Trollheart's Sixty-Second Samplers
 

Trollheart’s Sixty-Second Samplers

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A new idea I had. Yes, another one, what of it? My favourite music vendor website allows you to listen to sixty seconds of each track off an album before you decide to purchase, so I thought this might be a good way for me to review new albums without having to listen to them all the way through. I mean, there are albums I would not even shell out sixty cents for, and while of course I could go a-Soulseeking, again some of them I just wouldn’t want to bother. But this way I get to hear snippets without having to put my hand in my digital pocket. It’s how I usually decide anyway whether or not I intend to buy an album, and while there’s not a huge amount you can learn from sixty seconds of a track, in some cases this could be a quarter of the song, so you might glean more from it than you might think.

Clearly, I won’t be writing much about the actual songs, and even that which I do could be way off, as songs can change halfway through, and some samples may give me little more than an instrumental intro or whatever, but I’ll do what I can. Each track will be rated 1 - 10, as below, and then the album as a whole will also be rated 1 - 10. You can expect absolutely every genre here, as I am going to take every single album the website puts on its front page (its new releases) and go through them one by one. If I really hate an album after a few tracks I’ll reserve the right not to continue, but in general and as best I can I will try to get to the end of each one. Feel free to comment, add information, ask questions, or send large donations of cash.

Rating system

There’s a difference to my normal rating system here. In addition to numbers from 1 - 10 I’ll be using letters. This is to account for the fact that many of these will be albums I have little or no interest in hearing, or artists I don’t even know, but that, outside of my own personal preferences, they may be good albums in themselves. So I don’t want to give an album a low rating just because it’s a genre or artist I’m not familiar with, or like. Therefore the following suffixes will apply.

A = Artist or genre I’m very familiar with. An A indicates that I should have a pretty good expectation of liking at least some of the tracks on this album.

B = The same, but perhaps to my surprise a big disappointment where I had expected/hoped to enjoy this

C = An album I did not enjoy, but did not expect to enjoy, as I don’t like or have much experience of the genre/artist

D = As above, but one that, to my surprise, I did enjoy.

E= An album I had absolutely no clue whether I was going to love or hate

F= An album I had a reasonable expectation of liking, and did

G= An album I had a reasonable expectation of not liking, and did not.

H= An album I had a reasonable expectation of liking, but did not

K= An album I had a reasonable expectation of not liking, but did


L= Other (who knows?)

The letter ratings only apply to albums, not tracks.

The numerical ratings run as follows:
(tracks)
0: Unlikely to be used much, but this will cover any track which has maybe excessive intro using sound effects or whatever that prevents me from being able to get a proper handle on the track.
1 -2: Hate this after sixty seconds, or less; never want to hear it again
3-4: Not very impressed with this; have no desire to hear any more
5 -6: Meh. Not bad, but I can live without hearing any more
7: Pretty decent; wouldn't turn it off if I were listening to the full track
8: Good. I’m enjoying this and I could certainly stand to hear more.
9: Excellent! Have to hear more of this.
10: I would probably buy the album just based on this track alone.

(album)
1-2: Would not take this album for free, not even if they paid me.
3-4: Pretty poor. Doubt I’d be interested in hearing the full thing.
5-6: Meh. All right, but no particular interest in hearing any more.
7: Pretty good; could possibly see listening to more.
8: Very impressed. Would definitely like to hear more.
9: Really great: have to hear the full album.
10: I’m buying/have bought/will buy this album, and possibly others by this artist.

So an excellent album which I expected to be excellent would rate a 9A or higher, while a disappointment might rate something like a 6B. One I knew I would hate, and did, would be perhaps a 3C while one I expected to hate but did not could be a 7D. Clear? No? Tough. Here we go.

And by the way, in case anyone thinks I’m going easy on myself by choosing an album that is from a genre and artist I know, it’s pure coincidence: I’m taking these exactly in the order they come on the front page, going top left to bottom right, leaving out nothing. It just so happens that I’m lucky this is the first one on the list.

https://megaboon.com/images/release/264/54/1353054.jpg
Album title: Saints and Sinners
Artist: House of Lords
Genre: Hard Rock/Melodic Rock/AOR
Nationality: American
Familiarity (artist): I have heard two albums by them.
Familiarity (genre): I’m a big fan of melodic rock/metal and of course AOR, as well as heavy metal and hard rock, so this is right in my wheelhouse.

A word before I jump in: My experience of this band has varied. I’ve heard two albums as I say above, One, 2004’s The Power and the Myth, I was distinctly unimpressed with, however 2012’s Indestructible was a totally different proposition, and I loved it. Will this continue the trend of the latter? Let’s find out.

Tracks
“Saints and Sinners”
It’s straight into it with a rocking beat and a quasi-Maiden riff leading in a lowish vocal that reminds me a little of Jon Bon Jovi and then kicks up just as my sample ends.
Rating: 9

“House of the Lord”
A digital piano leads us in with a real feeling of Tony Banks - could this be the first ballad already? But then the thundering drumbeat belies that, and it’s followed by chugging guitars and a soarway keyboard run as we rock out again.
Rating: 9

“Take it All”
With another soft keyboard intro, perhaps this is a power ballad? But again I’d say no: hard guitars punch up and the tempo, though it doesn’t quite rock as fast as the previous two, is still in a kind of stomping, marching kind of style, and I would categorise this as what I like to call a rock cruncher.
Rating: 9

“Road Warrior”
Trumpeting keyboard arpeggio blasts into a boogie-style rocker which sounds like it has a lot of fun and energy in it.
Rating: 9

“Mistress of the Dark”
Longest track on the album at just over seven minutes, and begins with a suitably long and atmospheric synthy intro - take up most of the sample actually - which reminds me of the opening of Dire Straits’ “Private Investigations”, then a hard rock seventies-style guitar riff kicks in, and off we go!
Rating: 9

“Avalanche”
And surely this is the ballad, with a slow piano line and a soft vocal. Yeah, deffo a ballad, and a damn good one too.
Rating: 10

“Roll Like Thunder”
Rocker whose main melody is a little too close I think to Palmer’s “Addicted to Love”. Meh.
Rating: 6

“Razzle Dazzle”
I must admit, before the track even starts I have my reservations about this, just because of the stupid title. But we’ll see. Well it certainly comes roaring out of the traps with a big growling nasty guitar sound. Could live without the way the vocal is constructed. Not bad though.
Rating: 7

“Dreamin’ it All”
And we keep rocking, though kind of almost more in a metal way - well, to be fair, if anything this sounds glam or hair metal, kind of a late eighties vibe to it, maybe Great White or early Guns’n’Roses, maybe. Gimme a break! I got sixty damn seconds to make comparisons. Overall, not bad but not great.
Rating: 7

“Takin’ My Heart Back”
Another rocker, with the sort of nod to “Kashmir” in the opening riff that a lot of bands seem to use. Kind of more AOR than the rest of the album.
Rating: 8

“Angels Fallen”
Hard, choppy guitar with a nice rising keyboard line in again quite the Bon Jovi line, sort of a slower song with a sense of a semi-ballad about it.
Rating: 8

Average Track Rating: 6.18

Comments: Up until the last few tracks these guys can do no wrong on this album. It’s pretty much gold all the way till about “Roll Like Thunder”, and then it take a dip in quality. It’s not, to be fair, a serious dip, but the high standard is not maintained throughout the album like it is on Indestructible which is a pity. It starts out promising much - and generally, delivers on that promise - but there’s a sense of disappointment and of fizzling out somewhat as we approach the end of the album. It does pick up for the last three tracks, but it never seems to quite regain the excellent quality of the first six. A worthy effort though, and still deserves the highest rating.

Album Rating: 10A

Hear hear. The self titled album from 1988 is good too. I've yet to hear this one.

https://megaboon.com/images/release/264/356/1351356.jpg
Album title: Legend
Artist: John Legend
Genre: Soul/R&B
Nationality: American
Familiarity (artist): Zero (may have heard the name)
Familiarity (genre): Not a lot; as much as other people who don’t know that much about soul. I know the greats, and the singles, a few albums here and there but I would not in any way characterise myself as a fan of the genre.

Tracks

“Rounds”
Nice smooth kind of motown-y feel to this, good solid bass, lush organ, good voice too, from what I get to hear of it. Not at all bad for an opener.
Rating: 7

“Waterslide”
Slightly more uptempo, puts me very much in mind of later Prince. Good beat, and again I like the organ. Again, decent enough.
Rating: 7

“Dope”
Lot of funk in this one, very danceable, again pretty cool. The bass is (ahem) dope, and the backing vocals work very well.
Rating: 7

“Strawberry Blush”
Dancey again, sort of a George Benson/Alexander O’Neal idea to this one. Reminds me of the seventies soul bands I used to hear on TV like Odyssey and The Crusaders.
Rating: 6

“Guy Like Me”
Strange kind of percussion driving the tune, but again dancey and perhaps a little throwaway? Not mad about this one.
Rating: 5

“All She Wanna Do”
Well all right. I was ready to call this the first ballad, with its slow lush synth and a sort of aching vocal, but then it kicked up into a funky little dance number, and while I frown on his taking the title almost directly from Don Henley (though I suppose he grabbed it from Tina Charles) it’s a catchy song and, yeah, I like it.
Rating: 8

“Splash”
Odd one this. Music is kind of staggered, with the vocal all but acapella, and some nice backing vocals coming in. Sort of stripped-down and basic but it works.
Rating: 7

“You”
Mid-paced dance number that doesn’t seem to have too much about it in the lyric - basically “All I want is you”, which is kind of rehashing the other track above. Meh. A bit generic.
Rating: 5

“Fate”
Lovely sprinkly piano and haunting sax, with some sort of sound effect (I think children’s voices?) in the background, but despite that I don’t think it’s a ballad. Good start but it feels like it quickly slips into that generic groove again.
Rating: 6

“Love”
Sumptuous blues/gospel ballad with a nice female duet going on. Pretty cool.
Rating: 8

“One Last Dance”
Ballad taken right out of the Chi-Lites/Smokey Robinson playbook, nice and relaxing with a reflective, melancholy air. Decent.
Rating: 8

“All She Wanna Do”
Different version, I guess, though I don’t see that much of a difference. Can’t really rate this as it is basically the same song,

“Memories”
Oh the acoustic guitar here is so nice and unexpected. Maybe the best track so far. Very cool.
Rating: 9

“Nervous”
The digital piano opening is really nice here, and again this might be one of the better tracks on the album.
Rating: 9

“Wonder Woman”
Kind of an almost country feel to this, slow again with some slick guitar. Touches of gospel with a little flavour of Lighthouse Family.
Rating: 8

“Honey”
Seems so far they’re all generally slow tracks on this, the second CD. The distant sax here is very effective, and the beat rocks.
Rating: 8

“I Want You to Know”
Oh the gurgly organ here is beautiful. Surprisingly though, it pops up into a reggae number as the tempo rises. Still pretty good.
Rating: 8

“Speak in Tongues”
Back to the ballads? It would seem so. Another Smokey style song which a nice driving melody behind it.
Rating: 8

“The Other Ones”
Gorgeous piano opening this, and what sounds like orchestral strings. A ballad which reminds me of Ten (who?) at their best. Superb.
Rating: 10

“Stardust”
Another ballad led by acoustic guitar, though it’s very much Legend’s voice which holds court over all. Nice.
Rating: 8

“Pieces”
For some reason this puts me in mind of Deacon Blue. I know, what can you do? Very hard bassy piano running the tune, sounds like another ballad.
Rating: 8

“Good”
Bluesy ballad with a lot of seventies motown/soul in it, sort of doo-wop idea too. Sweet.
Rating: 8

“I Don’t Love You Like I Used To”
Another piano ballad. I guess it’s to his credit that with so many ballads it doesn’t get boring.
Rating: 8

“Home”
And one final ballad to wrap it up. And it’s another really nice one, and I reckon a good closer, which sounds to me as if it’s advice to his child. Lovely.
Rating: 10

Average Track Rating: 7.41

Comments: Considering I’m not a fan of this genre and don’t know much about it, I have to say that what I sampled here I mostly enjoyed. There was little I didn’t at least like, and a lot I loved. As I mentioned in the tracks rundown, given that it seems the second CD is pretty much all ballads, he doesn’t bore you with generic love songs, and it never gets samey. Quite a talent, as I’m sure his fans and fans of this genre already know, and while I wouldn’t be buying the album I would not, I think, turn this off if it were played on the radio. For a double album, which gave me pause when I realised and made me wonder if this would be an ordeal or a struggle, it was a pretty pleasant way to spend a quarter of an hour.

Album Rating: 8D

(Sorry: can't find a YouTube of the album that isn't a playlist, and playlists don't work here)

DO behemoth new album so i dont have 2



behemoth- opvs contra natvram

I'm not taking requests. If you read the OP, this is only the new albums on that site, in the order they come up, so I don't get the choice of picking and choosing what I listen to. If that one comes up, fine. If not, not fine. Guess you'll have to wait and see. Also, you'll still have to listen to it even if I do, as these are only sixty-second intros to the tracks.

https://megaboon.com/images/release/264/973/1299973.jpg
Album title: The Cosmic Cauldron
Artist: Needless
Genre: Death Metal/Thrash Metal
Nationality: Hungarian
Familiarity (artist): Zero
Familiarity (genre): Some; thrash metal I can handle, death metal not so much, though I have heard a decent amount.

A word before I jump in: Showing how badly my vendor can get it wrong, these guys are shown as being from Finland, when in fact Metal Archives, whom I trust more when it comes to metal bands at least, have them hailing from Hungary. Bit of a difference there, guys! I also wonder if the genre is correct. Look at the titles: “Astrogate the Spectral Lane”. “Prism Fortress”. “The Predation”. Are these the kind of song titles we associate with thrash or death metal? And the final track is 10 minutes long! I have to wonder, but I guess we’ll see.

Tracks
“Warvoid AD”
Very atmospheric, dramatic, epic opening to this, with dark synth and feedback guitar then are those sound effects or the vocals? Hard to be sure. Odd.
Rating: 0

“Astrogate the Spectral Lane”
Well this one is certainly rocking from the beginning with a real thrash metal feel. Suppose it depends on the vocal - oh there it is. Screechy, raspy, very death metal indeed. Okay. So maybe the genre is right. Oh, we have a growly one there too, just for good measure.
Rating: 2

“The Predation”
Fast, hard guitar (duh) in a sort of epic vein, and if you ignore the vocal (which I do) it’s not really too bad. Actually, I could get used to this. Maybe.
Rating: 4

“Mournful Heavens”
Begins with almost a celestial sound which then quite cleverly warps downwards and becomes almost a Doom Metal beat with roars and screams and all that good stuff. Meh.
Rating: 4

“The Cosmic Cauldron”
Hammers along at a fine pace, going for the throat and not letting go. Some almost neoclassical guitar going on there and the drummer is really going for it.
Rating: 4

“Odium”
More neoclassical guitar, rising and then the vocalist laughs nastily and we’re off again. Reminds me of Vai or Malmsteen at their best, though it’s quickly reduced to the level of a basic thrash guitar assault. Pity.
Rating: 5

“The Prism Fortress”
Slower, with a kind of chant going on and some ringing guitar. Neoclassical solo and it picks up tempo and heads off into the stratosphere.
Rating: 5

“Chrononaut”
Good thick bassline opening this one with some wailing guitar and then a good grind gets going.
Rating: 5

“Planet Oblivion”
A really unexpectedly introspective guitar intro with what sounds like soft synth and wind tones in the background. I wonder does this qualify as their version of a ballad, their “Planet Caravan” on Paranoid?
Rating: 7

“Transgalactic”
This is the ten minute closer, and it pounds and roars from the beginning. A bit chaotic, a bit disjointed, not a lot to say. Not so sure I’d be ready to wade through ten minutes of this. Thankfully, all I have to suffer is sixty seconds.
Rating: 2


Average Track Rating: 3.9

Comments: Yeah I remember this one. My magpie attention was drawn to the cover, and I thought it might be something I would like. However as I say, death metal, and particularly the vocals that go with same, is not for me, and neither is this. There seems to be some pretty sterling guitar work, which is good to hear, but it’s not an album I would be interested in hearing all the way through. Obvious pun #39,404: needless to say, I won’t be adding this to my collection.

Album Rating: 4G

https://megaboon.com/images/release/264/970/1299970.jpg

Album title: Searching for the Eagle
Artist: Black Fat Cat
Genre: Experimental/Psychedelic
Nationality: German
Familiarity (artist): Zero
Familiarity (genre): Very little

A word before I jump in: This band proved a little hard to track down. They have a Facebook page, but as a rule I try not to go near the FB, as I immediately afterwards get bombarded with “welcome back!” “So-and-so wants to be your friend” messages, and they piss me off as I don’t use the damn thing. Black Fat Cat also have a bandcamp page, which unhelpfully fails to show a single genre tag, so I’m going in terms of genre with what the vendor’s website says, and this could very well be completely off the mark, since they’ve made such stupid mistakes as having a death metal band down as eurodance. Yeah. But we’ll see.

Incidentally, on some albums they run the three words of their band name together, as BlackFatCat, on others they don’t, so I have no idea which is right. I’m going with the way it’s arranged on this album, which is as three separate words.

Tracks
“Leaving Home”
Kind of a standard rock opening, sort of an almost country rock feel to it. Can’t see much experimental about this, though of course it’s just the first track. Good start.
Rating: 8

“No Man is an Island”
I hear a sort of less aggressive Big Country here, good vocal harmonies. Powerful guitar.
Rating: 8

“Coming Home”
More uptempo here, kind of a bit like Dylan on speed. Maybe. Slight touches of metal perhaps.
Rating: 8

“On My Way with the Devil”
Melancholic feel to this, sort of puts me in mind of Strawfoot. Acoustic-ish then it picks up with a good staggered riff. Yeah definitely Strawfoot for me.
Rating: 9

“Bottom of the Bottle”
More laconic and slow, maybe slide guitar, lot of bass, dark and ominous, again very Strawfoot. Like this.
Rating: 9

“Riding Home”
Back to the uptempo songs, with a good driving guitar and a sense of fun.
Rating: 8

“Burn”
Dropping down to slow, powerful, dark and grinding with a sort of idea of Nick Cave circa Let Love In.
Rating: 9

“Searching for the Eagle”
Keeping slow and grindy for the closing track, not so sure about this one.
Rating: 7

Average Track Rating: 8.12

Comments: I have to say, I don’t hear anything in the least experimental and nothing vaguely psychedelic about this. I’m not the greatest with genres, but I would place it in a sort of midway point between maybe indie rock and country, possibly alt-country (note the comparisons to Strawfoot). I’d question the overuse of the word “home” - “Riding Home”, “Coming Home” and “Leaving Home”; just seems a little, I don’t know, unadventurous or lacking imagination? Overall I’d say a half-decent album, but I don’t think I’d be rushing to buy it. Not bad.

Album Rating: 6E


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78wSKltph8Y

https://megaboon.com/images/release/264/901/1352901.jpg
Album title: Ready Now
Artist: Jimmy Hall
Genre: Blues/Rock/Country
Nationality: American
Familiarity (artist): Zero
Familiarity (genre): The usual; I like the blues, but only certain types. My exposure to the genre is mostly through the greats, and contemporary artists such as Rory Gallagher and Gary Moore.

A word before I jump in: I read this guy is the lead singer for southern rock band Wet Willie. This means nothing to me, but may to some of you. He’s also said to be a harmonica player, so perhaps we can expect to hear some of the old mouth-organ? I find the blues to be quite repetitive and generic - don’t expect there’ll ever be such a sub-genre as progressive blues (though having said that, I’ll probably find if I look that there is one): you can usually make pretty good guess at what you’re going to hear, from Howlin’ Wolf to Robert Cray and Son House to Samantha Fish. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s rare I hear a new sound in blues, though again, it’s not like I listen to a lot. I do think though that with the blues, you kind of know what you’re gonna get.

Tracks

“Girl’s Got Sugar”
And what we get here is a pretty raucous start with piano and yes indeed, harmonica. Love that harmonica! To be fair, this isn’t really what I’d call blues per se, more a kind of hard rock a la early Deep Purple.
Rating: 7

“Jumpin’ for Joy”
Great honky-tonk piano here, tempo bouncing along nicely with a kind of a rockabilly beat is what I hear.
Rating: 7

“Risin’ up”
More low-key, reminds me of Donald Fagen (how funny is it that the system censored his first name?) :laughing: or maybe Robert Cray, some nice sharp geetar in there. The sleazy organ and rippling piano are sweet, and there are touches of gospel in the backing vocals.
Rating: 8

“Dream Release”
An acoustic start with brass and nice soft piano which sort of makes me think Jackson Browne, maybe Bob Seger or someone like that. Pretty nice.
Rating: 8

“Ready Now”
Nealy acapella opening with single guitar chords leading into a kind of testimonial with a bubbling organ in the background.
Rating: 8


“Holding On for Dear Love”
Sounds a bit funky, with some good handclaps and a whining organ a la Roy Bittan, and I feel this is a ballad.
Rating: 8

“A Long Goodbye”
Long rising organ (yes yes, ooer!) leads harmonica into a true blues ballad, the kind of thing I love when hearing the blues. Really nice.
Rating: 9

“Will You Still Be Here?”
Strides along on an arrogant organ line from the start, certainly makes your toes tap and your head wag from side to side. Smooth.
Rating: 8

“Without Your Love”
Oddly enough, the opening of his brings to mind Chris de Burgh’s “The Traveller”. Guess that’s just me. Nice mid-paced rocker that moves along with purpose.
Rating: 8

“Love for it”
Almost a “Mama” (Genesis) opening here, with electronic drum machine and a thick organ laying down a gospelly beat.
Rating: 8

“Eyes in the Back of Your Head”
With the harmonica kicking things off this has a country feel, the kind of thing I could hear Steve Earle sing.
Rating: 8

Average Track Rating: 7.18

Comments: Yeah, again I don’t see it necessarily. It’s not what I’d call a blues record, more a kind of - well, I don’t know: rock? Blues rock maybe. Definitely some blues in there, but it doesn’t dominate the album as I had expected, and there’s to me a fair bit of country knocking around in there too. Interesting.

Album Rating: 7D


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmN4LWTXUCU

https://megaboon.com/images/release/264/978/1299978.jpg
Album title: With the Magic of Windfyre Steel
Artist: Power Paladin
Genre: Power Metal
Nationality: Icelandic
Familiarity (artist): Zero
Familiarity (genre): Ah yes, power metal. I do love some power metal. I mean, it’s all pretty laughable and generic, but you gotta love it. One of my favourite metal sub-genres. Unleash the wibbling keyboard runs!

A word before I jump in: Look, it’s power metal, and the title doesn’t leave me in any doubt that this is going to be one of those “epic sagas” that power metal bands so love to write. I mean, spelling fire with a “y” is just so cliched, you know? But while I’m not expecting these guys to reinvent the genre, I do expect to be entertained, if only by laughing at the ridiculous lyrics and the pretentious song titles. Okay then, suit up, jump on your horse and let’s be off!

Tracks

“Kraven the Hunter”
Okay, what are we expecting? Dark, intoned vocal? Overblown orchestral bombast? Soft acoustic guitar leading into ten-way-axe-attack? Let’s see. No, these guys are not ****ing around with intros and it’s get in there and bathe your feet as we’re off with a power rocker that hits right between the eyes, sort of early Virgin Steele style.
Rating: 8

“Righteous Fury”
Oh here we go. Medieval opening that then kicks into another guitar attack. Dear me. An instrumental start which takes up almost all the sample.
Rating: 7

“Evermore”
I would assume with such a title that this would be a ballad, and indeed it is. Soft rippling piano, cello perhaps and gentle guitar but again it’s mostly instrumental, so far as I get to hear anyway. What I hear is nice. Though then in the last few seconds it kicks up, so, you know, whatever.
Rating: 9

“Dark Crystal”
Another power metal cliche in dolorous, pealing bells before the guitar takes centre stage and again there’s a long instrumental passage before we get to any vocals. Pretty decent, if nothing special.
Rating: 7

“Way of Kings”
And yet another as we get a second medieval style introduction, then we’re off again and it’s really Power Metal 101 as you might expect, though there’s really nothing wrong with that.
Rating: 7

“Ride the Distant Storm”
Why not ride the nearer storm? Why ride out all that way to find a - never mind. Another hard rocker that tries to be every power metal band that ever existed and really fails to distinguish itself in any way from its many many brothers and sisters who have gone before. Meh.
Rating: 6

“Creatures of the Night”
Not the Kiss song of the same name, I hasten to add, but this gives us two cliches for the price of one, with the sound of rolling thunder and those dark voices intoning, well, you know. It ramps up into a decent rocker then, to be fair, but the introduction is beyond laughable.
Rating: 7

“Into the Forbidden Forest”
Kind of an orchestral, marching introduction, which I think just about covers all the power metal cliches now does it? Got to be honest, I’m getting a bit bored now. Nothing to see here.
Rating: 6

“There Can Be Only One”
And we end on a piano ballad. Which does sound nice, but again it’s something of a standard among power metal bands isn’t it? Just waiting for the harpsichord sound now to make it complete. Ah well it’s a nice way to close the album.
Rating: 9

Average Track Rating: 7.3

Comments: Even with the relatively low expectations I had of there being anything new here, there’s nothing new here. There is, in fact, an almost parody of a power metal band, who seem to think that copying all the tropes and cliches used by other, better bands in the genre and adding grand-sounding names is going to make them stand out. It doesn’t. That Forbidden Forest they sing about in the penultimate track? They’d be better hiding in there before real power metal bands come looking for them. Poor.

Album Rating: 4B


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBcI8wh3DV0

https://megaboon.com/images/release/264/663/1351663.jpg
Album title: Darker Still
Artist: Parkway Drive
Genre: Metalcore
Nationality: Australian
Familiarity (artist): Zero
Familiarity (genre): Very little; I’m not a fan of metalcore

A word before I jump in: Not a lot to say really. I kind of expect to hate this, as metalcore does not generally appeal to me. Is Australian metalcore any different to American? Guess we’ll have a go at finding out.

Tracks

“Ground Zero”
A surprisingly gentle opening, with a sort of musical box/xylophone intro and a vocal that doesn’t, for now, set my teeth on edge. Of course it doesn’t stay that way, but even when it kicks up it’s you know not too bad at all.
Rating: 8

“Like Napalm”
With a title like that, you’re not exactly expecting a soulful ballad, are you? And that’s not what you get. A soulful ballad, that is. Punchy, grinding guitars from the off and a scratchy vocal which is more the kind of metalcore I’ve heard, and dislike. But not terrible, to be fair.
Rating: 7

“Glitch”
Comes in a little slower, gives you time to catch your breath before they hit you over the head with something heavy. Sort of a semi-rap being used, and yeah again it’s not too terrible.
Rating: 7

“The Greatest Fear”
Church organ and choir? Seriously? Yeah, so it seems. The guitar punches in of course, but even so it’s kind of almost in keeping with the sound of the choir, and it’s all right.
Rating: 7

“Darker Still”
Whistling and an acoustic guitar? Even more unexpected. This is the title track of course, so are they breaking with their usual music to try something different? It hasn’t exploded yet, so you know, maybe. I expect I won’t have a chance to find out as it’s about to end. And now it has. Interesting.
Rating: 9

“Imperial Heretic”
A big booming chant against a sharp guitar riff sets this off and running nicely, and it sounds like it could be a good one.
Rating: 8

“If a God Can Bleed”
Opening very like something written, and sung, by Matt Johnson: dark, oppressive, menacing, slow and grinding. I like this. I like this a lot.
Rating: 9

“Soul Bleach”
This is just a go-for-the-throat screamer from the beginning. Very powerful, very angry, very something I don’t particularly care for.
Rating: 6

“Stranger”
A dark spoken opening with kind of ambient, atmospheric background music and if this reminds me of anyone it’s Waits. I’m pretty sure they’re either copying him or paying homage to him here.
Rating: 9

“Land of the Lost”
Weird kind of little morse code opening then it blasts out of the traps, but the tempo is more in the area of the cruncher than the shredder. It’s all right I suppose.
Rating: 7

“From the Heart of the Darkness”
Atmospheric opening which sounds like it has violin or cello in it, might not but it does sound like it. Sort of attacking vocal then as it kicks up and it loses, for me, the tone it was developing at the beginning. Oh well.
Rating: 6

Average Track Rating: 7.55

Comments: Not a whole lot to say afterwards either. Not quite as bad as I had originally envisaged, but the problem with metalcore is the problem with death metal for me: the vocals. They were discernible, but I’m not partial to someone shouting angrily at me when I want to hear a singer, and that’s just me of course. So no, this wouldn’t be for me. Some good ideas, some interesting pieces but generally just sort of steamrolled over in the end.

Album Rating: 5C


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHKVzUr-ivM

https://megaboon.com/images/release/264/683/1351683.jpg
Album title: Nut
Artist: K.T. Tunstall
Genre: Pop Rock
Nationality: Scottish
Familiarity (artist): Zero
Familiarity (genre): A lot; if you include the likes of Bon Jovi, a-ha and suchlike bands

A word before I jump in: Almost mixed her up with K.D. Lang! Woops! No more to say. Let’s see what she has to say.

Tracks

“Out of Touch”
Good rocking beat to get things started, and I get a sense of Blondie from this. Also Texas to some degree. Good voice.
Rating: 8

“I am the Pilot”
Like the slow intro on soft synth and acoustic piano, then it turns into a bit of a bopper, which is sort of disappointing, as I was expecting better. Not bad though. Just not great.
Rating: 6

“Three”
Sort of a hollow slow drumbeat here, and it’s almost acoustic as a track. Don’t to be honest think a lot of this, and it’s not sixty seconds old. Meh.
Rating: 5

“Dear Shadow”
Very dancey, kind of a sub-Madonna feel to it, but nowhere near as good. Catchy, with what seems to be a good hook already. Not bad.
Rating: 7

“Private Eyes”
Yeah I don’t like this much at all. Sort of a breezy rhythm to it, maybe a Katy Perry or Lily Allen feel, not that I’d know. Meh. Not for me.
Rating: 5

“Canyons”
Better, with a good snarling guitar and a rock base to build the song on. Possibly the best on the album so far, though that’s really not saying an awful lot.
Rating: 9

“Synapse”
That hollow drumbeat again, faster this time with some sort of sample which I find very annoying. The song itself ain’t too bad, but that repeated sample is getting on my tits. The bridge is good, to be fair.
Rating: 7

“Demigod”
Vibraphone or marimbas or something which gives this, for me, a sort of Peter Gabriel feel, and yeah to be fair it’s not too bad a song. Mind you, since it’s about a woman it should be she’s a demigoddess, but however.
Rating: 7


“All the Time”
Like the breezy acoustic intro, reminds me of Carole King or something. Very indie rock and the kind of thing you might expect to hear an unknown singing in a cafe while everyone ignores her. Cute.
Rating: 8

“Brain in a Jar”
A song about death it seems, so quite effective with the dark piano and stuttering synth. A pity her other stuff isn’t like this. Country style, powerful song for a closer.
Rating: 10

Average Track Rating: 7.2

Comments: A few good tracks, one really good one, but it would be hard to convince myself to buy this album. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just there is very little there to attract me, and maybe it’s this genre that she sings in, but I’m just not that bothered. If you’re a fan of hers, of course, I’m sure you’ll buy it, but it’s not really for me.

Album Rating: 6E


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVxf...zcA-9Np_VCJ17p

https://megaboon.com/images/release/264/97/1353097.jpg
Album title: Get Over it
Artist: Hartmann
Genre: AOR/Melodic Rock
Nationality: German
Familiarity (artist): Zero
Familiarity (genre): 10 (Once I explain once my level of familiarity with a genre I will, rather than keep repeating myself or referring you back to the first time, indicate by a simple score of 1 - 10)

A word before I jump in: For some reason I had not expected this to be AOR or anything like it, so hopefully this will be a win for me. I don’t know this band though, so who knows what way it may go? I’m reasonably confident though.

Tracks

“Remedy”
A rocking start, though the production sounds to me a little weak. Like the vocals seem to be off in the mix. Good song though, at least in the sample.
Rating: 8

“One Step Behind”
Yeah there it is again. The vocal just isn’t quite right. Maybe he’s just not a good singer. His voice doesn’t seem strong enough at times. Hmm.
Rating: 7

“In Another Life”
This could be the first ballad, certainly starts out low-key enough, and for once his vocal is good on this one. Was that pedal steel? Maybe. First song that has really impressed me so far.
Rating: 9

“What You Give is What You Get”
Immortalised by The Jam in the song “Start”, it’s another guitar-led hard rocker, on which the vocalist sort of reminds me of Jorn Lande maybe. I have to say I’m not terribly impressed at this point. It’s pretty generic.
Rating: 7

“The Movie’s End”
Get a sort of western movie feel from this, with a sharp guitar and kind of echoing atmosphere. The vocal is back annoying me though.
Rating: 6

“Just Drive”
The Knopfler-style guitar intro is nice here, and the song sounds like it might develop into something decent.
Rating: 8

“The Gun”
A good striding rocker which has a lot of swagger about it.
Rating: 8

“Can’t Keep Away From You”
Acoustic ballad, which to be fair really highlights the better aspects of his voice. I wonder if it is after all the production? With nothing to mix here other than the guitar and some percussion he sounds much better. Like this one a lot.
Rating: 9

“Get Over it”
The snarling guitar start to this is good, kind of an ominous feel to it, though they’re kind of ripping BOC off there with the main riff.
Rating: 8

“Stay True to Me”
Another acoustic ballad with some nice synthy strings and an interesting line in percussion. I like this one.
Rating: 8

“When We Were the Young”
This is acoustic too, though almost more in a cowboy style, and I think it could shape up to be a fairly decent closer.
Rating: 8

Average Track Rating: 7.8

Comments: I won’t be so cruel as to say the AOR mentioned here stands for Absolutely Ordinary Rock - in fact, I doubt I’d call this AOR. It’s just kind of standard rock, maybe even pop/rock? Meh, that’s going a little far. Hard rock? Possibly. But whatever genre it belongs in, there are far better examples out there, and I doubt I’ll be adding this to my collection any time soon.

Album Rating: 6B


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhPm8asIIMM

https://megaboon.com/images/release/264/375/1351375.jpg
Album title: Army of Dreamers
Artist: Allen/Olzon
Genre: Symphonic Metal
Nationality: American/Swedish
Familiarity (artist): I have their previous album
Familiarity (genre): Very familiar; I have a lot of albums by the likes of Edenbridge, Within Temptation, Epica and Nightwish, among others.

A word before I jump in: Allen/Olzon is basically a side-project/collaboration between Anette Olzon, vocalist with Nightwish and Russel Allen, singer with Symphony X and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. They also rope in the talents of Primal Fear’s Magnus Karlsson on guitars, bass and keyboards. So on the face of it, quite the supergroup. This is their second release, as shown above, and promises to be a killer album. Maybe.

Tracks

“Army of Dreamers”
You might expect a big Nightwish style orchestral opening. You would not be disappointed. Trumpeting keys over choral vocals and thundering drums leads into a hard rocker and you can hear how the two vocalists merge well.
Rating: 8

“So Quiet Here”
Olzon takes the lead vocal and again we have the orchestral backing, then the vocal switches to Allen. Nice.
Rating: 8

“Out of Nowhere”
Strong piano opening before the guitars pound in and then the strings section rises before Allen takes the vocal, the tempo pretty high.
Rating: 8

“A Million Skies”
Another dramatic orchestral thing, which I have to admit gets so overused in symphonic metal it’s become very boring and predictable. I know, it’s in the name of the genre, but it’s something like power metal: you kind of know what to expect. Good vocal performances from both on a mid-paced rocker.
Rating: 8

“Carved into Stone”
Cutting a bit back on the orchestra here with some fine guitar work, and Allen chanellling his inner Dio. Pretty cool.
Rating: 8

“All Alone”
The first ballad, I imagine, starting as it does with gentle piano and wind sounds, though to be honest it then punches up a bit, so you know, maybe not.
Rating: 8

“Look at Me”
Really kicking out the traces here with a total metal rocker, Olzon taking the first vocal anyway then Allen comes in after her.
Rating: 8

“Until it’s Over”
Another piano intro, so is this the ballad? Never easy to be sure with symphonic metal. Again it’s kind of rising in tempo so I’d say probably no.
Rating: 8

“I Am Gone”
Nice opening vocal from Olzon with dramatic powerful orchestral hits and grinding guitar.
Rating: 8

“Are We Really Strangers”
A powerful guitar passage to start this one off, and it rocks along nicely.
Rating: 8

“Never Too Late”
And one more piano track, possibly the ballad, with it being the closer. Strong choral and orchestral lines here, almost film score territory. But no, I think it’s gone up a gear again.
Rating: 8

Average Track Rating: 8

Comments: It’s not that it’s a bad album by any means, it’s just, what do you get on this album that you don’t on a Nightwish or Symphony X one? It’s more or less the same, and this is the trouble with symphonic metal. Whereas you can kind of laugh at/with power metal, and though sometimes they take themselves seriously they don’t always, symphonic always seems to be deadly earnest, up itself and not a smile to be had. It’s a little boring and a little annoying, and I feel there’s quite a bit of both in this.

Album Rating: 7B


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMifUtcBLBs

https://i.discogs.com/Kyj2H74Tsea5lu...0OC5qcGVn.jpeg
Album title: Sunrise on Slaughter Beach
Artist: Clutch
Genre: Hard Rock/Heavy Metal
Nationality: American
Familiarity (artist): I think I’ve heard one album
Familiarity (genre): Well this is my jam, as they say: one of my favourite genres

A word before I jump in: From what I can recall, I listened to one album - think it was 2013’s Earth Rocker - at a recommendation from Plankton. I don’t remember hating it, but I definitely don’t recall loving it either.

Tracks

“Red Alert”
Comes in slowly and fades in on a kind of psychedelic beat then kicks up into a metal storm. Bit raw I think. Can’t say I like this right off.
Rating: 5

“Sunrise on Slaughter Beach”
A more immediate start, powerful and anthemic, with a stomping beat made for the live stage. Sort of like a far heavier Zep maybe.
Rating: 6

“Mountain of Bone”
Get a kind of low boogie feel from this, muted drumming and a growling guitar. Bit of a tribal idea too.
Rating: 6

“Nosferatu Madre”
Another hard rocker with a kind of punching the air feel, again I imagine will go down very well live.
Rating: 6

“Mercy Brown”
Sort of a cross between Black Sabbath and Nick Cave. Yeah.
Rating: 5

“We Strive for Excellence”
More of a Sabbath feel to this with a hard, attacking guitar and a growly vocal. Meh.
Rating: 5

“Skeletons on Mars”
A sort of trundling, rolling beat to this, but basically it’s sounding a lot the same as this goes on.
Rating: 5

“Three Golden Horns”
Is that organ or digital piano or something? Finally, a track that’s a little diff - oh no, my mistake. Back to the hard rockin' blues stride metal yadda yadda yadda.
Rating: 6

“Jackhammer Our Names”
Slow, hollow, kind of doomy drumbeat with a rising guitar line and this seems a least to be different. Slow and menacing and again I hear the ghost of Cave here, very much so.
Rating: 6

Average Track Rating: 5.5

Comments: Under the usual disclaimer that yes, I have only heard sixty seconds of each track here (clue's in the thread name, people) I know a lot of you swear by them but I just don’t get it. This is very generic rock to me, nothing new, nothing different, something a hundred bands could do and indeed probably do. Pass.

Album Rating: 5C

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5Xg_hQVFL8

https://cdns-images.dzcdn.net/images...66/500x500.jpg
Album title: Shake the Roots
Artist: Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown
Genre: Rock
Nationality: American
Familiarity (artist): Zero
Familiarity (genre):

A word before I jump in: The album cover made me think this would be like some sort of hippy revival/sixties thing or maybe world music or something. I can’t really get anything genre-wise other than rock, but Wiki tells me they have supported AC/DC, ZZ Top, Aerosmith and Guns n ’Roses, so they must have some sort of heaviness to them.

Tracks

“Bare Bones”
Definite sense of country/bluegrass in this one anyway, with some righteous shots of gospel too. Cool.
Rating: 8

“Ain’t None Watered Down”
Good chunky guitar in an Earle style country rocker.
Rating: 7

“Ghost Rider”
First one that’s really come closer to hard rock than country; sharp guitar and driving drums edging it a little towards post-hardcore territory, he says, as if he knows what he’s talking about.
Rating: 8

“Roots”
Hard rocker with a real edge and a reference to Nashville and Elvis. Decent.
Rating: 7

“Hard Learned”
More laid back with some sweet slide, kind of reminds me of Blackfoot for some reason. Also Chris Rea on Dancing Down the Stony Road. Shut up.
Rating: 8

“Shackles”
Growling guitar attack in a kind of staggered pattern, stop/start vocal, think it’s a song about an outlaw on the run.
Rating: 7

“Off the Rails”
Ramping back up the tempo with a ride at top speed, chugging along like the locomotive mentioned or alluded to in the title.
Rating: 7

“Good Thing”
Breezy little tune, kind of lightweight and not that much to say about what I heard of it. Meh.
Rating: 5

“Sell Yourself”
All right, first time I read this I thought it said “Soil Yourself.” Yeah. Anyway it’s a powerful upfront rocker with guitar right in your face. It’s all right I guess.
Rating: 6

“Tennessee”
Who doesn’t expect this to have a country flavour? Of course it does. The false start is mildly amusing, the pedal steel is sweet and to be honest if they stuck to this kind of thing I think I would like them better. A real drinkin’ song. Yee-hah, as they say.
Rating: 8

“Sunday No Show”
But it’s back to the rockin’, and to be fair this is one of the better ones, with that guitar walkin’ right up to you and askin’ what the **** you lookin’ at boy? Bit of an attempt at a rap, which kind of works more than it doesn’t. Good chorus.
Rating: 8

“Midnight Oil”
I feel this is a weak one to end on. It’s not bad, but it hasn’t got the energy of the last track or a few of the others.
Rating: 6

Average Track Rating: 7.08

Comments: Yeah, not a lot to say really. This band come across as being unable to decide whether they want to be a rock or a country band, and fall in between two stools as it were. I think they should probably have gone for the latter choice, cause when they cowboy up they’re really good at it. They rock well too, but it’s just better when they’re country boys.

Album Rating: 7E


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy-yK0m_CKM

https://megaboon.com/images/release/264/353/1350353.jpg
Album title: Closure/Continuation
Artist: Porcupine Tree
Genre: Progressive Rock
Nationality: English
Familiarity (artist): I’ve heard a lot of their material, though I think only one actual album (Fear of a Blank Planet)
Familiarity (genre): Oh this is where I shine! Prog rock? Bring it on!

A word before I jump in: Despite the above, I have a sort of uneasy relationship with Porcupine Tree. When they’re good they’re very good but when they’re bad I find them boring and repetitive, and to be honest my experience of them is weighted on the side of the latter. I can’t point to too many tracks I really like, but I can single out a lot I don’t. This is a double album so could be a mixed blessing. We’ll see. Note: the last seven tracks are just instrumental versions of the ones on disc one, so I won’t be bothering with those.

Tracks

“Harridan”
Bassy opening in a kind of rocky not very prog way, lot of percussion and I’m not fond of Wilson’s vocal here. Bad start.
Rating: 4

“Of the New Day”
Much better. An acoustic ballad, with a far better vocal. Very clear, and the music is better defined and more cohesive.
Rating: 9

“Rats Return”
Fades in slowly with maybe synth or feedback guitar, then bursts into a big Spock’s Beard style staccato rhythm mostly on guitar. Not overfond of this one either.
Rating: 4

“Dignity”
Another very slow fade in, this time on organ and synth with a sort of choral vocal thing very low in the background. Quite nice. Turns into a kind of Seasons End era Marillion thing.
Rating: 8

“Hard Culling”
Another bass driven thing which does very little for me really.
Rating: 5


“Walk the Plank”
More Marillion style in a sort of spooky, atmospheric deal with a kind of phased vocal; reminds me of “Interior Lulu” from Marillion.com
Rating: 7

“Chimera’s Wreck”
Comes in on sort of acoustic guitar, might be a ballad. Quite relaxing and laid back. Puts me in mind a little of Pendragon.
Rating: 8

“Population 3”
Shimmery sort of start gives way to a big guitar punch, quite reminiscent again of Pendragon, especially on “For When the Zombies Come” from Men Who Climb Mountains.
Rating: 6

“Never Have”
Lovely little piano line running this in, seems to be another ballad. Often where Porcupine Tree shine, I feel, is on the slower songs.
Rating: 8

“Love in the Past Tense”
Again the Marillion comparisons come. This sounds very much to me like “Made Again” from their Brave album. It kicks up then after the breezy guitar intro.
Rating: 7


Average Track Rating: 6.6

Comments: This album then is a pretty accurate illustration of the dichotomy that exists for me with this band. Some of these tracks (admittedly, only samples of same of course) sound like songs I would like to hear more of, some definitely do not. There are perhaps enough good ones to justify buying the album, but I have to say that filling it up with seven instrumental versions of the songs that make up the first disc seems a little cynical to me. I can’t see myself being interested enough to buy this.

Album Rating: 6B


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LvS...fmpjjHpcwxgS2X