The Official Hard Rock / Classic Metal Music Discussion and Memorabilia Thread!

[wolfking]

Might have to have a listen to that too.  I heard a couple of tracks on youtube and it didn't really do much for me.

Speaking of Pretty Maids, here's a new video;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV6ebCgH-dI

A bit more promising, but sound like anything on Motherland.

[bl5150]

Yeah.......although that's what really got me worried about the sound.   That is the proverbial wall of sound with bugger all clarity IMO.  I know some people like that  (or don't feel that it's all that bad) , so just personal taste.

[wolfking]

Yeah.......although that's what really got me worried about the sound.   That is the proverbial wall of sound with bugger all clarity IMO.  I know some people like that  (or don't feel that it's all that bad) , so just personal taste.

Sounds like someone is stuck in 1988! 

[bl5150]

yeah, nah (As the footy players say) 

Even making allowances , the Pretty Maids is muddy as ,  in comparison to albums like the Kee Marcello........even Megadeth or Testament.    I don't often pick on a muddy production job as it's a fact of life these days but when it gets so muddy it makes the guitar,bass and keys almost indistinguishable then I draw the line.   Within Temptation's The Unforgiving was one album that bothered me but fortunately I liked the songs enough to forgive it.  Hopefully Pretty Maids do the same but I'm sceptical.

[Lepprador]

Pandemonium put them back on my radar, Motherland was even stronger,
so I was looking forward to the new one. I have to agree with bl5150, unfortunatley it's enjoyment is brought down by a harsh sound. Not as bad as the self-titled Queensryche reboot album, but someone botched the job. That's too bad, because underneath the ear bleeding sound, there are some gems hidden.

Please patch it. In the age where game developers can patch their game years after the release, bands still only have one try. I can't really think of many examples, where an album 2.0 has been released. That one Geoff Tate abomination comes to mind, but why bother ?
Why can't Metallica (I can't believe how much I'm anticipating Hardwired / managed not to ear a single note)  offer a remixed version of DM some months after the customers complaints ?
Oh, right...Vapor Trails got a second chance.
Perhaps not the king's way, but put a key code into the booklet, let the customer register the album to receive updates and add ons.

Other candidates for a treatment have been Reedemer Of Souls and  A Different Kind Of Truth.

My Top 5 Pretty Maids albums:
Future World
Red, Hot & Heavy
Motherland
Pandemonium
Jump The Gun

[bl5150]

Hey Lepprador - Pretty Maids have had a few poorly produced albums over time.   The very rare Wake Up To The Real World is a good album ruined a bit by bad sound.  Great band though - quite a unique straddling of the AOR/metal divide.


So.......new albums from Pretty Maids and Eden's Curse have been playing here today.  I was worried about both but the good news is that only one of the bands (I feared both) has totally lost their mojo and that's Eden's Curse.

Once again the EC album is getting rave reviews and Paul Logue (who I like as a person and musician) reckons it's their best effort.........but to me it's just by the numbers stuff , the one exception being the final track (12) Jericho which is classic Eden's Curse and would fit nicely onto their other albums.  Too little too late and the rest is pretty poor really.   Ironically - given the discussion on Pretty Maids - the production is great.


The Pretty Maids was better than I expected.  The sound is shit - even just adding some high end to the guitars would make a huge difference...............you don't get a crunch if it's muddy and sounds like chords on a bass guitar guys.    The good news is that you've basically heard all the real wimpy tracks with the advance releases.  It rocks harder than I expected and I can't really say they've wimped out.   There's some good songs on there and enough variety to make it a pretty easy listen.

Ratings.....  Eden's Curse 73%  and Pretty Maids 85%

[wolfking]

Good news on the Pretty Maids there Brent, will for sure probably pick it up then.  No surprise with the Eden's Curse.  They had something good going with Symphony of Sin, but looks like they fucked it.

And yeah Lepprador, Redeemer of Souls does sound shit and is one of the reasons why I don't rate it at all.  The guitar tones are just laughable.

[Lepprador]

I own and can only remember very foggyly the Wake Up To The Real World album. Or Sin-Decade: far from a good production, but listenable (in contrast to the new one).
For me it's like soup. You can have the best ingredients, cooked with love, but if it gets oversalted, it's nothing more than a nice try.
So I can't bring myself to listen to music that pains my ears after 10 minutes.

Redeemer: yes, I still can't get over the pathetic guitar sound. What were they thinking ?
Perhaps (like Lars U. heard DM in his car) it sounded good in a traffic jam ?     

[bl5150]

If anyone happens to get Dee Snider's album We Are The Ones , then let us know what you think.

Word of mouth is about as bad as I have heard for anything in a long time.

[jjrock88]

I listened to We are the Ones by Dee and ended up turning it off a couple minutes in.  Not terrible, but nothing great at all.

It just seems strange that Dee has been so against releasing new albums because he states it is pointless and nobody will buy it.  That's been his reason for not releasing any new Twisted Sister albums in decades.  But if he is going to put in the effort for this solo album, why not just bring in the boys and make it a Twisted Sister album.  It would have to sell better than a Dee solo disc.

[TAC]

Just checked that track out. I actually like it. Sounds a lot like Brutal Planet era Alice Cooper.

[Lowdz]

I really liked Wake Up To The Real World, but yeah, doesn't sound great. PM have been pretty solid and consistent in the last few years so glad it's not bad.

[bl5150]

So I'm supposed to be going to a Halloween party tonight - got a bulging disk in my neck and can barely move but going along will be less painful than the guilt trip if I don't.

So I'm going to a huge effort to get into the spirit of things............


Missus:  "So what are you going to wear to the Halloween party"

Me:  Helloween....................umm





Missus:  OMG 


Me:   

[TAC]

I think I still have my shirt from that tour. I'll check on Monday.





Oh, and the new Testament is kicking my ass!
Been going back and forth with the new Theocracy.

[bl5150]

I need to revisit the Testament as everyone seems to love it and I thought it was just good - Testament by the numbers mostly (and I'm a fan).   Eric said that he basically wrote the whole thing and then late on Chuck had his input and Alex just phoned in a few solos etc..... and that's how it sounds to me. 

I would rate the Theocracy higher as it has a bit more variety and thought in the song structures.

[TAC]

The Testament is certainly in the vain if the last two, but it's a strong album all the way around. Consistent. The performances I thought were great. This era is so much better than the 80's. I find it way more interesting.


Brent, I'm surprised you like the Theocracy. I didn't think they would be your thing.

[jjrock88]

Brent, was that Helloween shirt from that tour with Anthrax?  I think it was an mtv tour?

[TAC]

Brent, was that Helloween shirt from that tour with Anthrax?  I think it was an mtv tour?

That was in '89. The Keepers Pt 2 tour. It was three bands with Anthrax headlining. And yes it was a Headbangers Ball tour.

The '87 tour, at least through NA was also sponsored by MTV. It was called the Hell On Wheels Tour with Grim Reaper, Armored Saint, and Helloween. They even aired an edited show from Minneapolis.

[bl5150]

Tim's got it - I believe it was labelled as the MTV Headbangers Ball tour.

I was 13 in 1987 and I don't believe they toured Australia , so I likely got one through a guy I knew back then who imported music and shirts from Japan (there was a Japanese leg of the tour)

Speaking of Tim - Blondie and Cyndi Lauper are co-headlining here in April 

[Lowdz]

Wasn't too impressed with the Testament. Loved the riffing but hated the vocals. So yeah, a Testament album.

[wolfking]

Purchased the Testament album yesterday and will have a listen later tonight.  Testament are a band I always found solid and impressive but never really wowed me or blew me away to be honest.  Skolnick is the main reason why I give them the time of day.  I'm expecting the same reaction as you fellas.

[TAC]

So I was never a Testament fan back in the day. I played them on my show every week, even saw them a couple times. I always considered them a second rate Metallica. I found them one dimensional.

Their last three albums are so much better than their old stuff. I'm am certainly not in love with Chuck Billy's voice. But I can put up with it. I just really love the intensity of the metal on these albums.

Speaking of Tim - Blondie and Cyndi Lauper are co-headlining here in April 

Call me!

[TAC]

Apparently I may not have my Helloween tour shirt from '87. Just checked the attic. I lost two trash bags full of tour shirts that disappeared over the years.

[gazinwales]

I listened to both Testament and Theocracy yesterday, back to back.
Testament sounds good, but Alex appears to be MIA, solid but unspectacular.

Theocracy, never been able to get into this band, but now I know why.
It's way too happy for me, plus the lyrics and singing aren't really my thing.
But the music is killer and production is really good.

[TAC]

After back to back with Testament, pretty much anything would sound happy.


Yeah, the lyrics are heavily Christian and that's fine by me. Matt Smith is really one of my favorite current vocalists.

[bl5150]

I really didn't notice the lyrics much in the Theocracy - if I had , then it might have been a problem    I find most lyrics are not clear enough to be properly understood without reading them and I don't go out of my way to learn them unless I absolutely adore a song.   

If the singer has great clarity then the lyrics usually make little difference to my enjoyment of a song unless they are absolutely brilliant or absolutely shite (or overly preachy)  I can tolerate most Stryper and listen to plenty of Christian metal so they need to be really over the top.

[TAC]

The imagery in Theocracy's lyrics are great. Theocracy is almost a perfect band for me. They really have everything I like in a band.

[Lowdz]

As a devout atheist I can listen to Stryper and not worry about the lyrics in the same way I wouldn't have a problem with satanic lyrics. I've tried Theocracy before and dont really have an opinion on them, but I paid zero attention to the lyrics and wouldn't have noticed they were a Christian band if I hadn't read it here.
I agree with Brent in regard to lyrics.

I find Neal Morse a bit too preachy but I can still enjoy his work - I just don't buy into the message.

[bl5150]

As a devout atheist I can listen to Stryper and not worry about the lyrics in the same way I wouldn't have a problem with satanic lyrics. I've tried Theocracy before and dont really have an opinion on them, but I paid zero attention to the lyrics and wouldn't have noticed they were a Christian band if I hadn't read it here.
I agree with Brent in regard to lyrics.

I find Neal Morse a bit too preachy but I can still enjoy his work - I just don't buy into the message.

Morse is one that does bother me a bit -  Gaz said Theocracy was too happy , well I feel like that with a lot of Morse's stuff.   When it starts to sound like the world's most talented church band , that's when I begin to zone out.

[wolfking]

I'm with you on that Morse Brent.

I had a listen to the new Theocracy track on youtube the other day, and I don't know, I guess I just don't see what you guys see in them.  It was okay, but nothing that made me want to check with them further.  The song Tim sent me in the roulette was cool, but pretty much the same feeling there.

[TAC]

I am not sure the new Theocracy is as good as As The World Bleeds, or even Mirror Of Souls. But they hit the spot for me. It's Melodic Power Thrash  with great vocals.




I have never really gave Morse a listen. I sampled a few tunes once, and I just thought it was so boring with really weak vocals. Not my style. I think watching the Morse band perform would be much more interesting than sitting down and listening, especially watching MP.

[TAC]

If anyone cares, a cool little interview with Eddie Clark.
https://www.metalexpressradio.com/fast-eddie-clarke-motorheadfastway-interview/

[Lowdz]

Listened to the new Theocracy today. It was ok, a little samey, but better than a lot of the power metal shite out there. Singer was excellent though.

[jjrock88]

The new Saxon live blu ray/cd kicks major ass!! 

Highly recommended.  It's amazing that Saxon just gets better and better with age.

[wolfking]

The new Saxon live blu ray/cd kicks major ass!! 

Highly recommended.  It's amazing that Saxon just gets better and better with age.

Battering Ram is still on solid rotation for me, wonderful album.  Will have to get my hands on this DVD I reckon!