am not sure yet....

 

I DO think it's a little better than Sonic Boom honestly.....

 

All in all, If you are a KISS Fan?? BUY IT!!!!

[Geoff]

Oliver Weers : Evil´s Back - not too bad, this one. Wasn't a fan of the debut massively, nor will I break faces over this... but it's pretty solid Jorn-style hard rock.

 

TNA: Tna - the Eonian band. Another pretty solid lost band from the 80's. The CD's not perfect, but it could have earned a release back in the day. Good straight ahead hard rocker, with - like always - the couple of more commercial tunes being the highlights.

 

Andy Rock : Into The Night - the maths is pretty simple here. If you liked Wild Rose you'll like this. Very much the same story. Very nice, smooth melodic rock / AOR. Complaints would be the poor love lyrics in every song, the ball-less (though still nicely recorded) production, and it's a little samey too. That said, every other thing I'd say about this is positive. It's very good very consistent.

 

Antblad, Chris: A New Dawn - great new disc, much better than the debut. Good melodic rock almost a little like modern day Stage Dolls in places... almost. It's a real nice AOR / melodic rock disc.

 

Bowling for Soup ~ Great Burrito Extortion Case ; I can't remember if I heard this when it was released. It really sucks and may have been the CD that really put me off these guys for a while. I like their last CD and before this they were going fine. Sure, every CD is the same but they're usually pretty good. This one is crap, and annoyingly unfunny.

 

We Came as Romans ~ Understanding What We've Grown - very cool Tim (2) style modern metal. Every verse is heavy and full of screams, but every chorus is melodic and full of melody. These guys do what they do real well. I like it.

 

Of Mice & Men ~ Flood - another Tim (2) special. Even more screams on this one - big heavy verses and melodic choruses. Another really solid, consistent CD. The clean vocalled ballad is excellent, too. Real good. I prefer We Came As Romans, but both these CDs are very good if you can get past the screaming.

 

For All Those Sleeping ~ Cross Your Fingers - based on the band pic on the back cover I thought these guys would be some tame pop punk band. Certainly not, friends. This is probably my fave of these 3 discs. Gets really heavy in places, but there's a bit more clean vocals mixed in with the screams during the verses, and the choruses are catchier than the above two. Some really cool tracks on this disc, with some killer heavy "breakdowns" too. Love this one.

 

Index Case ~ Index Case - shitty, bland modern rock. Lucky it only cost me about $3.00 because it wasn't worth it but at least I didn't waste much.

 

Michael Bolton ~ Hunger - finally picked this one up for less than a couple of dollars. A lot of ballads and a few plodders, but the melodic rockers are all fantastic. Jeez I love 'Gina' as a song. Magnificent. Overall a pretty good CD and worth picking up.

 

Michael Bolton ~ Soul Provider - even more ballads on this one and some real clunkers, but again, whenever he turns it on for a melodic rock track, it's utterly brilliant. The great moments are really great... even if I've pretty much heard all the good songs via other artists through the years.

 

A Cursive Memory ~ Changes - pretty average pop rock. Not bad by any means and there's a handful of good tracks. Definitely worth what I paid for it but by no means necessary to anyone else.

 

Drop Dead, Gorgeous ~ 'Hot N' Heavy,' 'In Vogue,' 'Worse than a fairy tale' - I'll just put all 3 together because they're all the same anyway. All very heavy, lots of screams and growls, and only a couple of half decent songs on the latest one, 'Hot N' Heavy.' But I have to admit I didn't really like these guys at all. All 3 discs cost me less than $6.00 combined but I shouldn't have even bothered.

 

Off By One ~ Off By One - really good pop rock / punk disc from about 2005 I think. Not sure how it passed me buy but it's real good for what it is. Basic and simple, but good if you like that pop punk style from a few years back.

 

Teddy Geiger ~ Underage Thinking - was this guy famous or something? One of these songs I'd heard on radio before. I think I paid 34c for this and it was pretty decent. Again, not great and not one of my faves, but I think there were some okay songs here.

 

The Fully Down ~ Don't Get Lost in a Movement - another one I really, really like. Again, I think this is from about 2005 but it's great modern rock. Hard to compare these guys as they mix it up a bit - not really comparable to anyone I can think of, even though in places they have a very familiar modern rock style. Yeah, if you like modern rock and can find this as cheap as I did, give it a go. Poor band name, but a very cool disc.

 

USA!USA!USA! - 'What's your name' ; thanks to Dave on the heads up about this digital only EP from the Waltham guys. Another pay what you want for the download ($0 if you want) and it's just fantastic. 5 songs with a girls name as the title, and the first 4 are absolutely brilliant. 'Christine' is okay but one of the weaker songs I've heard from the band. And the EP closes with a pretty killer version of 'Girls just wanna have fun.' But man those 4 songs are so top class, as good as anything being released anywhere these days. The most criminally under-rated overlooked band ever (Waltham/these guys).

[The Rocker]

Kiss "Monster"

 

Ok just got this today and gave it a spin?? The album title is correct it IS a Monster!!!! I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars!! NO ballads, and ALMOST no filler.. I say almost cause there MIGHT be one or two songs I may skip,but I am not sure yet....

 

I DO think it's a little better than Sonic Boom honestly.....

 

All in all, If you are a KISS Fan?? BUY IT!!!!

I agree, Monster maybe a little better than Sonic Boom but not by much. Their both awesome!

[Jez]

Kiss "Monster"

 

Ok just got this today and gave it a spin?? The album title is correct it IS a Monster!!!! I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars!! NO ballads, and ALMOST no filler.. I say almost cause there MIGHT be one or two songs I may skip,but I am not sure yet....

 

I DO think it's a little better than Sonic Boom honestly.....

 

All in all, If you are a KISS Fan?? BUY IT!!!!

I agree, Monster maybe a little better than Sonic Boom but not by much. Their both awesome!

 

I really like 'Sonic Boom', it'sa really strong album and a highly enjoyable one. Not decided which is the better of the two yet, but it's a close run thing.