First Spin Impressions

[phaffas]

Trick or Treat = Toy soldiers

 

One word: Helloween. This is pure classic Helloween. Young band with a singer kinda like early Kiske, with maybe a hint of early Edguy thrown in as well. Like both those bands theyre obviously taking a bit of a pisstake at the same time. Brilliant production too. Unfortunately the best songs are featuring appearances from Kiske himself and also Michele Luppi = all good songs, however the rest with the usual singer never reaches those heights. Not sure if im even going to keep it yet.

 

Also good to see a band putting alot of thought into design and artwork throughout the package. Looks great!

[Glen]

HARTMANN - III

 

I didn't hear the last one from this guy, but I did kinda enjoy the first. This one is a bit modern-sounding, and kinda bluesy. Oh yeah, and it's not-very-fucking-good either. Avoid this.

Really? He tried again? I hadn't even heard about that one. I still think the comparisons this guy ever got to Blanc Faces were grossly complimentary to him. No good at all.

 

 

His second effort 'Home' was way off the mark so i'll be avoiding any 3rd effort.

 

To be honest I absolutely love his debut tho............some really excellent songs on that disc.

If I recall correctly I think I pretty much preferred the 2nd album. I can't remember, though. I bought the debut (and traded it off) but only heard MP3s of the second one, which I'm pretty sure I binned not long after hearing them.

 

Your hatred of Hartmann is well documented. I seem to recall you slamming his debut over at the Melrock notice board at the time and virtually everyone on the board disagreeing with you

[Geoff]

HARTMANN - III

 

I didn't hear the last one from this guy, but I did kinda enjoy the first. This one is a bit modern-sounding, and kinda bluesy. Oh yeah, and it's not-very-fucking-good either. Avoid this.

Really? He tried again? I hadn't even heard about that one. I still think the comparisons this guy ever got to Blanc Faces were grossly complimentary to him. No good at all.

 

 

His second effort 'Home' was way off the mark so i'll be avoiding any 3rd effort.

 

To be honest I absolutely love his debut tho............some really excellent songs on that disc.

If I recall correctly I think I pretty much preferred the 2nd album. I can't remember, though. I bought the debut (and traded it off) but only heard MP3s of the second one, which I'm pretty sure I binned not long after hearing them.

 

Your hatred of Hartmann is well documented. I seem to recall you slamming his debut over at the Melrock notice board at the time and virtually everyone on the board disagreeing with you

I would have to say that of all the albums released in my time on these message boards that would probably be the most ridiculously over-rated. And that includes run-of-the-mill stuff like Pride of Lions and Mecca's debuts which were so cringe-worthingly over-hyped also, but at least they both still hold a place in my collection. At least I think the POL debut does. But at least those 2 discs had about 3-5 good songs each - Hartmann had a big fat 0 if I recall correctly.

[TIM (2)]

30 SECONDS TO MARS - This Is War

 

Seriously overhyped band with the ever-irritating Jared Leto tunelessly screaming his way through bombastic Modern Rock anthems. That pretty much sums up this band, & their two albums so far - and nothing is different here. The thing is though, I kinda like them. Opening single "Kings & Queens" is epic & very futuristic-sounding, not to mention absurdly catchy. Easily the best song they've ever written. And the killer title-track follows suit. There are a few too many short tune/intros on here to build any momentum, and the vocals are very weak (he's out of tune on some of the choruses), but this is still one of the best Modern Rock discs of the year IMO - in a pretty disappointing year for that genre. They sound a little like U2 with more polish/ambition, but - despite being thoroughly fed up with seeing Leto's face on the cover of every Rock mag - this is a pretty damn good disc.

[Glen]

HARTMANN - III

 

I didn't hear the last one from this guy, but I did kinda enjoy the first. This one is a bit modern-sounding, and kinda bluesy. Oh yeah, and it's not-very-fucking-good either. Avoid this.

Really? He tried again? I hadn't even heard about that one. I still think the comparisons this guy ever got to Blanc Faces were grossly complimentary to him. No good at all.

 

 

His second effort 'Home' was way off the mark so i'll be avoiding any 3rd effort.

 

To be honest I absolutely love his debut tho............some really excellent songs on that disc.

If I recall correctly I think I pretty much preferred the 2nd album. I can't remember, though. I bought the debut (and traded it off) but only heard MP3s of the second one, which I'm pretty sure I binned not long after hearing them.

 

Your hatred of Hartmann is well documented. I seem to recall you slamming his debut over at the Melrock notice board at the time and virtually everyone on the board disagreeing with you

I would have to say that of all the albums released in my time on these message boards that would probably be the most ridiculously over-rated. And that includes run-of-the-mill stuff like Pride of Lions and Mecca's debuts which were so cringe-worthingly over-hyped also, but at least they both still hold a place in my collection. At least I think the POL debut does. But at least those 2 discs had about 3-5 good songs each - Hartmann had a big fat 0 if I recall correctly.

 

As I said mate, a pretty lonely opinion........here's 15 people that disagree with you for a start -

 

http://www.heavyharmonies.com/cgi-bin/glam...Out+in+the+Cold

 

Looks like Dan must have wiped your comments off as they were irrelevant

 

PS. POL debut......3-5 good songs. LOL. Geoff my man, you are constant source of amusement.

[Swazi]

HARTMANN - III

 

I didn't hear the last one from this guy, but I did kinda enjoy the first. This one is a bit modern-sounding, and kinda bluesy. Oh yeah, and it's not-very-fucking-good either. Avoid this.

Really? He tried again? I hadn't even heard about that one. I still think the comparisons this guy ever got to Blanc Faces were grossly complimentary to him. No good at all.

 

 

His second effort 'Home' was way off the mark so i'll be avoiding any 3rd effort.

 

To be honest I absolutely love his debut tho............some really excellent songs on that disc.

If I recall correctly I think I pretty much preferred the 2nd album. I can't remember, though. I bought the debut (and traded it off) but only heard MP3s of the second one, which I'm pretty sure I binned not long after hearing them.

 

Your hatred of Hartmann is well documented. I seem to recall you slamming his debut over at the Melrock notice board at the time and virtually everyone on the board disagreeing with you

I would have to say that of all the albums released in my time on these message boards that would probably be the most ridiculously over-rated. And that includes run-of-the-mill stuff like Pride of Lions and Mecca's debuts which were so cringe-worthingly over-hyped also, but at least they both still hold a place in my collection. At least I think the POL debut does. But at least those 2 discs had about 3-5 good songs each - Hartmann had a big fat 0 if I recall correctly.

 

As I said mate, a pretty lonely opinion........here's 15 people that disagree with you for a start -

 

http://www.heavyharmonies.com/cgi-bin/glam...Out+in+the+Cold

 

Looks like Dan must have wiped your comments off as they were irrelevant

 

PS. POL debut......3-5 good songs. LOL. Geoff my man, you are constant source of amusement.

 

Ha ha ha .. ! Couldn't agree more with Glen !! Another rather disqualifying statement by our modern-rock-boy-group-loving Geoff ....................... !

[aMetalhead1966]

Fastback........The Pain of Beauty............excellent hard rocker.....recommended......

Backed..great Release!!

[Geoff]

HARTMANN - III

 

I didn't hear the last one from this guy, but I did kinda enjoy the first. This one is a bit modern-sounding, and kinda bluesy. Oh yeah, and it's not-very-fucking-good either. Avoid this.

Really? He tried again? I hadn't even heard about that one. I still think the comparisons this guy ever got to Blanc Faces were grossly complimentary to him. No good at all.

 

 

His second effort 'Home' was way off the mark so i'll be avoiding any 3rd effort.

 

To be honest I absolutely love his debut tho............some really excellent songs on that disc.

If I recall correctly I think I pretty much preferred the 2nd album. I can't remember, though. I bought the debut (and traded it off) but only heard MP3s of the second one, which I'm pretty sure I binned not long after hearing them.

 

Your hatred of Hartmann is well documented. I seem to recall you slamming his debut over at the Melrock notice board at the time and virtually everyone on the board disagreeing with you

I would have to say that of all the albums released in my time on these message boards that would probably be the most ridiculously over-rated. And that includes run-of-the-mill stuff like Pride of Lions and Mecca's debuts which were so cringe-worthingly over-hyped also, but at least they both still hold a place in my collection. At least I think the POL debut does. But at least those 2 discs had about 3-5 good songs each - Hartmann had a big fat 0 if I recall correctly.

 

As I said mate, a pretty lonely opinion........here's 15 people that disagree with you for a start -

 

http://www.heavyharmonies.com/cgi-bin/glam...Out+in+the+Cold

 

Looks like Dan must have wiped your comments off as they were irrelevant

 

PS. POL debut......3-5 good songs. LOL. Geoff my man, you are constant source of amusement.

 

Ha ha ha .. ! Couldn't agree more with Glen !! Another rather disqualifying statement by our modern-rock-boy-group-loving Geoff ....................... !

Okay, fair enough, clowns. There were only two good songs. You happy now, our mediocrity-AOR-boy-group-loving Bernd.

 

PS. I do love a jester who listens to pure 80's sickening pop disguised as high-tech "AOR" (and sometimes just not disguised at all) while you take swipes at current bands that actually rock, calling them 'boy bands' based on some out-dated misconception of their image.

[Swazi]

HARTMANN - III

 

I didn't hear the last one from this guy, but I did kinda enjoy the first. This one is a bit modern-sounding, and kinda bluesy. Oh yeah, and it's not-very-fucking-good either. Avoid this.

Really? He tried again? I hadn't even heard about that one. I still think the comparisons this guy ever got to Blanc Faces were grossly complimentary to him. No good at all.

 

 

His second effort 'Home' was way off the mark so i'll be avoiding any 3rd effort.

 

To be honest I absolutely love his debut tho............some really excellent songs on that disc.

If I recall correctly I think I pretty much preferred the 2nd album. I can't remember, though. I bought the debut (and traded it off) but only heard MP3s of the second one, which I'm pretty sure I binned not long after hearing them.

 

Your hatred of Hartmann is well documented. I seem to recall you slamming his debut over at the Melrock notice board at the time and virtually everyone on the board disagreeing with you

I would have to say that of all the albums released in my time on these message boards that would probably be the most ridiculously over-rated. And that includes run-of-the-mill stuff like Pride of Lions and Mecca's debuts which were so cringe-worthingly over-hyped also, but at least they both still hold a place in my collection. At least I think the POL debut does. But at least those 2 discs had about 3-5 good songs each - Hartmann had a big fat 0 if I recall correctly.

 

As I said mate, a pretty lonely opinion........here's 15 people that disagree with you for a start -

 

http://www.heavyharmonies.com/cgi-bin/glam...Out+in+the+Cold

 

Looks like Dan must have wiped your comments off as they were irrelevant

 

PS. POL debut......3-5 good songs. LOL. Geoff my man, you are constant source of amusement.

 

Ha ha ha .. ! Couldn't agree more with Glen !! Another rather disqualifying statement by our modern-rock-boy-group-loving Geoff ....................... !

Okay, fair enough, clowns. There were only two good songs. You happy now, our mediocrity-AOR-boy-group-loving Bernd.

 

PS. I do love a jester who listens to pure 80's sickening pop disguised as high-tech "AOR" (and sometimes just not disguised at all) while you take swipes at current bands that actually rock, calling them 'boy bands' based on some out-dated misconception of their image.

 

Ha ha !!

[Geoff]

SUICIDE and Swazi ; two gems of the forum.

 

It's been another first spin assault on my ears over the past few weeks. Here's snippets of what I remember:

 

Against All Will - 'A rhyme and reason' ; decent modern rock. Solid but not overly memorable.

 

American Sixgun - 'The Devil in your bones' ; contrary to what I said in another thread I got the opportunity to hear it and I did... and to be honest it's not that bad. Solid, stripped back 80's styled hard rock with a slight bluesy / barroom sort of feel. Seriously not too bad.

 

Ancara - 'Chasing shadows' ; If you like the Finnish bands and bands like Renegade Five and Free Spirit, this is probably worth checking out. Vocals leave a bit to be desired and it is very by-the-numbers, but not too bad.

 

Bastardz - 'Jungle Outlawz' ; Pretty disappointing actually. I really like the EP I picked up this year but this wasn't as good. In fact, the best song on this was the new version of 'Pills', off the EP. That song kicks ass. It wasn't bad overall, but disappointing.

 

Delany - 'Blaze and ashes' ; Where'd this come from??? A hard rock disc with David Readman and (wtf?) Davy Vain on vocals? As well as Lana Lane (who I'm not familiar with, but I like her). This disc is great! The music is hard like all these kind of all-star projects and Readman sounds great and at home, but for me the delight came from the 3 tracks with Davy Vain on vocals. One is a remake of 'Planet's turning' which we all know and love and it's cool to hear a heavy version of it, even if it pales in comparison to the original. Elsewhere, die-hard Vain fans will massage their balls with delight with the inclusion of 'Here comes lonely'. The third song, 'Distance of love' is very cool too. But it's not just about Vain - Readman and Lane both sound awesome too. What a cool disc - excellent surprise.

 

Fire - 'Thrill me' ; I will need to spin this again for a proper opinion as it seems quite popular, but it sounded a little average to me. Just standard hard rock.

 

High Flight Society - 'Par Avion' ; Good modern rock EP - I liked this one. Hopefully they release a full disc.

 

Naughty Boys - 'Destiny Calls' ; Patchy, but one of the best in this lot. Ranges from pretty average hard rock to some very nice melodic tunes. One I'm really looking forward to spinning again.

 

Painkiller Hotel - 'Black roses' ; Delete. Painfully crap modern "rock". Slow, dreary and boring.

 

Quietdrive - 'Close your eyes' ; Man I love these guys!!! A mini-album that came from absolutely nowhere. Seven brand new songs all ready to go. I spun this three times in a row when I heard it so I kind of cheated with this thread, but it delivers. Not as good as a lot of the stuff on the excellent 'Deliverance', but no garbage either. Seven very strong songs, absolutely essential for fans of the band, and any fan of good modern rock.

 

Sandlot Heroes - 'Pretend that we're famous' ; Very nice. Another new band I'm guessing. Very unoriginal, but if you like The Sunstreak (which I think two of us do here) then this is worth checking out as both bands are pretty similar. These guys do suffer from sounding a little too contrived and unoriginal even for my tastes, but they make a pretty good album.

 

Shotgun Wedding - 'If you only knew' ; Not bad at all. Good, solid hard rock indie mini album... I liked what I heard.

 

Smelly Boggs - s/t ; For every good track there was at least one filler, but overall not too bad. I've seen these guys fetch some coin for this CD and to be totally honest I wouldn't pay much at all for it, but it's pretty good sleaze/hard rock. Some cool songs early on especially.

 

Stikki Fykk - 'Fazt carz and rock n'roll starz' ; WHAT A SHITHOUSE CD!!! Man this was so bad. It was like listening to Shaggy sing glam / sleaze hard rock. Seriously, wtf? Why they chose to completely ruin what could have been a half decent (though not great) disc with this dickhead on vocals is amazing to me. The cover of 'Talk dirty to me' was the "best" thing I heard here, only because I knew the words so even if I couldn't understand this idiot I could pretend I did. I think this fetches decent coin too, and to anyone who ever bought it, my heart goes out to you.

[Swazi]

SUICIDE and Swazi ; two gems of the forum.

 

You forgot to mention Jez, of course ! He would be delighted !!

 

But OMFG !! What crap are you listening to (which you admit) !?!? You have way too much time at your hands, mate !!

[Geoff]

SUICIDE and Swazi ; two gems of the forum.

 

You forgot to mention Jez, of course ! He would be delighted !!

 

But OMFG !! What crap are you listening to (which you admit) !?!? You have way too much time at your hands, mate !!

Nah, Jez isn't a nosebleed and despite being English he does actually offer a lot of good input... regardless of whether or not we agree all the time.

 

Mate, my admission was that there were only 2 crap albums in that lot. But then again, I guess that's my point. Why make a worthwhile comment based on fact when you can just take a stab in the dark?

[Dead Planet]

Harlot............Positively Downtown.....decent hard rocker...worth more spins.....

[aMetalhead1966]

Been spinning a lot of New Modern bands that I normally wouldn't....don't know much about these bands or what style/genre you'd call them...

 

Zebrahead- Panty Raid...Power Pop Punk band doing a bunch of covers....not my thing but I can see

how people might like this...I don't though...

 

Puddle Of Mud-Vol 4 Songs of Love and Hate..I know a bit about this band...The first song was pretty good..the rest

sounds like the same thing over and over and over..no variation...bland modern rock...

 

Avowed-Avowed...Emo Crap......avoid....

 

24 Black-Recorded..Really Cool stuff here Modern yet Rocking......very catchy and lots of variation...I like it....

 

EastEighteen-In The Event That your Right....Very Tool like..I'm really digging this...lots of cool Modern Songs that Rock...

[Geoff]

Amber Pacific - s/t EP ; Wow, a lot can happen when you're not paying attention. The lead singer left this band to become a high school principal in order to prepare younger generations for the world. Poor bastard. But either way, they have a new lead singer. I always thought the original guy had a bad voice and the songs might have sounded better with a better voice. But now he's gone I kind of miss him. Like it or not he was the voice of the band at their peak on the great debut which I doubt they'll ever top. Anyway, this new EP (Itunes release only) really isn't bad. The new vocalist has a better voice but makes the band sound like a million other ones. The first song is okay, but the other two are great. I think the new CD will be very good... but they no longer sound anything like the Amber Pacific I know (which could be a good thing after the very average sophomore disc, 'Truth and sincerity').

 

The Academy Is... - 'Lost in Pacific Time' ; Another Itunes only EP which caught me by surprise after a 2008 release. Thankfully they've followed on from the very impressive 'Fast times...' CD. This isn't perfect, but it's very good. 5 great new tracks - especially the title track. Well, the song with the title in the chorus.

Band With No Name - 'Humanity' ; Not bad at all. A couple of fillers, but some pretty damn cool modern rock tracks. Kind of reminds me a little of Disciple at times, though I'm really not sure why as they don't sound like them. Just a vibe I was getting. Not great, but good stuff.

[Jez]

Agnes - Redemption

 

Absolutely adored her debut 'When The Night Falls' a couple of years back, so awaited this with muchos anticipation. First impressions are that stylewise, everything remains intact, but overall, the songs aren't as good, and there are some that lost my attention pretty rapidly if truth be told. It's not a bad album by any stretch and the goods outweigh the bads, but it certainly didn't grab me anywhere near like the debut did on it's first couple of spins. I will definitely be persevering with this one though.

[Geoff]

Mayday Parade - 'Anywhere but here' ; man, what a pleasant surprise! These guys dropped this CD in October this year without me even realising. Having parted ways with their original lead singer/songwriter I was nervous about this. The debut, 'A lesson in romantics' has some of the best choruses I've heard in modern rock so far... and about 5 of them on that CD. I'm actually amazed no one else here caught onto these guys even with my relentless pushes. Either way, they're back with a new voice and this CD is excellent. Plain and simply, the songs are not quite as good as the best of the debut (that guy was really something special and I will make a point to check in on his new band next) but every single one of the 12 songs here is very good to great. The last track seemed especially great. I see no reason this won't make my top 10 this year - great follow-up.

 

Forever the Sickest Kids - 'Weekend Friday' ; Okay, I don't know what the go is here. I might have to wait until I can get this one in it's original form (which will hopefully be asap) as the MP3's I have offer a lot of questions. Like, what the f*ck is up with the production job here? Sound quality and volume varies from track to track and either this is a really bad rip or it's a collection of demos. Aside from the horrendous last track - a rap song which has been panned viciously by every reviewer of this I have seen - this is another great disc, song-wise. The first two are especially great, but all 6 proper tracks are awesome. Fans of the debut will love it.

 

Every Avenue - 'Picture Perfect' ; Wow, what a second album. To be totally honest, I can't even remember the debut. I think it was decent but pretty average/forgettable pop rock. This is excellent stuff! If you don't like the whole commercial/pop rock scene this won't do anything for you as there's nothing original here, but they do what they do excellently. Great hooks and choruses everywhere - very catchy. Again, loved most songs on this one - especially the first few.

 

A Rocket to the Moon - 'On your side' ; Another pop rock disc... this time a little laid back for me. Good enough song writing, just missing a few killer tracks which the others have plenty of. Good enough to spin again though.

[Geoff]

We The Kings - 'Smile Kid' ; I liked the debut from these guys - especially a select few songs. And the story's pretty similar here. A few gems, a couple if fillers. Mostly just good, safe pop rock. As I listened, though, I just couldn't help but feel that A Change of Pace have kind of killed this genre a little. I honestly don't think there will ever be a band making this style of music that makes a CD even 1/2 as good as their 'Prepare the masses' CD... and that's all I could think of as I heard this. Good stuff, but a little too generic and not as good as what's already out there.

[heaven&hell]

Helix - Vagabond Bones

There was a little hype for this one the new disc since it featured most of the classic lineup from the 80's but overall it's good but not great. It starts off with the first 4 tracks being really good but then settles into just being average IMO. The best tunes are again the first 4 tracks, "The Animal Inside", "Go Hard or Go Home", "Vagabond Bones" and "Monday Morning Meltdown". Not near as good as their glory days but considering how old this band is I guess you can't expect them to ever be as good as they once were.

 

 

Helix - Never Trust Anyone Over 30

This appears to be some type of compilation of their 90's and 00's releases such as 'B Sides', 'Half-Alive', 'Business Doing Pleasure', 'Rockin' in my Outer Space' along with some tracks from their early indie releases as well as 3 unreleased songs. Overall this is very hit or miss and with every song that is great their 3 others that are average to horrible. The top songs for me are "You're a Woman Now", "Running Wild in the 21st Century", "Good To The Last Drop", "Tug O' War", "Wrecking Ball", "Jaws of the Tiger" and "You're the One I Like".

[TIM (2)]

Just have to mention these two dreary new AOR discs, only so no-one bothers buying them...

 

SPIN GALLERY - Embrace

 

High expectations after a killer debut but they come nowhere close to matching it this time around. Weak vocals and a soulless production just kill any decent hooks/melodies on this one. It's also just way too lite and lacks any guts at all. Disappointed not to see Chris Antblad not on this, but be sure his solo disc will slaughter this. Nothing on here is horrible, but there isn't one killer song (unlike the several on the debut) so don't bother.

 

LOS ANGELES - Neverland

 

I wasn't too excited by the first L.A disc, and this one is a whole lot worse! Despite an impressive vocal range the actual singing on here is horrific. I recognise the Richard Marx track (crap) but think the rest are new tunes rather than covers - though I might be wrong. I can't say I care as this is proper dull, and despite some okay-ish hooks/choruses it just isn't going to get repeat spins at all. Have I mentioned the vocals? Fuck me they're awful. Even if you liked the first one I wouldn't rush out and pick this up.

[phaffas]

Just have to mention these two dreary new AOR discs, only so no-one bothers buying them...

 

SPIN GALLERY - Embrace

 

High expectations after a killer debut but they come nowhere close to matching it this time around. Weak vocals and a soulless production just kill any decent hooks/melodies on this one. It's also just way too lite and lacks any guts at all. Disappointed not to see Chris Antblad not on this, but be sure his solo disc will slaughter this. Nothing on here is horrible, but there isn't one killer song (unlike the several on the debut) so don't bother.

 

LOS ANGELES - Neverland

 

I wasn't too excited by the first L.A disc, and this one is a whole lot worse! Despite an impressive vocal range the actual singing on here is horrific. I recognise the Richard Marx track (crap) but think the rest are new tunes rather than covers - though I might be wrong. I can't say I care as this is proper dull, and despite some okay-ish hooks/choruses it just isn't going to get repeat spins at all. Have I mentioned the vocals? Fuck me they're awful. Even if you liked the first one I wouldn't rush out and pick this up.

I take it you arnt a Michelle Luppi fan...

[TIM (2)]

I take it you arnt a Michelle Luppi fan...

 

I know it's harsh to criticise when English isn't your first language (you'll know this too, being an Aussie ), but so many Euro singers have completely undetectable accents when they sing in English that you get used to not spotting the difference. Here it's obvious, to the point that you can't understand what he's singing. Frankly he should've sung this album in Italian, or better still, let someone else sing it. Unfortunately the vocals make what would otherwise have been a below-average but listenable album into a waste of 45 minutes of your life.

[phaffas]

I take it you arnt a Michelle Luppi fan...

 

I know it's harsh to criticise when English isn't your first language (you'll know this too, being an Aussie ), but so many Euro singers have completely undetectable accents when they sing in English that you get used to not spotting the difference. Here it's obvious, to the point that you can't understand what he's singing. Frankly he should've sung this album in Italian, or better still, let someone else sing it. Unfortunately the vocals make what would otherwise have been a below-average but listenable album into a waste of 45 minutes of your life.

This guy is one of my favourite singers lately, especially on the Vision Divine and Killing Touch albums..

[Jez]

Just have to mention these two dreary new AOR discs, only so no-one bothers buying them...

 

SPIN GALLERY - Embrace

 

High expectations after a killer debut but they come nowhere close to matching it this time around. Weak vocals and a soulless production just kill any decent hooks/melodies on this one. It's also just way too lite and lacks any guts at all. Disappointed not to see Chris Antblad not on this, but be sure his solo disc will slaughter this. Nothing on here is horrible, but there isn't one killer song (unlike the several on the debut) so don't bother.

 

LOS ANGELES - Neverland

 

I wasn't too excited by the first L.A disc, and this one is a whole lot worse! Despite an impressive vocal range the actual singing on here is horrific. I recognise the Richard Marx track (crap) but think the rest are new tunes rather than covers - though I might be wrong. I can't say I care as this is proper dull, and despite some okay-ish hooks/choruses it just isn't going to get repeat spins at all. Have I mentioned the vocals? Fuck me they're awful. Even if you liked the first one I wouldn't rush out and pick this up.

 

Disagree with you on the Spin Gallery I'm afraid TIM. I wasn't blown away on first spin I admit, but after 5 or 6, it is really really good for me now. Loads of great tracks Like 'The End' 'Eyes Wide Open' and 'Blood In My Veins'. Quite different than the debut aswell.

 

The Los Angeles on the other hand, whilst an improvement on the bog standard debut, isn't having the same effect. I didn't think Luppi's vocals were that bad to be honest, but to each their own. Time will tell maybe if this is a keeper or not, but at the moment, it is neither a thumbs up or down.

[aMetalhead1966]

Orianthi-Believe

 

Man talk about a killer pop/shred release...she sings like a bird and shreds like Vai....great songs and some

absolutely killer guitar playing...very pop but who cares...he likes!!!