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Post by Armageddonit on Jun 21, 2022 11:43:04 GMT -8
Their debut song HURT is probably one of the best songs I've heard in the past decade +. DO YOU BELIEVE from their first album along with SHADOWMAN, AFTER YOU'RE GONE and HEROES from the second album are also standouts for me. GODSENT EXSTASY is also incredibly Leppard influenced. Enjoy! New band to me. Excellent!!! Wow, just wow. I'm going to have to dig into this band. Checks all the boxes for this 80s melodic rock kid! 😁
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Post by gappvembe on Jun 23, 2022 15:26:01 GMT -8
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Post by edwardcreighton on Jun 24, 2022 4:23:46 GMT -8
black label society you made me want to live, fantastic, guitar solo immense.
new megadeth single is a banger, die hards only. guitar solos all over the place, big riffs, fast.
new ozzy single could be a grower, not immediate.
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Post by Armageddonit on Jun 25, 2022 10:16:04 GMT -8
Their debut song HURT is probably one of the best songs I've heard in the past decade +. DO YOU BELIEVE from their first album along with SHADOWMAN, AFTER YOU'RE GONE and HEROES from the second album are also standouts for me. GODSENT EXSTASY is also incredibly Leppard influenced. Enjoy! Wow, just wow. I'm going to have to dig into this band. Checks all the boxes for this 80s melodic rock kid! 😁 Had a bit of a chance to live with this band for a week or so. This is the first thing to knock DSH out of rotation for me. Extremely talented melodic rock band that is just slightly heavy and slightly prog to my ears. My first impression was Dream Theater meets Def Leppard. I hear alot of Lep in Love Injection off the first album especially in the pre chorus. Other standouts Hurt...damn that guitar crunch before the solo...epic, Shadowman, Godsend Exstasy, Killer Queen, Buried Alive, and Whenever I'm Dreaming. What a band...
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Post by quarky on Jul 1, 2022 13:26:41 GMT -8
I have listened to their album a couple of times, and it is good. I like 1989.
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Post by diva on Jul 31, 2022 7:45:28 GMT -8
I got a Spotify notification that Bishop Briggs new song, “Revolution” came out today. Great song. Amazing voice. She does a lot of arena rock songs. I didn’t realize she covered “We Will Rock You.” Anyway, I think she would be a great person for the band to collaborate with. Very few female rock singers anymore.
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Post by rbtyrone on Aug 30, 2022 7:32:38 GMT -8
Been listening to Sweet who have a new greatest hits compilation out on vinyl October 7th which I pre ordered. Also Mott the Hopple and Ian Hunter. Bought the live vinyl from2013 show . Bit pricy though £55
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Post by Praet on Sept 3, 2022 12:18:03 GMT -8
At this moment #Taylorhawkinstribute. RIP Taylor🙏
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Post by andylgr on Sept 9, 2022 6:01:57 GMT -8
Sadly after a good 5 months working from home I've had to return to work, so I decided to take in a pile of cds, some new and some I'd not listened to in ages to pass the time.
DSH - I can't get over how strong this album is, after a period of arguably treading water album wise with stuff like Yeah and SFTSL, this is a real album of quality at such a late stage in their career.
Thunder 'All the Right Noises' - Another band who are now producing music in the latter stages of their career that is better than their middle years. I think theres probably 7 or 8 tracks here that are amongst the best they've written IMO, Destruction and Going to Sin City are my favourites off the album. Like Leppard they really have no right to be so good so far into their career.
Electric Boys 'The Ghost Ward Diaries' - like Thunder another band who split and then reformed and have become quite prolific in their new album output, ten tracks clocking in at 40 minutes means that nothing outstays its welcome and there are some immediate songs on here with their typical groove that really hit the mark.
Whitesnake 'The Blues Album' - Coverdale has recently released 3 Whitesnake albums, (red, white and blue), each covering genres of the band and each containing remastered tracks from their back catalogue. I really like what they've done with the songs, the drums and bass seem to have changed (maybe even new)? that make the tracks sound much brighter. Theres also been some tinkering with the vocals and guitar mixes to bring stuff to the fore and I think its really freshened up the tracks he's chosen. In fact it makes them sound like they were all recorded in pretty much the same time period, thats no mean feat. Granted they'll never replace the originals but its introduced me to some tracks I'd not paid attention to before and I think the remixes sound really good, fresh and vibrant.
Van Halen 'Best of Vol 1' - one of my favourite compilation albums which came out over 25 years ago and its got all the classics on it. However I think the new tracks they recorded with Roth and Hagar are really strong too.
Metallica 'black album'- I bought the remastered version last year and you can really tell the improvement in sound I think. But aside from that, the production of this is so good and this record is just as important a release as say Hysteria or Nevermind, because not only is it a great sounding album it is genre defining and set a benchmark that people will aspire to emulate forever. Maybe you could make a case for cutting this down by a couple of tracks, but there are so many strong songs on here to enjoy. They've made nothing as good since and never will I think.
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Post by andylgr on Sept 14, 2022 2:21:51 GMT -8
I've grabbed more cd's from storage to listen to at work on my very old fashioned cd walkman.
Whitesnake 'The Rock Album' - The first of the red, white and blue albums featuring remixed rock songs from their back catalogue. I mentioned in an earlier post that theres a real vibrancy on these thats freshened the songs up, mainly in terms of the drums and bass, to the point where I really wonder if they've been re-recorded. Still of the Night has a new (and better) ending from its original release which faded out, this one is much more like the live one. Again I'm assuming they re-recorded that bit of the song, if they did it sounds seamless. Overall its well worth a listen to hear what they've done with the remixes and alongside some classics it also includes some of their newer stuff which I'm big fan of and I think its as strong as some of their older material.
Motley Crue 'Dr.Feelgood' - The opening duo of TNT / Dr Feelgood is so good, they should never be split up and separated. However its jarring to hear the effects used in TNT were used the year before by Queensryche on Operation Mindcrime, it must be stock effects that they pulled from a library b ecause I heard the same effects in the Stallone film Samaritan the other night. Also theres no denying the great opening riff of the title track is very similar to Killing Jokes 'Love like Blood'. I also noticed a section towards the end of Rattlesnake Shake that reminded me of Bon Jovi's Homebound Train, thats not ignoring the fact that in another strange coinicidence Skid Row also released a song with the same title in the same year. Anyway this album has great production and whilst its regarded as one of their best I think that Crues strength is not full albums but in their choice of singles. Listening through this and the title track, Kickstart my Heart, Same ol Situation and Don't go Away Mad are the ones that stand out. Indeed these are the tracks that have pretty much been staples of their live set for the last 30 years too. They have the bad boy image, but in reality their music is very commercial and not as hard rocking as they may think it is. In fact some of it I find very similar to Poison, especially the filler tracks. The version I have is the 20th anniversary re-release thats in the same format as the re-issues of Leps Pyromania & Adrenalize from 2009, with a bonus disc of demos and live tracks. The demo of the title track is really good and at this point its one song and not split like the final version was with TNT at the start, but in its demo form you can really feel the power of the opening riff and drums, but what is very interesting is that its got totally different lyrics and sung in the first person.
The Darkness 'Motorheart' - Just like Thunder heres yet another English rock band who split and came back stronger. They've released new albums quite regularly in the 11 years that they've been back together and (I think) this is their 5th in that time period. Much like the others its got some strong moments that are typical of their career so far with some commercial tracks and some heavy moments, all with their quirky sense of humour in the lyrics. Theres probably 6 tracks that jump out at me now its had time to bed in, Welcome tae Glasgae, Its Love Jim, Motorheart, Jussys Girl, Eastbound and Speed of the Night Time. Thats not too bad when you consider the standard release of this is only 9 songs long. But the version I have is the deluxe with an extra 3 bonus tracks to take it to 12. Personally I'd much rather that bands release shorter albums if they have a good quality to them, there a lot to be said for bands exercising some quality control rather than say some of the overblown releases from someone like Iron Maiden for example.'
Slash '4' - Wow the drums sound horrible on this, but the whole things has a totally different production value when compared to his previous albums. In fact I found it quite distracting. But despite that I'd say its probably the worst of his 4 solo albums so far. I only really liked a couple of tracks, Actions Speak Louder Than Words and Call Off The Dogs. The bonus is that it keeps with the old school tradition of 10 songs clocking in at around 45 mins.
Electric Boys 'Upside Down' - Latest album from my favourite Swedish funk rockers that everyone else seems to have forgotten. Will they ever top their first 2 albums, Funk o Metal Carpet Ride & Groovus Maximus? Probably not. But they are still making some good music and these days if I like 50% of an album then thats a good thing, thats easily the case here. The one misstep of the album is having the 7 min long title track (an instrumental) as the first song. Again I like the trend of bands making 10 track albums that are approx 45 mins long, its like the old days and should mean we get less filler.
Metallica 'Master of Puppets' - There are some stand outs on here that still stand up now. Widely regarded as a classic by their fans and like many rock bands its when they were heavier before they became more commercial. I could be wrong but at times it feels like they're trying to write complicated riffs for the sake of it and there are a couple of tracks on here that feel like they didn't know how to end them too.
Thunder 'Dopomine' - Thunder were busy during lockdown, 1 year after the release of the All the Right Moves album they put out a brand new double album of 16 tracks. I love Thunder but this is the perfect example of exercising some quality control, theres a really good 10 track album in here thats lost amongst the sheer length of the the 2 cds and that puts me off a bit.
Madonna 'The Immaculate Collection' - As I grew up in the 80's I'm a sucker for 80's pop. This album has got a genius album title and is easily one of the best greatest hits compilations out there. For anyone around in the 80's you'll know that superstars like Madonna, Prince and Michael Jackson defined the era and ruled the charts. This CD is culled from her singles output from her first album up to 1990 and personally I think the vast majority of tracks on this CD will stand the test of time. There are 17 songs on it, 15 of them were well known singles and even then there isn't enough time on 1 cd to fit in all of her hits such was her success in the 80's. Even the 2 new songs on this (Justify my Love & Rescue Me) both became hits when they were released as singles from this too. When this came out she was fresh off the Blonde Ambition tour, (such a pity I didn't get to go to a gig), but seeing shows online since I really believe that its one of the best live shows thats ever been put on.
Electric Boys 'Funk o Metal Carpet Ride' - Deluxe version of their debut album. I discovered these supporting Thunder back in 1990 and went out the next day and bought their first album on vinyl. Little did I know then that this was re-releassed version. The album had already appeared in Sweden the year before with 5 different tracks, but when Vertigo got hold of the band they hired Bob Rock and he produced 5 new tracks with them. So their debut was re-released with brand new artwork and some of the original tracks were omitted in favour of the new ones with Bob Rock, and thats the version most would have bought back in the day as it was more readily available. This deluxe includes the original album and also the Bob Rock produced tracks along with a couple of live versions and a demo. So its a healthy 18 songs long. I love this record, I'm not sure what it was that grabbed me with them, but this is one that regularly listen to. It seems as though they were on the verge of something big at the time, they got a lot of play on MTV with the videos for All Lips n Hips, Electrified and Psychedelic Eyes, but as with many bands grunge eventually came along and bulldozed everything in its path.
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Post by quarky on Sept 14, 2022 5:15:10 GMT -8
Funny that, I was listening to Ray of Light yesterday. Frozen in particular was such a brilliant song.
Listened to Roxette recently too. I used to love them back when I was younger, and heard them on the radio over the summer (not in the UK though!), so given Look Sharp! and Joyride a few spins. Superb songs.
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Post by andylgr on Sept 14, 2022 5:18:23 GMT -8
Funny that, I was listening to Ray of Light yesterday. Frozen in particular was such a brilliant song. Ray of Light and Frozen are great tracks off that album. I'd say Ray of Light is one of her best singles (even though some of it is lifted from another track).
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Post by Dan on Sept 15, 2022 6:13:09 GMT -8
Running through ZZ Top's Eliminator, Afterburner and Recycler.
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Post by quarky on Sept 16, 2022 4:12:53 GMT -8
Running through ZZ Top's Eliminator, Afterburner and Recycler. I like the new live album they released too, RAW.
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Post by Dan on Sept 16, 2022 5:26:16 GMT -8
Running through ZZ Top's Eliminator, Afterburner and Recycler. I like the new live album they released too, RAW. I'll have to check RAW out. Eliminator, Afterburner and Recycler just sound/feel like they really work together as a grouping.
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Post by Jefflep on Sept 16, 2022 7:28:44 GMT -8
Been listening to a lot of Sheryl Crow lately. Great storyteller.
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Post by andylgr on Sept 20, 2022 0:52:52 GMT -8
I've grabbed more cd's from storage to listen to at work on my very old fashioned cd walkman.
Iron Maiden 'Senjutsu' - I think I'm done with buying their new albums, well tbh I was done when they released Dance of Death nearly 20 years ago but I've persevered thinking they'd come good again. Frankly they've got too overblown and boring for my tastes. For example theres 10 songs on Senjutsu and its over 80 minutes long spread across 2 cds. Its just way too long. Call me old fashioned but I preferred them when they were doing around 8 tracks on each album no more than 45 minutes long. Of course that success in the 80's has afforded them the luxury of being able to do what they want, but I just don't enjoy this at all. I find it so hard to get in to as its almost folk or prog-like in its style.
Bon Jovi 'Keep the Faith' - Looking back this was a turning point for them. Slippery When Wet and New Jersey are IMO two of the best rock albums released, along with the Leps they were at the top of the tree in the late 80's. But KTF is the point at which they re-defined themselves, I think this album is in the main more adult in its style and writing and maybe less bombastic too. I'm not sure if this was always planned or if it was a reaction to how the music industry had changed ove the previous couple of years? Bear in mind this came out in 1993 so they had the luxury of watching what was going on music. But if you look at their competition (Leps) they just jumped in 2 footed the year before with Adrenalize and carried on doing what they were doing without much growth. However this is the time period when Bon Jovi began to shift more to the middle of the road and make the move to stadiums and housewife popularity. Album opener I Believe is a very different type of track to previous openers like Let it Rock and Lay Your Hands on Me, its much more AOR to my ears. The title track and first single is fantastic, again a shift in style, modern yet still commercial but not in the same way as Bad Medicine or You Give Love a Bad Name. Its only I'll Sleep When I'm Dead and Blame it on the Love of Rock and Roll that you could stray from the new mature formula by being like some older tracks with party style lyrics. Its 13 tracks long and probably runs out of steam later on, possibly after track 10. But theres no denying that this is a strong album with a lot of high points, none more so than Bed of Roses, the epic Dry County, If I Was Your Mother, Fear and In These Arms.
The Darkness 'Easter is Cancelled' - I bought this when it came out and its totally passed by by, to the point where I'm not even sure if I've listened to it before. I usually try to catch them on tour too and I can't even remember if they toured this album either, maybe it was because covid came along and it all got forgotten about? Either way this is a strong album and I think out of the 5 they've put out since reforming they've got consistently better and better. Again its another ten track album that doesn't feel overblown or too long, however I have the 14 song deluxe version and it does seems to drag a bit when we get to the 4 extra tracks because they are acoustic based. Theres plenty of good songs within that initial 10 tracks though, Rock and Roll Deserves to Die, Heart Explodes, Easter is Cancelled, Heavy Metal Lover, Choke on It and We Are The Guitar Men stand out to me. These have never been shy about their influences, but Deck Chair sounds more Queen than Queen.
Electric Boys 'And Them Boys Done Swang' - Released in 2011 this was their comeback album after a 17 year break and it also featured their original lineup too. Its possibly the best of the 4 albums that have been released in this latest chapter of the band. 12 tracks in a streamlined 45 minutes with Reeferlord, 10,000 Times Goodbye, Angel in an Armoured Suit, The House is Rockin, Sometimes You Gotta Go Look for the Car and the wonderfully titled Father Popcorn's Magic Oysters are some of my favourites on here.
Slash 'Living the Dream Tour' - Recorded live in London in 2019 at the Hammersmith Apollo, this 2 cd / 1 dvd set features 22 tracks with a good spread from all of Slashs solo albums and it only features 1 GnR song (Nightrain). This is a great live document of the tour, but highlights how tight this band have become through working together for a number of years now. Long may it continue because Slash actually has a decent body of solo work now (latest album aside of course which I didn't like) and he doesn't have to use the GnR or Velvet Revolver material as a crutch anymore in a live show.
Extreme 'Pornograffitti' - I've got really fond memories of the singles from this album, it was at a time when I was discovering more and more new bands and tracks like Get the Funk Out, Decadence Dance and Hole Hearted were regulars either on the video wall or in the DJ's set at a local rock club I used to go to (The Highwayman - I really miss that place), however I think theres some filler here and I think its safe to say that the best things on this album are probably the singles (except the album version of More Than Words which drags, I'd forgotten that the single version was an edit). Hole Hearted is a bonus track for the cd only, that should have been on the regular release in favour of something else because its easily one of the best tracks. I'm not sure many bands around at this time sounded like them, but I don't think they had the quality of consistent songs to sustain the success they had in the early 90's.
AC/DC 'For Those About to Rock' - Apart from the iconic title track and Lets Get It Up, this album really does not live up to its predecessor (Back in Black) because it just doesn't have the same quality of songs or hooks. Great production from Mutt Lange though.
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Post by quarky on Sept 20, 2022 4:57:16 GMT -8
I've grabbed more cd's from storage to listen to at work on my very old fashioned cd walkman. Iron Maiden 'Senjutsu' - I think I'm done with buying their new albums, well tbh I was done when they released Dance of Death nearly 20 years ago but I've persevered thinking they'd come good again. Frankly they've got too overblown and boring for my tastes. I really liked A Matter of Life and Death and The Final Frontier (I think I like the sci-fi influence), but I do largely agree. Just nothing on Senjutsu is memorable to me and I listened to it quite a lot at the beginning of the year. Although I can think of plenty of reasons to say the same about The Smashing Pumpkins (probably my 2nd favourite band) whose recent output has been very patchy. But they release a new song today, off a 33-song, three-part rock opera due out at some point, and the third part of the trilogy (Mellon Collie, Machina, and now this). Definitely sounds overblown too, but I quite like this new one after a few listens.
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Post by andylgr on Sept 22, 2022 4:10:39 GMT -8
Been going through more cds from my collection to get me through the work day.
Megadeth 'Countdown to Extinction' - 1992 follow up to their 1990 Rust in Peace album and they had really built some momentum by now, Hangar 18 and Holy Wars were hits from Rust in Peace (and great tracks too) and Countdown continued where they left off, and maybe even took them in a more commerical direction with hits like Skin o'my Teeth, Symphony of Destruction and Sweating Bullets. I don't know for sure but Countdown must have been their biggest selling album, they were everywhere in the rock press and those 3 singles got a lot of exposure too. Thats without counting their soundtrack contributions around this time too to Last Action Hero. However despite that commercial aspect to their songs I think there are plenty of heavier moments on the album to keep fans happy.
Inglorious 'I' - First album from British rock band Inglorious fronted by the very talented Nathan James. I actually saw these supporting Last in Line in 2016 and brought the album on the strength of seeing them live. These were flavour of the month on Planet Rock for a short while getting a lot of airplay. Until I Die, Holy Water, Girl got a Gun, Inglorious and Unaware are quality bluesy hard rock tracks. I'm not sure what went on within the band, but pretty much the whole band ended up leaving / being fired not long after this album and its now a new outfit playing with Nathan James. To me these are one of those new Britsh rock bands that are never going to get past playing in small clubs / theatres and theres a shedload of these type of bands that have been treading the boards over the last 10 years or so that relied on some heavy promotion from Planet Rock, but are struggling to make the breakthrough. Seriously there are no British rock bands that are coming through to replace the Leppards, Maidens & Thunders of this world.
Alice in Chains 'Essential' - 28 tracks on a 2 cd compilation taken from their 90's studio albums and their unplugged session. I'm a big fan of these, for me Dirt is the best album of the grunge era and even now despite the death of singer Layne Staley they're still producing some good material and are well worth catching live. Listening to their early tracks from Facelift it makes me wonder where this type of music came from because its so dark and like nothing else. For the uninitiated, essential listening from this period I'd pick We Die Young, Man in a Box, Them Bones, Angry Chair, Dam that River, Rooster, No Excuses, Grind, Again and Would. Strangely Down in a Hole is omitted from this compilation.
Metallica 'Load' - Joe Elliott once referred to Load as being Metallica's Adrenalize and I can see where hs coming from. I mean how do you top such a genre defining album as the black album? I suppose the simple answer is that you don't. Its funny going back and listening to albums I haven't heard for a long time and thinking how they could be so much better if the band had exercised a little bit of restraint and decided not to work as close as possible to the capacity of a cd's running time. Just because they can doesn't mean they should. There's still a few good songs on here, Ain't my Bltch, 2 x 4, Until it Sleeps, King Nothing, Hero of the Day and Cure but I don't think much of it is memorable, yet if they made it a ten track album then the amount of filler is easily halved. They even recorded enough material for a Load 2 album, which wasn't much better IMO. This album is a far bigger let down than Adrenalize was.
Electric Boys 'Groovus Maximus' - Second album from these at a time when they got some serious promo from the label, they even recorded the album at the famous Abbey Road too. Unfortunately things didn't work out for them after grunge came along and they faded away. Which was a real pity because this is one of my favourite albums and in 1992 this was getting a lot of play on my cd player along with the much bigger albums of the time. Out of the 13 tracks on this I reckon there is possibly 1, maybe 2 that I'd skip, its really strong. I have the deluxe version that includes 3 demos and a couple of Abbey Road jam sessions too (they originally came as a bonus cassette back in the day which I still have). I can't recommend this one enough.
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Post by quarky on Sept 26, 2022 0:23:55 GMT -8
Seriously there are no British rock bands that are coming through to replace the Leppards, Maidens & Thunders of this world. No one could replace Def Leppard I quite like these two: The first are from Wales, the second from Scotland.
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Post by andylgr on Sept 28, 2022 1:50:09 GMT -8
Been going through yet more cds from my collection to get me through the work day.
HEAT 'Tearing down the Walls' - This got a lot of play when it came out back in 2014, Another Shot at Redemption and We Will Never Die really stand out, but the rest just passed me by this on this listen. Funny how changes taste over time.
Kiss 'Revenge' - widely regarded as a return to form back in 1992. Darker image (probably driven by what was going on in music at the time) and they were very clever to release Unholy as the first single, a really dark track with a brooding Gene lead vocal that I love and that song easily fit with the grunge stuff being played on MTV at the time. That persuaded me to buy album. Then second track is about strip clubs with Paul really exaggerating the New York accent and its typical Kiss, which made me think this album isn't as dark as legend would have you believe. However carrying on through the whole album and I think the production has a less bombastic sound and probably tracks like Tough Love, Domino, Heart of Chrome, Thou Shalt Not and Paralyzed hark back to sort of Creatures of the Night era Kiss with a touch of 1992 stripped back sound about it. Throw in God Gave Rock and Roll To You and I think overall its a really good album. I was surprised to seem some writing credits for Vinnie Vincent on this.
Iron Maiden 'Iron Maiden' - There some absolutle classics on this, Running Free, Sanctuary, the title track, Remember Tomorrow, Prowler.... but listening to this for the first time in ages really made me think how I'm not a fan of Paul D'ianno's vocals, at all. Also the production is really weak to my ears too.
AC/DC 'Let There Be Rock' - This could be pushing Highway to Hell as my favourite Bon Scott era album, theres so many good songs on this and again in an era when they were doing 8 track albums too, so it should mean less filler. Go Down, Let there be Rock, Bad Boy Boogie, Problem Child, Hell Aint a Bad Place to Be & Whole Lotta Rosie are so good. They just wrote good time songs with clever lyrics that rocked.
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Post by quarky on Sept 29, 2022 8:00:33 GMT -8
My favourite Kiss record I think. Remember that I couldn't help wishing Def Leppard had some of the same attitude on Adrenalize Both great albums though.
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Post by quarky on Sept 30, 2022 6:06:16 GMT -8
There are a ton of soundtracks on Spotify too, which are great to listen to while working. Was listening to these:
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Post by andylgr on Oct 6, 2022 2:50:32 GMT -8
Been going through more cds from my collection to get me through the work day.
Bruce Dickinson ' Tattooed Millionaire' - 2 cd deluxe edition of Bruce's debut solo album. It has some good moments but lyrically, the production and Bruce's vocal delivery haven't aged well at all. Strange that Bruce adopted a different way of singing on this and Maiden's next 2 albums (No Prayer & Fear of the Dark), its quite a contrast to his 80's stuff with Maiden. This deluxe version includes all the single b-sides, some live tracks and the original version of Bring Your Daughter. So its quite a comprehensive release of this era. its another album I played a lot back in the early 90's, but not so much nowadays, but its nice to revisit this period in time.
Dio 'The Last in Line' - Not as good as Holy Diver as a whole, but still theres some very good songs on, especially We Rock and The Last in Line which are metal classics to my ears. Even by their second album they had a sound thats identifiable as Dio, yet I can hear traces of Maiden and maybe even a bit of Randy Rhodes in the guitar sound at times too. Amazing to think that Viv is only 21 or 22 years old on this.
The Dead Daisies 'Make Some Noise' - third album from this band with an odd set up, they've existed as a 'super group' for maybe ten years or so now with a revolving door on band members. How anyone can get any kind of affinity for them with so many different members I don't know. This one features John Corabi on vocals, with ex-Whitesnake members Marco Mendoza, Dough Aldridge and Brian Tichy in there too. I bought this on the strength of the title track, which got a lot of play on Planet Rock back in 2016, but listening to it again theres a few more tracks I recognise too. Overall its not a bad album, but they're a band that I probably wouldn't go out of my way to buy new albums from. But judging by the tracks I've heard over the years on Planet Rock that they've released as singles theres definitely a very good 'best of' release that could be out in the future from these.
Iron Maiden ' Somewhere in Time' - this one is widely regarded as a dip in form of their 80's Bruce Dickinson catalogue. Personally I like it. I love the concept of it and I like that the production style has a futuristic feel to it with the guitar tones. Caught Somewhere in Time, Wasted Years, Heaven Can Wait Sea of Madness (what a bass line) and one of my favourite ever Maiden tracks Stranger in a Strange Land make this an enjoyable listen. Co-incidentally Maiden have just announced a tour for 2023 where thwy will be playing more tracks from this overlooked album.
Winger 'In the Heart of the Young' - On the face of this everything about the album screams Leppard knock off with the album artwork, crosshair and the bands angular logo, whilst the text font for the tracklisting is just amateurish. But when this came out I remember that Can't Get Enuff and Easy Come Easy Go were staples at the rock club I used to go to, and these are easily the best songs on here. The rest of the album is typical of many of the similar bands of the era trying to be like the Leps but without the quality of songs or songwriting.
Roadhouse 'Roadhouse' - one and only album from a band featuring Pete Willis that was released around 1991. I bought this on the strength of the single Tower of Love, which I love. It sounds very Def Lepard with the processed drums, big layered vocals and the guitar sound. But then again this album does have some additional production from Pete Woodroffe and Mike Shipley who have both worked with the Leps. Roadhouse had the backing of a big label as it was released on Vertigo, but it never did anything chart wise. The vast majority of it is forgettable really and doesn't reach the heights of Tower of Love IMO. Talking of Lep influences, More Than I Want sounds just like Stand Up.
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Post by tsmith on Oct 13, 2022 5:19:41 GMT -8
Listening to the new Skid Row album "The Gang's All Here" today and Wow....really enjoying it. I dug the first couple albums from this band but they fell off my radar in the mid 90's when Bach left. And frankly, they were moving off my radar even before he left as I didn't care for the Subhuman Race album at all. They basically stayed off my radar until Erik Gronwall joined the band earlier this year and got my attention again as I was a huge fan of his work in H.E.A.T. Anyways, I feel like this new album is really a throwback to those first couple Skid Row albums style-wise. It can be very tough for bands to get back anywhere close to a sound they had 30 years ago but I feel like Skid Row pulled it off here. I've watched quite a few recent interviews and I find it kind of fascinating how they accomplished it. Of course they brought in Erik but also handed the reigns over to producer Nick Raskulinecz who is a pretty well known rock producer. Apparently he was a huge Skid Row fan himself back in the day and approached Rachel Bolan about wanting to make a Skid Row album he'd want to hear. And the band put their egos aside to let him roll with it. I just find that kind of exceptional for the band to do after 30 years time. I mean, I could just imagine myself being given the chance as a big Def Leppard fan to produce the Def Leppard album I'd want to hear Anyways, Well worth checking out if you ever enjoyed those first couple albums and can move past Bach not being in the band and listen with an open mind. Frankly, I can honestly say I like the new album even more than those first couple albums but I'm sure I'll be in the minority on that. Personally, it feels like I'm in a time warp this year with awesome new Def Leppard and Skid Row albums!
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Post by quarky on Oct 14, 2022 7:20:08 GMT -8
I gave the new Skid Row a few listens as I really like their first two albums too. It hasn't blown me away (well, after only two listens, few albums would!), but it impressed enough so I will definitely be giving it some more listens.
It doesn't sound like Skid Row with Bach, it just sounds like Skid Row really. I wasn't at any point thinking that it would be better with Bach (even if it would).
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Post by Praet on Oct 19, 2022 10:15:35 GMT -8
New Alter Bridge album Pawns & Kings. Fantastic album IMO.
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Post by deaf_leopard on Oct 20, 2022 8:42:29 GMT -8
New Alter Bridge album Pawns & Kings. Fantastic album IMO. Listened to it a couple of times now. Imo its the best album since their debut album. Kinda lost interest in the band after they released several albums that wasnt that great imo. But this one was great.
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Post by quarky on Oct 21, 2022 0:55:37 GMT -8
New Joe Bonamassa out today which is good. Been listening to this actually as well.
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Post by Pippa73 on Oct 29, 2022 3:44:19 GMT -8
New albums out this year I've been very much enjoying are
Alter Bridge - Pawns and Kings - Amazing riffs, absolute quality
Shinedown - Planet Zero - Top notch album, yes poppy at times but the quality is superb. When they rock boy do they rock.
Def Leppard with DSH probably comes in third after these two. Good album. Other music checked out but so so Ghost, Skid Row, Queensryche, Parkway Drive, Journey, Slipknot, Halestorm. All gave me some enjoyment but not that hey yeah that's brilliant like the other 3.
Like AndyLGR been listening this year to alot of The Darkness, the last 4 albums are awesome. Check them out if you haven't.
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