Album Reviews to Warm Your Heart and Generally Make You Feel All Fuzzy Inside
Heavy Metal Hits of the 80s Youth Gone Wild Volume 4 1998 |
| My first reaction was that finally some doofus at a record company decided to make a delightful metal compilation cd that didn't feature the standard bands once again. I'm always into listening to new stuff, but once I put this thing in I think "who in the hell put this piece of shit together". You have 16 tracks, half of it being shit. Walkin Shoes by Tora Tora and D'Stroll by D'Molls are two bluesy sounding Great White wanna-bes. Trust me fellas, you sound nothing like GW. No wonder you fell off the face of the earth (and stay there, please). Every Mother's Nightmare, isn't so nightmarish...more like a really boring dream. The Heathen song is just a cover of a 70s tune and Junkyard is a good example of why this kind of metal went into obscurity (nonexistance) in the first place. Enuff' Z Nuff is a band I have heard of, and don't wish to ever hear from again, after the whiney New Thing. If that's the new, bring back the old! Everyone has heard Slaughter, Warrant and the Stryper tune, which are the songs that most people will recognize, and anyone that would possibly want this cd already has on 40 other compilation discs. So what is left? The raunchy feel of the Danger Danger tune, called Naughty Naughty, which is a predictably polished pop metal tune, slightly suffering from overproduction. Heartbreak Blvd by Shotgun Messiah is decent enough despite the horrible vocals. The TNT song, 10,000 Lovers (In One) is standard fare by these melodic masters, but stands out like a beaming shining light of musical delight in this bunch. Future World by Pretty Maids is pretty impressive, so is The Calling by Leatherwolf, owning these two tunes might just be worth the price of the cd. Turn Up The Radio by Autograph is alright, if you dont already own it. But why in the hell did they put Metal Church on here?! Last I looked, they weren't a glam band. Well whatever, its a breath of fresh air after suffering through the rest of the cd. |
Overall: 3.5/10.0 |
Planet
Earth |
| Woohoo, I read all the great reviews of this cd on the net. With the all star lineup of Joe Lynn Turner (vocals), Jeff Watson (guitar), Carmine Appice (drums), and Bob Daisely (bass), how in the hell could this be anything but great? I mean, these guys have been around playing great heavy metal for forever now. I forgave them after the ho-hum opening track, only to discover the next one was just as boring...followed by the next one...in fact this entire cd is as boring as hell. It would put a coma patient to sleep. It plods, there is nothing metallic about it, except the rare periods where it picks up from one plodding level to a repetitive blues tempo. I found the guitar work to be nothing unusual, and excrutiatingly boring at times. That is what this is, its BORING. Yes, I like melodic metal, I love ballads, but there is nothing here to keep the interest up. Joe Lynn Turner even manages to sound whiney at times, and he has an awesome voice. Its just simply boring. Avoid at all costs and do not pay import price if you have to have it, it is not worth it!! This thing sucks! |
Overall 2.0/10.0 |
A Pleasant Shade
of Grey |
| I heard the remix of part 2 or 3 or whatever it was, and thought this was going to be awesome. I had never heard of this band prior to that introduction. So I bought this and was prepared for a 50 something minute masterpiece. Well, let me put it this way. I fell asleep the first few times I attempted to listen to it. Anything more needs to be said? yes? well OK. This is music for hardcore Fates fans and insomniacs. Part 2 kind of sounds like the remix and is the only thing decent on here. The rest sounds...rather...grey. And I actually feel bad about bashing this disc, because I know it took a long time to write and record, but God, this is bad, coming from a bunch of very talented musicians. These guys did such great stuff as "The Eleventh Hour" and "The Ivory Gate of Dreams". These guys can kick ass when they want to, specializing in very dramatically depressing and dark songs with melodic beauty and high pitched "fluffy shirt vocalist" vocals, that soar to new heights with lots of emotion. That is what they CAN do. This is just a bunch of sounds, disortion and parts that plod along horribly. What were they thinking? I have no idea. Please, pass this thing up. Get anything but this. ANYTHING by Fates but this!!! A horrible disappointment!! (Okay I admit, you can get a taste of what this band is capable of by listening to part 4, but the rest of it sucks) |
Overall 2.5/10.0 |
Walk
On Water |
| Whew after all that crappy stuff, finally something worthy of reviewing. Michael Schenker, guitarist, extraordinaire, has rarely disappointed me. I can buy anything of his, with confidence that it will be on a par with excellence. UFO, being an old favorite, couldn't possibly disappoint me.....nah....and they don't. This is everything I'd expect from the band. Lots of groovy rhythms, feel good-get-up-and-dance rock n roll tunes, and a nice uptempo ballad thrown in for good measure. Its the kind of music with enough thumping bottom end to it and blazing guitar riffs to call it metal, but with the kind of rhythms to call it hard rock. So its caught inbetween. I found A Self Made Man to be a great hard rock sing-a-long tune, and if anyone can sit still during Knock, Knock, there's gotta be something wrong with them. Go ahead, get up and dance around the room like a maniac, so what if they think you are crazy? You probably are anyway. Venus is a real standout and was their first single off the cd. Its definitely one of UFO's best songs of all time. This cd will keep you moving and put a bright smile on your face, its a trip back to the best of the heavy rockin' 70s. It lives up to the expectations and even surpasses them in most places. Not superb, but enjoyably excellent. |
Overall 7.5/10.0 |