Comp Swap VII: The Reviews

Here are the pairings that our esteemed Mr. Stender came up with:

Shiney-Kmorg
bgast1-dallasblack
Olafsto-required fields
Jstate-uncle saxon
Detuned-Rattpoison
Locky-powermacho
sam-mr. electric39
ghost-jokeriv
Tohostudios-SAHB healer
manny-deathcult
phoenix reign-stender
sideshow disaster-stender

Please post the reviews of the discs / comps you get here!

Oops sorry guys, been a little behind on the comp swap stuff...mucho thanko Ben for pickin up the pieces.

Stender wrote:

Oops sorry guys, been a little behind on the comp swap stuff...mucho thanko Ben for pickin up the pieces.

Lazy ass.

You know when you take responsibilty for something your suppose to keep up with it. If you can't handle these sort of things then maybe the wrong person was picked. Now I wonder if I will ever see my comp cd from you.

I don't know if im dissapointed or if I feel sorry for you. I'll take that into consideration when I make your comp. I'll just take my time, no rush.. maybe i'll even forget since you think its ok to slack yourself. YOU MAKE ME SICK!

BTW I'm only kidding

Phoenix Reign Drummer wrote:

You know when you take responsibilty for something your suppose to keep up with it. If you can't handle these sort of things then maybe the wrong person was picked. Now I wonder if I will ever see my comp cd from you.

I don't know if im dissapointed or if I feel sorry for you. I'll take that into consideration when I make your comp. I'll just take my time, no rush.. maybe i'll even forget since you think its ok to slack yourself. YOU MAKE ME SICK!

BTW I'm only kidding

Stender wrote:

Oops sorry guys, been a little behind on the comp swap stuff...mucho thanko Ben for pickin up the pieces.

Sheeesh! Kids these days, what's the world comin' too.

I know I'm paired up with Dallas Black and I plan on doing 2 comps. So far, I have put a little something together from when I grew up in the psychedelic era. If anyone wants it, I'm working on trying to upload it. Just let me know. If I get it figured out I will send you the link. I just ask that anyone that reviews it isn't too brutal. Should I wait to do this until after Dallas receives the discs?

Sam and I were paired up. I received his 2 discs last Friday and I've listened to each of them 3-4 times (some of the songs more). Most of this stuff I've never heard before which is good. Yet many of the bands I've heard their names or seen their discs, I'm just to cheap to take a chance...



Disc 1

1.- Dream Evil – The Book of Heavy Metal… Crankin’ heavy metal, but the lyrics are a bit cheesy… Gotta love the chorus, cool chorus… At times the vocalist reminds me of early Klaus Meine.

2.- Outworld – The Never… Pretty good progressive styled metal, unfortunately I missing the payoff. The melody or riff that sticks with you. Neo-classical shredding which is cool but the other elements are missing I think.

3.- Scelerata – Ethereal Places… I had a hard time not letting the clanging snare trigger ruin it all. There are definitely some very talented musicians here, but where’s the memorable melody?

4.- Evergrey – Your Darkest Hour.. Progressive/Power style metal from Sweden. Good melody and solid songwriting. I like the vocal here.

5.- Dream Theater – Forsaken …. DT’s ode to a female vampire, I preferred The Dark Eternal Night from Systematic Chaos. Almost melancholy in feel, but a good song.

6.- Hammerfall – The Templar Flame… Classic sounding ‘Fall… I have a couple of CD’s by them and I’ve always thought they were a solid metal band. Good songwriting and anthems galore. Whatever gets stuck in your head will get you remembering it later and this song has it…

7.- Shadow Gallery – The Archer of Ben Salem…. At times very DT like, yet there are different shades of depth on this tune. Not too over the top but still a complex interlude in the middle. I liked it.

8.- Nightmare – Battleground for Suicide… These guys have been around forever but up till now I’ve never heard them. Excellent driving metal. This tune is up tempo with a great hook that actually has me digging through the web looking for this release, shouldn’t be too hard..

9.- Elwing – Marching to Glory… Nothing to special here, more ‘war style’ metal, but the vocalist is just not getting it done for me.

10.- Firewind – The Longest Day… Pretty good metal band from Greece. I’ve seen their CD’s but yet to pick one up. The vocalist has got some pipes and the song here is a bit slower but still decent.

DISC 2
[size=9]
1- Halford – The One You Love To Hate … SOLID pounding metal!!! Great vocal which honestly I thought was Bruce Dickinson at first (sacrilege I know). The guitars and drums lock in and BRING IT!

2- Warbringer – Scorched Earth …. Ripping thrash metal. Tempo and time changes with some very adept drumming. Old school at it’s finest from a band that were barely outta diapers when ‘Kill Em All’ was released.

3. Guillotine – Insanity … Thrash metal from Sweden. Good stuff not at the same level as Warbringer but strong nonetheless.

4.- Jeff Loomis – Devil Theory…. Instrumental guitar metal from the lead player of Nevermore. Arpegio city at times. Respectable, but I’ve got my fill of shred masters.

5.- Opeth – The Night and The Silent Water… My first introduction to the prog/death guys from Sweden. Sweeping epic arrangements and time lengths. I could get more into it if I could sing along with the melody, but with the death metal vocals that’s nigh impossible…

6 - Turisas – The Dneiper Rapids … I haven’t heard ‘em before, but since my boys have their last disc you’d think I would’ve. Viking metal and based on the vocals I agree. Epic arrangements but the vocals loose me… Vocally sounds like Lamb of God.

7.- Mastodon – Crack the Skye… Sounding very similar to the Turisas tune in feel and arranging. Heavy stuff, but somehow it’s still eluding me. Progressive in feel with many different elements, but ….. I can appreciate what they’re doing but it’s not grabbing me. The mix of clean and gargling/glass vocals is cool….

8.- Becoming the Archetype – Dichotomy… I like ‘em whether they’re metalcore or more death metal…. Whatever the label, I like them but in small doses… I own this album

9.- Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens – The Shadows are Alive… I like his vocal work but not this song… sounds like a funeral dirge…. No thanks…

10.- Novembers Doom – Into Night’s Requiem Infernal … Musically very heavy duty doom… An atmospheric feel that really intrigues me, then I read the lyrics and was disappointed. Oh well can’t win ‘em all.

With both discs Sam gave me the opportunity to hear a lot of bands I hadn’t heard or songs by certain artist I hadn’t heard. I didn’t like everything but if I can get a couple of gems that’s always worth it. Thanks Bro!

Nice review Mr. Electric!!!

My review will be up by Monday - Ghost and I did the soft copy version - 40 tracks each!!!! Megaupload works GREAT for the ipod crowd!!!

Quote :

1- Halford – The One You Love To Hate … SOLID pounding metal!!! Great vocal which honestly I thought was Bruce Dickinson at first (sacrilege I know). The guitars and drums lock in and BRING IT!

Dickinson guests on this, so a little confusion is okay.

Glad to know I did good on my first comp!

I started listening to the first disc I got from SAHB Healer. Since I pretty much only listen to CDs in the car, I'll just post reviews as I go.

1. Peter Hamill - Open Your Eyes; Strange song. I like the music with the glammy saxes juxtaposed with the almost gothic melody but this guy's voice really annoyed me. Not terrible but I didn't like the vocals.

2. The Kinks - Prince Of The Punks; I liked this one a lot. Funny lyrics about a guy who kept washing out trying to play different styles of music until he stumbled onto punk. SAHB says this was a B-side but I think they should have released it on it's own.

3. Sparks - I Bought The Mississippi River; Another funny song. A guy literally buys the river then considers moving it or buying another one so it doesn't get lonely. Typical quirky, goofy Sparks.

[quote="tohostudios"]I started listening to the first disc I got from SAHB Healer. Since I pretty much only listen to CDs in the car, I'll just post reviews as I go.



2. The Kinks - Prince Of The Punks; I liked this one a lot. Funny lyrics about a guy who kept washing out trying to play different styles of music until he stumbled onto punk. SAHB says this was a B-side but I think they should have released it on it's own.


That is a great song, I have only heard the live version from 'One From the Road' and my understanding was it Ray Davis's angry response to the punks criticizing his band.

Quote :

A well known groover, rock n roll user,
Wanted to be a star.
But he failed the blues, and hes back to loser,
Playing folk in a country bar.

Reggae music didnt seem to satisfy his needs.
He couldnt handle modern jazz,
cause they play it in difficult keys.
But now hes found a music he can call his own,
Some people call it junk, but he dont care,
Hes found a home.

Hes the prince of the punks and hes finally made it,
Thinks he looks cool but his act is dated.
He acts working class but its all bologna,
Hes really middle class and hes just a phony.
He acts tough but its just a front,
Hes the prince of the punks.

Hes the prince of the punks and hes finally made it,
Thinks he looks cool but his act is dated.

He tried to be merry, but it didnt pay,
So he bought a motorbike instead.
He failed at funk, so he became a punk,
cause he thought hed make a little more bread.

Hes been through all of the changes,
From rock opera to mantovani.
Now he wears a swastika band
And leather boots up past his knees.

Hes much too old for twenty-eight,
But he thinks hes seventeen,
He thinks hes a stud,
But I think he looks more like a queen.

Hes the prince of the punks and hes finally made it,
Thinks he looks cool but his act is dated.
He talks like a cockney but its all bologna,
Hes really middle class and hes just a phony.
He acts tough but its just a front.

Hes the prince of the punks and hes finally made it,
Thinks he looks cool but his act is dated.
He acts working class but its all bologna,
Hes really middle class and hes just a phony.
He acts tough but its just a front,

Hes the prince of the punks and hes finally made it,
Thinks he looks cool but his act is dated.
He acts working class but its all bologna,
Hes really middle class and hes just a phony.
He acts tough but its just a front,
Hes the prince of the punks.

Wow! Ray Davis takes no prisoners with those lyrics, rumor is that lyrics where directed at Tom Robinson, who supposedly was rude to him when they meet, I have no idea how true that story is.

Quote :

1.- Dream Evil – The Book of Heavy Metal… Crankin’ heavy metal, but the lyrics are a bit cheesy… Gotta love the chorus, cool chorus… At times the vocalist reminds me of early Klaus Meine.

You want cheesy, try the first Dream Evil album Dragon Slayer. The music is great (that's my favorite DE album) but sheesh, the lyrics put Rhapsody to shame.

sam wrote:

Quote :

1- Halford – The One You Love To Hate … SOLID pounding metal!!! Great vocal which honestly I thought was Bruce Dickinson at first (sacrilege I know). The guitars and drums lock in and BRING IT!

Dickinson guests on this, so a little confusion is okay.

Glad to know I did good on my first comp!

It's also good to know I wasn't losing my MIND! I'm going 'It has to be Bruce... No it's Rob.... !!'

I can only hope you like the some of the stuff I sent Sam....

In my experience with doing these swaps, I've never received a comp where I couldn't find something to like.

mr.electric39 wrote:

sam wrote:

Quote :

1- Halford – The One You Love To Hate … SOLID pounding metal!!! Great vocal which honestly I thought was Bruce Dickinson at first (sacrilege I know). The guitars and drums lock in and BRING IT!

Dickinson guests on this, so a little confusion is okay.

Glad to know I did good on my first comp!

It's also good to know I wasn't losing my MIND! I'm going 'It has to be Bruce... No it's Rob.... !!'

I can only hope you like the some of the stuff I sent Sam....

Working my way through disc 1 again right now. I think it's interesting how we both sent tracks to each by the same band from the same album. I almost sent you the track you sent me.

Working on sideshow's 2 comps now and waynes 2nd comp. I'll have these out this week guys.....Also your pak too DC. I threw in that money order too so all your stuff is together.

Vol. 1

1. Little intro from Jack Black, School of Rock I believe.

2. March Of The Saint (2001) - Armored Saint - After hearing this I had to go back and listen to the original, Bush\'s voice has changed a lot since the 80\'s, he sounds a lot like Phil Anslimo . I actually find this version to be a bit weaker then the original, classic song nonetheless. Cage stole a melody from this in one of their songs off the hell destroyer album.

3. Sirens (Live) - Savatage - Eh, it\'s okay, I was never much of a Savatage fan. Jon Olivia\'s voice has always irritated me, the end just kind of seems to start back up and then go no where. Sounds like it was a good concert though.

4. Virtuallity - Rush - Ah Rush, they rarely disappoint, good song even if the lyrics are extremely cheesy.

5. Interlude - Something about pirates of the Caribbean.

6. Space Station #5 - Montrose - This guys are definitely Led Zeppelin influenced. They have that good driving 70\'s sound. I really like the song, really kicking stuff.

7. Laying The Demon To Rest - Theocracy - Starts off extremely heavy, really like the intro riffs. Find the singer to be a bit of a bore though, nice little keyboard break, and then more heavy riffs. I kind lose interest about half way through though. It descends into riff salad for a little way before bringing back the original theme. Nice song, but the singer is very, very, very, boring.

8. Clip from Jaws

9. Into The Pit - Testament - Thrashy, heavy, shredding, it\'s a classic.

10. Witchfinder General - Saxon - Classic heavy metal, besides the usuals I really haven\'t delved deep into the more traditional stuff. Pretty cool song though, but nothing about it really stands out.

11. Heavy Metal Machine - Riot - Sounds a lot like W.A.S.P., especially the vocals. I like it better then their more glam type stuff.

12. Dirty Harry Interlude - Feeling Lucky Punk?

13. Slayer Of Souls - Rob Rock - Friggen heavy as nails intro riff, and then the majastic voice of good ol\' Rob. The Chorus kicks ass! Nice solo before a thrashy breakdown straight from the 80\'s. Awesome song.

14. Take Control - Raven - Eh, I don\'t feel it. This song does absolutely nothing for me.

15. A Million Light Years Away - Stratovarius - Nice cheesy intro, the verse reminds me a little of Dream Theater. Nice chorus, shredding out the wazoo. Nice song.

16. LOTR Interlude

17. Fight The Fire - Primal Fear - Sweet guitar work, starts out with some nice riffs. Find the singer irritating though, definitely a wannabe Halford. Nice solos, cool rhythm behind them. Don\'t like the singer at all.

18. Weapons Of Our Warfare - Deliverance - I\'ve totally burned myself out on this band, couldn\'t get through it.

19. Interlude

20. Brutal Planet - Alice Cooper - Starts out with a generic \"heavy\" riff and generic \"creepy\" lead work. Cooper sounds tired. This was already done in the mid 90\'s by Manson, generic is the word.

21. Freak - Bruce Dickinson - Thank god for Bruce, the man is legend. Like the verse, dislike the chorus though. Drums kinda stick out, mixed poorly perhaps? Not as good as some of his other songs but decent enough anyway.

22.No Class - Motorhead - Good ol\' motorhead, classic. Nice bluesy solo, and Lemmy, Lemmy has always been the selling point for Motorhead for myself. There is no other singer like him.

anyone who use WAZOO in a review has gotta be cool!

On the way home tonight:

4. Space Rangers - The Groove; not really my style; too "spacey".
5. Silverhead - Rollin' With My Baby; this IS my style. Great proto glam; reminds me of Foghat with horns.
6. The Move - Open Up Said The World At The Door; with a title like that I expected to hate this but surprisingly, I enjoyed this song. I'm not big on keyboards but I'm always a sucker for a rollicking piano solo and this song has those in spades. BTW, with the vocals this one reminds me a lot of an early version of City Boy. That's a good thing.

Will have yours done Monday, Chris. My stuff arrives early Monday morning here (Sunday evening your time). Once I get off work, I'll shuffle through and find that disc I want to pull a song or two from, tack it on, upload and pass the links.

There are a few you might have heard before, but I think I've come up with a pretty good amount of obscure stuff.

Stender I got your cds done I just haven't had a chance to make some final touches it'll be out next week.

Review 2 of 2

Disc 2

1. Three Stooges Intro

2. The Black - Metal Church - Haven't listened to this album in quite a while, good song, I usally pull out "The Dark" or "The Human Factor" if I want some metal church though.

3. In Christ - Living Sacrifice - Heard a lot about these guys but never got much of their music, good stuff, will definitely have to check these guys out further.

4.Heart Of Metal - Ultimatum - Awesome Song: Neck Snapping, Fist Pumping, Head Banging, Heart of Metal!

5.Ride The Sky - Trouble - Old School Throwback here, then come in the strange keyboards. Reminds me a lot of old zepplin track that I can't remember the name of.

6.Interlude

7.Malignant Narcissism - Rush - Awesome instrumental off an awesome cd, I don;t care what anybody says: Snakes and Arrows Smokes.

8.A Dog's Breakfast - Tourniquet - Definitely the weirdest named of all the tracks, not a bad thrash song though, the vocals don;t do much for me.

9Dogman - King's X - Extremely Catchy song, I don't know how I haven't heard it before. It definitely made me want to check out the rest of their catalog. *Favorite*

10.Hell Destroyer - Cage - Kick ass song! Turned me into an instant fan first time I heard it.

11.Interlude

12.Focused Lethality - Believer - Sweet song off the new album, thrashy, progressive, and weird. What more can you ask for?

13.Mountain of Souls - Becoming The Archetype - Awesome song off the dichotomy CD, Chorus is brutal as hell!

14. Interlude

15.I Am The Law - Anthrax - Nice song by anthrax, but not one of my favorites.

16.To The Threshold - Hatebreed - Not a hatebreed fan at all, doesn't do anything for me.

17. Bloodstained (Live) - Judas Priest - Recording on this one seems somewhat poor, guitars are muffled. The Ripper sounds fantastic though.

18.I Can't Help You - The Jelly Jam - Eh, a "heavy" RHCP? doesn't do anything for me.

19.Star Wars Interlude

20.Powersurge - Mainline Riders - I enjoy the high voltage rock these guys produce, but the vocals, oh the vocals, completely ruin it for me. Not my deal.

21.Hyperactive - Riverside - Ended up enjoying this one much more then I thought I was going too, reminds me of Dream Theater with a hard rock vibe and a modern singer.

sam wrote:

Review 2 of 2

Disc 2

1. Three Stooges Intro

2. The Black - Metal Church - Haven't listened to this album in quite a while, good song, I usally pull out "The Dark" or "The Human Factor" if I want some metal church though.

3. In Christ - Living Sacrifice - Heard a lot about these guys but never got much of their music, good stuff, will definitely have to check these guys out further.

4.Heart Of Metal - Ultimatum - Awesome Song: Neck Snapping, Fist Pumping, Head Banging, Heart of Metal!

5.Ride The Sky - Trouble - Old School Throwback here, then come in the strange keyboards. Reminds me a lot of old zepplin track that I can't remember the name of.

6.Interlude

7.Malignant Narcissism - Rush - Awesome instrumental off an awesome cd, I don;t care what anybody says: Snakes and Arrows Smokes.

8.A Dog's Breakfast - Tourniquet - Definitely the weirdest named of all the tracks, not a bad thrash song though, the vocals don;t do much for me.

9Dogman - King's X - Extremely Catchy song, I don't know how I haven't heard it before. It definitely made me want to check out the rest of their catalog. *Favorite*

10.Hell Destroyer - Cage - Kick ass song! Turned me into an instant fan first time I heard it.

11.Interlude

12.Focused Lethality - Believer - Sweet song off the new album, thrashy, progressive, and weird. What more can you ask for?

13.Mountain of Souls - Becoming The Archetype - Awesome song off the dichotomy CD, Chorus is brutal as hell!

14. Interlude

15.I Am The Law - Anthrax - Nice song by anthrax, but not one of my favorites.

16.To The Threshold - Hatebreed - Not a hatebreed fan at all, doesn't do anything for me.

17. Bloodstained (Live) - Judas Priest - Recording on this one seems somewhat poor, guitars are muffled. The Ripper sounds fantastic though.

18.I Can't Help You - The Jelly Jam - Eh, a "heavy" RHCP? doesn't do anything for me.

19.Star Wars Interlude

20.Powersurge - Mainline Riders - I enjoy the high voltage rock these guys produce, but the vocals, oh the vocals, completely ruin it for me. Not my deal.

21.Hyperactive - Riverside - Ended up enjoying this one much more then I thought I was going too, reminds me of Dream Theater with a hard rock vibe and a modern singer.

Glad you liked it Bro!

The Judas Priest tune is from 'Meltdown 98', Priest live with Ripper.

The Jelly Jam features Ty Tabor (Kings X vocals & guitar) John Myung (Bass DT) and Rod Morgenstein (Dreggs drums).