First Spin Impressions

[heaven&hell]

Hell N Diesel - PASSION FOR POWER

No frills, old fashioned sleazy hard rock here. Nothing new or original but it's played well. The singer reminds me a bit of Stephen Shareaux (sp?) from Kik Tracee. The album is let down somewhat by the cheap sounding recording but otherwise, not bad at all. (Thanx Wes!)

 

Trust me it sounds muuuuuuuch better on a real cd than a cdr.

I was really suprised on how well it sounded when I got the cd from Amazon.

I never really heard Stephen's voice but I guess I see your point.

Have I mentioned how much ass I think this cd kicks?

[Fat Freddy]

Hell N Diesel - PASSION FOR POWER

No frills, old fashioned sleazy hard rock here. Nothing new or original but it's played well. The singer reminds me a bit of Stephen Shareaux (sp?) from Kik Tracee. The album is let down somewhat by the cheap sounding recording but otherwise, not bad at all. (Thanx Wes!)

 

Trust me it sounds muuuuuuuch better on a real cd than a cdr.

I was really suprised on how well it sounded when I got the cd from Amazon.

I never really heard Stephen's voice but I guess I see your point.

Have I mentioned how much ass I think this cd kicks?

 

Ya, it ain't bad. Giving it another spin in a little while.

[heaven&hell]

Mark Boals - 'Edge of the world' ; I just honestly don't understand why this guy records solo CDs when so many better bands can often not get their CDs out there. I really quite like that Billionaire Boy's Club CD, but this is the 2nd solo CD from him I have tried. And it just sucks. It really does. Playing is okay, vocals are okay, songs are pretty solid, but the CD is just crap. It's one of those CDs where a good band could have taken about 7 or 8 songs straight off this CD, recorded them in their style, and made them great. As they are here... just average, sloppy and hookless delivery. The songs are kind of there... everything else just isn't. This CD bored me to tears and I skipped the 2nd half of the majority of the songs. Last song was the best... of a poor bunch.

 

If you don't want it you can mail it to me.

[Jez]

Balance - Equilibrium

 

Some of the songs on here are really really good, make that REALLY good and were written for the follow up to the mighty 'In For The Count' album and you can really tell. Stylewise, this is 100% Balance, from Kulick's guitar (which sounds excellent) throught to Peppy Castro's unmistakable voice. I heard that the production on this new one was really bad, but after two initial spins, it isn't too bad at all, I think the worst culprit here is the drum sound and generally muddy mix, It's not great admittedly, but I have heard alot worse in recent times to be honest and it certainly didn't ruin my enjoyment of it. Complaints have also been aimed towards Peppy Castro's vocals, and whilst I agree he doesn't have the voice he used to (who does nearly 30 years down the line), He still sounds ok to my ears - I think some of the reviews are being a little harsh to be honest (or more than likely, the person hasn't heard the whole thing & judging a whole album on a couple of soundbytes and giving their 'expert' opinion, as is norm for certain people. Overall, thankfully, this is really a good album and not the disaster I have been reading about. It would have been great to have had the mega production of their previous 2 discs, which would have given this higher marks overall, but as it is, this is a disc that I really am going to be playing for a long while to come.

 

Don't necessarily believe what you read.

[heaven&hell]

Hell N Diesel - PASSION FOR POWER

No frills, old fashioned sleazy hard rock here. Nothing new or original but it's played well. The singer reminds me a bit of Stephen Shareaux (sp?) from Kik Tracee. The album is let down somewhat by the cheap sounding recording but otherwise, not bad at all. (Thanx Wes!)

 

Trust me it sounds muuuuuuuch better on a real cd than a cdr.

I was really suprised on how well it sounded when I got the cd from Amazon.

I never really heard Stephen's voice but I guess I see your point.

Have I mentioned how much ass I think this cd kicks?

 

Ya, it ain't bad. Giving it another spin in a little while.

 

Just my opinion but I think it buries the last Crashdiet cd.

[Geoff]

Mark Boals - 'Edge of the world' ; I just honestly don't understand why this guy records solo CDs when so many better bands can often not get their CDs out there. I really quite like that Billionaire Boy's Club CD, but this is the 2nd solo CD from him I have tried. And it just sucks. It really does. Playing is okay, vocals are okay, songs are pretty solid, but the CD is just crap. It's one of those CDs where a good band could have taken about 7 or 8 songs straight off this CD, recorded them in their style, and made them great. As they are here... just average, sloppy and hookless delivery. The songs are kind of there... everything else just isn't. This CD bored me to tears and I skipped the 2nd half of the majority of the songs. Last song was the best... of a poor bunch.

 

If you don't want it you can mail it to me.

It will 100% definitely be on my next trade list which I'm hoping dearly to prepare completely tonight, so hopefully you have one of my wants and we can trade like party animals.

 

Freestate - 'Surrender' ; random $2 CD I picked up the other day from a local Melbourne band. The first couple of songs are pretty cool, with a kick-ass solo on the second track, but then track 3-7 start getting a little tiring. Slow-paced modern rock with nice melodies in the choruses, but not enough to save me skipping after the second chorus... until track 8 comes along. And then 9, 10 and 11. Four uptempo modern hard rock tunes in a row, with a faint Harem Scarem vibe that really truly impressed me. The last two tracks were so-so again (minus a killer riff on the album closer) but I'm happy with the purchase. I don't know who made the final decision on the track running order - because plain and simply they f*cked up. But seriously not a bad CD at all.

[Geoff]

Hell N Diesel - PASSION FOR POWER

No frills, old fashioned sleazy hard rock here. Nothing new or original but it's played well. The singer reminds me a bit of Stephen Shareaux (sp?) from Kik Tracee. The album is let down somewhat by the cheap sounding recording but otherwise, not bad at all. (Thanx Wes!)

 

Trust me it sounds muuuuuuuch better on a real cd than a cdr.

I was really suprised on how well it sounded when I got the cd from Amazon.

I never really heard Stephen's voice but I guess I see your point.

Have I mentioned how much ass I think this cd kicks?

 

Ya, it ain't bad. Giving it another spin in a little while.

 

Just my opinion but I think it buries the last Crashdiet cd.

Really? Wow. I like it but I'd still take Crashdiet over it.

[heaven&hell]

Hell N Diesel - PASSION FOR POWER

No frills, old fashioned sleazy hard rock here. Nothing new or original but it's played well. The singer reminds me a bit of Stephen Shareaux (sp?) from Kik Tracee. The album is let down somewhat by the cheap sounding recording but otherwise, not bad at all. (Thanx Wes!)

 

Trust me it sounds muuuuuuuch better on a real cd than a cdr.

I was really suprised on how well it sounded when I got the cd from Amazon.

I never really heard Stephen's voice but I guess I see your point.

Have I mentioned how much ass I think this cd kicks?

 

Ya, it ain't bad. Giving it another spin in a little while.

 

Just my opinion but I think it buries the last Crashdiet cd.

Really? Wow. I like it but I'd still take Crashdiet over it.

 

I love the debut from Crashdiet and even the last one was very very good but the Hell N Diesel shit all over it IMO. It was just sleazier album.

[Dead Planet]

John Ford...............Bullets For Dreamers

 

Wasn't expecting much from this one and I picked it up cheap......got to say it is a decent hard rocker but it probably won't get a lot of airtime on my CD player.....

[Dead Planet]

Frontline...................Right Attitude

 

I listened to 'The State of Rock' and I wasn't impressed but this one does impress...more than enough to get me to pick up more of their releases.....

[Stefan]

Just listened to the new Sonic Syndicate disc. I don't know, not really my cup of tea. A couple of good songs, My Escape the killer tune here, but not as good as I thought it would be. Must spin it a couple of times to see if I'm gonna change my mind....

 

To be honest, I doubt it.

[Blue Charvel]

Frontline...................Right Attitude

 

I listened to 'The State of Rock' and I wasn't impressed but this one does impress...more than enough to get me to pick up more of their releases.....

Well worth it, GREAT band!

[Geoff]

Frontline...................Right Attitude

 

I listened to 'The State of Rock' and I wasn't impressed but this one does impress...more than enough to get me to pick up more of their releases.....

Well worth it, GREAT band!

'State of rock' was also the first Frontline album I heard and while I was bowled over by 'It's not over' the rest of the album didn't really hit me in the right place. Every other album since has knocked my balls sideways within my ballsack.

 

Winter Parade - 'Two' ; Impressive. Better than the debut and a really good solid melodic rock album. Looking forward to more spins, but I am definitely impressed. I would love a beefier production job, though.

 

Gary Hughes - 'Veritas' ; Not bad at all. I was one of the biggest player haters towards the end of Ten's eventually tiring run as a band... but I don't know... maybe a part of me doesn't mind the sound in moderation. Maybe it was just overkill at the time. Because this is basically 100% a Ten-sounding album and I don't mind it. I'll need to spin it again, but there were some good songs on this. I heard some bad stuff too, but on first impressions I think I prefer this to both the last two Ten albums.

[glam_junkie]

Hell N Diesel - PASSION FOR POWER

No frills, old fashioned sleazy hard rock here. Nothing new or original but it's played well. The singer reminds me a bit of Stephen Shareaux (sp?) from Kik Tracee. The album is let down somewhat by the cheap sounding recording but otherwise, not bad at all. (Thanx Wes!)

 

Trust me it sounds muuuuuuuch better on a real cd than a cdr.

I was really suprised on how well it sounded when I got the cd from Amazon.

I never really heard Stephen's voice but I guess I see your point.

Have I mentioned how much ass I think this cd kicks?

 

Ya, it ain't bad. Giving it another spin in a little while.

 

Just my opinion but I think it buries the last Crashdiet cd.

Really? Wow. I like it but I'd still take Crashdiet over it.

 

I love the debut from Crashdiet and even the last one was very very good but the Hell N Diesel shit all over it IMO. It was just sleazier album.

 

I can't see why people continually compare the 2. IMO they are completely different ... not even in the same genre. Hell N Diesel is more dirty sleazy rock if I recall correctly, whereas Crashdiet is melodic glam. It's like comapring Backyard Babies to Crazy Lixx.

[heaven&hell]

Hell N Diesel - PASSION FOR POWER

No frills, old fashioned sleazy hard rock here. Nothing new or original but it's played well. The singer reminds me a bit of Stephen Shareaux (sp?) from Kik Tracee. The album is let down somewhat by the cheap sounding recording but otherwise, not bad at all. (Thanx Wes!)

 

Trust me it sounds muuuuuuuch better on a real cd than a cdr.

I was really suprised on how well it sounded when I got the cd from Amazon.

I never really heard Stephen's voice but I guess I see your point.

Have I mentioned how much ass I think this cd kicks?

 

Ya, it ain't bad. Giving it another spin in a little while.

 

Just my opinion but I think it buries the last Crashdiet cd.

Really? Wow. I like it but I'd still take Crashdiet over it.

 

I love the debut from Crashdiet and even the last one was very very good but the Hell N Diesel shit all over it IMO. It was just sleazier album.

 

I can't see why people continually compare the 2. IMO they are completely different ... not even in the same genre. Hell N Diesel is more dirty sleazy rock if I recall correctly, whereas Crashdiet is melodic glam. It's like comapring Backyard Babies to Crazy Lixx.

 

Well to be honest I don't think they sound that much alike but the reason I used them to as a comparable was that there from the same area and get lumped in as the same scene plus Keith was familiar with the Crashdiet cd.

[heaven&hell]

Steelheart - Good 2B Alive

 

There's a lot to absorb on this disc. I'm glad I knew going in that it didn't sound anything like the first two releases and was more similar to the 'Wait' disc. So far there's quite a few songs I like and Mili/Mike's voice is awesome as usual but with it being so different it does take some getting used to and I don't expect to know if I fully love it or hate it until I give it 5 or 6 full spins. From the first spin it's very Zeppelin influenced and it's very heavy in places as well.

[KarpetRydOFunk]

Steelheart - Good 2B Alive

 

There's a lot to absorb on this disc. I'm glad I knew going in that it didn't sound anything like the first two releases and was more similar to the 'Wait' disc. So far there's quite a few songs I like and Mili/Mike's voice is awesome as usual but with it being so different it does take some getting used to and I don't expect to know if I fully love it or hate it until I give it 5 or 6 full spins. From the first spin it's very Zeppelin influenced and it's very heavy in places as well.

I like discs that take a while to grow, but you don't put aside 'cause you know there's something good there! They usually become favourites.

[TIM (2)]

ROBIN BECK - Trouble or Nothin' +4 (20th Anniversary Edition)

 

A completely re-recorded (with the House of Lords band) version of Beck's classic debut album, apparently made due to fan feedback. Or maybe James Christian told her to do it. Either way I pretty much dislike everything about this disc. On paper it's a good idea, modern production, slightly beefier sound, glossier packaging, 4 new songs (written by Tommy Denander).... but the finished product is weaker than the original in every respect. The packaging looks cheap, the production is less polished than the original, Beck's vocals certainly are nowhere near as good, & the new songs add nothing whatsoever. In fact, messing with a classic album by adding new songs with no quality control just spoils the whole listening experience IMO. To be fair, they haven't messed a whole lot with the originals, as the arrangements are the same & there's very little difference in the overall sound, so therefore no real reason to buy this if you already have the original....

[Blue Charvel]

Steelheart - Good 2B Alive

 

There's a lot to absorb on this disc. I'm glad I knew going in that it didn't sound anything like the first two releases and was more similar to the 'Wait' disc. So far there's quite a few songs I like and Mili/Mike's voice is awesome as usual but with it being so different it does take some getting used to and I don't expect to know if I fully love it or hate it until I give it 5 or 6 full spins. From the first spin it's very Zeppelin influenced and it's very heavy in places as well.

I like discs that take a while to grow, but you don't put aside 'cause you know there's something good there! They usually become favourites.

Truth.

[heaven&hell]

Steelheart - Good 2B Alive

 

There's a lot to absorb on this disc. I'm glad I knew going in that it didn't sound anything like the first two releases and was more similar to the 'Wait' disc. So far there's quite a few songs I like and Mili/Mike's voice is awesome as usual but with it being so different it does take some getting used to and I don't expect to know if I fully love it or hate it until I give it 5 or 6 full spins. From the first spin it's very Zeppelin influenced and it's very heavy in places as well.

I like discs that take a while to grow, but you don't put aside 'cause you know there's something good there! They usually become favourites.

Truth.

 

Well after a few spins of the the Steelheart I actually really like it, sure it's different and sure it probably shouldn't be called Steelheart, but damn I really dig it.

[heaven&hell]

Cruella D'ville - Showdown in Tinseltown

 

Another great release from Suncity that's somewhere between Melodic Hard Rock and Melodic Metal. The first 4 tracks were produced by former Savatage bassist Keith Collins. There's some really good stuff on this one like "Room Without a View", Your Eyes", "Engines Burning", "Change" and "The Storm".

 

Fashion Police - Callin' All the Shots

 

A solid hard rock album that has much in common with many bands that came out of L.A. in the late 80's.

Not every song is perfect and the production is not great but considering it most likely was done on the cheap and was recorded back in 91/92 then it's not that bad. My fav songs so far are "Alone/Together"(this one should of been huge at radio if it came a few years earlier), "Feels So Good"(this one has an awesome chorus), the punky "Rich and Famous" and "Perfect Life". This one has 3 bonus tracks and all are good especially the fun "Smoke Pot".

[heaven&hell]

Slash Puppet - No Strings Attached

 

This disc is hands down the best cd I've heard from the Sun City label so far. I really like this band a lot with so many great tunes on this 8 track disc such as "Slow Down". The only down side to this one is there is only 8 songs but all 8 are great so that makes up for it.

 

 

Road Ratt - You Love Us

 

This one is probably gonna take a few spins to really sink in since it's a little different compared to some of the other Sun City releases I've heard. Most descreptions of this band usually mention Saigon Kick which sounds great but besides a few songs I don't hear as much SK. There are some really good tunes on this one but as I said above I think it's gonna take a few spins for me to decide if I like this one of love it.

[heaven&hell]

Rob Rock - Garden of Chaos

 

Some good Melodic Metal on this one with some great tunes such as the title track, "Savior's Call", "This Time is the Last Time", "Spirit in the Sky", the nice ballad "Unconditional" and the kind of out of place Helloween meets Stratovarius influenced "Millennial Reign". Good stuff.

[Geoff]

Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - 'Lonely Road' ; not bad at all. Cool hard rock start to the disc and it settles into a nice album, with good solid songs. But nothing really stood out for me on this one. I like the debut and based on first spins I'd call that better than this, but we'll see how I go. Not too bad.

[aMetalhead1966]

I Got A Few Discs from Keef...A TROO METTLE WARRIOR....Thanks Bro..

 

Jizzy Pearl-Vegas Must Die. Really good sleaze sound much like Love/Hate..In

fact I think it's much more cohesive than the latter... stand out tracks

being True Love,Little Dancer and Lies..Really digging this one.

 

Circle II Circle-Delusions Of Grandeur...No Delusions here...this

F*cker Kicks ASS. A Band I have often overlooked..My Mistake...There isn't a

Bad song on here..and ther sound is HUGE...Dead Of Dawn and Soul Breaker

Really Standing out...CHOICE!!

 

Jon Oliva's Pain-Global Warming- As with Circle II Circle, this was

also a band that always seemed to slip by me..Being a HUGE fan of Savatage, I

didn't want to get my hopes up, well no need to worry as this is a Killer Slab

of GREAT Music.. as with C II C,Jon writes/cowrites all of the music...and

you know he'll deliver...Stand out Tracks are..Adding The Cost, Firefly and The Ride