Bitesize: Trollheart's Daily Album Mini-Reviews

Trollheart · 07-08-2015, 03:27 PM

Artiste: Prefab Sprout
Nationality: British
Album: From Langley Park to Memphis
Year: 1988
Label: Kitchenware
Genre: Pop
Tracks:
The King of Rock and Roll
Cars and girls
I remember that
Enchanted
Nightingales
Hey Manhattan!
Knock on wood
The golden calf
Nancy (Let your hair down for me)
The Venus of the soup kitchen
Chronological position: Third album
Familiarity: Jordan: the comeback and the various singles
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: I know the first two tracks so kind of n/a
Best track(s): The King of Rock and Roll, Cars and girls, Hey Manhattan, The Golden calf, Nancy (Let your hair down for me)
Worst track(s): Enchanted, Knock on wood
Comments: Having listened to Jordan: the Comeback I was really impressed by a band I had previously ignored, and yet up to now I have not checked out any of their other material, so since I know two tracks off this one I thought I'd give it a spin.Two big hit singles kick it off, with “The king of Rock and Roll” being most famous for that mad video with the frog waiter and the dancing hotdogs, but it's a bouncy, poppy tune that belies a bitter, self-recriminatory lyric which speaks of a guy who had one hit in his career and believes he is still a pop star all these years later. It's got a great hook though, which is probably one of the reasons why it was such a hit. Although “Cars and girls” slags off the lyrical themes used by Springsteen I can forgive them, as this is such a great song. Again it bounces along on pretty much the same basic beat as the opener, but the vocals of Wendy Smith really add to its bleakness. Paddy McAloon of course holds court over everything as usual.

It is true, of course, what he says: ”Some things hurt more/ Much more than cars and girls” so you can't fault him for taking The Boss to task. There is the pop sensibility that permeates much of his work, and clever lyrics as he sings ”Life's not a cruise/ With a cool chick/ Too many folks feelin' carsick/ But it never pulls in.” It's pretty impossible not to like this song. But that's it for what I know off this album, so from here on, to borrow an analogy from this song, we're on unfamiliar roads. “I remember that” pours a layer of lounge/jazz over the music, a slow swaying ballad with a great stabbing synth line, nice touch of gospel in the backing vocals.

“Enchanted” has a sort of soul feel to it, with some jangly, funky guitar, but it's a little lightweight for my tastes, while the great Stevie Wonder pops up on “Nightingales” to add some harmonica, and the strings accompaniment injects real heart into this soulful ballad. Oh, wait: I'm wrong. I know another track, and it's this one. “Hey Manhattan” is a great bouncy pop song with a wonderful hook, and guitar by Pete Townsend. Nice. Strings are even more effective here. I must say though, “Knock on wood” is terribly, terribly dreary. It's soon forgotten though as we hit the rock'n'roll of “The Golden calf”, very catchy, sort of a Tears For Fears feel about it.

Another fine ballad in “Nancy (Let your hair down for me)”, lovely piano work and fine backing vocals from Wendy again, then the album wraps up with a nice mid-pacer which happens to contain the title of the album, but is not so titled. It's a decent track but a little underwhelming.

Overall impression: Not by any means the powerhouse Jordan is, and since I already knew three tracks there wasn't too much for me to get excited about. Much of it was quite mediocre, though there were some good spots too.
Hum Factor: 7
Surprise Factor: - 2
Intention: I'm really not sure. I do like McAloon's voice and his lyrical prowess, but do I let myself in for another disappointment? Stay tuned. Or maybe not.

Trollheart · 07-14-2015, 05:52 PM

Another discography to get under way. I started listening to this man's music purely on the basis of the first of his albums I bought, which I pretty much only bought for the cover, hoping some decent music was inside. I've already reviewed that in full, in fact it was one of the first albums to be looked at in my main journal, but when it comes round I'll be giving it the "Bitesize" treatment too.

For now, for those of you who don't know him, let me introduce you to

Artiste: Steve Earle
Nationality:American
Album: Guitar Town
Year: 1986
Label: MCA
Genre: Country
Tracks:
Guitar Town
Goodbye's all we've got left
Hillbilly Highway
Good ol' boy (Gettin' tough)
My old friend the blues
Someday
Think it over
Fearless heart
Little rock'n'roller
Down the road
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: I've listened to everything Steve Earle has done; big fan
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: n/a
Best track(s): Guitar Town, Good ol' boy (Gettin' tough), Hillbilly Highway, My old friend the blues, Fearless heart, Someday, Down the road
Worst track(s): Little rock'n'roller
Comments: I got into Steve Earle through Copperhead Road and The hard way, which are albums more rooted in the rock he would follow for many years, so his debut was something of a shock to me. It's not that it's a bad album --- it's actually very good --- but it couldn't really be called rock, or even Country/Rock: it's pure Country with a lot of bluegrass and rockabilly thrown in. You can hear this from the off, when the title track, a good rocker, is nevertheless very much the kind of thing you'd expect to hear coming out of Nashville around this time. Like the opener, “Hillbilly Highway” relates the (perhaps autobiographic, perhaps not) tale of a man breaking away and finding his own way in the world. Some really nice slap bass in this.

What I do like about Earle's music is that, like the best songwriters, they mostly tell a story, usually about ordinary lives, and often they touch on political issues. There's not really any of that though till we hit “Good ol' boy (Gettin' tough)”, when he laments the state of the American automotive industry --- "A twenty thousand dollar pickup truck/ Belongs to me and the bank/ And some funny-talkin' man from Iran” and the decline of the attitude in the heartland of the USA, where a man is a man and does what he can to survive. ”I was born in the land of plenty” he tells us sadly, ”Now there ain't enough.” This is the first time the album really breaks out into something that could be said to approach rock, with a hard guitar driving the tune, where up to now, though the guitar has been present, much of the music has been reliant on the organ and synth lines of Ken Moore.

Earle plays to his strengths here, as he will on future albums, with songs coming in from the two to four minute mark: you won't find any eight-minute compositions on a Steve Earle record. He says what he has to say, with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of honesty and moves on. But he can write heartfelt ballads too, such as “My old friend the blues”, which relies mostly on picked guitar and his mellifluous voice, which here is completely cowboy singer, but will change soon to a harsher, rougher and less formulaic sound. Pedal steel of course adds its voice, then “Someday” returns to the singer longing to break out of the one-horse town he's stuck in --- ”They ask me how far to Memphis son?/ And where's the nearest beer?/ They don't even know/ That there's a town around here.” It's another song that has a good deal of punchy guitar in it, but the steel does rule, something that Earle would slowly drop, or at least cut back on, on later releases. “Think it over”, however, is pure rockabilly, not one of my favourites though it is catchy, with again a great bassline.

Much better is “Fearless heart”, which marches along confidently and resolutely, and which pretty much typifies Earle himself, a man few would try to tangle with but who has a gentle and compassionate heart. It's a slower song but not a ballad, however the next one is. I'm really not fond of “Little rock'n'roller”: it's just too twee for words, with a trucker calling his young son (the little rock'n'roller of the title) and agonising over being so far away. It's just too Country-by-the-numbers for me, with Earle almost breaking into tears. But the album ends well on “Down the road”, which opens on an acapella line from Earle and then quickly turns into a bluegrass workout, returning to the acapella vocal to end.

Edit: Just heard him doing a version of “State Trooper”, reminded me I need to check out Nebraska again at my earliest opportunity!

Overall impression: If this had been my first Earle record I doubt I would have gone much further, if at all. That would have been my mistake.
Hum Factor: 8
Intention: n/a

Trollheart · 07-15-2015, 03:50 AM

Artiste: Alestorm
Nationality: Scottish
Album: Sunset on the golden age
Year: 2014
Label: Napalm
Genre: Pirate Metal (?)
Tracks:
Walk the plank
Drink
Magnetic north
1741 (The Battle of Cartagena)
Mead from Hell
Surf squid warfare
Quest for ships
Wooden leg
Hangover
Sunset on the golden age
Chronological position: Fourth album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Fun, fun, fun!
Best track(s): Drink, Magnetic north, 1741 (The Battle of Cartagena), Quest for ships, Wooden leg, Sunset on the golden age
Worst track(s): Nothing: this is fucking brilliant!
Comments: So, Pirate Metal, eh? Never heard of this before. I'm told it's not really a subgenre as such, but utilises elements of Power and Folk Metal to evoke a kind of pirate-themed version of Viking Metal (which isn't really a subgenre either: with me so far?) and tends to have song lyrics based around piratey things. So let's give it a go and see what it's like, shall we? Mateys.

Good hard and heavy opening as we are invited to “Walk the plank”; kind of more Thrash Metal than Power though I would think. Not bad stuff though. Chorus is hilarious. You've got to love a song that has the lyric “We are here to drink your beer!” Good song too; great I would think for, you know, drinking. Love the hard Scottish accent on “Magnetic north”, also the way it suddenly metamorphoses into a death metal song, complete with cookie monster vocals! The sailor's hornpipe idea on “1741 (The Battle of Cartagena)” is great, and the track rocks along with great excitement and fun, even if they do go all death metal for a short time during the song. It's almost endearing.

I have to say, so far I'm enjoying this immensely. It's not going to change your life or anything but it must be a fantastic album to get just totally pissed to. And the guys can certainly play. Oh come on! No matter how bad it is (and it's not, not at all) you have to give props to a song called “Surf squid warfare”! And the lyrics just get better: ”I'm on a quest/ A quest for ships/ Sailing's how I get my kicks!” Fucking inspired! And a hornpipe at the end. Perfect. Then we get “Wooden leg” which has the fantastic chorus “Wooden leg! Wooden leg! I've got a wooden leg!” and calls the Spanish and Japanese bastards. You gotta respect that!

You know, I'm just going to stop writing about this now and enjoy what's left. If you have the urge to be entertained and made smile, even if it necessitates slightly disengaging your brain, you really should get a hold of this album. Everyone should hear it, preferably, I would assume, when drunk.

Overall impression: Probably the most fun I've had listening to an album this year so far. Loved every bit, It's not going to win any Grammys or change anyone's worldview, but it's one hell of an enjoyable ride.
Hum Factor: 10
Surprise Factor: 10
Intention: I need to hear more from these guys!

Trollheart · 07-15-2015, 03:59 AM

Artiste: No-Man
Nationality: British
Album: Flowermouth
Year: 1994
Label: One Little Indian
Genre: Dream pop, Progressive Rock, Ambient
Tracks:
Angel gets caught in the beauty trap
You grow more beautiful
Animal ghost
Soft shoulders
Shell of a fighter
Teardrop fall
Watching over me
Simple
Things change
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: I've heard Schoolyard Ghosts, and some of Wilson's material, with and without Porcupine Tree.
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: A wistful, dreamy opening that immediately pulls you in
Best track(s): Angel gets caught in the beauty trap, You grow more beautiful ... ah hell, just everything!
Worst track(s): Not a one.
Comments: A lovely rippling piano which reminds me of a faster version of Peter Gabriel's “San Jacinto” opens the album, with another, more stately piano joining it before the clear voice of Tim Bowness invites us once more into his ethereal world. Actually, that could be a loop, courtesy of King Crimson's Robert Fripp and his Frippertronics. A very clever line I find is ”I cannot scream for the dust in my throat”, which at once gets across the idea of drowning in the urban sprawl, choked by smog and exhaust fumes. Some beautiful violin and trumpet, with a superb sax solo from the great Mel Collins. And of course Steven Wilson does not disappoint either (does he ever?), handling various instruments and writing all the music. When these two get together, the result is never anything less than astounding. No-Man are one of the bands you can start playing and just know --- just know, with complete certainty --- that it's going to be an enjoyable experience at the very least.

At almost ten minutes for an opening track, Bowness and Wilson show here how to ensure a song this long never gets boring, repetitive or seem overstretched; in fact, when it eventually fades out you wish there was more. Luckily, there is, as we head into “You grow more beautiful”, with a sort of funkier upbeat feel, sort of reminds me of George Michael around the Faith era. Great guitar from Wilson, has a real kind of growling edge to it, and we have another standout already. And now the inimitable Collins sighs in with a smooth flute solo against kind of jungle percussion and a rolling, sprinkling piano, all perfect backdrops to the voice of Bowness, which really can only be called heavenly or angelic. Throw in some more beautiful violin and you're there. And if that wasn't enough, Fripp is back on guitar.

It's kind of hard to review this, as I keep feeling myself just laying back on the bed, closing my eyes and threatening to drift away... have to shake myself into action. Low, echoey drums usher in a funky beat driven on lush organ as we head into “Soft shoulders”, with gentle violin and an echoing vocal which reminds me of Soft Cell, though this song is another slow, laidback one, tempting me back to the embrace of the pillow... Okay... there's slightly more of a bite to “Shell of a fighter”, though nobody would call it uptempo. Great synth in it and a very Arabian idea in the riff. More great Frippertronics and a kind of mechanised vocal too.

There's a nice move towards something a little more upbeat, paradoxically perhaps, with “Teardrop fall”, nice electro/dancy beat, reminds me of Ceronne and Donna Summer. Vocal is perfect of course, great guitar from Fripp and more flute from Collins. Lovely. “Watching over me” takes us back to soft, gentle territory with acoustic guitar and very low-key percussion, while “Simple” ups the ante slightly with a more dancy number while still keeping the overall atmosphere going. Some pretty harsh guitar, it must be said, courtesy of Fripp, and some pretty mad effects to end, then “Things change” wraps the album up with a soft organ-driven tune, Bowness's gentle vocal whispering the album out as softly as he breathed it in. Sublime. Absolutely gorgeous guitar outro. Stunned, but not surprised to be.
Overall impression: As expected: another perfect album from the duo who seem unable to put a foot wrong.
Hum Factor: 8
Surprise Factor: 0
Intention: Listen to more

Trollheart · 08-12-2015, 09:46 AM

Artiste: The Hammers of Misfortune
Nationality: American
Album: The August Engine
Year: 2003
Label: Cruz del Sur Music
Genre: Progressive Metal
Tracks:
The August Engine, Part 1
Rainfall
A room and a riddle
The August Engine, Part 2
Insect
Doomed parade
The trial and the grave
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Sounds like this may be an instrumental album, driven on guitar
Best track(s): Rainfall, Insect
Worst track(s): The trial and the grave
Comments: A big, powerful progressive instrumental opener to kick off, showcasing the fretwork of bandleader, creator and guitarist John Cobbett, then “Rainfall” introduces violin and cello, with vocals from guest singer Lorraine Rath, and something that sounds like timpani or vibes. Great vibrating acoustic guitar line running through this, the back to hard and heavy guitar for “A room and a riddle”, bringing in what I must admit are fucking fantastic vocals from Mike Scalzi, adding an extra layer to the sound.

“The August Engine Part 2” is a heavier affair, with a sort of dramatic vocal and an almost viking swing to it. Great soft instrumental in the middle that suddenly takes you by surprise by powering up into a real shredfest except ... well, no it doesn't. Slips back into a sort of relaxed --- no, no, wait: it's screaming along now. These guys sure know how to keep you hooked, that's for certain. Building up to a big climax now, and you would not expect a song called “Insect” to be a folky, 1969-Genesis-like ballad, but it is. And lovely to boot. Ah, but then they fire it up and we're off down another unexpected offramp, heading for parts unknown!

“Doomed parade” keeps everything rocking well, with a really over-the-top vocal and very Lizzy guitars, very powerful and the album then ends on thr epic, eleven-minute “The trial and the grave”, opening on a very power metal guitar intro, slow and stately but I have a feeling it won't remain that way for long Well, it has actually dropped to a sort of combined vocal now, almost a lament, with definite contribution from at least one female. Hmm. I see the bassist is a woman and I wonder if it's her and maybe Lorraine Rath again? If so, they're working very well together, and I think I hear Scalzi in there too. Slow, thumping drums adds to the overall doomy atmosphere of this track. We're now more than halfway through and a fine guitar solo from Cobbett takes the tune.

I have to say, though, I think it tries to be all things to all men, alternating between Doom, Gothic and power Metal over the course of its eleven-minute length, and while it works at some points, at others it really just gets too confusing and it's hard to know at the end whether it's a good closer or a bloated track that might have been better left off, or at least put somewhere else on the album. Some great guitar work by Cobbett comes very close to saving the song, but in the end it's a case of too little too late.
Overall impression: There's definitely talent there, and HoM have enough pluses going for them to ensure they're taken notice of, but whether or not I'd be interested in checking out more of their work is still a question I'm grappling with. When they're good, they're very good, but unfortunately it's not always the case.
Hum Factor: 4
Surprise Factor:: 7
Intention: Not sure at this point

Trollheart · 08-30-2015, 05:38 AM

Artiste: Death Valley Athletic Club
Nationality: French
Album: Death Valley Athletic Club
Year: 2015
Label: None; Bandcamp release
Genre: Experimental?
Tracks:
Murti
Cereza
Salamander
Thanatoproxy
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: Describe their music as “Surreal rock for the masses”...
Initial impression: Nice acoustic start, can hardly hear the vocal...
Best track(s): Salamander (just)
Worst track(s): Everything else
Comments: This is more an EP, with only four tracks, and yet, like some of the EPs I've reviewed over the last while, there's a lot of running time, as three of the four tracks clock in at well over ten minutes, with one running to sixteen! I have no idea what to expect so here we go. We open with a soft acoustic number with almost inaudible vocals, so low that I can't be sure if they're singing in French or ... oh no, it's English. Ok. Getting a bit more animated now on the guitar with synth coming in and the vocal getting a little more biting. This short track is the opener, a mere three minutes and then a jazzy, bouncy guitar instrumental sees it out and into “Cereza”, which runs for twelve minutes.

This starts slow too and kind of dreamy, then kicks up into another rocky number, with some pretty good flourishes on the keys. Rather oddly, in about the eighth minute it stops and then goes into a kind of experimental/ambient/Frownland thing with feedback, effects, sounds and general weirdness. Now this to me (and I may be wrong) indicates that DVAC are just extending this track for the sake of it. I mean, what's the point here? The song was relatively okay (though nothing special) for eight minutes, now we're getting “let's play with effects!” for another four?? Losing sympathy in my eyes here people!

The third track features a nice smooth little bassline, but I can see a pattern emerging here: start low and muted, kick it up and rock out. It's a little predictable, though there is some nice angry guitar here. This is eleven minutes long and breaks down in the fourth into a nice piano and vocal, slowing everything into a sort of lounge crawl. Good vocal. Some nice relaxed guitar and some slick bass. Favourite track so far, though I have to admit that's not saying much. Now they've ruined it by trying to mix Doom and Death metal, with a staggering degree of ineptitude and therefore total lack of success. Oh dear.

I should also point out that their logo is very confusing and does not look anything at all like DVAC. If anything it looks like XXC. Weird. I also don't see any justification for their description of their music as “surreal”, except in the sense that if they think they're getting anywhere commercially with this, that is indeed surreal. We're now into the final track, and it's the longest, at just over sixteen minutes, but I'm basically expecting more of the same. At least it didn't start low-key but seems to be something of a carryover from the ending of the previous one. Good sharp guitar, decent melody.

So after a pretty decent, it must be said, guitar workout we again stop in minute seven. And I mean STOP. For several seconds. You'd definitely think the song was over if you were just listening without running times. Eventually the guitar comes back with a sort of funky passage, which to be fair, has been worth waiting for, but why the big gap? People are mostly impatient and will be unlikely to wait for this to start up, meaning they may miss half of the track. Smacks a little of arrogance to me. Anyway, on it goes and the drums roll in, but it's really more of a jam than anything else. Not that there's anything wrong with them, but in the middle of a song like this and following such a pause?

Oh dear god! Now we get a death vocal! Why? We're twelve minutes into the sixteen-minute run and DVAC have decided they want to be a death .,.. well, no, the music is not death metal, just the vocal. And now we have another false ending. Three minutes still to go.

Sounds like some more weird effects and feedback on the way. Talk about filling out a song for the sake of it.
Overall impression: Pretty run-of-the-mill. The only thing that makes them stand out, in my opinion, is the way they keep stopping and starting songs, and also how they can't seem to decide what sort of band they want to be.
Hum Factor: 3
Surprise Factor: -7
Intention: Well this is their debut, but I doubt I'll be breathlessly awaiting any more of their material!

Trollheart · 08-30-2015, 05:51 AM

Time to kick off another discography, this time yet another band that seems to get a lot of hate here, not sure why, also don't care. Welcome to the discography of

Artiste: Kamelot
Nationality: American
Album: Eternity
Year: 1995
Label: Noise
Genre: Progressive Metal
Tracks:
Eternity
Black tower
Call of the sea
Proud nomad
Red sands
One of the hunted
Fire within
Warbird
What about me
Etude jongleur
The Gleeman
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: I have all of Kamelot's albums
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: n/a
Best track(s): Warbird, Fire within, What about me, Etude jongleur
Worst track(s): Black tower, Eternity, Proud nomad
Comments: There aren't that many bands who I got into via their debut, unless they're newer ones, and so it was with Kamelot, which is just as well, as had this been my initial impression of them I doubt I would have gone any further. The difference changing their singer two albums later made it nothing short of amazing. I personally don't like Mark Vanderbilt; this album and the next one which featured him makes it seem as if you're listening to a whole new band by the time Siege Perilous comes around. Even now, there's little from this album I will give the time of day to, but it is as always interesting to see how the band began, and how their sound changed over a relatively short time.

In some ways, this album is closer to thrash metal than progressive, and the title track and opener certainly demonstrates this. There's something I really don't like about Vanderbilt's style of singing: I'm not sure if it's his propensity to throw in wails and go a little off-key a lot of the time, or his attempts to emulate Dickinson (which does not work), but the rest of the band work hard to compensate for him, with a nice sort of dramatic little guitar passage thanks to creator and driving engine Thomas Youngblood, but the song is basically pretty throwaway. “Black tower” is worse, one of my most disliked Kamelot songs, while “Call of the sea” at least gets into the swing. Mind you, it's not that much of an improvement. I remember listening to one of their live albums and the tolerant, polite applause that greeted this song tells you all you need to know about early Kamelot.

And so it goes. “Proud nomad” has a chorus that doesn't scan --- too many words jammed together --- and sounds like “Red sands”, “Red sands” sounds like “One of the hunted” ... in fact, the only tracks that really break the basic mould here are “Fire within”, “What about me” and, to an extent,"Warbird". It's certainly true that once all songwriting duties were handed over to Youngblood Kamelot's lyrics improved in leaps and bounds. Here, he writes only the music while drummer Richard Warner looks after the lyrics, as he would on the next album before his final departure for the third. And was he missed? Well, with lines like ”Oh black tower, what is your power?” I think we have our answer.

It's probably not fair to do down this album so badly, as I am; it's not that bad, it's just that, considering what Kamelot would go on to achieve this is very poor indeed, and is in no way an example of their best work. They found the winning formula in 1998 and retained it for seven albums, until 2010, when vocalist Roy Kahn left the band and since then they have struggled to replace him, as evidenced by 2012's depressing Silverthorn. “What about me” is one example of when they rise above mediocrity and give a foretaste of what they could and would become; even Vanderbilt puts in a great performance. “Etude jongleur”, though less than a minute long, does highlight the acoustic guitar skills of Youngblood, but then they blow it by ending on another generic track, and “The Gleeman” does nothing to help close the album on a strong note, kind of undoing all the hard work from the last three tracks. Oh well, they would get better.
Overall impression: A poor start for a band who would go on to be so much better in time.
Hum Factor: 5
Intention: n/a

Trollheart · 11-25-2015, 05:54 PM

Artiste: The Birds of Satan
Nationality: American
Album: The Birds of Satan
Year: 2014
Label: Shanabelle Records
Genre: Rock
Tracks:
The Ballad of the Birds of Satan
Thanks for the line
Pieces of the puzzle
Raspberries
Nothing at all
Wait till tomorrow
Too far gone to see

Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: I know some Foos, the odd Niravana, that sort of stuff
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Bit chaotic at the start
Best track(s): Too far gone to see
Worst track(s): Everything else
Comments: Created as a sideline project of Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins, this was apparently something of a rushed album, thrown together quickly and with no real aim in mind other than to lay down some tracks and do something a little different. And man does it show! The Birds of Satan originated from Chevy Metal, a covers band Hawkins had been fronting, and departs considerably from his usual work. With a somewhat confused rolling drum intro with added sound effects, the first track soon settles down into, not surprisingly, a guitar-driven tune with what sounds to me like Nirvana meets Queen and then bump into Bowie. It's not bad but I'm not really feeling it I have to say. There is some very good hard rock guitar on it, but again I would question the wisdom of opening what is a debut album on a nine-minute-plus track, even if there are only seven tracks in all on it.

Going a bit Sabbathy now, vocal cutting back to a much more gentle phrasing, then guitar feedback kicks it all up again, though it remains slow but heavy. Vocal is very Bowie now. I think the trouble here is that TBoS are trying to squeeze way too much into one (admittedly very long) song, and it just ends up sounding confused and overblown to me. There are some great ideas in there, but they're a bit lost in the mix and overwhelmed by everything else going on. Yeah. “Thanks for the line”, the single from the album is nothing terribly special either. Tempo kicks up with “Pieces of the puzzle”, very Queen-influenced especially in the vocal harmonies. There's a good energy about this song, but basically I'm getting the impression of an album thrown together in a hurry, and for a bit of a lark, as seems to be the case.

There's a nice sense of Country and West Coast to “Raspberries”, but it fires up into a kind of uptempo, slightly punkish idea for the chorus. God I am bored with this album! I'm on autopilot now unless something interesting happens. OK, the closer is a beautiful little ballad with touches of the Eagles and CSNY. Very nice.
Overall impression: Really, REALLY meh. The last track is the only one that makes me feel this was not a total waste of my time. Very poor overall.
Hum Factor: 2
Surprise Factor -8
Intention: n/a

Trollheart · 12-07-2015, 05:12 PM

After the success of my “Love or Hate?” thread I've come to realise that for the shorter style reviews for which I originally set this journal up, the format works really well and so from today I'm changing to that format. If anyone doesn't know about the thread (come out from under that rock) the brief synopsis is that I go through the album track by track and colour code each song according to how much I liked, or did not like it. The codes are as follows:

Red = Truly hated this track. Nothing to redeem it. Would not listen to it again.
White = Characterised as Meh in the thread, this can be a song which either I was not very impressed with but did not quite hate, or that I have not yet made my mind up about. It can also be one that made so little impression on me that I can't really say whether it was any good or not.
Orange = A track I liked but did not love
Green = A track I loved
Blue = A track I am absolutely wild about.

Because of this change of format, some of the old categories have been moved and some have in fact been deleted, as they no longer really fit in. The latter include “Initial impression”, “Overall impression”, “Intention”, “Best/worst tracks” etc., all of which can now be gleaned from looking at the individual tracks and how I reacted to them.

Okay then, let's go with the first album reviewed under the new format.

Artiste: Flying Colors
Nationality: American
Album: Second Nature
Year: 2014
Label: Mascot Label Group
Genre: Progressive Rock
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero, though I've heard good things
Interesting factoid: A “supergroup” made up of some of the stars of progressive rock, including Mike Portnoy and the two Morse brothers from Spock's Beard, Neil and Steve.
Tracks:
1. Open up your eyes: Excellent top-level prog instrumental opening which takes us about five minutes into a twelve-minute track, then the vocal comes in from Casey McPherson and it just gets better. There's a little of that Yes-style stop/start guitar and keyboard that often turns me off some prog rock (Spock's Beard use it a lot too) but that only detracts slightly from the overall excellence of this as an opening track. You could say the guys were taking a chance with such a long opener but I reckon they pulled it off and it sets the rest of the album up to really try to match, or even outdo, this.
2. Mask machine: A real chance for bassist Dave LaRue to show off his skills with a superb dark little bass solo to open. The vocal is oddly mechanised or somehow muddy at first, a little hard to make out, but it quickly takes shape. The song itself is much rockier than the opener, with a real killer hook and was in fact the first single from the album.
3. Bombs away: Well this is a heavy guitar led tune too, but in a slower vein, almost “When the levee breaks” in its style. Quite a passionate vocal, leaning just a little into AOR territory at times. Great solo from Steve Morse. Somewhat of a sudden ending. Hmm.
4. The fury of my love: Beautiful piano ballad on which Neal Morse gets to really shine. Lush strings accompaniment.
5. A place in your world: Kind of a feel of The Alan Parsons Project about this, Sounds like a Hammond there. Great vocal, a real rocker. Reminds me a little of Asia too. Another great hook, and the song just buzzes with energy. Okay, the lyric is nothing original but it's a good song.
6. Lost without you: Not a ballad, but a sort of mid-paced love song with again a very Asia feel to it, especially Aura/Phoenix era.
7. One love forever: Very jangly guitar, celtic style with what sounds like accordion but is probably synthesised. Really bouncy, upbeat song but again I cannot shake those Asia comparisons. If I didn't know better I would think John Payne or Wetton were in this band. (They're not). Still, not very much at all to complain about so far on this album.
8. Peaceful harbor: Great kind of crooned vocal opening, then it's acoustic guitar in what I guess must be the second ballad. Sounds a bit like steel guitar there too. Superb powerful vocal chorus from some women called The McCrary Sisters really adds heart to this.
9. Cosmic symphony (i) Still life of the world (ii) Searching for air (iii) Pound for pound: And what prog rock album would be complete without an epic multi-part suite? Running for just shy of twelve minutes (and so making this an album with an epic opener and closer very close in length to each other) this is, as you can see, split into three parts. Part I, “Still life of the world”has a very Tony Banksesque piano opening it, and a somehow ominous feel to it, helped along bu some urgent strings. You can kind of sense it building towards something, though in fairness it peters out and in part II “Searching for air” it turns into a really nice guitar led piece, then the strings return and with a slick guitar solo lead it into part III “Pound for pound”. Back comes that Banks piano joined by (dare I say it?) Rod Stewartlike guitar, with the vocal this time very reminiscent of Springsteen to me. Mostly driven on Steve Morse's expressive guitar, and with a return of those McCrary Sisters, who could be the “new Pink Floyd” girls, it's a great closer to an excellent album.

Comments: There really is nothing on this album I don't like, and much I love. I think I may have to make it a priority to check out their debut now. A wonderful effort.I do hear a lot of Asia, and of course a lot of Spock's Beard, but not so much as to make this anything like a clone/amalgam of those bands. Plus, of course, it helps that I like them both.

Horror · 12-12-2015, 12:42 PM

So, would you be open to reviewing a sort of short album? It's I think 20 minutes long and I bet you haven't heard much like it. I think if memory serves it's either Italian and Japanese or just Japanese but, not in the Jpop way you're thinking of. It's my favorite type of music from one of my favorite artists so, let me know. I'll give you the youtube link and all. I'll be pretty surprised if you know her though.

07-08-2015, 03:27 PM	#261 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,971	Artiste: Prefab Sprout Nationality: British Album: From Langley Park to Memphis Year: 1988 Label: Kitchenware Genre: Pop Tracks: The King of Rock and Roll Cars and girls I remember that Enchanted Nightingales Hey Manhattan! Knock on wood The golden calf Nancy (Let your hair down for me) The Venus of the soup kitchen Chronological position: Third album Familiarity: Jordan: the comeback and the various singles Interesting factoid: Initial impression: I know the first two tracks so kind of n/a Best track(s): The King of Rock and Roll, Cars and girls, Hey Manhattan, The Golden calf, Nancy (Let your hair down for me) Worst track(s): Enchanted, Knock on wood Comments: Having listened to Jordan: the Comeback I was really impressed by a band I had previously ignored, and yet up to now I have not checked out any of their other material, so since I know two tracks off this one I thought I'd give it a spin.Two big hit singles kick it off, with “The king of Rock and Roll” being most famous for that mad video with the frog waiter and the dancing hotdogs, but it's a bouncy, poppy tune that belies a bitter, self-recriminatory lyric which speaks of a guy who had one hit in his career and believes he is still a pop star all these years later. It's got a great hook though, which is probably one of the reasons why it was such a hit. Although “Cars and girls” slags off the lyrical themes used by Springsteen I can forgive them, as this is such a great song. Again it bounces along on pretty much the same basic beat as the opener, but the vocals of Wendy Smith really add to its bleakness. Paddy McAloon of course holds court over everything as usual. It is true, of course, what he says: ”Some things hurt more/ Much more than cars and girls” so you can't fault him for taking The Boss to task. There is the pop sensibility that permeates much of his work, and clever lyrics as he sings ”Life's not a cruise/ With a cool chick/ Too many folks feelin' carsick/ But it never pulls in.” It's pretty impossible not to like this song. But that's it for what I know off this album, so from here on, to borrow an analogy from this song, we're on unfamiliar roads. “I remember that” pours a layer of lounge/jazz over the music, a slow swaying ballad with a great stabbing synth line, nice touch of gospel in the backing vocals. “Enchanted” has a sort of soul feel to it, with some jangly, funky guitar, but it's a little lightweight for my tastes, while the great Stevie Wonder pops up on “Nightingales” to add some harmonica, and the strings accompaniment injects real heart into this soulful ballad. Oh, wait: I'm wrong. I know another track, and it's this one. “Hey Manhattan” is a great bouncy pop song with a wonderful hook, and guitar by Pete Townsend. Nice. Strings are even more effective here. I must say though, “Knock on wood” is terribly, terribly dreary. It's soon forgotten though as we hit the rock'n'roll of “The Golden calf”, very catchy, sort of a Tears For Fears feel about it. Another fine ballad in “Nancy (Let your hair down for me)”, lovely piano work and fine backing vocals from Wendy again, then the album wraps up with a nice mid-pacer which happens to contain the title of the album, but is not so titled. It's a decent track but a little underwhelming. Overall impression: Not by any means the powerhouse Jordan is, and since I already knew three tracks there wasn't too much for me to get excited about. Much of it was quite mediocre, though there were some good spots too. Hum Factor: 7 Surprise Factor: - 2 Intention: I'm really not sure. I do like McAloon's voice and his lyrical prowess, but do I let myself in for another disappointment? Stay tuned. Or maybe not. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

07-14-2015, 05:52 PM	#262 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,971	Another discography to get under way. I started listening to this man's music purely on the basis of the first of his albums I bought, which I pretty much only bought for the cover, hoping some decent music was inside. I've already reviewed that in full, in fact it was one of the first albums to be looked at in my main journal, but when it comes round I'll be giving it the "Bitesize" treatment too. For now, for those of you who don't know him, let me introduce you to Artiste: Steve Earle Nationality:American Album: Guitar Town Year: 1986 Label: MCA Genre: Country Tracks: Guitar Town Goodbye's all we've got left Hillbilly Highway Good ol' boy (Gettin' tough) My old friend the blues Someday Think it over Fearless heart Little rock'n'roller Down the road Chronological position: Debut album Familiarity: I've listened to everything Steve Earle has done; big fan Interesting factoid: Initial impression: n/a Best track(s): Guitar Town, Good ol' boy (Gettin' tough), Hillbilly Highway, My old friend the blues, Fearless heart, Someday, Down the road Worst track(s): Little rock'n'roller Comments: I got into Steve Earle through Copperhead Road and The hard way, which are albums more rooted in the rock he would follow for many years, so his debut was something of a shock to me. It's not that it's a bad album --- it's actually very good --- but it couldn't really be called rock, or even Country/Rock: it's pure Country with a lot of bluegrass and rockabilly thrown in. You can hear this from the off, when the title track, a good rocker, is nevertheless very much the kind of thing you'd expect to hear coming out of Nashville around this time. Like the opener, “Hillbilly Highway” relates the (perhaps autobiographic, perhaps not) tale of a man breaking away and finding his own way in the world. Some really nice slap bass in this. What I do like about Earle's music is that, like the best songwriters, they mostly tell a story, usually about ordinary lives, and often they touch on political issues. There's not really any of that though till we hit “Good ol' boy (Gettin' tough)”, when he laments the state of the American automotive industry --- "A twenty thousand dollar pickup truck/ Belongs to me and the bank/ And some funny-talkin' man from Iran” and the decline of the attitude in the heartland of the USA, where a man is a man and does what he can to survive. ”I was born in the land of plenty” he tells us sadly, ”Now there ain't enough.” This is the first time the album really breaks out into something that could be said to approach rock, with a hard guitar driving the tune, where up to now, though the guitar has been present, much of the music has been reliant on the organ and synth lines of Ken Moore. Earle plays to his strengths here, as he will on future albums, with songs coming in from the two to four minute mark: you won't find any eight-minute compositions on a Steve Earle record. He says what he has to say, with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of honesty and moves on. But he can write heartfelt ballads too, such as “My old friend the blues”, which relies mostly on picked guitar and his mellifluous voice, which here is completely cowboy singer, but will change soon to a harsher, rougher and less formulaic sound. Pedal steel of course adds its voice, then “Someday” returns to the singer longing to break out of the one-horse town he's stuck in --- ”They ask me how far to Memphis son?/ And where's the nearest beer?/ They don't even know/ That there's a town around here.” It's another song that has a good deal of punchy guitar in it, but the steel does rule, something that Earle would slowly drop, or at least cut back on, on later releases. “Think it over”, however, is pure rockabilly, not one of my favourites though it is catchy, with again a great bassline. Much better is “Fearless heart”, which marches along confidently and resolutely, and which pretty much typifies Earle himself, a man few would try to tangle with but who has a gentle and compassionate heart. It's a slower song but not a ballad, however the next one is. I'm really not fond of “Little rock'n'roller”: it's just too twee for words, with a trucker calling his young son (the little rock'n'roller of the title) and agonising over being so far away. It's just too Country-by-the-numbers for me, with Earle almost breaking into tears. But the album ends well on “Down the road”, which opens on an acapella line from Earle and then quickly turns into a bluegrass workout, returning to the acapella vocal to end. Edit: Just heard him doing a version of “State Trooper”, reminded me I need to check out Nebraska again at my earliest opportunity! Overall impression: If this had been my first Earle record I doubt I would have gone much further, if at all. That would have been my mistake. Hum Factor: 8 Intention: n/a __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

07-15-2015, 03:50 AM	#263 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,971	Artiste: Alestorm Nationality: Scottish Album: Sunset on the golden age Year: 2014 Label: Napalm Genre: Pirate Metal (?) Tracks: Walk the plank Drink Magnetic north 1741 (The Battle of Cartagena) Mead from Hell Surf squid warfare Quest for ships Wooden leg Hangover Sunset on the golden age Chronological position: Fourth album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: Initial impression: Fun, fun, fun! Best track(s): Drink, Magnetic north, 1741 (The Battle of Cartagena), Quest for ships, Wooden leg, Sunset on the golden age Worst track(s): Nothing: this is fucking brilliant! Comments: So, Pirate Metal, eh? Never heard of this before. I'm told it's not really a subgenre as such, but utilises elements of Power and Folk Metal to evoke a kind of pirate-themed version of Viking Metal (which isn't really a subgenre either: with me so far?) and tends to have song lyrics based around piratey things. So let's give it a go and see what it's like, shall we? Mateys. Good hard and heavy opening as we are invited to “Walk the plank”; kind of more Thrash Metal than Power though I would think. Not bad stuff though. Chorus is hilarious. You've got to love a song that has the lyric “We are here to drink your beer!” Good song too; great I would think for, you know, drinking. Love the hard Scottish accent on “Magnetic north”, also the way it suddenly metamorphoses into a death metal song, complete with cookie monster vocals! The sailor's hornpipe idea on “1741 (The Battle of Cartagena)” is great, and the track rocks along with great excitement and fun, even if they do go all death metal for a short time during the song. It's almost endearing. I have to say, so far I'm enjoying this immensely. It's not going to change your life or anything but it must be a fantastic album to get just totally pissed to. And the guys can certainly play. Oh come on! No matter how bad it is (and it's not, not at all) you have to give props to a song called “Surf squid warfare”! And the lyrics just get better: ”I'm on a quest/ A quest for ships/ Sailing's how I get my kicks!” Fucking inspired! And a hornpipe at the end. Perfect. Then we get “Wooden leg” which has the fantastic chorus “Wooden leg! Wooden leg! I've got a wooden leg!” and calls the Spanish and Japanese bastards. You gotta respect that! You know, I'm just going to stop writing about this now and enjoy what's left. If you have the urge to be entertained and made smile, even if it necessitates slightly disengaging your brain, you really should get a hold of this album. Everyone should hear it, preferably, I would assume, when drunk. Overall impression: Probably the most fun I've had listening to an album this year so far. Loved every bit, It's not going to win any Grammys or change anyone's worldview, but it's one hell of an enjoyable ride. Hum Factor: 10 Surprise Factor: 10 Intention: I need to hear more from these guys! __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

07-15-2015, 03:59 AM	#264 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,971	Artiste: No-Man Nationality: British Album: Flowermouth Year: 1994 Label: One Little Indian Genre: Dream pop, Progressive Rock, Ambient Tracks: Angel gets caught in the beauty trap You grow more beautiful Animal ghost Soft shoulders Shell of a fighter Teardrop fall Watching over me Simple Things change Chronological position: Second album Familiarity: I've heard Schoolyard Ghosts, and some of Wilson's material, with and without Porcupine Tree. Interesting factoid: Initial impression: A wistful, dreamy opening that immediately pulls you in Best track(s): Angel gets caught in the beauty trap, You grow more beautiful ... ah hell, just everything! Worst track(s): Not a one. Comments: A lovely rippling piano which reminds me of a faster version of Peter Gabriel's “San Jacinto” opens the album, with another, more stately piano joining it before the clear voice of Tim Bowness invites us once more into his ethereal world. Actually, that could be a loop, courtesy of King Crimson's Robert Fripp and his Frippertronics. A very clever line I find is ”I cannot scream for the dust in my throat”, which at once gets across the idea of drowning in the urban sprawl, choked by smog and exhaust fumes. Some beautiful violin and trumpet, with a superb sax solo from the great Mel Collins. And of course Steven Wilson does not disappoint either (does he ever?), handling various instruments and writing all the music. When these two get together, the result is never anything less than astounding. No-Man are one of the bands you can start playing and just know --- just know, with complete certainty --- that it's going to be an enjoyable experience at the very least. At almost ten minutes for an opening track, Bowness and Wilson show here how to ensure a song this long never gets boring, repetitive or seem overstretched; in fact, when it eventually fades out you wish there was more. Luckily, there is, as we head into “You grow more beautiful”, with a sort of funkier upbeat feel, sort of reminds me of George Michael around the Faith era. Great guitar from Wilson, has a real kind of growling edge to it, and we have another standout already. And now the inimitable Collins sighs in with a smooth flute solo against kind of jungle percussion and a rolling, sprinkling piano, all perfect backdrops to the voice of Bowness, which really can only be called heavenly or angelic. Throw in some more beautiful violin and you're there. And if that wasn't enough, Fripp is back on guitar. It's kind of hard to review this, as I keep feeling myself just laying back on the bed, closing my eyes and threatening to drift away... have to shake myself into action. Low, echoey drums usher in a funky beat driven on lush organ as we head into “Soft shoulders”, with gentle violin and an echoing vocal which reminds me of Soft Cell, though this song is another slow, laidback one, tempting me back to the embrace of the pillow... Okay... there's slightly more of a bite to “Shell of a fighter”, though nobody would call it uptempo. Great synth in it and a very Arabian idea in the riff. More great Frippertronics and a kind of mechanised vocal too. There's a nice move towards something a little more upbeat, paradoxically perhaps, with “Teardrop fall”, nice electro/dancy beat, reminds me of Ceronne and Donna Summer. Vocal is perfect of course, great guitar from Fripp and more flute from Collins. Lovely. “Watching over me” takes us back to soft, gentle territory with acoustic guitar and very low-key percussion, while “Simple” ups the ante slightly with a more dancy number while still keeping the overall atmosphere going. Some pretty harsh guitar, it must be said, courtesy of Fripp, and some pretty mad effects to end, then “Things change” wraps the album up with a soft organ-driven tune, Bowness's gentle vocal whispering the album out as softly as he breathed it in. Sublime. Absolutely gorgeous guitar outro. Stunned, but not surprised to be. Overall impression: As expected: another perfect album from the duo who seem unable to put a foot wrong. Hum Factor: 8 Surprise Factor: 0 Intention: Listen to more __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

08-12-2015, 09:46 AM	#265 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,971	Artiste: The Hammers of Misfortune Nationality: American Album: The August Engine Year: 2003 Label: Cruz del Sur Music Genre: Progressive Metal Tracks: The August Engine, Part 1 Rainfall A room and a riddle The August Engine, Part 2 Insect Doomed parade The trial and the grave Chronological position: Second album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: Initial impression: Sounds like this may be an instrumental album, driven on guitar Best track(s): Rainfall, Insect Worst track(s): The trial and the grave Comments: A big, powerful progressive instrumental opener to kick off, showcasing the fretwork of bandleader, creator and guitarist John Cobbett, then “Rainfall” introduces violin and cello, with vocals from guest singer Lorraine Rath, and something that sounds like timpani or vibes. Great vibrating acoustic guitar line running through this, the back to hard and heavy guitar for “A room and a riddle”, bringing in what I must admit are fucking fantastic vocals from Mike Scalzi, adding an extra layer to the sound. “The August Engine Part 2” is a heavier affair, with a sort of dramatic vocal and an almost viking swing to it. Great soft instrumental in the middle that suddenly takes you by surprise by powering up into a real shredfest except ... well, no it doesn't. Slips back into a sort of relaxed --- no, no, wait: it's screaming along now. These guys sure know how to keep you hooked, that's for certain. Building up to a big climax now, and you would not expect a song called “Insect” to be a folky, 1969-Genesis-like ballad, but it is. And lovely to boot. Ah, but then they fire it up and we're off down another unexpected offramp, heading for parts unknown! “Doomed parade” keeps everything rocking well, with a really over-the-top vocal and very Lizzy guitars, very powerful and the album then ends on thr epic, eleven-minute “The trial and the grave”, opening on a very power metal guitar intro, slow and stately but I have a feeling it won't remain that way for long Well, it has actually dropped to a sort of combined vocal now, almost a lament, with definite contribution from at least one female. Hmm. I see the bassist is a woman and I wonder if it's her and maybe Lorraine Rath again? If so, they're working very well together, and I think I hear Scalzi in there too. Slow, thumping drums adds to the overall doomy atmosphere of this track. We're now more than halfway through and a fine guitar solo from Cobbett takes the tune. I have to say, though, I think it tries to be all things to all men, alternating between Doom, Gothic and power Metal over the course of its eleven-minute length, and while it works at some points, at others it really just gets too confusing and it's hard to know at the end whether it's a good closer or a bloated track that might have been better left off, or at least put somewhere else on the album. Some great guitar work by Cobbett comes very close to saving the song, but in the end it's a case of too little too late. Overall impression: There's definitely talent there, and HoM have enough pluses going for them to ensure they're taken notice of, but whether or not I'd be interested in checking out more of their work is still a question I'm grappling with. When they're good, they're very good, but unfortunately it's not always the case. Hum Factor: 4 Surprise Factor:: 7 Intention: Not sure at this point __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

08-30-2015, 05:38 AM	#266 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,971	Artiste: Death Valley Athletic Club Nationality: French Album: Death Valley Athletic Club Year: 2015 Label: None; Bandcamp release Genre: Experimental? Tracks: Murti Cereza Salamander Thanatoproxy Chronological position: Debut album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: Describe their music as “Surreal rock for the masses”... Initial impression: Nice acoustic start, can hardly hear the vocal... Best track(s): Salamander (just) Worst track(s): Everything else Comments: This is more an EP, with only four tracks, and yet, like some of the EPs I've reviewed over the last while, there's a lot of running time, as three of the four tracks clock in at well over ten minutes, with one running to sixteen! I have no idea what to expect so here we go. We open with a soft acoustic number with almost inaudible vocals, so low that I can't be sure if they're singing in French or ... oh no, it's English. Ok. Getting a bit more animated now on the guitar with synth coming in and the vocal getting a little more biting. This short track is the opener, a mere three minutes and then a jazzy, bouncy guitar instrumental sees it out and into “Cereza”, which runs for twelve minutes. This starts slow too and kind of dreamy, then kicks up into another rocky number, with some pretty good flourishes on the keys. Rather oddly, in about the eighth minute it stops and then goes into a kind of experimental/ambient/Frownland thing with feedback, effects, sounds and general weirdness. Now this to me (and I may be wrong) indicates that DVAC are just extending this track for the sake of it. I mean, what's the point here? The song was relatively okay (though nothing special) for eight minutes, now we're getting “let's play with effects!” for another four?? Losing sympathy in my eyes here people! The third track features a nice smooth little bassline, but I can see a pattern emerging here: start low and muted, kick it up and rock out. It's a little predictable, though there is some nice angry guitar here. This is eleven minutes long and breaks down in the fourth into a nice piano and vocal, slowing everything into a sort of lounge crawl. Good vocal. Some nice relaxed guitar and some slick bass. Favourite track so far, though I have to admit that's not saying much. Now they've ruined it by trying to mix Doom and Death metal, with a staggering degree of ineptitude and therefore total lack of success. Oh dear. I should also point out that their logo is very confusing and does not look anything at all like DVAC. If anything it looks like XXC. Weird. I also don't see any justification for their description of their music as “surreal”, except in the sense that if they think they're getting anywhere commercially with this, that is indeed surreal. We're now into the final track, and it's the longest, at just over sixteen minutes, but I'm basically expecting more of the same. At least it didn't start low-key but seems to be something of a carryover from the ending of the previous one. Good sharp guitar, decent melody. So after a pretty decent, it must be said, guitar workout we again stop in minute seven. And I mean STOP. For several seconds. You'd definitely think the song was over if you were just listening without running times. Eventually the guitar comes back with a sort of funky passage, which to be fair, has been worth waiting for, but why the big gap? People are mostly impatient and will be unlikely to wait for this to start up, meaning they may miss half of the track. Smacks a little of arrogance to me. Anyway, on it goes and the drums roll in, but it's really more of a jam than anything else. Not that there's anything wrong with them, but in the middle of a song like this and following such a pause? Oh dear god! Now we get a death vocal! Why? We're twelve minutes into the sixteen-minute run and DVAC have decided they want to be a death .,.. well, no, the music is not death metal, just the vocal. And now we have another false ending. Three minutes still to go. Sounds like some more weird effects and feedback on the way. Talk about filling out a song for the sake of it. Overall impression: Pretty run-of-the-mill. The only thing that makes them stand out, in my opinion, is the way they keep stopping and starting songs, and also how they can't seem to decide what sort of band they want to be. Hum Factor: 3 Surprise Factor: -7 Intention: Well this is their debut, but I doubt I'll be breathlessly awaiting any more of their material! __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

08-30-2015, 05:51 AM	#267 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,971	Time to kick off another discography, this time yet another band that seems to get a lot of hate here, not sure why, also don't care. Welcome to the discography of Artiste: Kamelot Nationality: American Album: Eternity Year: 1995 Label: Noise Genre: Progressive Metal Tracks: Eternity Black tower Call of the sea Proud nomad Red sands One of the hunted Fire within Warbird What about me Etude jongleur The Gleeman Chronological position: Debut album Familiarity: I have all of Kamelot's albums Interesting factoid: Initial impression: n/a Best track(s): Warbird, Fire within, What about me, Etude jongleur Worst track(s): Black tower, Eternity, Proud nomad Comments: There aren't that many bands who I got into via their debut, unless they're newer ones, and so it was with Kamelot, which is just as well, as had this been my initial impression of them I doubt I would have gone any further. The difference changing their singer two albums later made it nothing short of amazing. I personally don't like Mark Vanderbilt; this album and the next one which featured him makes it seem as if you're listening to a whole new band by the time Siege Perilous comes around. Even now, there's little from this album I will give the time of day to, but it is as always interesting to see how the band began, and how their sound changed over a relatively short time. In some ways, this album is closer to thrash metal than progressive, and the title track and opener certainly demonstrates this. There's something I really don't like about Vanderbilt's style of singing: I'm not sure if it's his propensity to throw in wails and go a little off-key a lot of the time, or his attempts to emulate Dickinson (which does not work), but the rest of the band work hard to compensate for him, with a nice sort of dramatic little guitar passage thanks to creator and driving engine Thomas Youngblood, but the song is basically pretty throwaway. “Black tower” is worse, one of my most disliked Kamelot songs, while “Call of the sea” at least gets into the swing. Mind you, it's not that much of an improvement. I remember listening to one of their live albums and the tolerant, polite applause that greeted this song tells you all you need to know about early Kamelot. And so it goes. “Proud nomad” has a chorus that doesn't scan --- too many words jammed together --- and sounds like “Red sands”, “Red sands” sounds like “One of the hunted” ... in fact, the only tracks that really break the basic mould here are “Fire within”, “What about me” and, to an extent,"Warbird". It's certainly true that once all songwriting duties were handed over to Youngblood Kamelot's lyrics improved in leaps and bounds. Here, he writes only the music while drummer Richard Warner looks after the lyrics, as he would on the next album before his final departure for the third. And was he missed? Well, with lines like ”Oh black tower, what is your power?” I think we have our answer. It's probably not fair to do down this album so badly, as I am; it's not that bad, it's just that, considering what Kamelot would go on to achieve this is very poor indeed, and is in no way an example of their best work. They found the winning formula in 1998 and retained it for seven albums, until 2010, when vocalist Roy Kahn left the band and since then they have struggled to replace him, as evidenced by 2012's depressing Silverthorn. “What about me” is one example of when they rise above mediocrity and give a foretaste of what they could and would become; even Vanderbilt puts in a great performance. “Etude jongleur”, though less than a minute long, does highlight the acoustic guitar skills of Youngblood, but then they blow it by ending on another generic track, and “The Gleeman” does nothing to help close the album on a strong note, kind of undoing all the hard work from the last three tracks. Oh well, they would get better. Overall impression: A poor start for a band who would go on to be so much better in time. Hum Factor: 5 Intention: n/a __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

11-25-2015, 05:54 PM	#268 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,971	Artiste: The Birds of Satan Nationality: American Album: The Birds of Satan Year: 2014 Label: Shanabelle Records Genre: Rock Tracks: The Ballad of the Birds of Satan Thanks for the line Pieces of the puzzle Raspberries Nothing at all Wait till tomorrow Too far gone to see Chronological position: Debut album Familiarity: I know some Foos, the odd Niravana, that sort of stuff Interesting factoid: Initial impression: Bit chaotic at the start Best track(s): Too far gone to see Worst track(s): Everything else Comments: Created as a sideline project of Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins, this was apparently something of a rushed album, thrown together quickly and with no real aim in mind other than to lay down some tracks and do something a little different. And man does it show! The Birds of Satan originated from Chevy Metal, a covers band Hawkins had been fronting, and departs considerably from his usual work. With a somewhat confused rolling drum intro with added sound effects, the first track soon settles down into, not surprisingly, a guitar-driven tune with what sounds to me like Nirvana meets Queen and then bump into Bowie. It's not bad but I'm not really feeling it I have to say. There is some very good hard rock guitar on it, but again I would question the wisdom of opening what is a debut album on a nine-minute-plus track, even if there are only seven tracks in all on it. Going a bit Sabbathy now, vocal cutting back to a much more gentle phrasing, then guitar feedback kicks it all up again, though it remains slow but heavy. Vocal is very Bowie now. I think the trouble here is that TBoS are trying to squeeze way too much into one (admittedly very long) song, and it just ends up sounding confused and overblown to me. There are some great ideas in there, but they're a bit lost in the mix and overwhelmed by everything else going on. Yeah. “Thanks for the line”, the single from the album is nothing terribly special either. Tempo kicks up with “Pieces of the puzzle”, very Queen-influenced especially in the vocal harmonies. There's a good energy about this song, but basically I'm getting the impression of an album thrown together in a hurry, and for a bit of a lark, as seems to be the case. There's a nice sense of Country and West Coast to “Raspberries”, but it fires up into a kind of uptempo, slightly punkish idea for the chorus. God I am bored with this album! I'm on autopilot now unless something interesting happens. OK, the closer is a beautiful little ballad with touches of the Eagles and CSNY. Very nice. Overall impression: Really, REALLY meh. The last track is the only one that makes me feel this was not a total waste of my time. Very poor overall. Hum Factor: 2 Surprise Factor -8 Intention: n/a __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

12-07-2015, 05:12 PM	#269 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,971	After the success of my “Love or Hate?” thread I've come to realise that for the shorter style reviews for which I originally set this journal up, the format works really well and so from today I'm changing to that format. If anyone doesn't know about the thread (come out from under that rock) the brief synopsis is that I go through the album track by track and colour code each song according to how much I liked, or did not like it. The codes are as follows: Red = Truly hated this track. Nothing to redeem it. Would not listen to it again. White = Characterised as Meh in the thread, this can be a song which either I was not very impressed with but did not quite hate, or that I have not yet made my mind up about. It can also be one that made so little impression on me that I can't really say whether it was any good or not. Orange = A track I liked but did not love Green = A track I loved Blue = A track I am absolutely wild about. Because of this change of format, some of the old categories have been moved and some have in fact been deleted, as they no longer really fit in. The latter include “Initial impression”, “Overall impression”, “Intention”, “Best/worst tracks” etc., all of which can now be gleaned from looking at the individual tracks and how I reacted to them. Okay then, let's go with the first album reviewed under the new format. Artiste: Flying Colors Nationality: American Album: Second Nature Year: 2014 Label: Mascot Label Group Genre: Progressive Rock Chronological position: Second album Familiarity: Zero, though I've heard good things Interesting factoid: A “supergroup” made up of some of the stars of progressive rock, including Mike Portnoy and the two Morse brothers from Spock's Beard, Neil and Steve. Tracks: 1. Open up your eyes: Excellent top-level prog instrumental opening which takes us about five minutes into a twelve-minute track, then the vocal comes in from Casey McPherson and it just gets better. There's a little of that Yes-style stop/start guitar and keyboard that often turns me off some prog rock (Spock's Beard use it a lot too) but that only detracts slightly from the overall excellence of this as an opening track. You could say the guys were taking a chance with such a long opener but I reckon they pulled it off and it sets the rest of the album up to really try to match, or even outdo, this. 2. Mask machine: A real chance for bassist Dave LaRue to show off his skills with a superb dark little bass solo to open. The vocal is oddly mechanised or somehow muddy at first, a little hard to make out, but it quickly takes shape. The song itself is much rockier than the opener, with a real killer hook and was in fact the first single from the album. 3. Bombs away: Well this is a heavy guitar led tune too, but in a slower vein, almost “When the levee breaks” in its style. Quite a passionate vocal, leaning just a little into AOR territory at times. Great solo from Steve Morse. Somewhat of a sudden ending. Hmm. 4. The fury of my love: Beautiful piano ballad on which Neal Morse gets to really shine. Lush strings accompaniment. 5. A place in your world: Kind of a feel of The Alan Parsons Project about this, Sounds like a Hammond there. Great vocal, a real rocker. Reminds me a little of Asia too. Another great hook, and the song just buzzes with energy. Okay, the lyric is nothing original but it's a good song. 6. Lost without you: Not a ballad, but a sort of mid-paced love song with again a very Asia feel to it, especially Aura/Phoenix era. 7. One love forever: Very jangly guitar, celtic style with what sounds like accordion but is probably synthesised. Really bouncy, upbeat song but again I cannot shake those Asia comparisons. If I didn't know better I would think John Payne or Wetton were in this band. (They're not). Still, not very much at all to complain about so far on this album. 8. Peaceful harbor: Great kind of crooned vocal opening, then it's acoustic guitar in what I guess must be the second ballad. Sounds a bit like steel guitar there too. Superb powerful vocal chorus from some women called The McCrary Sisters really adds heart to this. 9. Cosmic symphony (i) Still life of the world (ii) Searching for air (iii) Pound for pound: And what prog rock album would be complete without an epic multi-part suite? Running for just shy of twelve minutes (and so making this an album with an epic opener and closer very close in length to each other) this is, as you can see, split into three parts. Part I, “Still life of the world”has a very Tony Banksesque piano opening it, and a somehow ominous feel to it, helped along bu some urgent strings. You can kind of sense it building towards something, though in fairness it peters out and in part II “Searching for air” it turns into a really nice guitar led piece, then the strings return and with a slick guitar solo lead it into part III “Pound for pound”. Back comes that Banks piano joined by (dare I say it?) Rod Stewartlike guitar, with the vocal this time very reminiscent of Springsteen to me. Mostly driven on Steve Morse's expressive guitar, and with a return of those McCrary Sisters, who could be the “new Pink Floyd” girls, it's a great closer to an excellent album. Comments: There really is nothing on this album I don't like, and much I love. I think I may have to make it a priority to check out their debut now. A wonderful effort.I do hear a lot of Asia, and of course a lot of Spock's Beard, but not so much as to make this anything like a clone/amalgam of those bands. Plus, of course, it helps that I like them both. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

12-12-2015, 12:42 PM	#270 (permalink)
Horror Music Assassin Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Hell. Posts: 192	So, would you be open to reviewing a sort of short album? It's I think 20 minutes long and I bet you haven't heard much like it. I think if memory serves it's either Italian and Japanese or just Japanese but, not in the Jpop way you're thinking of. It's my favorite type of music from one of my favorite artists so, let me know. I'll give you the youtube link and all. I'll be pretty surprised if you know her though.