First Spin Impressions

[JamesEagle]

Joshua - Surrender

 

Huge surprise at this one, sounds fantastic, good songs with some astounding guitar solos. Even better than 'Intense Defence'.

[heaven&hell]

Circle II Circle - Consequence of Power

 

The 5th disc from this great band featuring former Savatage singer Zak Stevens. The lineup is a little different this time out with there only being 4 band memebers down from 5 on previous discs with Andy Lee the remaining guitarist and a new drummer in Johnny Osbourne. The new drummer does add a new flavor and an almost progressive style to these ears. Overall I'd say it's my 4th fav or the 5 releases but am sure it will grow on me. Also it seems to be heavier overall than any of their previous discs. Fav songs so far are "Redemption", "Remember", "Consequence of Power" and "Take Back Yesterday".

[Geoff]

Attack Attack - 'The latest Fashion' ; awesome stuff. I've just listened to about 5 or 6 new releases in a row doing all sorts of things tonight, but I dug this. Could be a contender for top spot of the year in modern rock stakes... I think. It sounded really good. Thumbs up.

 

Defaze - 'The recreation' ; And this one too. I may very well have been under the influence enough to think these 2 better than they were, but this was awesome too. Great tunes, and a lot of them. Both not on the heavier side of modern rock, but both filled to the brim with great songs. I loved this one too.

 

Issa - 'Sign of angels' ; holy shit. How good is this one?! I don't know who this bird is, but she is part of some awesome songs here. I admit there's a part of me wishing this was a dude on vocals so I could just get it over and done with and call this the best melodic hard rock CD of 2010, but even with the female vocals this is right up there. The songs are just awesome. One of those CDs where you hear a great song and think that's as good as it gets, only to hear the next song is just as good. LOVED this CD. Excellent stuff.

 

Not Tonight Josephine - 'This Orphan Heart' EP ; Yeah, I'm a broken record but this was excellent too. I cannot wait till these guys release their full length release soon. Good uptempo hard rocking modern rock... I'm excited about this band. Cool band name too.

 

Strangeways - 'Perfect world' ; this one was not so good. I guess it's okay and worthy of purchase, but it ain't great. I don't mind the mellow direction... but I don't know, the album just never seemed to go anywhere. Most the songs were pretty good, but there's nothing really great here. It seems like an okay CD, but definitely nowhere near as good as the Brock/Slamer disc.

 

Trapt - 'No Apologies' ; I was hoping the tour with Papa Roach and Motley Crue may have rubbed off on these guys well, but they're still Trapt. These guys have always been pretty decent and they still are. The CD sounded good again, but nothing groundbreaking.

 

Two Fires - 'Burning Bright' ; not bad at all. Sounds possibly better overall than the other two, but it's still pretty much your standard AOR disc. Pretty much what you'd expect from it, to be honest. Good album, but I'd have preferred a 2nd disc from Shadows Fade.

 

Mainline Riders - 'Shot in the dark' ; not good, not awful. I took a chance on this 'cause it was cheap but I have to admit I'll try to onpass it to someone. They look like a budget emo band and sound like a budget Perris Records sleaze band. It's not awful, but it's very average. Probably okay for glam/sleaze die-hards.

 

Tempestt - 'Bring 'Em On' ; another pretty decent hard rock CD. Sounds like a lot of the current European, especially German hard rock / metal bands. A bit like Jaded Heart and the like, but not as good. Good guitarist, decent tunes... just unremarkable.

 

The Street - 'The Divine Debauchery' ; definitely the pleasant surprise of the batch from Musicbuymail. This is a good CD, plain as that. It reminds me a little bit of Lillian Axe - kind of - with the vocalist from Disciple. Good no-nonsense melodic hard rock CD. The song titles are all very serious and there's no love songs here, but it's good stuff. Production is simple but good... yeah, I'd have to recommend this. People should check it out.

[Jez]

Steve Lukather - All's Well That Ends Well

 

2 years since the excellent 'Everchanging Times' disc and a major major highlight from the worlds best guitarist. As previously, this is a nice mix of stuff that covers all the bases from the Toto'ish 'Darkness In My World' (superb track), 'Can't Look Back', the excellent ballad 'Don't Say It's Over' through to the Steely Dan'esque 'On My Way Home, the Hendrix bluesy rock of 'Flash In The Pan', the funky 'You'll Remember' and the jazz fusion of 'Tumesscent'. You won't hear a better guitar based release this year guaranteed. 9 tracks and 47 minutes of brilliance

 

FM - City Limits EP.

 

Following on from the successful 'Wildside' EP and the excellent 'Metropolis' album comes EP. number 2. 2 versions of 'Bring Back Yesterday' (a radio edit and extended mix) plus 'Start It Up' (only avaliable on this EP. nice song too). An new acoustic version of 'That Girl' plus 5 live tracks recorded recently on tour. over 40 minutes of music and a rather nifty addition to the FM collection.

 

 

Dead By Sunrise - Out Of Ashes

 

Have heard the band mentioned before, but never checked them out until today. Linkin' Park have never been a band I really go for to be honest, so my scepticism was at a high with Chester Bennington on vocals (one of the reasons why I don't particularly like LP). After one play through of this I was pretty impressed to be honest and how good a song is 'Let Down' - brilliant is what it is. More spins needed, but first impression is surprisingly favourable indeed.

 

Joe Satriani - Black Swans & Wormhole Wizards

 

What can I say, another Satch solo record. This boy never fails to disappoint to be honest and this one is no difeerent, in fact this could be his best one in quite a few years. More noticeable are the keyboards on this one and there are some great instrumentals throughout. Like Lukather, this guy plays with tons of feel and touch and is quite mesmerising to listen to at times. I prefer the Luke record over this one, because his is more song based, eclectic and not instrumental, but both are fantastic albums showing what they both do best. If only all guitar players had half the talent of these 2 guys.

[Jez]

[TIM (2)]

 

Grand Illusion - Ordinary Just Won't Do ; What a fence I am on when it comes to these guys. Sometimes I think I need to desperately seek out the rest of their discography, other times I think I'll just leave it. And the latter's where I'm at at the moment. The new album has some excellent moments, but also some not so great tunes. And having just bought this one it's kind of the same. Only the highlights aren't quite as monumental. Good tunes here, with some help from prolific writers like Steve Newman and Steve Overland. It's a good CD with some good songs, but also some that just don't do it for me at all. I like them and will slowly get to all their albums, but I won't rush to do it asap. And who is this vocalist is a dead ringer for?

 

 

One of my favourite bands and albums there. "Back to Yesterday" is a killer tune and they always do a stunning ballad ("And This is Why" is awesome). Not quite as great as the "View From the Top" disc but not far off IMO...

[JamesEagle]

Riot - Nightbreaker

 

Worst Riot album I've heard, I really didn't like this at all. For me the songs go from bad to awful. Can't say anything positive about this one.

[Jez]

Unruly Child - Worlds Collide

 

A welcome return for a very classy band, especailly now Mark/Marcie Free is back. I had a sneaky peak at this a week or so back and initially wasn' completely blown away, but after a lovely loud couple of turns today, i'll reassess my initial thoughts. I still don't like 'Insane' as a song, but apart from that, I pretty much like whats going on on here. Free sounds excellent and the whole sound of the record is rather nice aswell, with a great mix/Production showing off all the instruments to the max. Fave tunes, the excellent 'When We Were Young', 'Neverland' 'Talk To Me' and the closing 'You Don't Understand' is a nice piece aswell. Big thumbs up from me and apart from the slight blip that is 'Insane' a damn fine, solid record

 

Strangeways - Perfect World

 

3 play throughs and I'll stand by my initial assessment of this, which is, if you like the latter day discs you'll get something from it, if you are expecting the mega days of 'Native Sons' and 'Walking In The Fire' then leave well alone. personally I like about half of this one, 'Perfect World and the rather nice 'One More Day' being my top picks. The rest are a little too laid back, which leaves a very one paced album that doesn't really rise or fall or go anywhere at all to be honest. I have read elsewhere complaining about the production on here, some saying it is appalling and unlistenanble, and whilst the mix is a bit muddy on certain songs, it certainly isn't that bad. This was touted originally as a continuation from 'Walk In The Fire' and that, it has to be said, goes against the trade discriptions act, so I think a majority of people with big expectations of the same are going to be mightily disappointed.

 

 

Asia - Spirit Of The Night

 

Another year and yet another Asia live album to add to the hundreds already released. On the plus side, at least this is an official release and comes with the option of a companion DVD of the show, taken from the Cambridge Rock Festival last year on the original line up's comeback 'Phoenix' tour. I love Asia, but must admit I have seen the band in better form than on here and it certainly isn't their finest hour in the live arena that's for sure. The sound is a good live mix and the really strong set list is made up of songs from the first 2 albums, plus the then released 'Phoenix', who's songs fit well alongside the S/T and 'Alpha' material. Looking on the DVD, some of the camera work is a bit sloppy and that pretty much sums up this show. Some fine tunes, played reasonably well, but I know the band can (and have) produced a much much better show than this one.

 

 

Steve Lukather/ Edgar Winter - An Odd Couple

 

I've been waiting an eternity for this to be released on CD. Earlier in the year we got the DVD (originally released in Japan as a limited edition double pack with the live CD) that I could never track down, and now, finally, the full release audio version has arrived. This was a one off show taken from the North Sea Jazz Festival in 2000, with Luke on Guitar, Rock, Blues and Jazz miestro Edgar Winter on Vocals, Keys & Sax, Phil Soussan on bass and Gary Furguson on drums. Basically it's a fun filled 60+ minutes of Luke showing off his chops - the mighty 'Song For Jeff' being an amazing example of his talent and worthy of your $/£'s alone. There are run throughs of Edgars 'Frankenstein' (all 15 minutes of it) and 'Fly Away', aswell as Luke's 'Redhouse', a 'Rock Medley' and a 12 minute version of 'Tobacco Road'. Love the intro of 'Smell Yourself' where you can hear the sound man getting all the levels sorted, making this a true live album, no overdubs, no fucking around and 2 artists doing what they do best.

 

 

James LaBrie - 'Static Impulse'

 

The Dream Theater vocalist's 2nd solo album following on from the excellent 'Element's Of Persuasion' in '05. Much the same going on here, slightly more accesible stuff than his day job with DT and some cracking metal tunes with some hooky choruses, check out 'I Tried' which is a belting song. There is the addition of a few 'Shouty' vocals on here, but thankfully they are used sparingly and don't detract from what's going on. Really like this one, maybe not quite so much as 'Elements..' but it's a fine album.

[JamesEagle]

Sister Sin – Switchblade Serenade

 

Really enjoyed the first song, but the rest just sounded like the same idea arranged slightly differently and not as good. No memorable riffs either. First track will linger on the iPod, but that will probably be all.

[heaven&hell]

White Wizzard - Over the Top - Being a huge Trad/Power Metal fan I can't believe I didn't give these guys a chance until now. Damn their good. With so many bands following the Symphonic or Progressive route it's nice to hear a band stick with what Metal is supposed to be as these guys give me the same feeling that Hammerfall did when I first heard them(not that they sound a like). I'm hearing 'Number of Beast' era Maiden influence along with a whole lot of John Arch era Fates Warning(in other words the good stuff). Great stuff and I'm looking forward to hearing more from these guys.

 

Halford - IV Made of Metal - Wasn't to sure about this one after reading some spotty reviews and after listening to a few good but not great tracks a month or so ago. Of course following up the magic that was 'Ressurection' and 'Crucible' is no small feat but overall this is a very good album, not great, but very good. It's actually more hard rock in some places than metal but there's still more than a handful of tunes that are very metal. There's even a new sound thrown in with the slide guitar sound on 'Till the Day I Die'. Again pretty good but not as great as what Rob's done before but a worthy addition to any Metal fans collection.

[Geoff]

Aina - 'Living In A Boys World' ; I actually really enjoyed this. To be honest it reminded me of Fate with female vocals and without the cheeky lyrics. It was just something in the guitar sound or something... just made me think of Fate. Whatever the reason, that cannot be a bad thing and I just enjoyed this CD... the bonus tracks are great too. Good stuff.

 

Bootleg - s/t ; Just average... painfully average at times. These guys aren't bad for your standard long-forgotten early 90's hard rock band, but it's pretty forgettable stuff.

 

Branded - 'Grow' ; Over-looked mid-90's hard rock disc from Europe. Again, not too bad and well enough played. They reminded me of a much weaker version of Corako mixed with Aces High. A similar style, but a lot of weak songs. If I recall correctly the ballads were decent but not much aside from that.

 

Cannon - 'Back in Business' ; Totally did not expect this to be this good. The weak link is clearly the lead singer on this CD, but once you get used to his well worn and over-used vocal chords, which are low in the mix anyway, the songs are just good, solid 80's styled hard rockers. I haven't really heard a full Cannon CD from the 80's, but based on what I've heard of their best of (I think that's what I have?) this sounds even better than their old stuff. Not earth shattering, but good solid melodic hard rock.

 

Dare Force - 'Makin Our Own Rules' ; not sure about this. Not a bad band but this is not a great album. 20 songs and a lot of them are just wasting space. I was kind of into it early on but it just got long and repetitive. Production is shithouse throughout and there's not enough good songs here to make it worthwhile.

 

Delirious - s/t ; another long forgotten band, this time from the UK. For some reason I thought I'd be onto something here... but it wasn't great at all. Like Bootleg, it's just average early 90's melodic rock. There was a good ballad on this album, but aside form that it was 16 or so pretty average tracks.

[Jez]

Bleak House - Suspended Animation

 

It would be a complete lie to say that this is a first spin impression really, as I have lived with these recordings since the ripe old age of 14. What this is, is a compilation of Bleak House' 2 vinyl EP's (7 tracks) from 1980 & 1981 respectively, and a live gig recorded way back in 1980 (which I was in attendence). These were released last year on LP for the first time, and a CD release has been pending for ages, but finally over the last couple of months, it has finally surfaced. To say I am chuffed with this release would be an understatement, as I followed this band high and low back in the day and played the EP's to death. It's raw, it's not the best produced stuff in the world (like alot of the NWOBHM bands back in the day, budgets were tiny), but there is no denying that, besides being really good Hard rock/metal songs, the 7 tracks that stretch across both the 'Rainbow Warrior' & 'The Lions In Winter' EP's have bags of energy and passion aswell - exactly what the NWOBHM was all about for me. Metallica even 'Borrowed' the intro of 'Rainbow Warrior' for their 'Welcome Home (Sanitarium)' track from 'Master Of Puppets' - high praise indeed. The live portion of the disc has 13 tracks and shows the band were no slouches live either, not the best recordings ever admittedly, but seeing as these came from (I presume) the original Casette, very good indeed. A real shame that the band broke up in 1983 never to be seen again and criminally, without ever recording a full album either. So there you have it, the complete works of Bleak House on one shiny disc. As far as I know, this is a pretty limited pressing (500), so if you see one about, grab it. If you are a fan of the NWOBHM and metal fans in general, this is Brilliant brilliant stuff.

 

 

White Widdow - S/T

 

I did hear an (allegedly) unmastered version of the album a month or so back. Playing the 'new' CD version, the sound is virtually the same to my ears, so whether the leaked album was the full proper version or not I don't know. I said on my initial impression that the keyboards were overdone on here, & I stand by that statement now. Every little crevice is filled with the little buggers, not normally a problem with me, but there is no variation in the sounds used which doesn't help, plus they are maybe a little too high in the mix, which maybe the main problem. Songwise, there are some really good tracks here, but I am still waiting to be completely blown away by any of them if I am really honest,again, maybe a little predictable with not enough variation & I did find it a little one paced throughout aswell. Those criticisms aside, it is definitely a good album & the band can be justifiably proud of what they have produced and achieved here. Production by Martin Kronlund is excellent, the band, whilst obviously not the most talented out there, play and write well together & I could never quite put my finger on who they reminded me of until Koogles mentioned Shotgun Symphony, which I think is a spot on reference to this band,(although I think SS are the better of the 2 at the moment). All in all a very good debut, although I don't think it is as strong as some are making it out to be, but definitely a band I think will improve more and more as time goes on.

[JamesEagle]

Farrcry - Can't Bargain With God

 

Really like this, some great tunes (the title track stands out on first listen, but there are a few other really nice ones). Couple of songs I didn't like, e.g. 'Walking The Dog' and 'Red, White and Blue' I found boring, but overall very good.

[Geoff]

Farrcry - Can't Bargain With God

 

Really like this, some great tunes (the title track stands out on first listen, but there are a few other really nice ones). Couple of songs I didn't like, e.g. 'Walking The Dog' and 'Red, White and Blue' I found boring, but overall very good.

In a world full of over-rated mid 90's hard rock indies, this is one of the most under-rated legitimately good discs. As you correctly point out, a few out of place clunkers on there but otherwise it's an excellent disc. And affordable too.

 

Plenty of first spins for me, but a few new ones tonight for modern rock enthusiasts:

Escape The Fate - s/t ; this one surprised me to be honest. They look like such glam metalists and based on the direction of the last album I really thought they'd 80's it up. But they didn't. This is another great album, but they've returned to their heavier roots, totally avoiding super commercial stuff like 'Ashleigh' off the last album. There are still plenty of great riffs, good hooks and good melodies, but they've toughened up the lead vocals again and it sounds more like Atreyu than the Poison-esque album I was secretly hoping for. Seriously, sounds like a great album, just not what I was expecting from them. Oh, and the 2 bonus tracks sounds like 2 of the best and most melodic from the album.

 

 

The Fire - 'Abracadabra' ; surprisingly good. No idea who these guys are, but it's great modern rock. Awful cover of 'New York New York' in the mix but the rest is great, bordering on excellent. I really dig this album.

[Glen]

 

White Widdow - S/T

 

I did hear an (allegedly) unmastered version of the album a month or so back. Playing the 'new' CD version, the sound is virtually the same to my ears, so whether the leaked album was the full proper version or not I don't know. I said on my initial impression that the keyboards were overdone on here, & I stand by that statement now. Every little crevice is filled with the little buggers, not normally a problem with me, but there is no variation in the sounds used which doesn't help, plus they are maybe a little too high in the mix, which maybe the main problem. Songwise, there are some really good tracks here, but I am still waiting to be completely blown away by any of them if I am really honest,again, maybe a little predictable with not enough variation & I did find it a little one paced throughout aswell. Those criticisms aside, it is definitely a good album & the band can be justifiably proud of what they have produced and achieved here. Production by Martin Kronlund is excellent, the band, whilst obviously not the most talented out there, play and write well together & I could never quite put my finger on who they reminded me of until Koogles mentioned Shotgun Symphony, which I think is a spot on reference to this band,(although I think SS are the better of the 2 at the moment). All in all a very good debut, although I don't think it is as strong as some are making it out to be, but definitely a band I think will improve more and more as time goes on.

 

I love it! Fantastic disc! Most of the songs hit the spot for me. Out of all the 'pure AOR' releases so far this year like Houston, Serpentine, Auras, Shining Line, etc this is the best IMO.

[Jez]

 

White Widdow - S/T

 

I did hear an (allegedly) unmastered version of the album a month or so back. Playing the 'new' CD version, the sound is virtually the same to my ears, so whether the leaked album was the full proper version or not I don't know. I said on my initial impression that the keyboards were overdone on here, & I stand by that statement now. Every little crevice is filled with the little buggers, not normally a problem with me, but there is no variation in the sounds used which doesn't help, plus they are maybe a little too high in the mix, which maybe the main problem. Songwise, there are some really good tracks here, but I am still waiting to be completely blown away by any of them if I am really honest,again, maybe a little predictable with not enough variation & I did find it a little one paced throughout aswell. Those criticisms aside, it is definitely a good album & the band can be justifiably proud of what they have produced and achieved here. Production by Martin Kronlund is excellent, the band, whilst obviously not the most talented out there, play and write well together & I could never quite put my finger on who they reminded me of until Koogles mentioned Shotgun Symphony, which I think is a spot on reference to this band,(although I think SS are the better of the 2 at the moment). All in all a very good debut, although I don't think it is as strong as some are making it out to be, but definitely a band I think will improve more and more as time goes on.

 

I love it! Fantastic disc! Most of the songs hit the spot for me. Out of all the 'pure AOR' releases so far this year like Houston, Serpentine, Auras, Shining Line, etc this is the best IMO.

 

I don't know what it is about it, just something that isn't quite right - the rhythm section is weak and makes the album plod, check out 'Don't Fail Me Now' for example As I said, I love my keys, but here they are all one sound, with not much imagination behind them. I do like the guitarist though, some nice solos. Generally, I like it don't get me wrong, 'Change Of Passion' and 'Fire And Ice' especially are both great songs, but Houston and H.e.a.t destroy this, although it is way way better than the others you mention.

[Geoff]

 

White Widdow - S/T

 

I did hear an (allegedly) unmastered version of the album a month or so back. Playing the 'new' CD version, the sound is virtually the same to my ears, so whether the leaked album was the full proper version or not I don't know. I said on my initial impression that the keyboards were overdone on here, & I stand by that statement now. Every little crevice is filled with the little buggers, not normally a problem with me, but there is no variation in the sounds used which doesn't help, plus they are maybe a little too high in the mix, which maybe the main problem. Songwise, there are some really good tracks here, but I am still waiting to be completely blown away by any of them if I am really honest,again, maybe a little predictable with not enough variation & I did find it a little one paced throughout aswell. Those criticisms aside, it is definitely a good album & the band can be justifiably proud of what they have produced and achieved here. Production by Martin Kronlund is excellent, the band, whilst obviously not the most talented out there, play and write well together & I could never quite put my finger on who they reminded me of until Koogles mentioned Shotgun Symphony, which I think is a spot on reference to this band,(although I think SS are the better of the 2 at the moment). All in all a very good debut, although I don't think it is as strong as some are making it out to be, but definitely a band I think will improve more and more as time goes on.

 

I love it! Fantastic disc! Most of the songs hit the spot for me. Out of all the 'pure AOR' releases so far this year like Houston, Serpentine, Auras, Shining Line, etc this is the best IMO.

 

I don't know what it is about it, just something that isn't quite right - the rhythm section is weak and makes the album plod, check out 'Don't Fail Me Now' for example As I said, I love my keys, but here they are all one sound, with not much imagination behind them. I do like the guitarist though, some nice solos. Generally, I like it don't get me wrong, 'Change Of Passion' and 'Fire And Ice' especially are both great songs, but Houston and H.e.a.t destroy this, although it is way way better than the others you mention.

I'd have to agree with Glen here. Although it's on a similar level to HEAT I think it destroys the rest in that list. But also, keys or not, it's got a hell of a lot more balls than the others too. The Houston CD is nice and polite, but not even in the same league as far as I'm concerned.

 

I do agree, Jez, and having seen them live, the guitarist is excellent. I believe he already had a very good reputation from his past in a Van Halen cover band before he joined White Widdow. I believe. But he gives the CD that Masquerade/Fate/TNT style of exciting rhythm guitar which absolutely wins me over every single time without exception. Like I said in another thread, for me personally I think this'll be my favourite CD of the year.

[heaven&hell]

Gotthard - Dial Hard

I actually have heard this but it's been years and this is the first time I've had it on cd and damn this is awesome. Just in your face hard rock with a big Whitesnake influence. This band has never made anything this good as IMO it's my fav just ahead of 'G', 'Lipservice' and 'Domino Effect'.

 

Gotthard - G

I had this on cdr a few years back and once it got to track 3 "Mighty Quinn" I turned it off and never finished it. That was a mistake. While I'm still not a fan of the above mentioned Bob Dylan cover song or the final cover track "He Aint Heavy, He's My Brother", the other 12 songs are excellent with no fillers in sight. Again without those two cover songs this might be a perfect disc.

 

Gotthard - S/T

A great debut and the first of three great releases to start their correct before they went the laid back route before finding their balls. "Firedance" is worth the price of admission alone but the rest of the disc is excellent as well. Again a great disc.

 

Gotthard - Homerun

The title is all wrong as it shoud of been called "Bunt Single"(sorry for the baseball reference but they started it) since it works every once in a while but isn't quite as effective as the long ball that they had with their first three discs. There's some nice songs on this release and not really any bad ones and I could of heard many of the tracks on the radio at the time of it's release but when compared to their earlier works it's jut waaaay to laid back and boring IMO. Again okay to play when you want to chill out but if I want to rock I'm playing something else.

 

Gotthard - Human Zoo

A little better than the previous disc, 'Homerun', but still not rocking enough for my tastes but still some nice songs spread throughout this disc. I'm sure glad they found their nuts again with the 'Lipservice' disc.

 

Gotthard - Domino Effect

I had heard this before buying it but for some reason it's much much better than I remembered it the first time. Not quite as stellar as 'Lipservice' IMO but better than 'Need to Believe'. Another great disc with no filler IMO.

[JamesEagle]

Nightvision - s/t

 

Didn't like this. Some great intros and nice guitar solos, but the songs just sound like generic melodic metal to me, nothing special at all.

[Jez]

 

White Widdow - S/T

 

I did hear an (allegedly) unmastered version of the album a month or so back. Playing the 'new' CD version, the sound is virtually the same to my ears, so whether the leaked album was the full proper version or not I don't know. I said on my initial impression that the keyboards were overdone on here, & I stand by that statement now. Every little crevice is filled with the little buggers, not normally a problem with me, but there is no variation in the sounds used which doesn't help, plus they are maybe a little too high in the mix, which maybe the main problem. Songwise, there are some really good tracks here, but I am still waiting to be completely blown away by any of them if I am really honest,again, maybe a little predictable with not enough variation & I did find it a little one paced throughout aswell. Those criticisms aside, it is definitely a good album & the band can be justifiably proud of what they have produced and achieved here. Production by Martin Kronlund is excellent, the band, whilst obviously not the most talented out there, play and write well together & I could never quite put my finger on who they reminded me of until Koogles mentioned Shotgun Symphony, which I think is a spot on reference to this band,(although I think SS are the better of the 2 at the moment). All in all a very good debut, although I don't think it is as strong as some are making it out to be, but definitely a band I think will improve more and more as time goes on.

 

I love it! Fantastic disc! Most of the songs hit the spot for me. Out of all the 'pure AOR' releases so far this year like Houston, Serpentine, Auras, Shining Line, etc this is the best IMO.

 

I don't know what it is about it, just something that isn't quite right - the rhythm section is weak and makes the album plod, check out 'Don't Fail Me Now' for example As I said, I love my keys, but here they are all one sound, with not much imagination behind them. I do like the guitarist though, some nice solos. Generally, I like it don't get me wrong, 'Change Of Passion' and 'Fire And Ice' especially are both great songs, but Houston and H.e.a.t destroy this, although it is way way better than the others you mention.

I'd have to agree with Glen here. Although it's on a similar level to HEAT I think it destroys the rest in that list. But also, keys or not, it's got a hell of a lot more balls than the others too. The Houston CD is nice and polite, but not even in the same league as far as I'm concerned.

 

I do agree, Jez, and having seen them live, the guitarist is excellent. I believe he already had a very good reputation from his past in a Van Halen cover band before he joined White Widdow. I believe. But he gives the CD that Masquerade/Fate/TNT style of exciting rhythm guitar which absolutely wins me over every single time without exception. Like I said in another thread, for me personally I think this'll be my favourite CD of the year.

 

The Houston is mean't to be pretty soft, as it is more of a pure AOR album than the more Melodic Rock of the White Widdow album, so I would expect a lttle more balls on the White Widdow to be honest. Houston has got loads of keyboards on it (maybe even more than WW) but they are so much more varied soundwise and utilised so much better (check out '1000 Songs' for a good example of a traditional AOR song, but updated with some absolutely wonderful keyboards textures). Dare I say it, I think the songs, bar one or two mentioned above, are better written, played and definitely better arranged and I would also apply all these comments when comparing the H.e.a.t album with White Widdow aswell. At the end of the day, all 3 are good albums in whatever order you prefer them and way way ahead of the likes of Serpentine and Auras of this world. With bands like these, The AOR/MR world is definitely in good shape

[TIM (2)]

 

White Widdow - S/T

 

I did hear an (allegedly) unmastered version of the album a month or so back. Playing the 'new' CD version, the sound is virtually the same to my ears, so whether the leaked album was the full proper version or not I don't know. I said on my initial impression that the keyboards were overdone on here, & I stand by that statement now. Every little crevice is filled with the little buggers, not normally a problem with me, but there is no variation in the sounds used which doesn't help, plus they are maybe a little too high in the mix, which maybe the main problem. Songwise, there are some really good tracks here, but I am still waiting to be completely blown away by any of them if I am really honest,again, maybe a little predictable with not enough variation & I did find it a little one paced throughout aswell. Those criticisms aside, it is definitely a good album & the band can be justifiably proud of what they have produced and achieved here. Production by Martin Kronlund is excellent, the band, whilst obviously not the most talented out there, play and write well together & I could never quite put my finger on who they reminded me of until Koogles mentioned Shotgun Symphony, which I think is a spot on reference to this band,(although I think SS are the better of the 2 at the moment). All in all a very good debut, although I don't think it is as strong as some are making it out to be, but definitely a band I think will improve more and more as time goes on.

 

I love it! Fantastic disc! Most of the songs hit the spot for me. Out of all the 'pure AOR' releases so far this year like Houston, Serpentine, Auras, Shining Line, etc this is the best IMO.

 

I don't know what it is about it, just something that isn't quite right - the rhythm section is weak and makes the album plod, check out 'Don't Fail Me Now' for example As I said, I love my keys, but here they are all one sound, with not much imagination behind them. I do like the guitarist though, some nice solos. Generally, I like it don't get me wrong, 'Change Of Passion' and 'Fire And Ice' especially are both great songs, but Houston and H.e.a.t destroy this, although it is way way better than the others you mention.

I'd have to agree with Glen here. Although it's on a similar level to HEAT I think it destroys the rest in that list. But also, keys or not, it's got a hell of a lot more balls than the others too. The Houston CD is nice and polite, but not even in the same league as far as I'm concerned.

 

I do agree, Jez, and having seen them live, the guitarist is excellent. I believe he already had a very good reputation from his past in a Van Halen cover band before he joined White Widdow. I believe. But he gives the CD that Masquerade/Fate/TNT style of exciting rhythm guitar which absolutely wins me over every single time without exception. Like I said in another thread, for me personally I think this'll be my favourite CD of the year.

 

The Houston is mean't to be pretty soft, as it is more of a pure AOR album than the more Melodic Rock of the White Widdow album, so I would expect a lttle more balls on the White Widdow to be honest. Houston has got loads of keyboards on it (maybe even more than WW) but they are so much more varied soundwise and utilised so much better (check out '1000 Songs' for a good example of a traditional AOR song, but updated with some absolutely wonderful keyboards textures). Dare I say it, I think the songs, bar one or two mentioned above, are better written, played and definitely better arranged and I would also apply all these comments when comparing the H.e.a.t album with White Widdow aswell. At the end of the day, all 3 are good albums in whatever order you prefer them and way way ahead of the likes of Serpentine and Auras of this world. With bands like these, The AOR/MR world is definitely in good shape

 

 

I thought the White Widdow sounded pretty good from soundbytes (can't decide whether to pick it up or not), but to mention that band in the same breath as H.E.A.T is a bit absurd IMO.

[Jez]

 

White Widdow - S/T

 

I did hear an (allegedly) unmastered version of the album a month or so back. Playing the 'new' CD version, the sound is virtually the same to my ears, so whether the leaked album was the full proper version or not I don't know. I said on my initial impression that the keyboards were overdone on here, & I stand by that statement now. Every little crevice is filled with the little buggers, not normally a problem with me, but there is no variation in the sounds used which doesn't help, plus they are maybe a little too high in the mix, which maybe the main problem. Songwise, there are some really good tracks here, but I am still waiting to be completely blown away by any of them if I am really honest,again, maybe a little predictable with not enough variation & I did find it a little one paced throughout aswell. Those criticisms aside, it is definitely a good album & the band can be justifiably proud of what they have produced and achieved here. Production by Martin Kronlund is excellent, the band, whilst obviously not the most talented out there, play and write well together & I could never quite put my finger on who they reminded me of until Koogles mentioned Shotgun Symphony, which I think is a spot on reference to this band,(although I think SS are the better of the 2 at the moment). All in all a very good debut, although I don't think it is as strong as some are making it out to be, but definitely a band I think will improve more and more as time goes on.

 

I love it! Fantastic disc! Most of the songs hit the spot for me. Out of all the 'pure AOR' releases so far this year like Houston, Serpentine, Auras, Shining Line, etc this is the best IMO.

 

I don't know what it is about it, just something that isn't quite right - the rhythm section is weak and makes the album plod, check out 'Don't Fail Me Now' for example As I said, I love my keys, but here they are all one sound, with not much imagination behind them. I do like the guitarist though, some nice solos. Generally, I like it don't get me wrong, 'Change Of Passion' and 'Fire And Ice' especially are both great songs, but Houston and H.e.a.t destroy this, although it is way way better than the others you mention.

I'd have to agree with Glen here. Although it's on a similar level to HEAT I think it destroys the rest in that list. But also, keys or not, it's got a hell of a lot more balls than the others too. The Houston CD is nice and polite, but not even in the same league as far as I'm concerned.

 

I do agree, Jez, and having seen them live, the guitarist is excellent. I believe he already had a very good reputation from his past in a Van Halen cover band before he joined White Widdow. I believe. But he gives the CD that Masquerade/Fate/TNT style of exciting rhythm guitar which absolutely wins me over every single time without exception. Like I said in another thread, for me personally I think this'll be my favourite CD of the year.

 

The Houston is mean't to be pretty soft, as it is more of a pure AOR album than the more Melodic Rock of the White Widdow album, so I would expect a lttle more balls on the White Widdow to be honest. Houston has got loads of keyboards on it (maybe even more than WW) but they are so much more varied soundwise and utilised so much better (check out '1000 Songs' for a good example of a traditional AOR song, but updated with some absolutely wonderful keyboards textures). Dare I say it, I think the songs, bar one or two mentioned above, are better written, played and definitely better arranged and I would also apply all these comments when comparing the H.e.a.t album with White Widdow aswell. At the end of the day, all 3 are good albums in whatever order you prefer them and way way ahead of the likes of Serpentine and Auras of this world. With bands like these, The AOR/MR world is definitely in good shape

 

 

I thought the White Widdow sounded pretty good from soundbytes (can't decide whether to pick it up or not), but to mention that band in the same breath as H.E.A.T is a bit absurd IMO.

 

You'd definitely like it I think, check the Houston aswell - really good and solid with a few killer tracks, '1000' Songs (as mentioned) and 'Pride' is ace aswell.

[heaven&hell]

Gotthard - Dial Hard

I actually have heard this but it's been years and this is the first time I've had it on cd and damn this is awesome. Just in your face hard rock with a big Whitesnake influence. This band has never made anything this good as IMO it's my fav just ahead of 'G', 'Lipservice' and 'Domino Effect'.

 

Gotthard - G

I had this on cdr a few years back and once it got to track 3 "Mighty Quinn" I turned it off and never finished it. That was a mistake. While I'm still not a fan of the above mentioned Bob Dylan cover song or the final cover track "He Aint Heavy, He's My Brother", the other 12 songs are excellent with no fillers in sight. Again without those two cover songs this might be a perfect disc.

 

Gotthard - S/T

A great debut and the first of three great releases to start their correct before they went the laid back route before finding their balls. "Firedance" is worth the price of admission alone but the rest of the disc is excellent as well. Again a great disc.

 

Gotthard - Homerun

The title is all wrong as it shoud of been called "Bunt Single"(sorry for the baseball reference but they started it) since it works every once in a while but isn't quite as effective as the long ball that they had with their first three discs. There's some nice songs on this release and not really any bad ones and I could of heard many of the tracks on the radio at the time of it's release but when compared to their earlier works it's jut waaaay to laid back and boring IMO. Again okay to play when you want to chill out but if I want to rock I'm playing something else.

 

Gotthard - Human Zoo

A little better than the previous disc, 'Homerun', but still not rocking enough for my tastes but still some nice songs spread throughout this disc. I'm sure glad they found their nuts again with the 'Lipservice' disc.

 

Gotthard - Domino Effect

I had heard this before buying it but for some reason it's much much better than I remembered it the first time. Not quite as stellar as 'Lipservice' IMO but better than 'Need to Believe'. Another great disc with no filler IMO.

 

After spinning the 'Human Zoo' and 'Homerun' discs again I might of been a little hard on them. There are some great songs on both discs but overall to laid back for my tastes to get spun to often.

[Jez]

Gotthard - Dial Hard

I actually have heard this but it's been years and this is the first time I've had it on cd and damn this is awesome. Just in your face hard rock with a big Whitesnake influence. This band has never made anything this good as IMO it's my fav just ahead of 'G', 'Lipservice' and 'Domino Effect'.

 

Gotthard - G

I had this on cdr a few years back and once it got to track 3 "Mighty Quinn" I turned it off and never finished it. That was a mistake. While I'm still not a fan of the above mentioned Bob Dylan cover song or the final cover track "He Aint Heavy, He's My Brother", the other 12 songs are excellent with no fillers in sight. Again without those two cover songs this might be a perfect disc.

 

Gotthard - S/T

A great debut and the first of three great releases to start their correct before they went the laid back route before finding their balls. "Firedance" is worth the price of admission alone but the rest of the disc is excellent as well. Again a great disc.

 

Gotthard - Homerun

The title is all wrong as it shoud of been called "Bunt Single"(sorry for the baseball reference but they started it) since it works every once in a while but isn't quite as effective as the long ball that they had with their first three discs. There's some nice songs on this release and not really any bad ones and I could of heard many of the tracks on the radio at the time of it's release but when compared to their earlier works it's jut waaaay to laid back and boring IMO. Again okay to play when you want to chill out but if I want to rock I'm playing something else.

 

Gotthard - Human Zoo

A little better than the previous disc, 'Homerun', but still not rocking enough for my tastes but still some nice songs spread throughout this disc. I'm sure glad they found their nuts again with the 'Lipservice' disc.

 

Gotthard - Domino Effect

I had heard this before buying it but for some reason it's much much better than I remembered it the first time. Not quite as stellar as 'Lipservice' IMO but better than 'Need to Believe'. Another great disc with no filler IMO.

 

After spinning the 'Human Zoo' and 'Homerun' discs again I might of been a little hard on them. There are some great songs on both discs but overall to laid back for my tastes to get spun to often.

 

'Human Zoo' is one of my fave Gotthard albums - love it.

[phaffas]

Gotthard - Dial Hard

I actually have heard this but it's been years and this is the first time I've had it on cd and damn this is awesome. Just in your face hard rock with a big Whitesnake influence. This band has never made anything this good as IMO it's my fav just ahead of 'G', 'Lipservice' and 'Domino Effect'.

 

Gotthard - G

I had this on cdr a few years back and once it got to track 3 "Mighty Quinn" I turned it off and never finished it. That was a mistake. While I'm still not a fan of the above mentioned Bob Dylan cover song or the final cover track "He Aint Heavy, He's My Brother", the other 12 songs are excellent with no fillers in sight. Again without those two cover songs this might be a perfect disc.

 

Gotthard - S/T

A great debut and the first of three great releases to start their correct before they went the laid back route before finding their balls. "Firedance" is worth the price of admission alone but the rest of the disc is excellent as well. Again a great disc.

 

Gotthard - Homerun

The title is all wrong as it shoud of been called "Bunt Single"(sorry for the baseball reference but they started it) since it works every once in a while but isn't quite as effective as the long ball that they had with their first three discs. There's some nice songs on this release and not really any bad ones and I could of heard many of the tracks on the radio at the time of it's release but when compared to their earlier works it's jut waaaay to laid back and boring IMO. Again okay to play when you want to chill out but if I want to rock I'm playing something else.

 

Gotthard - Human Zoo

A little better than the previous disc, 'Homerun', but still not rocking enough for my tastes but still some nice songs spread throughout this disc. I'm sure glad they found their nuts again with the 'Lipservice' disc.

 

Gotthard - Domino Effect

I had heard this before buying it but for some reason it's much much better than I remembered it the first time. Not quite as stellar as 'Lipservice' IMO but better than 'Need to Believe'. Another great disc with no filler IMO.

 

After spinning the 'Human Zoo' and 'Homerun' discs again I might of been a little hard on them. There are some great songs on both discs but overall to laid back for my tastes to get spun to often.

 

'Human Zoo' is one of my fave Gotthard albums - love it.

those few definately arnt as immediate as the others.