First Spin Impressions

[JamesEagle]

1994 - 1994

 

Thought I may have made a mistake listing this on eBay after hearing the first 2 songs; both really nice tunes. But then the rest of the album did very little for me, I found it all a bit bland really.

[Geoff]

Escape - Unbreakabe ; it's a pretty terrible situation when one's work is instantly recognizable by the good songs mixed with poor production. Here we have yet another project from Vince O'Regan (Pulse, Alibi & Legion). No doubt the chap can craft a good melodic rock song, and the start of this is some of his best work in many years. In fact, I thought it was pretty awesome (even if the 2nd half of the CD trails off pretty solidly) EXCEPT, it's got that same "clanky" production that sounds like he recorded the songs in a steel mill. And the vocals. zomfg, about 20 layer down in the mix you find the vocals. Sad thing is, not only are the vocals barely audible, but he has not picked a good singer for this project at all. Strangely enough, the negatives aside, I'd still recommend checking this out on the strength of at least the first half of this CD alone. There is some excellent melodic rock on here.

 

Electrik Dynamite - Hair, denim, sex, metal ; really great, overlooked CD from last year. Some really great tunes here, and a killer production and really cool vibe. The opener was a great song but there's no real duds here. Very good hard rock CD.

 

FEAST - Strong wild and free ; a bit of a hit and miss affair for Whitesnake fans here. I was bored with the first half of this disc for the most part, but in the end it did actually offer up a few pretty good tunes - of course, the more commercial / melodic ones. I think people will appreciate this CD for their pretty good take on a Whitesnake sound, but I found it patchy at absolute best.

 

Fozzy - Sin and bones ; solid modern hard rock CD. About all there is to say - not great, not bad.

 

High Road Easy - Drive ; really shit for the most part, and then it throws up a great song in the middle ('Come to me' I think it was called) and a couple of other okay songs. But it's not great overall. Really quite shit to be honest.

 

Glitter Magic - Bad for health ; don't know how or where I heard of this one, but it's not a bad modern hard rock disc at all. I actually can't recall it perfectly, but there were good riffs and some good tunes. Again, not a world beater, but not a bad slab of heavy rock at all.

[All Nights Reserved]

Sister Sin - Now And Forever

 

Great, rocking album overall honestly. My only problem is that it has more heavy metal elements (a la Accept) than their previous albums had which is not bad, but I preferred them as a sleaze band.

[JamesEagle]

Electrik Dynamite - Hair, denim, sex, metal ; really great, overlooked CD from last year. Some really great tunes here, and a killer production and really cool vibe. The opener was a great song but there's no real duds here. Very good hard rock CD.

 

Praise indeed; such that I checked out a few songs on Youtube. The first one I listened to was 'Midnight Rider', which is a great tune, so I thought I was going to agree with Geoff. The next few songs I listened to were a bit average for me ('Built To Rock', 'Love Is Fire', 'Electrify The Night') so I don't think I'll get the CD, but will definitely be downloading 'Midnight Rider' and probably 'So Alive'. Nice songs.

[Nightrain]

Electrik Dynamite - Hair, denim, sex, metal ; really great, overlooked CD from last year. Some really great tunes here, and a killer production and really cool vibe. The opener was a great song but there's no real duds here. Very good hard rock CD.

 

Praise indeed; such that I checked out a few songs on Youtube. The first one I listened to was 'Midnight Rider', which is a great tune, so I thought I was going to agree with Geoff. The next few songs I listened to were a bit average for me ('Built To Rock', 'Love Is Fire', 'Electrify The Night') so I don't think I'll get the CD, but will definitely be downloading 'Midnight Rider' and probably 'So Alive'. Nice songs.

 

I have this disc and I must say it's a good one, some great tunes and probably they also have some average stuffs. 75% from my end

[Geoff]

Electrik Dynamite - Hair, denim, sex, metal ; really great, overlooked CD from last year. Some really great tunes here, and a killer production and really cool vibe. The opener was a great song but there's no real duds here. Very good hard rock CD.

 

Praise indeed; such that I checked out a few songs on Youtube. The first one I listened to was 'Midnight Rider', which is a great tune, so I thought I was going to agree with Geoff. The next few songs I listened to were a bit average for me ('Built To Rock', 'Love Is Fire', 'Electrify The Night') so I don't think I'll get the CD, but will definitely be downloading 'Midnight Rider' and probably 'So Alive'. Nice songs.

 

I have this disc and I must say it's a good one, some great tunes and probably they also have some average stuffs. 75% from my end

 

Holy shit, these guys are actually Australian!

 

'So alive' is probably my favourite song on the album.

 

As a sign of the current state of this stupid f*cked up world where artists complain about people downloading their music, even though they design an entire website with every detail in the world, except oh, just this one little thing... like HOW TO BUY THE FUCKING CD!!! What the fuck is wrong with these bands these days and do they have anyone to blame but themselves for their music being downloaded? Obviously this doesn't go for every band in the world, but sadly there seem to be more than 50% of bands these days who have no interest in letting you know how to buy their CDs...

 

http://www.electrikdynamite.com/home/

[heaven&hell]

Youngblood - No Retreat

Another good release from Eonian but I might be alone but this isn't near as good as I expected.Sure it's a good 80's style hard rock album but there are at least five or more other Eonian releases that put this to shame. The sound is excellent but there aren't as many great songs as I hoped for but maybe after more spins they'll be there.

 

Black Country Communion - Afterglow

Not as killer as the previous release "2" but still great throw back 70's rock n roll with the great vocals of Glenn Hughes. Really this album seems much more Hughes and Bohnam and less Bonamassa with Glenn singing almost all of the vocals this time around. There's not a bad song here at all and I expect it to get many spins in the future. With the possibility of it being the final BBC release due to JB's never ending touring schedule they at least went out on a high note. If they do move on without Joe I think Richie Kotzen would be a great choice.

 

Sister Sin - Now and Forever

Another solid album from these guys and gal. Probably not as exceptional as Sound of the Underground and even more Metal than Sleaze this time around. Again a good album but not as great as the last one and the sound doesn't seem as good either but Liv does sound great and there are no bad tunes at all but I hope this is a grower like the last one was.

 

T&N - Slave to the Empire

These are tough albums to review since there are so many different vocalists and with a mix of covers and new songs the sounds are varies as well. The covers are really good with my favs being Robert Mason "It's not Love", Sebastian Bach "Alone Again" and Ripper Owens killer version of "Kiss of Death". Doug Pinnick does a great version of "Tooth and Nail" and Pilson sounds great on a new arrangement of "Into the Fire". All of the new songs are good but are much heavier than the Dokken songs and have a different vibe but not as modern sounding as Lynch/Pilson was. My fav of the new ones are the title track, "Sweet Unknown", "Mind Control", "Rhythm of the Soul" and "When Eagles Die". The playing is great but I do hope they come up with a few more killer new tunes the next time around.

 

H.E.A.T. - Address the Nation

Everyone seems to have this one picked as album of the year or at least second behind the new Eclipse. While this is a very good album in a nice Bon Jovi way after one full spin it's not as good as I expected but it's still very good but if I had to pick this one or the Eclipse I find the Eclipse to be much better but maybe after a few more spins I'll feel differently. Again very good album but not as great as the hype but that's just my opinion after one full spin.

[Glen]

Youngblood - I suspected that from the samples, so I didn't bother.

 

HEAT - it is as good as the hype IMO. Those hooks are monsters which do not wear thin - probably my most played album of 2012.

[Geoff]

Youngblood - I suspected that from the samples, so I didn't bother.

 

HEAT - it is as good as the hype IMO. Those hooks are monsters which do not wear thin - probably my most played album of 2012.

 

I also have to say the Youngblood samples did not impress me much at all either.

 

That's the second comment like that I've seen about the Sister Sin CD. Wow that previous album must be good, because I listened to 'Now and forever' today and I thought it was fantastic. Killer 80's hard rock like few bands still do it these days. Reminded me almost of Dokken at their best. I'll be honest and say I wish there was a male vocalist at the helm as I prefer ladiez singing sensual sex ballads as opposed to ballsy heavy rock, but man this CD kicked ass. I'll be amazed if I prefer the previous one...

[heaven&hell]

Youngblood - I suspected that from the samples, so I didn't bother.

 

HEAT - it is as good as the hype IMO. Those hooks are monsters which do not wear thin - probably my most played album of 2012.

 

I also have to say the Youngblood samples did not impress me much at all either.

 

That's the second comment like that I've seen about the Sister Sin CD. Wow that previous album must be good, because I listened to 'Now and forever' today and I thought it was fantastic. Killer 80's hard rock like few bands still do it these days. Reminded me almost of Dokken at their best. I'll be honest and say I wish there was a male vocalist at the helm as I prefer ladiez singing sensual sex ballads as opposed to ballsy heavy rock, but man this CD kicked ass. I'll be amazed if I prefer the previous one...

 

The Sister Sin is really good as I said above but to me it doesn't quite match Sound of the Underground imo.

 

The Youngblood doesn't touch the likes of Shake City, Sgt Roxx, Strike Twice, Rattleshake, Murder Bay.

[All Nights Reserved]

Youngblood - I suspected that from the samples, so I didn't bother.

 

HEAT - it is as good as the hype IMO. Those hooks are monsters which do not wear thin - probably my most played album of 2012.

 

I also have to say the Youngblood samples did not impress me much at all either.

 

That's the second comment like that I've seen about the Sister Sin CD. Wow that previous album must be good, because I listened to 'Now and forever' today and I thought it was fantastic. Killer 80's hard rock like few bands still do it these days. Reminded me almost of Dokken at their best. I'll be honest and say I wish there was a male vocalist at the helm as I prefer ladiez singing sensual sex ballads as opposed to ballsy heavy rock, but man this CD kicked ass. I'll be amazed if I prefer the previous one...

 

You should give a try to their "Switchblade Serenades" album too 'cause that's great either and much better than the new one imo.

[heaven&hell]

Youngblood - No Retreat

Another good release from Eonian but I might be alone but this isn't near as good as I expected.Sure it's a good 80's style hard rock album but there are at least five or more other Eonian releases that put this to shame. The sound is excellent but there aren't as many great songs as I hoped for but maybe after more spins they'll be there.

 

Black Country Communion - Afterglow

Not as killer as the previous release "2" but still great throw back 70's rock n roll with the great vocals of Glenn Hughes. Really this album seems much more Hughes and Bohnam and less Bonamassa with Glenn singing almost all of the vocals this time around. There's not a bad song here at all and I expect it to get many spins in the future. With the possibility of it being the final BBC release due to JB's never ending touring schedule they at least went out on a high note. If they do move on without Joe I think Richie Kotzen would be a great choice.

 

Sister Sin - Now and Forever

Another solid album from these guys and gal. Probably not as exceptional as Sound of the Underground and even more Metal than Sleaze this time around. Again a good album but not as great as the last one and the sound doesn't seem as good either but Liv does sound great and there are no bad tunes at all but I hope this is a grower like the last one was.

 

T&N - Slave to the Empire

These are tough albums to review since there are so many different vocalists and with a mix of covers and new songs the sounds are varies as well. The covers are really good with my favs being Robert Mason "It's not Love", Sebastian Bach "Alone Again" and Ripper Owens killer version of "Kiss of Death". Doug Pinnick does a great version of "Tooth and Nail" and Pilson sounds great on a new arrangement of "Into the Fire". All of the new songs are good but are much heavier than the Dokken songs and have a different vibe but not as modern sounding as Lynch/Pilson was. My fav of the new ones are the title track, "Sweet Unknown", "Mind Control", "Rhythm of the Soul" and "When Eagles Die". The playing is great but I do hope they come up with a few more killer new tunes the next time around.

 

H.E.A.T. - Address the Nation

Everyone seems to have this one picked as album of the year or at least second behind the new Eclipse. While this is a very good album in a nice Bon Jovi way after one full spin it's not as good as I expected but it's still very good but if I had to pick this one or the Eclipse I find the Eclipse to be much better but maybe after a few more spins I'll feel differently. Again very good album but not as great as the hype but that's just my opinion after one full spin.

 

My 2nd spin of the HEAT and the Sister Sin is much better.

[Glen]

I've not heard SisterSin - be very interested if it is better than HEAT ;-)

[Glen]

Sister Sin - Now & Forever (on Spotify)

 

Yep, good solid female fronted metal album. I can hear some sleaze.....some riffs are reminiscent of Crashdiet, but more so metal ala Dokken (as Geoff suggests) with a smidgeon of Ratt here and there. Musicianship is pretty great actually especially the solos. The weak link is the vocals for me.....slightly accented (which always bugs me) and a way off the classic vocals of say Izzy Hale. No poor songs here, but again not one that really blows me away - i'd say all in the 7.5 to 8.5 region. Well worth investing some more listens as I think this could be a grower. Gonna check out True Sound Of The Underground and hope this is better......................

[Glen]

Sister Sin - True Sound Of The Underground (on Spotify)

 

Yeah slightly less metal I guess.....not that much different in sound to be honest....maybe production is a bit more cleaner. Lots of riffs and angry backing vocals. The songs do become a bit samey for me though, I think I was waiting for a bit of variation - most songs are a very similar pace and structure. Have to say the solos are fantastic (very Maidenish in places), but I just wish the hooks were as strong. Thinking back Id struggle to recall a chorus out of this lot. Solid and well played, but to be honest I'd probably pass on both.

 

& this band better than HEAT?? Mmm not for me I'm afraid.

[Glen]

Yeah to each their own, and I know there are some here which prefer the metal side of things, but now listening to HEAT Address The Nation and I'd say that this crucifies Sister Sin and then some. Hey ho, I guess I love my hooks and melodies more these days.

 

Peace out..............

[heaven&hell]

I've not heard SisterSin - be very interested if it is better than HEAT ;-)

No i was saying i listened to both of them and they were both much better on the 2nd spin than the 1st. I wasn't saying one was better than the other......

[Doksdad]

 

T&N - Slave to the Empire

These are tough albums to review since there are so many different vocalists and with a mix of covers and new songs the sounds are varies as well. The covers are really good with my favs being Robert Mason "It's not Love", Sebastian Bach "Alone Again" and Ripper Owens killer version of "Kiss of Death". Doug Pinnick does a great version of "Tooth and Nail" and Pilson sounds great on a new arrangement of "Into the Fire". All of the new songs are good but are much heavier than the Dokken songs and have a different vibe but not as modern sounding as Lynch/Pilson was. My fav of the new ones are the title track, "Sweet Unknown", "Mind Control", "Rhythm of the Soul" and "When Eagles Die". The playing is great but I do hope they come up with a few more killer new tunes the next time around.

 

I'd agree with Wes' review. I like the covers with the guest singers, fine with me. Not a big fan of the the arrangement of Into the Fire or Pilson's vocals on this particular song. I'd be much more interested in a Lynch/Pilson album than a T&N II. Love that first Lynch/Pilson album. Stellar.

[Nightrain]

T&N for me was an okay 70%, perhaps as strong as the new DOKKEN.

 

I don't mind the DOKKEN rearrangement, pretty okay although far from the real classic. However, Robert Mason is one hell of a singer, probably if he sang all the DOKKEN cover song will be awesome, but I kinda doubt T&N own songs, somewhat average, some are okay. George Lynch is one hell of a guitarist, I must admit and I like him too, but throughout his career, he did make plenty of awful songs as well

[Glen]

I've not heard SisterSin - be very interested if it is better than HEAT ;-)

No i was saying i listened to both of them and they were both much better on the 2nd spin than the 1st. I wasn't saying one was better than the other......

 

Oh ok I get you lol. I do like the Sister Sin albums - good solid rock, just wish those hooks could have a bit better. Amazing musically tho :-)

[Geoff]

Sleeping With Sirens - Let's cheers to this ; really cool modern hard rock disc. Some good catchy tunes here - I enjoyed it plenty.

 

Taste - s/t ; really basic lyrics and song structure, but really nicely done AOR. I liked it plenty. Safe, but real nice.

 

Ten - Heresy & Creed ; has anyone even acknowledged this on the forum yet? Probably the best Ten CD I've heard in a while. The opener actually has some balls, but overall there are some pretty damn fine cuts here. Not a perfect album and still no 'Babylon,' but like I say, their best in a long while. I liked it.

 

The Story So Far - Under soil and dust ; good solid pop punk album.

 

Shotgun Express - Gypsy Blues ; not perfect by any means, but pretty cool, gritty hard rock.

 

Sleeping With Sirens - With ears to see and eyes to hear ; easily the weaker of the 2 albums I heard from these guys. Okay modern rock. but severely missing good hooks.

 

Stone Sour - House of gold and bones ; another one I'd have expected to see here mentioned here. Good modern rock. Nothing special, like their others, but just another solid album of modern hard rock for the collection.

 

T&N - Slave to the empire ; no one seems to have pointed out the irony yet that the new songs here sound exactly the same as the new songs Don writes for the Dokken CDs. Apart from the shitty jesus song at the end, the new songs here could basically be lifted from a new/current Dokken album. Boring, slow, plodding rockers. The title track (like one of the songs on Don's new CD) rocks a bit, and the rest all plod along at a slow boring and hookless pace, just like new Dokken. Some of the remakes are ok, and no doubt the best songs, but they were fine as they were.

 

Roq Royale - s/t ; pretty cool keyboard orientated AOR / commercial rock. Not a perfect recording, but nice enough.

 

Soleil Moon - On the way to everything ; really, really bland (and terrible) AOR. Avoid

[All Nights Reserved]

I've not heard SisterSin - be very interested if it is better than HEAT ;-)

No i was saying i listened to both of them and they were both much better on the 2nd spin than the 1st. I wasn't saying one was better than the other......

 

Oh ok I get you lol. I do like the Sister Sin albums - good solid rock, just wish those hooks could have a bit better. Amazing musically tho :-)

 

Those hooks are mighty, man! Maybe you should spin "The True Sound Of The Underground" more.

[Glen]

I've not heard SisterSin - be very interested if it is better than HEAT ;-)

No i was saying i listened to both of them and they were both much better on the 2nd spin than the 1st. I wasn't saying one was better than the other......

 

Oh ok I get you lol. I do like the Sister Sin albums - good solid rock, just wish those hooks could have a bit better. Amazing musically tho :-)

 

Those hooks are mighty, man! Maybe you should spin "The True Sound Of The Underground" more.

 

For me a mighty hook is where you listen to a song once and the chorus or part of the song is glued in your head. Not saying these albums were bad, far from it, the songs just werent that memorable - not compared to some other albums this year.

[Stefan]

Ten - Heresy & Creed ; has anyone even acknowledged this on the forum yet? Probably the best Ten CD I've heard in a while. The opener actually has some balls, but overall there are some pretty damn fine cuts here. Not a perfect album and still no 'Babylon,' but like I say, their best in a long while. I liked it.

 

 

Yep. Kind of.

 

http://heavyharmonies.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=29693&&do=findComment&comment=652930

[Jez]

Ten - Heresy & Creed ; has anyone even acknowledged this on the forum yet? Probably the best Ten CD I've heard in a while. The opener actually has some balls, but overall there are some pretty damn fine cuts here. Not a perfect album and still no 'Babylon,' but like I say, their best in a long while. I liked it.

 

 

Yep. Kind of.

 

http://heavyharmonie...93

 

Good album..drops off in the middle, but some good songs and one of their better recent albums.