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JustJason

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It Bites - The Tall Ships

 

First studio disc in nearly 20 years and what a comeback. I was a little worried what this would sound like, as it doesn't feature mainman Francis Dunnery, but John Mitchell has stepped in here and does a mighty fine job playing and producing. Initial thoughts are that this is prime time It Bites with no real change to their style or sound at all, which is great news. In fact, this could have been recorded a couple of years after 'Eat Me In St. Louis' and you wouldn't know, except a few production tweaks and Mitchells's input. All the bands trademarks are there from the typical keys, to Mitchells guitars, which sound scarily like Dunnery's at times. Songs are of a real high standard as usual and I can't find any fillers in here at all. Nearly 70 minutes of excellent, intelligently played rock music, with shorter 4-5 minute tracks and the 13 minute epic 'This Is England' to close out the disc. The boys are back in town and boy am I glad they are - FANTASTIC.

 

Presto Ballet - The Lost Art Of Time Travel

 

Carrying on where the debut 'Peace Among The Ruins' left off, this is a mighty fine slice of Progressive influenced Hard rock, that betters the debut by some margin. The Kansas influence is still there to the fore, so musically, this is pretty awesome and for a self produced album, it sounds huge aswell. Seven high quality tracks ranging from the shorter 4 minute 'You're Alive' to the 14 minute 'One Tragedy At A Time'. Not for everyone, but all the Prog and Kansas fans should, if they haven't already, check this band out immediately.

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Motley Crue - SOLA

I expected a bit of this one after hearing opinions from other folk and I think it is some of their best material for quite a while. There were 1-or-2 songs that didn't do much for me but then there are some killer tracks like the one about the Whiskey.

 

Def Leppard - Songs from the Sparkle Lounge

This one surprised me,... maybe cos my epxectations weren't that high. Their last few efforts have disappointed me abit, but not this time. The impression I got from reviews from others was that this was a very mellow record. I thought most tracks actaully rocked. Maybe what appeals to me is that apart from 1 song (that sounds like queen-like) the tracks are streiahgt forward rock... compred to the last few years where they tried to experiment and failed. One bit that annoyed me was the song that seemd to be five minutes of Cmon Cmon Cmon Baby Cmnon Baby Baby CMon Baby Yeah Cmon Cmon Cmon Baby Cmnon Baby Baby CMon Baby Yeah ... I'm guesisng it's called Cmon.

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One bit that annoyed me was the song that seemd to be five minutes of Cmon Cmon Cmon Baby Cmnon Baby Baby CMon Baby Yeah Cmon Cmon Cmon Baby Cmnon Baby Baby CMon Baby Yeah ... I'm guesisng it's called Cmon.

That's my 4 year old daughter's favorite, so for me with all the repeat plays, it's like twenty-five minutes of Cmon Cmon Cmon Baby Cmnon Baby Baby CMon Baby Yeah Cmon Cmon Cmon Baby Cmnon Baby Baby CMon Baby Yeah...

 

I do agree it's a good album, and not mellow (also not High 'n' Dry or Pyromania, but that ship has sailed). I really like it, it finds it's way into my player even when my daughter's not in the car. :)

 

Also agree with your take on SOLA, good stuff, real good stuff.

 

Disclaimer: the above are my long term views and not "First Spin Impressions" so technically I'm off topic again, so what else is new? :woot:

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STARBREAKER - Love's Dying Wish

 

I've read a lot of complimentary reviews of this one, but my initial impression of this isn't great. Sure the vocals are awesome, as is the production (Tommy Hansen's mix makes this sound amazing), & the guitar work is pretty special too. But the songwriting quality is patchy, there are definitely too many fillers on here - way more so than on the first album. If this has all been as good as the title-track, or opener "End of Alone" then sure this would've been a great disc, but to kill the momentum with a filler located 2 tracks into the album, & then several in a row through the albums mid-section really hits the flow of the album. Though the quality of the guitar/vocals makes even the weakest tracks sound interesting, this really is an opportunity missed to make a great album....

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STARBREAKER - Love's Dying Wish

 

I've read a lot of complimentary reviews of this one, but my initial impression of this isn't great. Sure the vocals are awesome, as is the production (Tommy Hansen's mix makes this sound amazing), & the guitar work is pretty special too. But the songwriting quality is patchy, there are definitely too many fillers on here - way more so than on the first album. If this has all been as good as the title-track, or opener "End of Alone" then sure this would've been a great disc, but to kill the momentum with a filler located 2 tracks into the album, & then several in a row through the albums mid-section really hits the flow of the album. Though the quality of the guitar/vocals makes even the weakest tracks sound interesting, this really is an opportunity missed to make a great album....

 

I've only played half of it so far but something tells me it's gonna be a grower and that's okay with me.

 

I didn't like the new Avantasia much after the first spin but now I can't get the damn cd out of my player and it's one of my top cds of 2008. So if it takes a few spins for the Starbreaker then that's cool with me.

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SLIPKNOT - All Hope Is Gone

 

Actually a decent, & pretty tuneful disc. Usually their lack of songwriting structure & chaotic approach to the songs lets them down big-time, but here it's pretty much just a big riff & some decent tunes with good choruses. Corey's new mask might be more 'The Elephant Man' than 'Freddy Krueger', but the boy done good as his vocals have stepped-up a level on here. Despite the fact that this is a basically a bunch of Middle-Aged men singing teen-rage anthems while wearing boiler-suits & childrens masks, as a collection of songs this is a very good Heavy Metal album IMH(and no doubt lonely)O. :banger:

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7th Heaven - 'USA-UK' ; For some reason there's only about 3 of us in the thread on these guys actually interested in arguably the finest melodic rock release of the year, so just thought I'd bring it here. On the previous 'Silver' release there were 30 songs and many would argue they were all excellent. I thought so for a long while and admit that as time progressed maybe a few of the almost 'dancy' numbers, the heavier numbers and some of the ballads grew a little not-so-good. There was a lot of variety on the disc.

 

However, the guys have returned this time with 12 new songs, all striaght down the line melodic rock bliss. No more 'dancy'-type songs, no more weak sounding heavy metal songs and no more overly sappy ballads. Just straight up melodic rock bliss. All 12 new tracks are simply excellent and this CD is utterly essential, imo.

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7th Heaven - 'USA-UK' ; For some reason there's only about 3 of us in the thread on these guys actually interested in arguably the finest melodic rock release of the year, so just thought I'd bring it here.

 

That's cos you were waffling on about the packaging of it rather than the music quality! I'll check this one out....

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7th Heaven - 'USA-UK' ; For some reason there's only about 3 of us in the thread on these guys actually interested in arguably the finest melodic rock release of the year, so just thought I'd bring it here.

 

That's cos you were waffling on about the packaging of it rather than the music quality! I'll check this one out....

What are you talking about you foolish British man??? :D That atrocious Matt guy was going on about the packaging in the 'What CDs did you buy' thread, I think, but all Chris and myself have been doing in the proper thread is talking about the amazing tunes.

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TRIVIUM - Shogun

 

In a decent but not spectacular year for Metal (only Soufly, Testament, and the new Iced Earth have really hit the heights) this is easily the best Metal album of 2008. Their sound has come full-circle and they're now combining the early aggression with some of the killer hooks from "The Crusade", but the most staggering thing here is the musicianship. Man those guitar solos fucking shred. There are still some commercial numbers here (like the ultra-commercial "The Calamity") - with still plenty of clean vocals - but there is also some utterly devastating Thrash Metal ("Insurrection"). My fave tune is "Kirisute Gomen", which reminds me of "Master of Puppets"-era Metallica. Most "Crusade" fans will hate the closing title-track as it's 11-mins long & is really an exercise is musical show-boating, but the closing solo is incredible. Their best album by a million-miles, and my personal album of the year....

 

P.s. I'm going to see them support SLAYER at Unholy Alliance, so hopefully the SLAYER fans like this new more-aggressive direction (though sure they'll still boo them off stage!)

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SLIPKNOT - All Hope Is Gone

 

Actually a decent, & pretty tuneful disc. Usually their lack of songwriting structure & chaotic approach to the songs lets them down big-time, but here it's pretty much just a big riff & some decent tunes with good choruses. Corey's new mask might be more 'The Elephant Man' than 'Freddy Krueger', but the boy done good as his vocals have stepped-up a level on here. Despite the fact that this is a basically a bunch of Middle-Aged men singing teen-rage anthems while wearing boiler-suits & childrens masks, as a collection of songs this is a very good Heavy Metal album IMH(and no doubt lonely)O. :banger:

 

Youre not completely on your lonesome mate.

 

Well.......its not bad. It definitely starts out well with Corey spitting out the lyrics to 'Gemetria' like a man possessed...this reminded me of the excellence of the debut. The next song 'Sulfur' (spelling? Ed)..is just a little confused and I thought this a few times whilst listening through this album - is Corey losing his/Slipknot's identity? - too much like Stonesour for me. I do like the song 'Psychosocial' tho. Good riff.

 

Things take a dip tho - the next few tracks did little for me esp 'Gehenna'!! Really what is the point of this song? Its just really quite disturbing and almost devoid of any melody..just really awful to listen to. It doesnt kick your arse, it's chorus is weak..just plain bad.

 

However 'This Cold Black' is a different story - this was quite an awesome tune. One of my favs actually. Real Slipknot attitude.

 

Next qu : What place does a song like 'Snuff' have on a slipknot album?? It just doesnt fit for me...especially when you compare it with say 'Fear' or 'Fail' off the new Evergrey album which quite frankly blow it out of the water and leave it sounding flat and dull.

 

Slipknot have had some monster singles over the years...'Duality', 'Before I Forget' etc...but nothing on here comes close to these tunes Im afraid.

 

I suppose overall it was a pretty good listen. Will I spin it again? Probably no - not with the new Evergrey being superior in every department.

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SLIPKNOT - All Hope Is Gone

 

Actually a decent, & pretty tuneful disc. Usually their lack of songwriting structure & chaotic approach to the songs lets them down big-time, but here it's pretty much just a big riff & some decent tunes with good choruses. Corey's new mask might be more 'The Elephant Man' than 'Freddy Krueger', but the boy done good as his vocals have stepped-up a level on here. Despite the fact that this is a basically a bunch of Middle-Aged men singing teen-rage anthems while wearing boiler-suits & childrens masks, as a collection of songs this is a very good Heavy Metal album IMH(and no doubt lonely)O. :banger:

 

Youre not completely on your lonesome mate.

 

Well.......its not bad. It definitely starts out well with Corey spitting out the lyrics to 'Gemetria' like a man possessed...this reminded me of the excellence of the debut. The next song 'Sulfur' (spelling? Ed)..is just a little confused and I thought this a few times whilst listening through this album - is Corey losing his/Slipknot's identity? - too much like Stonesour for me. I do like the song 'Psychosocial' tho. Good riff.

 

Things take a dip tho - the next few tracks did little for me esp 'Gehenna'!! Really what is the point of this song? Its just really quite disturbing and almost devoid of any melody..just really awful to listen to. It doesnt kick your arse, it's chorus is weak..just plain bad.

 

However 'This Cold Black' is a different story - this was quite an awesome tune. One of my favs actually. Real Slipknot attitude.

 

Next qu : What place does a song like 'Snuff' have on a slipknot album?? It just doesnt fit for me...especially when you compare it with say 'Fear' or 'Fail' off the new Evergrey album which quite frankly blow it out of the water and leave it sounding flat and dull.

 

Slipknot have had some monster singles over the years...'Duality', 'Before I Forget' etc...but nothing on here comes close to these tunes Im afraid.

 

I suppose overall it was a pretty good listen. Will I spin it again? Probably no - not with the new Evergrey being superior in every department.

 

I loved "This Cold Black" too, but my real fave was the title-track. Ultra aggressive with blastbeats everywhere, but a killer (very bleak) chorus. I actually think it's a much more tuneful - especially in the vocal department - album than before, which some pretty commercial chorus-lines.

 

Who are Evergrey?!...

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SLIPKNOT - All Hope Is Gone

 

Actually a decent, & pretty tuneful disc. Usually their lack of songwriting structure & chaotic approach to the songs lets them down big-time, but here it's pretty much just a big riff & some decent tunes with good choruses. Corey's new mask might be more 'The Elephant Man' than 'Freddy Krueger', but the boy done good as his vocals have stepped-up a level on here. Despite the fact that this is a basically a bunch of Middle-Aged men singing teen-rage anthems while wearing boiler-suits & childrens masks, as a collection of songs this is a very good Heavy Metal album IMH(and no doubt lonely)O. :banger:

 

Youre not completely on your lonesome mate.

 

Well.......its not bad. It definitely starts out well with Corey spitting out the lyrics to 'Gemetria' like a man possessed...this reminded me of the excellence of the debut. The next song 'Sulfur' (spelling? Ed)..is just a little confused and I thought this a few times whilst listening through this album - is Corey losing his/Slipknot's identity? - too much like Stonesour for me. I do like the song 'Psychosocial' tho. Good riff.

 

Things take a dip tho - the next few tracks did little for me esp 'Gehenna'!! Really what is the point of this song? Its just really quite disturbing and almost devoid of any melody..just really awful to listen to. It doesnt kick your arse, it's chorus is weak..just plain bad.

 

However 'This Cold Black' is a different story - this was quite an awesome tune. One of my favs actually. Real Slipknot attitude.

 

Next qu : What place does a song like 'Snuff' have on a slipknot album?? It just doesnt fit for me...especially when you compare it with say 'Fear' or 'Fail' off the new Evergrey album which quite frankly blow it out of the water and leave it sounding flat and dull.

 

Slipknot have had some monster singles over the years...'Duality', 'Before I Forget' etc...but nothing on here comes close to these tunes Im afraid.

 

I suppose overall it was a pretty good listen. Will I spin it again? Probably no - not with the new Evergrey being superior in every department.

 

 

Who are Evergrey?!...

 

:yikes:

 

Your new favourite band.

 

Seriously their last release 'Monday Morning Apocalypse' is a killer melodic heavy rock album and one of my fav releases from 2006 - you would love it!

 

They changed their style on this release as their previous efforts, whilst all very good, were slightly more progressive and not really my thing.

 

Their new album 'Torn' is due out on 22nd Sept and its killer.

 

You can listen to 'Fail' at their myspace - I love this tune.

 

http://www.myspace.com/officialevergrey

 

(also have a listen to 'A Touch Of Blessing' - this is an awesome earlier tune!).

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SLIPKNOT - All Hope Is Gone

 

Actually a decent, & pretty tuneful disc. Usually their lack of songwriting structure & chaotic approach to the songs lets them down big-time, but here it's pretty much just a big riff & some decent tunes with good choruses. Corey's new mask might be more 'The Elephant Man' than 'Freddy Krueger', but the boy done good as his vocals have stepped-up a level on here. Despite the fact that this is a basically a bunch of Middle-Aged men singing teen-rage anthems while wearing boiler-suits & childrens masks, as a collection of songs this is a very good Heavy Metal album IMH(and no doubt lonely)O. :banger:

 

Youre not completely on your lonesome mate.

 

Well.......its not bad. It definitely starts out well with Corey spitting out the lyrics to 'Gemetria' like a man possessed...this reminded me of the excellence of the debut. The next song 'Sulfur' (spelling? Ed)..is just a little confused and I thought this a few times whilst listening through this album - is Corey losing his/Slipknot's identity? - too much like Stonesour for me. I do like the song 'Psychosocial' tho. Good riff.

 

Things take a dip tho - the next few tracks did little for me esp 'Gehenna'!! Really what is the point of this song? Its just really quite disturbing and almost devoid of any melody..just really awful to listen to. It doesnt kick your arse, it's chorus is weak..just plain bad.

 

However 'This Cold Black' is a different story - this was quite an awesome tune. One of my favs actually. Real Slipknot attitude.

 

Next qu : What place does a song like 'Snuff' have on a slipknot album?? It just doesnt fit for me...especially when you compare it with say 'Fear' or 'Fail' off the new Evergrey album which quite frankly blow it out of the water and leave it sounding flat and dull.

 

Slipknot have had some monster singles over the years...'Duality', 'Before I Forget' etc...but nothing on here comes close to these tunes Im afraid.

 

I suppose overall it was a pretty good listen. Will I spin it again? Probably no - not with the new Evergrey being superior in every department.

 

 

Who are Evergrey?!...

 

:yikes:

 

Your new favourite band.

 

Seriously their last release 'Monday Morning Apocalypse' is a killer melodic heavy rock album and one of my fav releases from 2006 - you would love it!

 

They changed their style on this release as their previous efforts, whilst all very good, were slightly more progressive and not really my thing.

 

Their new album 'Torn' is due out on 22nd Sept and its killer.

 

You can listen to 'Fail' at their myspace - I love this tune.

 

http://www.myspace.com/officialevergrey

 

(also have a listen to 'A Touch Of Blessing' - this is an awesome earlier tune!).

Do I check out these Everygrey guys too? I'm interested by your love for them, but will they be my cup of tea?

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DREAMTIDE - Dream and Deliver

 

Despite my love of Fair Warning I never really warmed to Dreamtide (despite they fact they share half the musicians). Overly long songs and a shockingly bad sound-quality always ruined their material for me, and all of that is the case here. The songs are fairly well written and this isn't a bad listen from beginning to end, but it's just that it's so far short of even the weakest Fair Warning album ("Brothers Keeper") and even most of Zeno's catalogue. In fact the production - especially the mix - is absolutely appalling, totally unacceptable in 2008. You can scarcely hear the vocals....

 

If the idea of a poorly-produced set of Fair Warning b-sides without that bands biggest asset (vocalist Tommy Heart) sounds appealing then snap this up, otherwise wait for the new F.W album & hope it's better than the last one....

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DREAMTIDE - Dream and Deliver

 

Despite my love of Fair Warning I never really warmed to Dreamtide (despite they fact they share half the musicians). Overly long songs and a shockingly bad sound-quality always ruined their material for me, and all of that is the case here. The songs are fairly well written and this isn't a bad listen from beginning to end, but it's just that it's so far short of even the weakest Fair Warning album ("Brothers Keeper") and even most of Zeno's catalogue. In fact the production - especially the mix - is absolutely appalling, totally unacceptable in 2008. You can scarcely hear the vocals....

 

If the idea of a poorly-produced set of Fair Warning b-sides without that bands biggest asset (vocalist Tommy Heart) sounds appealing then snap this up, otherwise wait for the new F.W album & hope it's better than the last one....

 

Have you read this review, Tim ? A totally different reading experience:

 

 

Since the last album, „Dreams For The Daring“, was released five years ago and FAIR WARNING celebrated their reunion it seemed unclear if DREAMTIDE would have a future. In particularly because members Helge Engelke (guitars), Thorsten Lüderwaldt (keyboards) and CC Behrens (drums) still fill important positions in FAIR WARNING. However, completed by singer Olaf Senkbeil and new bass-player Francis Buchholz (ex-SCORPIONS) the band now finally delivers a new longplayer. „Dream And Deliver“ has become the band's best album to date and is even better than FAIR WARNING's last album, „Brother's Keeper“. The stylistic differences between DREAMTIDE and FAIR WARNING or ZENO have never been that big and mainly resulted from the different voices of Olaf Senkbeil and Tommy Heart or Michael Flexig respectively. Olaf Senkbeil delivered some improved lead vocals to the new record, just as the complete band delivered a very strong performance. The new songs sound a bit straighter, but still have their certain something, for example Helge Engelke's unique guitar-playing that very much defines the sound of DREAMTIDE and makes the band stand out from the masses of other Melodic Roc bands. The album's highlights are the almost poppy „Same Star“, the detailfully arranged „Your Beat“, the very emotional and outstanding ballad „Dancing When The Night Falls“, the pompous „Download A Dream“, the rocking „To Everybody“, the mystic „The Vow“ and „Help Me“ which reminds me a bit of nowadays' SCORPIONS. The other songs on „Dream And Deliver“ sound very good too and make this a highly recommended album for the fans of FAIR WARNING and ZENO!

 

MARCO SPÄTH

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DREAMTIDE - Dream and Deliver

 

Despite my love of Fair Warning I never really warmed to Dreamtide (despite they fact they share half the musicians). Overly long songs and a shockingly bad sound-quality always ruined their material for me, and all of that is the case here. The songs are fairly well written and this isn't a bad listen from beginning to end, but it's just that it's so far short of even the weakest Fair Warning album ("Brothers Keeper") and even most of Zeno's catalogue. In fact the production - especially the mix - is absolutely appalling, totally unacceptable in 2008. You can scarcely hear the vocals....

 

If the idea of a poorly-produced set of Fair Warning b-sides without that bands biggest asset (vocalist Tommy Heart) sounds appealing then snap this up, otherwise wait for the new F.W album & hope it's better than the last one....

 

Have you read this review, Tim ? A totally different reading experience:

 

 

Since the last album, „Dreams For The Daring“, was released five years ago and FAIR WARNING celebrated their reunion it seemed unclear if DREAMTIDE would have a future. In particularly because members Helge Engelke (guitars), Thorsten Lüderwaldt (keyboards) and CC Behrens (drums) still fill important positions in FAIR WARNING. However, completed by singer Olaf Senkbeil and new bass-player Francis Buchholz (ex-SCORPIONS) the band now finally delivers a new longplayer. „Dream And Deliver“ has become the band's best album to date and is even better than FAIR WARNING's last album, „Brother's Keeper“. The stylistic differences between DREAMTIDE and FAIR WARNING or ZENO have never been that big and mainly resulted from the different voices of Olaf Senkbeil and Tommy Heart or Michael Flexig respectively. Olaf Senkbeil delivered some improved lead vocals to the new record, just as the complete band delivered a very strong performance. The new songs sound a bit straighter, but still have their certain something, for example Helge Engelke's unique guitar-playing that very much defines the sound of DREAMTIDE and makes the band stand out from the masses of other Melodic Roc bands. The album's highlights are the almost poppy „Same Star“, the detailfully arranged „Your Beat“, the very emotional and outstanding ballad „Dancing When The Night Falls“, the pompous „Download A Dream“, the rocking „To Everybody“, the mystic „The Vow“ and „Help Me“ which reminds me a bit of nowadays' SCORPIONS. The other songs on „Dream And Deliver“ sound very good too and make this a highly recommended album for the fans of FAIR WARNING and ZENO!

 

MARCO SPÄTH

 

Doesn't Marco Spath work for AOR Heaven, who are the bands label? I agree that the guitar playing is good, very good in fact. So are some of the keyboards on this. And it sounds a little bit like the Scorpions (presumably as a member of that band is now in Dreamtide) in places, but to not mention the horrific production is missing the most obvious thing about this album. Frankly the vocals (which you can hardly hear due to the abysmal mix) on this just cannot touch Heart's delivery on any of the 5 Fair Warning albums, and the song material is patchy at best....

 

So in summary:-

 

Better than "Dreams for the Daring"? NO

Better than any of the 5 Fair Warning albums? ARE YOU HAVING A LAUGH?

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It Bites - The Tall Ships

 

First studio disc in nearly 20 years and what a comeback. I was a little worried what this would sound like, as it doesn't feature mainman Francis Dunnery, but John Mitchell has stepped in here and does a mighty fine job playing and producing. Initial thoughts are that this is prime time It Bites with no real change to their style or sound at all, which is great news. In fact, this could have been recorded a couple of years after 'Eat Me In St. Louis' and you wouldn't know, except a few production tweaks and Mitchells's input. All the bands trademarks are there from the typical keys, to Mitchells guitars, which sound scarily like Dunnery's at times. Songs are of a real high standard as usual and I can't find any fillers in here at all. Nearly 70 minutes of excellent, intelligently played rock music, with shorter 4-5 minute tracks and the 13 minute epic 'This Is England' to close out the disc. The boys are back in town and boy am I glad they are - FANTASTIC.

 

I´ve always thought that the "old" It Bites were a little bit underestimated. They always fell into this kind of "pop" category (ie "Calling All The Heroes") but there was so much more than meets the eye. I have all the previous releases but not the new one. If the new one is as good as the other releases, this must be a killer.

 

Taking it from you Jez, you seriously recommend it? ;)

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Taking it from you Jez, you seriously recommend it? ;)

 

Damn good question ! :drink: Jez ??

 

Btw: Where did you get it from, Jez ? It is not released yet .....

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Taking it from you Jez, you seriously recommend it? ;)

 

Damn good question ! :drink: Jez ??

 

Btw: Where did you get it from, Jez ? It is not released yet .....

Planned to be released in October......maybe Jez has got an advance/promo copy.... :popcorn:

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Taking it from you Jez, you seriously recommend it? ;)

 

Damn good question ! :drink: Jez ??

 

Btw: Where did you get it from, Jez ? It is not released yet .....

Planned to be released in October......maybe Jez has got an advance/promo copy.... :popcorn:

 

 

Damn I love this band.

 

The new It Bites is awesome guys - It is commercially released in October. I got an advance copy (nice digipack), but it seems they aren't doing them anymore, so you will have to wait a few more weeks. It will be worth the wait as it is a brilliant disc and right up there with the best of this year.

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It Bites - The Tall Ships

 

First studio disc in nearly 20 years and what a comeback. I was a little worried what this would sound like, as it doesn't feature mainman Francis Dunnery, but John Mitchell has stepped in here and does a mighty fine job playing and producing. Initial thoughts are that this is prime time It Bites with no real change to their style or sound at all, which is great news. In fact, this could have been recorded a couple of years after 'Eat Me In St. Louis' and you wouldn't know, except a few production tweaks and Mitchells's input. All the bands trademarks are there from the typical keys, to Mitchells guitars, which sound scarily like Dunnery's at times. Songs are of a real high standard as usual and I can't find any fillers in here at all. Nearly 70 minutes of excellent, intelligently played rock music, with shorter 4-5 minute tracks and the 13 minute epic 'This Is England' to close out the disc. The boys are back in town and boy am I glad they are - FANTASTIC.

 

I´ve always thought that the "old" It Bites were a little bit underestimated. They always fell into this kind of "pop" category (ie "Calling All The Heroes") but there was so much more than meets the eye. I have all the previous releases but not the new one. If the new one is as good as the other releases, this must be a killer.

 

Taking it from you Jez, you seriously recommend it? ;)

 

One of the most underrated bands ever if you ask me. They had minor success over here with the debut album, but then fell off the radar. A real shame as I consider 'Once Around The World' as one of THE best albums ever to be released from this country (yes - That good). They were an awesome live band aswell and have put on some of the best shows I have ever seen a live band do. A shame Francis Dunnery quit, but believe me, new guy John Mitchell fills his shoes very well indeed. I wasn't expecting too much from this disc, but believe me, it is fantastic. :drink:

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DREAMTIDE - Dream and Deliver

 

Despite my love of Fair Warning I never really warmed to Dreamtide (despite they fact they share half the musicians). Overly long songs and a shockingly bad sound-quality always ruined their material for me, and all of that is the case here. The songs are fairly well written and this isn't a bad listen from beginning to end, but it's just that it's so far short of even the weakest Fair Warning album ("Brothers Keeper") and even most of Zeno's catalogue. In fact the production - especially the mix - is absolutely appalling, totally unacceptable in 2008. You can scarcely hear the vocals....

 

If the idea of a poorly-produced set of Fair Warning b-sides without that bands biggest asset (vocalist Tommy Heart) sounds appealing then snap this up, otherwise wait for the new F.W album & hope it's better than the last one....

 

Have you read this review, Tim ? A totally different reading experience:

 

 

Since the last album, „Dreams For The Daring“, was released five years ago and FAIR WARNING celebrated their reunion it seemed unclear if DREAMTIDE would have a future. In particularly because members Helge Engelke (guitars), Thorsten Lüderwaldt (keyboards) and CC Behrens (drums) still fill important positions in FAIR WARNING. However, completed by singer Olaf Senkbeil and new bass-player Francis Buchholz (ex-SCORPIONS) the band now finally delivers a new longplayer. „Dream And Deliver“ has become the band's best album to date and is even better than FAIR WARNING's last album, „Brother's Keeper“. The stylistic differences between DREAMTIDE and FAIR WARNING or ZENO have never been that big and mainly resulted from the different voices of Olaf Senkbeil and Tommy Heart or Michael Flexig respectively. Olaf Senkbeil delivered some improved lead vocals to the new record, just as the complete band delivered a very strong performance. The new songs sound a bit straighter, but still have their certain something, for example Helge Engelke's unique guitar-playing that very much defines the sound of DREAMTIDE and makes the band stand out from the masses of other Melodic Roc bands. The album's highlights are the almost poppy „Same Star“, the detailfully arranged „Your Beat“, the very emotional and outstanding ballad „Dancing When The Night Falls“, the pompous „Download A Dream“, the rocking „To Everybody“, the mystic „The Vow“ and „Help Me“ which reminds me a bit of nowadays' SCORPIONS. The other songs on „Dream And Deliver“ sound very good too and make this a highly recommended album for the fans of FAIR WARNING and ZENO!

 

MARCO SPÄTH

I actually think Tim was being overly generous. That can be forgiven due to his love for Fair Warning, but as an outsider I thought it was close to utter crap. So bland and lifeless. There wasn't a single song that made me interested for a moment.

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ELEVENER - When Colleidoscopes Collide

 

This is the guy from M.I.L.L.I.O.N, finally doing something worthwhile with his time. It's ultra-lite Euro AOR, very similar to things like STREET TALK, which is definitely worth a listen for anyone who loved that bands "V" album. For me it's just a bit too forgettable, no huge hooks just a lot of lush keys & harmony vocals. And it does have two major problems, some pretty godawful lyrics & some even worse vocals. This could've sounded good with a Goran Edman up-front, but instead the guy gives this a westcoast feel with his rich but totally-lacking-in-range vocals. Joseph Williams he is not. If you can look past the issues then it's probably worth a listen, but it isn't from the same planet as other 2008 AOR like: Journey/Brother Firetribe/Work of Art....

 

2008 is turning out to be a great year for quality AOR releases, as TIM mentions above, The magnificent Work Of Art disc, as well as Khymera, Journey, Myland and now this little beauty.

 

This is ultra smooth AOR of the highest order and whilst TIM mentions Street Talk as a good example, I would say that this is a little more varied songwise. I noted that Geoff didn't really like the vocals on here as well, but for me they are far from terrible. Granted not the best vocalist ever and as TIM says he does lack a bit range, but they sound absolutely fine for me and didn't stand out as being a problem at all. I have heard a hell of a lot worse on this type of release for sure.

Lots of memorable moments on here including,'All I Did' 'Her Eyes' 'All Of My Life' and 'There She Goes'. Overall sound is nicely produced, Bucketloads of keys without overdoing them, some nice song arrangements and for me, even after a couple of spins, penty of hooks throughout that I have been humming all morning.

So for me, a must have disc for all the AOR mafia guys and gals and whilst it won't overtake Work Of Art come years end, it will be right behind it, snapping at it's mighty heels.

A big thumbs up from me.

 

I have spinning this one quite a few times in the last 2 days, and I am confessing to liking it quite a bit. Not really surprising, is it ?!?! ;) Tim's comparison with Street Talk is spot on, I think. I don't hear what's wrong with the vocals, though. It is not like Goran Edman or Joseph Williams, sure, but they are a lot better than those from Myland, imo. At least Johan can hold the notes and doesn't miss most of them.

All in all a big thumbs up from me, as well !

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ELEVENER - When Colleidoscopes Collide

 

This is the guy from M.I.L.L.I.O.N, finally doing something worthwhile with his time. It's ultra-lite Euro AOR, very similar to things like STREET TALK, which is definitely worth a listen for anyone who loved that bands "V" album. For me it's just a bit too forgettable, no huge hooks just a lot of lush keys & harmony vocals. And it does have two major problems, some pretty godawful lyrics & some even worse vocals. This could've sounded good with a Goran Edman up-front, but instead the guy gives this a westcoast feel with his rich but totally-lacking-in-range vocals. Joseph Williams he is not. If you can look past the issues then it's probably worth a listen, but it isn't from the same planet as other 2008 AOR like: Journey/Brother Firetribe/Work of Art....

 

2008 is turning out to be a great year for quality AOR releases, as TIM mentions above, The magnificent Work Of Art disc, as well as Khymera, Journey, Myland and now this little beauty.

 

This is ultra smooth AOR of the highest order and whilst TIM mentions Street Talk as a good example, I would say that this is a little more varied songwise. I noted that Geoff didn't really like the vocals on here as well, but for me they are far from terrible. Granted not the best vocalist ever and as TIM says he does lack a bit range, but they sound absolutely fine for me and didn't stand out as being a problem at all. I have heard a hell of a lot worse on this type of release for sure.

Lots of memorable moments on here including,'All I Did' 'Her Eyes' 'All Of My Life' and 'There She Goes'. Overall sound is nicely produced, Bucketloads of keys without overdoing them, some nice song arrangements and for me, even after a couple of spins, penty of hooks throughout that I have been humming all morning.

So for me, a must have disc for all the AOR mafia guys and gals and whilst it won't overtake Work Of Art come years end, it will be right behind it, snapping at it's mighty heels.

A big thumbs up from me.

 

I have spinning this one quite a few times in the last 2 days, and I am confessing to liking it quite a bit. Not really surprising, is it ?!?! ;) Tim's comparison with Street Talk is spot on, I think. I don't hear what's wrong with the vocals, though. It is not like Goran Edman or Joseph Williams, sure, but they are a lot better than those from Myland, imo. At least Johan can hold the notes and doesn't miss most of them.

All in all a big thumbs up from me, as well !

 

The problem with the vocals is that he just sounds a bit weird sometimes....like a demented Gregg Rolie. It didnt bother me that much either tho as the songs are pretty good overall.

 

As Tim said tho - could have done with a few more killer hooks.

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