First Spin Impressions

[heaven&hell]

Jones Street: "Dancin' With the Devil"

 

If you're jonesin' for some attitude-laced, sleaze-fueled hair-metal, then this band is for you, the kind of hard rockin' stuff that was blasting from every stereo back in the 80s. Fans of McQueen Street, Roxy Blue, Jesse Strange, Wildside, Southgang, and bands of that ilk should find plenty to gleefully dance about here. With swaggering guitars, some badass riffs, liberal use of backing vocals, and a production style that is neither too raw nor too polished, this album should appeal to a lots of folks 'round these parts. People are having a devil of a time getting their hands on this, but once they do, the listening experience is pretty heavenly.

 

Backed.

[heaven&hell]

Leige Lord-Master Control

 

Wow these guys rock. A classic metal band from the 80's that I somehow missed back in the day. The singer on this one kind of has a Bruce Dickinson sound and overall this is a damn good Classic meets Thrash Metal album.

[Geoff]

Brother Firetribe - Heart Full of Fire

 

...seems like just about everybody loves this...upon slapping it into the player and giving a listen, sadly I don't share that love. Flawless production, big hooks, but damned if there aren't WAY too many soft edges and rounded corners. Nothing's really grabbing me with this one....where's the heart? It feels like everything's being dragged down, almost like the tempo's too slow, but I think it's just because they spent WAY too much time getting it "just so." As a result I find no technical fault with it, and yet it's still missing something so very important.

YES! I am no longer the sole voice of dissent regarding this disc!!

 

You Freaks!!

Nick C (the freak) hates them too, doesn't he? Three true freaks. Wrong freaks too.

[Geoff]

Ide Cure - 'Eclipse'; Seriously not a bad CD. I actually really like the sound of this band. Yes, the songs aren't really that great here, but not all are so bad either. I did really like 'Living Water' and 'The Only Thing'. I'd actually like to get the rest of their discography now.

 

Try the S/T Idle Cure, Geoff

No offense, but Idle Cure's self-titled debut is easily the worst of their discography, way more AOR-oriented and keyboard-heavy than later releases. Of course, if you like AOR-y melodic rock, then I suppose you would consider that a good thing, but Geoff's tastes run fairly parallel with my own when it comes to this sort of stuff, and I can say with a fair amount of certainty that he'd much prefer "Inside Out" or "2nd Avenue" to the debut.

 

Actually, Geoff, now that I think about it, please don't get any Idle Cure CDs...the Christian lyrics will probably just put you in a murderous, eyeball-popping rage and you'll post a bitch-rant about them.

Are they more blatant early on? I didn't mind 'Eclipse' minus a few hiccups. If someone wants to give me these discs, or trade from my list, please contact me.

 

Jones Street: "Dancin' With the Devil"

 

If you're jonesin' for some attitude-laced, sleaze-fueled hair-metal, then this band is for you, the kind of hard rockin' stuff that was blasting from every stereo back in the 80s. Fans of McQueen Street, Roxy Blue, Jesse Strange, Wildside, Southgang, and bands of that ilk should find plenty to gleefully dance about here. With swaggering guitars, some badass riffs, liberal use of backing vocals, and a production style that is neither too raw nor too polished, this album should appeal to a lots of folks 'round these parts. People are having a devil of a time getting their hands on this, but once they do, the listening experience is pretty heavenly.

 

Backed.

Yeah, no doubt about it. They might have f*cked up the distribution, but the fact of the matter is that this CD kicks a heap of ass.

[Geoff]

Some new recruits over the weekend:

 

After the fall - s/t ; solid Aussie modern rock. I did enjoy this disc.

 

Alcatrazz - Dangerous Games ; Not my scene at all. This one went immediately on the trade list. Poorly written songs all over the place.

 

The Answer - Rise ; These guys are definitely not my scene, but credit where it's due. They actually sound like a pretty good band. Not that they sound anything like them or have a hook anywhere near as good as anything Tesla ever did, but they kind of reminded me of the Tesla of the current modern rock scene. If they started writing some good choruses I'd be interested. This one went straight to my trade list.

 

Bad News s/t ; okay, so it was kind of funny. But man, what a waste of time. Straight to my trade list.

 

Blindside - About a burning tree ; Really not sure about this. Mixed bag. Some good powerful modern rock, but some pretty messy tracks too, which just sound jumbled. This will need a few more spins, I think.

 

Circus Diablo - s/t ; Nice. Real nice in places, actually. Good solid hard rock with members of The Almighty, Fuel and The Cult, with Matt Sorum too. What we have here is a good solid slab of sleaze hard rock. A few fillers towards the end but the last two songs are good and the first few are generally pretty strong. Definitely a keeper.

 

Hell City Glamours - s/t ; definitely not into these guys. Simple bar-rock like AC/DC... just doesn't work with me. Straight to the trade list.

 

Imagine This - s/t ; A real surprise. Not saying I like this, but I thought these guys would be really light weight God lovers and produce a pile of steaming shit. It's not my scene, but what we have here is some pretty ballsy hard rock/AOR with a slight funk vibe. Like the Extreme of christian rock. Not too blatant either. If you like bands with an element of funk, this is a well produced hard rock disc here. And it's on my trade list too.

 

Jacob's Trouble - s/t ; Definitely did not like this. Lightweight christian rock... yeah, I skipped through this pretty quick and am hoping someone is keen to trade/buy it.

[Geoff]

The Fashion - s/t ; this turned out to be some UK pop, and lasted about 4 seconds in my CD player. Never again.

 

Northstar - 'In this thing loaded' ; not my fave slab of modern rock - reminds me of Fightstar's 'We liked you better when you were dead'. Very hook free.

[Clutch]

Strangeways- s/t

 

I've had the classic "Native Sons" and "Walk in the Fire" cds for a few years but never took a chance on this. Not bad at all. This will fit right into the collection with the others and get some playing time as well.

[Fat Freddy]

Leige Lord-Master Control

 

Wow these guys rock. A classic metal band from the 80's that I somehow missed back in the day. The singer on this one kind of has a Bruce Dickinson sound and overall this is a damn good Classic meets Thrash Metal album.

 

 

Glad you dig it bro. What'd you think of BURN TO MY TOUCH and/or FREEDOM'S RISE?

[Jez]

Strangeways- s/t

 

I've had the classic "Native Sons" and "Walk in the Fire" cds for a few years but never took a chance on this. Not bad at all. This will fit right into the collection with the others and get some playing time as well.

 

 

Great album, always overshadowed by the other 2 classics. Whilst not quite as good as those 2, This has some brilliant tracks on it!

[heaven&hell]

Leige Lord-Master Control

 

Wow these guys rock. A classic metal band from the 80's that I somehow missed back in the day. The singer on this one kind of has a Bruce Dickinson sound and overall this is a damn good Classic meets Thrash Metal album.

 

 

Glad you dig it bro. What'd you think of BURN TO MY TOUCH and/or FREEDOM'S RISE?

 

I've played 'Freedom's Rise' and it's damn good too.

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Freedom's Rise is unique... it's so epic... Master Control is great too but Comeau's similarity with Dickinson's voice is annoying in parts...

[Geoff]

Taking Back Sunday - Notes from the past ; I think I downloaded this one a while ago but never heard it. Picked it up for $5 on the weekend and I have to admit I like this thing. Honestly, probably better than the 'Louder now' disc and certainly makes me curious to hear the back catalogue. Good modern rock.

 

Threshold - Subsurface ; This is another band I have heard snippets of here and there, but until finding these 2 discs over the weekend I'd never really sat down and heard a full disc. Having now done so, I'm into it. I'm not wild about it and it's all a little long-winded, but thanks to Sargent Fury I have a real soft spot for Mac's voice and love hearing him in action. I think with a few spins I could get into this band. Now, if only I can find the rest of their discography brand new at au$6.99 a disc...

 

Threshold - Dead reckoning ; same as above. A little long-winded but otherwise very strong. Was amused to hear a few scattered screams on this one, but overall sounds like another good disc in need of a few more spins.

[Fat Freddy]

Master Control is great too but Comeau's similarity with Dickinson's voice is annoying in parts...

 

He does sound a lot like Dickinson but my first impression was that he sounded like a really pissed off Mike Lee (Barren Cross).

[Glen]

Threshold - Subsurface ; This is another band I have heard snippets of here and there, but until finding these 2 discs over the weekend I'd never really sat down and heard a full disc. Having now done so, I'm into it. I'm not wild about it and it's all a little long-winded, but thanks to Sargent Fury I have a real soft spot for Mac's voice and love hearing him in action. I think with a few spins I could get into this band. Now, if only I can find the rest of their discography brand new at au$6.99 a disc...

 

Threshold - Dead reckoning ; same as above. A little long-winded but otherwise very strong. Was amused to hear a few scattered screams on this one, but overall sounds like another good disc in need of a few more spins.

 

Jesus, I truly never thought I's hear you say that. I personally love these two albums and think they contain some of the best melodies/choruses heard in the prog metal genre.

[heaven&hell]

Helix-No Rest for the Wicked

 

Wow I'm loving this disc. While I had heard this one in passing I'd never owned and this is my first proper listen and I have to say I'm impressed by this band. Helix were always a band that I knew a few tunes but never really saw much of their cds around so I never bought any. After hearing this one I'm gonna have to order the newly re-issued 'Walking on a Razors Edge' and maybe even hunt down some other Helix discs from the 80's. My fav tune so far on this disc is "Dirty Dog".

[Geoff]

Threshold - Subsurface ; This is another band I have heard snippets of here and there, but until finding these 2 discs over the weekend I'd never really sat down and heard a full disc. Having now done so, I'm into it. I'm not wild about it and it's all a little long-winded, but thanks to Sargent Fury I have a real soft spot for Mac's voice and love hearing him in action. I think with a few spins I could get into this band. Now, if only I can find the rest of their discography brand new at au$6.99 a disc...

 

Threshold - Dead reckoning ; same as above. A little long-winded but otherwise very strong. Was amused to hear a few scattered screams on this one, but overall sounds like another good disc in need of a few more spins.

 

Jesus, I truly never thought I's hear you say that. I personally love these two albums and think they contain some of the best melodies/choruses heard in the prog metal genre.

Yeah, you're spot on there. For "prog" they are clearly well ahead of the field. A lot of the songs really didn't sound like prog to me at all.

[TIM (2)]

SAGA - The Human Condition

 

Heard this one this morning, & sorry all who love this band but this is just not for me. Very proggy stuff, not at all like their least proggy album (and the one I like most) "The Security of Illusion". The only thing that interested me here was that Morratti was now singing for them, as I love his vocs for FINAL FRONTIER (R.I.P), so thought I'd check it out but this is just standard stuff IMO & nothing I'll play again.

[Glen]

SAGA - The Human Condition

 

Heard this one this morning, & sorry all who love this band but this is just not for me. Very proggy stuff, not at all like their least proggy album (and the one I like most) "The Security of Illusion". The only thing that interested me here was that Morratti was now singing for them, as I love his vocs for FINAL FRONTIER (R.I.P), so thought I'd check it out but this is just standard stuff IMO & nothing I'll play again.

 

Once a smurf always a smurf

[Dead Planet]

Helix-No Rest for the Wicked

 

Wow I'm loving this disc. While I had heard this one in passing I'd never owned and this is my first proper listen and I have to say I'm impressed by this band. Helix were always a band that I knew a few tunes but never really saw much of their cds around so I never bought any. After hearing this one I'm gonna have to order the newly re-issued 'Walking on a Razors Edge' and maybe even hunt down some other Helix discs from the 80's. My fav tune so far on this disc is "Dirty Dog".

 

 

That has always been one of my fav Helix releases.....now you've got me thinking about picking up this reissue....any difference from the original?....

[heaven&hell]

Helix-No Rest for the Wicked

 

Wow I'm loving this disc. While I had heard this one in passing I'd never owned and this is my first proper listen and I have to say I'm impressed by this band. Helix were always a band that I knew a few tunes but never really saw much of their cds around so I never bought any. After hearing this one I'm gonna have to order the newly re-issued 'Walking on a Razors Edge' and maybe even hunt down some other Helix discs from the 80's. My fav tune so far on this disc is "Dirty Dog".

 

 

That has always been one of my fav Helix releases.....now you've got me thinking about picking up this reissue....any difference from the original?....

 

I've never had the original so I couldn't tell you but as with all Rock Candy re-issues the artwork and booklet and sound are all top notch IMO.

[TIM (2)]

ROSE FUNERAL - The Resting Sonata

 

Another big Deathcore name getting a lot of praise, & as much as I love some of the better bands in this genre this is just fucking noise. And not good noise, like your wife/girlfriend finally having that elusive orgasm, but noise like hearing your 90-year old Grandma on the toilet. Tons of my friends are into this stuff but bands like this will just disappear up their own arseholes. Bollocks.

[heaven&hell]

And not good noise, like your wife/girlfriend finally having that elusive orgasm, but noise like hearing your 90-year old Grandma on the toilet.

 

That's classic.

[Fat Freddy]

Wrath - INSANE SOCIETY (1990)

I used to see this band's CDs in bargain bins all the time but always passed over them under the erroneous assumption that they were a glam/sleaze band (based on their spray-paint style logo), but nothing could be further from the truth. Them Wrath boys was THRASH! Granted, this is a second or maybe third-tier band at best but they do a decent job at whippin' up some noise. Very similar to what Testament was doing on their SOULS OF BLACK and/or PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH albums. Yo, Wes -- you heard this band? If not, you should.

 

(Thanks to Dark Star for the hookup on this one by the way...)

 

And not good noise, like your wife/girlfriend finally having that elusive orgasm, but noise like hearing your 90-year old Grandma on the toilet.

 

(Shudders) That's soooooo wrong but so funny.

[Geoff]

Lance Powers - s/t ; man this one's odd! I thought I'd check it out after comparisons to Treat, Dalton, Alien etc. When I put it in I was bombarded with a lyrical abomination in the style of "I'm waiting at my door for You my whole life, Lord, because I live for your return whah whah... love me, God" and "I don't urinate unless God holds my penis"-styled lyrics so I found myself skipping through most of the first few tracks, but then about halfway through it just turned into a normal, 'Babe I miss your vagina on my face, come back and drink my man juices' kind of CD without any hint of a Christian touch. After a little research, I believe this is a compilation of his two early albums - one obviously christian and one not, I assume? Either way, the music is lightweight, there are way too many ballads but there are a couple of pretty nice AOR tracks on this one. Not someone I'm pursue, but not bad. Well, the 2nd half at least.

[Stefan]

Phoenix Effect - Cyanide Skies

 

After the first listen this really sounds excellent. Modern hard rock with some touches of Shinedown and the like. IMO this is already THE release of the year so far from an artist from Finland.

So Jez, jump on this one!

MySpace don't really do any justice to this band 'cause there are better songs on the album than on their page on MySpace.

 

See a review from Free! Magazine below:

 

 

 

Phoenix Effect – Cyanide Skies

 

Written by Antonio Díaz

 

After splitting up with Sunrise Avenue, it is about time for their former guitarist Janne Kärkkäinen to show what he is able to do in a solo career...

 

Cyanide Skies is the debut album for the solo career of Kärkkäinen after his departure in 2007 from Sunrise Avenue. Counting with the collaboration of his friends from the also Finnish band Poets of the Fall, Janne is not only able to state that he had enough talent to start alone a new career, but he delivers an amazingly good album. The record is composed by ten hard rock tracks easy to listen, with good quality, great production and excellent lyrics; in fact the album surprises quickly being very catchy and offering a good vibe in most of the songs. If I have to choose, I would highlight Perfectly Good Day, Carry Me (with an intro riff that reminds me of Pearl Jam) or the heart-lightening Hey You.

 

For those who thought that Janne’s career will be over after his departure from SA, here comes a frontal kick on their face. Cyanide Skies is powerful but measured, the perfect product to reach big audiences without losing the essence of good hard rock. No wonder that just after releasing it has hit the Finnish charts in a very top position. A nice surprise indeed!

 

Rating 4/5.