Comp Swap IX - The Reviews

Let the & -ing begin!

Well, I guess I'll get the ball rolling here with the comp that toho sent me. Normally I'm a prog/power/death/thrash guy with a preference for Christian bands or at least bands with a neutral sort of vibe. So this was a very interesting and eye-opening ride for me. Thanks for introducing me to some new music, toho.

Distorted Wonderland - Raised on Rock and Roll
This is a strong tune right out of the gate, simpler music than I'm used to, but a good performance by all musicians involved. Kind of a good-time party music kind of song that I would expect to hear playing on the PA before a concert. Good amount of attitude and grit in the vocals, which I think is essential for a decent glam/sleaze tune.

Beautiful Creatures - Wasted
Holy cow! This has to be one of the catchiest tunes I've heard in the last couple of years. I was singing along with the chorus on the first time through the song! Good drums, good riff, sing-along chorus, all around great song. I will be looking in to adding this disc to my collection. Wow!

Barefoot Servants - Box of Miracles
This one mellows out a little bit from the first two songs. I think one of my favorite bassists plays in this band, Lee Sklar is his name, he looks like Father Time with his bald head and long white beard. Good songwriting and a laid-back relaxed feel really make this a enjoyable listen. Another sing-along chorus that has a little bit of a King's X feel to it IMO.

Lechery - What Burns In Their Eyes
This song took a little while to grow on me, I've never really heard anything quite like it. It sounds like the band is somewhere between glam and goth. I really like the music of this song, all the performances are solid and the production is perfectly done to create a slightly dark feel that goes well with the mid-ranged vocal delivery. I like this much better after repeated listens.

Backwash - Tell My Line
Another great song! I would describe this band as a cross between Great White and the Black Crowes. Bluesy but rockin', great guitar tone, a killer groove, and a slightly raspy vocal make this a winner for sure. This is one of my top five songs on this disc, will be adding to my want list even if it is out of my normal range of styles.

Bombay Black- Best Laid Plans
And the hits just keep on comin'! Very catchy song, back in the glam style. I could easily see this song having been a huge hit if released in 88 or 89. It has that sort of feel, a little bit funky but still heavy, not too complicated but sticks in your head after just one or two listens. Love the vocal performance, very well done. I'm really starting to like this glam/sleaze stuff!

Diamond Dogs - Closest I Ever Been To Memphis
I don't care for this one too much, it's too stripped down and loose to the point of sloppiness. Feels like it just might completely fall apart before they finish the song. Has a bit of a Delta blues influenced sound to my ears. Not my thing at all.

Dark at Dawn - The Ones With The Fiery Eyes
This is another grower for me, didn't like it so much at first but repeated listens made me like it much more. The music is much more in my zone than some of the others on this disc, kind of a slowed down power metal feel but with a heavy goth influence. The vocals are delivered in a deep, almost baritone range that really gives the song a sense of weight and seriousness. Started out low on the list but has climbed pretty high on the like meter now that I've lived with it for a while.

Real McKenzies - Nessie
Pop-punk with a Celtic twist! Gotta love a jangly punkish tune about the Loch Ness Monster. Not my thing but a fun little happy tune, regardless. Not something I need to hear more than once or twice though, as the schtick wears thin quickly for me.

Hardcore Superstar - We Don't Celebrate Sundays
This one just about blew me out of my shoes! It's so over the top that it's almost a caricature of what glam should be, kind of a glam Spinal Tap if you will. This, too, has grown on me a little over time but I'm not sure I could handle large doses of it. It's well done and sounds good, definitely party background music.

KMFDM - Light
The only song that I can't stand on the whole disc. Boring, monotonous, mechanical. Yuck!

The Wildhearts -Stormy In The North but Karma In The South
I like this song for one reason.... the vocals are OUTSTANDING. A superior vocal performance in every way, good melody, great background harmonies, crystal clear production makes every note sit perfectly in the mix. Not a super aggressive or heavy band but definitely enjoyable and fun.

Satyrian - Invictus
I was hoping for some female-fronted music on the comp and I was not disappointed. Very nice gothy, symphonic metal with a little harsh male vocal. I really liked the female voice on this song, she's not too operatic and has a very pleasant, expressive tone. One for the want list, I think.

Jettblack - When It Comes To Love
This song has a monster hook and a good sing-along chorus, very catchy tune. Song is about wanting to get together with your best friend's sister, chorus kind of has that Warrant " Cherry Pie" feel to it. Good performance by the musicians, my only gripe is that I could have done without the F-BOMB at the end of the song.

HIM - Scared to Death
Here's another of the few songs I don't care for on the comp. Too slow, melancholy and depressing. I realize that's the effect they want but after all the upbeat stuff I just couldn't get into it. Not very impressed with the music as a whole, kind of a lack-luster showing IMO.

Kiuas - Warrior Soul
Now this is more like it! Speed and more speed! Never heard of these guys before but very well done power/speed metal. Excellent drumming, very tight band, good production, overall fantastic performance. Just a little different than anything I've heard in this style, very original sound, not predictable and formulaic at all. Add to want list.

Sonia Dada - Lester's Methadone Clinic
Whew! Talk about your sonic whiplash, the difference from the last song to this one will throw you into shock! It's a quirky song to be sure but I love the laid-back jazzy groove of it. The jazz piano solos are top-notch, the words of the song are totally irrelevant, the groove is everything to this tune. Me like!

Sister Sin - Outrage
I think this band sounds like Motley Crue with more anger and attitude. Very aggressive and in your face, good hook to the chorus, another well done vocal with just the right amount of grit and roughness for this style.

Rocket From The Crypt - Young Livers
This song reminds me again why I don't like punk, it's sloppy and sounds like they don't care that the instruments don't have a good tone. I know the vocals are typical of the genre, but I can't take it, drives me crazy. Not good, sorry

Murderdolls - Summertime Suicide
Well, with that title you know it's probably not a happy little tune about rainbows and unicorns. Another band that seems to have some goth influence to their glam sound. My only sticking point to this song is the vocals during the verses, he sounds like he's trying too hard to sound evil and menacing. The choruses are fine, music is well done, overall not my favorite but not bad either.

Thanks again for introducing me to so many cool bands!

phew.... so far so good for being my first time pairing everyone up. Glad you liked Toho's comp Bassman. I'll have to check some of that stuff out myself because I always see Toho recommending bands and after I check them out I sometimes like them. I haven't heard of some of the ones on that disc so I'll check into them. Good job!

Phoenix Reign Drummer wrote:

phew.... so far so good for being my first time pairing everyone up. Glad you liked Toho's comp Bassman. I'll have to check some of that stuff out myself because I always see Toho recommending bands and after I check them out I sometimes like them. I haven't heard of some of the ones on that disc so I'll check into them. Good job!

It's not my usual style but I would recommend Beautiful Creatures, Backwash, and Bombay Black for sure. I was pretty nervous about reviewing these but I think it went OK.

Here's the disc that I recieved from SpectreFate.

01. Bloodlined Calligraphy – If Heaven Ain’t A Lot Like Ypsi, I don’t wanna go.

Wow, apart from the shockingly long song title, this is listenable. I can’t compare it to much as I usually stay away from the “metalcore” genre if I can help it but this seems to have a slight hardcore element to it and mix that with female vocals then it makes this enjoyable to a degree. Personally I wouldn’t be looking to follow up this band any further than this track.



02. Paradox – Crusaders Revenue

Ahh this is the stuff wet dreams are made of, the mighty German Paradox with a track taken from their (in my opinion) album “Heresy”. Great 80’s Thrash, there should be a Paradox album in any respectale Thrashers collection.



03. Forgotten Tales – Keepers of the Field

Female fronted Power Metal, emmm something just doesn’t feel or sound correct here, I blame the music as the vocals are quite good but somehow I just feel they are out of place at time from the music or should I say that the music isn’t suiting the vocals. This is from their latest album which is their 3 album in over a decade.



04. All Out War – Destined to Burn

Lord these guys have been around for years and have released 5 or 6 albums to date and this is the first I’m hearing of them. Desperately slow song to get going, it was 1.30sec before it took off, there is a great mixture of both Thrash and Hardcore on offer here, this track is 8 years old now so I may go digging to see what these geezers sound like nowadays.



05. White Fear Chain – Before You Go

Some good pedigree here but I couldn’t get into this track at all, and I realize it’s down to the vocalist, who was also in Last Crack who in turn I never liked either, although 3 members of the band were in the mighty Realm and this band should of had much more impact than I’m feeling from it, of course the rest of the album may be a total Thrash Fest but this is the only track I’ve ever heard from their album.



06. Witchsorrow – The Trial of Elizabeth Clarke

9 minutes of UK doom done by a group of youngsters singing about an 80 year old woman who was burnt for witchcraft, you know I’m beginning to wonder which way would be quicker, this song or the stake....... I’ll take my chances at the stake (medium to well done please), maybe I’m being hard on them because if I want to listen to doom I’ll just stick on an old reliable. Although I must admit that at approx the 6 minute mark they started to give it some sally and notched her up a gear (the song I mean not the 80 year old woman) but alas they ran out of juice again at the 8 minute mark and had to be pushed over the finish line.



07. Meliah Rage – Chosen

I must admit that after “Barely Human” I lost contact with Meliah Rage, there was just so much other material being released that I never thought about picking up their later releases, damn it because listening to this makes me feel that I’m the one that has been missing out, sure it’s not groundbreaking but it’s a solid song and I’ve purchased alot of album that son’t song as good as this one track. I’ll try to pick up a cheap copy of this album if I see it floating about.



08. Sacrilege – The Captive

Sacrilege from the UK, a great female fronted Thrash act in the early 80’s which released 3 albums, They never seemed to get the recognition that other UK Thrash acts like D.A.M. Acid Reign & Re-Animator etc... received, but I guess that’s the way it goes, I’m glad to have their material in my hands.



09. Runemagick – Ancient Incantations

Heard of this band but never checked them out until this comp. Swedish doom and it’s miles better that the other granny chasers from the UK, I don’t find the vocals too harsh which is usually a deal killer for me, I never noticed the 7plus minutes pass while listening to the song so I have to give them some credit for that, I won’t go out of my way to locate all their material but I would be interested in checking out the rest of the album that this track is from.



10. Fallen Angel – Blood on my Soul

Ahh shite there goes my vision of a Poison tribute band; these geezers are pretty good, I’ve seen the album cover on various sites but never looked into it any further, good decent speed metal. I looked into purchasing the CD from the bands site and I noticed some sort of novel that must accompany the album, so I may dig deeper into the pocket and consider purchasing the CD/novel combo.



11. Akercocke – Horns of Baphomet

In reverse to Meliah Rage I’m not familiar with Akercocke’s early material just they later releases and this song sounds rawer which was the way the Black Metal was in the early ‘90’s, decent but if I need a Black Metal fix I’d probably choose Emperor or Marduk.

12. Morgan Lafey – Soldiers of the Holy Empire

I always loved this band; as the early albums have a real Savatage vibe to them (which of course is great) this in fact comes from one of their weakest album in my opinion yet it’s probably the best track from the album “The Secret Doctrine” Headbanging happiness is guaranteed.



13. Doomshine – The Crow Pilot

More doom but this is even more up tempo that anything that has previously been included here, which makes me uncomfortable saying that it’s doom when I associate doom with bands like Penance, Cathedral, Candlemass etc.. yes there are Doom elements in the song but not enough to land it in the same genre as the above mentioned.



14. Crystal Eyes – Adrian Blackwood

I love the first 3 Crystal Eyes CDs, won’t say a bad word about them, together with Feternia & Persuader they should have ruled the European Power Metal scene before all the keyboard orientated jack ass’s took control and ruined it for everyone.





So overall, it was an enjoyable disc, sure they was some material on it that I wished I never hear again in my life but there is more positives than negatives here and look Brian wont like all my tracks (if any) but that’s the way these things go, if you can find one track/band that you didn’t know of before and want to find out more about them then this swap is a success.



Thanks Brian.

Spec is a sucker for akercocke and morgana lafey

EvyMetal wrote:

Spec is a sucker for akercocke and morgana lafey

I woudn't mind that so much as I'm inclined to throw the same bands on these swaps also, well at the end it is about music that you yourself like.

Locky wrote:

EvyMetal wrote:

Spec is a sucker for akercocke and morgana lafey

I woudn't mind that so much as I'm inclined to throw the same bands on these swaps also, well at the end it is about music that you yourself like.

I am guilty of that as well.

exact33 wrote:

Locky wrote:

EvyMetal wrote:

Spec is a sucker for akercocke and morgana lafey

I woudn't mind that so much as I'm inclined to throw the same bands on these swaps also, well at the end it is about music that you yourself like.

I am guilty of that as well.

As am I, in my comps you will find at least one Jimi Hendrix song on the disc

manny wrote:

exact33 wrote:

Locky wrote:

EvyMetal wrote:

Spec is a sucker for akercocke and morgana lafey

I woudn't mind that so much as I'm inclined to throw the same bands on these swaps also, well at the end it is about music that you yourself like.

I am guilty of that as well.

As am I, in my comps you will find at least one Jimi Hendrix song on the disc

LOL!!! I do some of that too, but I try to pic music that wasn't on the tradee's today i listened to list

For my trade with Dallas Black, he sent me 4 discs to review (I sent him three). The first disc was full of good melodic metal and hard rock. He also sent me multiple songs by each band. Here's what I thought of Disc 1:

Allen-Lande – Hunter’s Night, Where Have The Angles Gone, The Revenge, Under The Waves, The Showdown, Bloodlines

I had not heard of Allen-Lande before I received the discs from DB so I looked them up on the Wikipedia. The band is a side project of Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear), Russell Allen (Symphony X) and Jorn Lande (Masterplan). Great, melodic metal/borderline hard rock. The only track I didn’t really like was Bloodline, I found that track rather boring, but the rest are great!!!

Symphony X – Set The World On Fire, The Sacrifice

I am familiar with Symphony X and I like their stuff – I plan to go see them in concert on the next tour. They are very Dream Theater influenced and I never understood why they aren’t bigger than they are. Both of these tracks are great tracks!!!!!

Masterplan – Back For My Life, Headbanger’s Ballroom

I have not heard Masterplan prior to this listen. Jorn Lande can sing his a$$ off!!!! This is melodic Metal and it sounds great!!!! I will be adding this group to my ‘want’ list.

Sunstorm – Divided, Gutters Of Gold

I have not heard this band before nor did I know that Joe Lynn Turner was the vocalist. Or that two of the member are from PC69. More melodic metal borderline hard rock and it sounds good, not as good as the previous two Masterplan songs but good stuff. Turner just has a great voice!!!!

Pink Cream 69 – Shame, High As A Mountain

I have several PC69 albums and I do like the band. When I first heard the name, I though they where a hard core punk band or a college alt band. Instead they are more of a Pop Metal band (yep, using the 80’s terms for Hair Metal). Both of these are good tracks. PC69 is a good listen. I think they would have been much, much bigger with a different name.

Place Vendome – Streets Of Fire

Another band I have never heard of, so I looked them up on Wikipedia. They are another side project of members of PC69 and where founded by the President of Frontier Records. The track is more on the hard rock side of things than PC69. Pretty good song that, in the words of Manny, is catchy as an STD. A possibility to add to my collection.


Overall, a good comp that introduced me to bands I have not heard before and a few that are now on my want list. Disc 2 to come next week.....

I received 3 CD's from Alex (exact33). Here's my review of Comp 1:

01 The Last Vegas-The Whatever Gets You Off

Great party song opening this compilation. Since this is the first I’ve ever heard from this band, my assumption is that this is a sleaze or/and glam metal band. Good start!

02 Treat-Papertiger

Now, this was a treat, pun intended! I remember this Swedisg band from way back, but can’t say if I ever heard a full album from them in the past. I have no idea if this is an old tune, or if it is lifted from an album released after the reunion. All I know that this is a super catchy, melodic metal number, bound to please fans of bands like Pretty Maids or Fifth Angel! I want to hear more!

03 Underride-Road To Nowhere

A little more modern sounding than the last 2. A quick googleing confirms that, as their website shows a picture of one of those modern day “punk” band wannabees who hired a stylist to splash some make-up on them, and with clothes straight from the shops. Now, the song ain’t bad, but the band pic made me sick!

04 Bonafide-No Doubt About It

Familiar with the name, but not the music. This is AC/DC worship from beginning to end. Never understood the need to listen to carbon copies, when the originals are still crankin’ it the best! (Before anyone feels the need to arrest me; yes, I know I own a lot of carbon copy bands myself!)

05 Charm City Devils-Let's Rock-N-Roll (Endless Road)

Another AC/DC worshipping band, but this tune also sports a lethal dose of glam and sleaze! Again, not bad, but not all that great either. This would work great at ridiculous volume at a party though!

06 Crashdiet-Rebel

Ah, Sweden’s new sleaze darlings. Cräshdiet is the real deal and not some retro glam nostalgia band. They play, live and look the part. This is a killer tune! I am a little surprised though, as I always envisioned them to sound more “unhealthy” or vicious. This song could have been lifted from Skid Row’s debut, almost! I could listen to this song all day long!

07 Bobnoxious-Long Night

Know the name of this band, thanks to the glam/sleaze freaks here on HOM. I’ve never heard the music before though. Seldom has a name told you so much about how they sound! This is lyrically obnoxious, but fun! Musically they play a cross between hard rock and punk. For whatever reason, the Norwegian version of MySpace calls them a Christian humor band! LOL

08 Innocent Rosie-Bad Habit Romance

More Swedish sleaze! This is my problem with this genre…. So many bands sound exactly the same! So this was easily forgettable.

09 Casanova-Hollywood Angels

Another band I know in the name only. Never knew this band included the singer from Mad Max though! I like their brand of melodic hair metal. I’m a sucker for hooks, and I hummed along on the first spin! Another highlight.

10 Powerwolf-Saturday Satan

I think I have the album this song is from! Transylvanian melodic metal. I never got into this band, thus I haven’t added them to my website yet. This song is ok enough, I guess, and it grows on each listen. The songs sticks a but out on this CD though.

11 Parasite City-Play Minstrel Play

Guns ‘n’ Roses cover band! LoL! Just kidding. Paradise City does play gritty hard rock though. I’d label them sleaze/glam metal, with a slight punk flare. Next…

12 Babylon Bombs-Hometown Hero

Back to Sweden! I think I’ve heard this song before. It’s a catchy glam thingy, and I liked it because I’m a sucker for solid hooks!

13 Crazy Lixx-Blame It On Love

What are they puttin’ in the water at my neighbors in Sweden? This is yet another in the long line of new glam bands from the across the border. This ballad would have torn up the radio waves if it was released back in 1987! Solid stuff.

14 Steevi Jaimz-Don't Say It's Over

Solo effort from Tigertailz frontman. This is the sound of the ‘80’s glam/sleaze scene. I found the vocals to be a tad weak though, but the song has a very catchy chorus.

15 Gemini Five-Babylon Rockets

And…back to Sweden!! LOL This is a actually one of the older bands in the revived Scandinavian glam scene, and together with Hardcore Superstars they helped start the new glam wave. The band made the splash, but has since been flying a little under the radar compared to more known acts like Crazy Lixx, Cräshdiet and Hardcore Superstars. Still, they deliver melodic hardrock of the highest caliber!

16 Reckless Love-Born To Rock

Guess what kind of music Reckless Love play? Yup, it’s another glam band! They can’t all be good, and this was easily forgotten.

17 Distorted Wonderland-Raised On Rock N' Roll

Now, this was more like it! Tempo-ridden, high octane hard rock! This was super catchy, and almost made me want to pull out a cold one from the fridge! Me like! Oh, and they hail from Sweden! (Surprised?)

18 Hardcore Superstar-We Don't Celebrate Sundays

We end disc 1 with the “veterans”, with a history going back as far as 1997. I think I’ve seen this band live, opening for KISS many years ago. Another glam song that makes me realize how long it has been since I last had a real party!

The first CD made me aware of some bands I must check out further. The irony was that I liked the songs that didn’t fit in the glam/sleaze genre the most. CD 2 coming up!

OK, while I'm sitting on my butt watching March Madness, I figured I'd spin bassman's comp one more time and then write this review. As he noted in his review of my comp, he likes much more complex music than I do so this was quite the change of pace for me.

1. Essence Of Sorrow - Embraced

I like the opening riff of this one and after a few spins the chorus started to stick. I should also note the stellar drumming on this track. The music is sort of a mix of prog, power and symphonic metal. Not something I'd buy but nothing that made me reach for the skip button either.

2. Angelica - Time and Time Again

I like this track better than the first one. Scorching guitar solo and nice harmony vocals on the chorus.


3. Veni Domine - Behold The Signs

OK, the best part of this song for me was the church bell slowly tolling in the opening. I was hoping for something in a Sentenced vein. Unfortunately what I heard was more like progressive doom. Not being a big prog fan and not being a doom fan at all, this was my least favorite on the comp.

4. Galactic Cowboys - No Problems

Nice change of pace from the previous track; speedy opening. For some reason I always lumped this band into the Kings X category and while I still think there are some similarities, I like this song better than most of the Kings X I've heard. I like the vocals a lot. My only complaint is with the chorus; it's like it's dropped in from an entirely different song. Whereas the verses speed right along, the chorus hits the brakes to slow to a dreamy, psychadelic sort of pace. Nothing wrong with the chorus per se but it doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the song. But then this is prog I'm talking about.

5. Magnitude 9 - Into The Sun

Somewhere I've got a CDR of a Mag 9 disc but I don't think this song is on it. Some great vocal and instrumental performances here (something I gather is a staple on Mag 9 releases) but I found the melody to be boring and unmemorable. Still better than Veni Domine though.

6. Saint Daemon - Fallen Angel

I like the chugga chugga guitar in the song opening. This song was more memorable to me than some of the others on this comp; the chorus stuck with me halfway through the first listen. My only gripe is the weird bridge to the guitar solo at around the 2:55 mark. What the heck is that? The song is humming along nicely then we get a minor key, doomy couple of seconds before sequeing into a guitar solo that's more in keeping with the feel and tempo of the rest of the song. Apart from that, this was one of my favorites on the comp.

7. Sinbreed - Newborn Tomorrow

I know we have a thread about this band somewhere on the forum but I've purposely avoided reading it because I wanted to give my uncorrupted opinion of this track. That opinion is that this sounds like a prog version of Dragonforce to me. I'm not a fan of the double kickdrumming and this song has it all over the place. I like the melody of the chorus but the relentless speed and drumming is just too over the top for me.

8. Pyramaze - Year Of The Phoenix

I have all 3 Pyramaze discs and to be honest after I picked up Legend Of The Bone Carver I'd all but given up on the band. I know a lot of people rave on that album but I liked Melancholy Beast a lot better. But when I heard Matt Barlow was replacing Lance King on vocals, I had to pick the third album up. To be honest, I probably spun it once and then shelved it because it didn't really sound like Something Wicked-era Iced Earth which I guess is what I was expecting. After listening to this song, I think I need to dig that disc out again. This song is better than anything on the last Iced Earth album IMO.

9. Manticora - King Of The Absurd

This song epitomized everything I don't like about progmetal. It starts with a long instrumental intro featuring guitar solos and keyboard wankery. We don't even get to the vocals until 2:20 into the song. And then the melody is just not that memorable to me. I can appreciate the talent of those involved but it's just not my cup of tea.

10. Lincoln Brewser - Let Your Glory Shine

And now we get to the last song on the comp. Bassman's notes told me that this song was kinda "churchy" but that the guy can shred. And guess what? He can! This was by far my favorite song on the comp. The guy has a clean, bluesy guitar tone and a voice to match. This reminded me a lot of the Barefoot Servants album I included on my comp to Bassman. The melody is instantly memorable and I was singing along with the chorus in my car on first listen.

To sum up: As usual with these comps I was able to find stuff I like even in a genre I don't typically give much time to. Highlights this time around were Galactic Cowboys, Saint Daemon, Pyramaze and of course Lincoln Brewster. Good job bassman!

thejokeriv wrote:

For my trade with Dallas Black, he sent me 4 discs to review (I sent him three). The first disc was full of good melodic metal and hard rock. He also sent me multiple songs by each band. Here's what I thought of Disc 1:

Allen-Lande – Hunter’s Night, Where Have The Angles Gone, The Revenge, Under The Waves, The Showdown, Bloodlines

I had not heard of Allen-Lande before I received the discs from DB so I looked them up on the Wikipedia. The band is a side project of Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear), Russell Allen (Symphony X) and Jorn Lande (Masterplan). Great, melodic metal/borderline hard rock. The only track I didn’t really like was Bloodline, I found that track rather boring, but the rest are great!!!


Masterplan – Back For My Life, Headbanger’s Ballroom

I have not heard Masterplan prior to this listen. Jorn Lande can sing his a$$ off!!!! This is melodic Metal and it sounds great!!!! I will be adding this group to my ‘want’ list.


Place Vendome – Streets Of Fire

Another band I have never heard of, so I looked them up on Wikipedia. They are another side project of members of PC69 and where founded by the President of Frontier Records. The track is more on the hard rock side of things than PC69. Pretty good song that, in the words of Manny, is catchy as an STD. A possibility to add to my collection.


Overall, a good comp that introduced me to bands I have not heard before and a few that are now on my want list. Disc 2 to come next week.....

I think your a liar sir.... Didn't I include those bands on the comps I gave you? Theres no way I didn't.

Phoenix Reign Drummer wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

For my trade with Dallas Black, he sent me 4 discs to review (I sent him three). The first disc was full of good melodic metal and hard rock. He also sent me multiple songs by each band. Here's what I thought of Disc 1:

Allen-Lande – Hunter’s Night, Where Have The Angles Gone, The Revenge, Under The Waves, The Showdown, Bloodlines

I had not heard of Allen-Lande before I received the discs from DB so I looked them up on the Wikipedia. The band is a side project of Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear), Russell Allen (Symphony X) and Jorn Lande (Masterplan). Great, melodic metal/borderline hard rock. The only track I didn’t really like was Bloodline, I found that track rather boring, but the rest are great!!!


Masterplan – Back For My Life, Headbanger’s Ballroom

I have not heard Masterplan prior to this listen. Jorn Lande can sing his a$$ off!!!! This is melodic Metal and it sounds great!!!! I will be adding this group to my ‘want’ list.


Place Vendome – Streets Of Fire

Another band I have never heard of, so I looked them up on Wikipedia. They are another side project of members of PC69 and where founded by the President of Frontier Records. The track is more on the hard rock side of things than PC69. Pretty good song that, in the words of Manny, is catchy as an STD. A possibility to add to my collection.


Overall, a good comp that introduced me to bands I have not heard before and a few that are now on my want list. Disc 2 to come next week.....

I think your a liar sir.... Didn't I include those bands on the comps I gave you? Theres no way I didn't.

Nope - I would have remembered them!!!!

thejokeriv wrote:

manny wrote:

exact33 wrote:

Locky wrote:

EvyMetal wrote:

Spec is a sucker for akercocke and morgana lafey

I woudn't mind that so much as I'm inclined to throw the same bands on these swaps also, well at the end it is about music that you yourself like.

I am guilty of that as well.

As am I, in my comps you will find at least one Jimi Hendrix song on the disc

LOL!!! I do some of that too, but I try to pic music that wasn't on the tradee's today i listened to list

I always try to put some different bands on my comps - or at least different songs by bands I tend to put on them. I usually put some Dark At Dawn, Kiuas and Satyrian on them but I try to pick different songs each time (except Satyrian; somehow "Invictus" always finds its way on the comp).

lol I think you need to go back Leo

I totally agree about Pyramaze! I think Barlow's best vocal performance ever was that disc.
Glad you enjoyed the comp.

thejokeriv wrote:

For my trade with Dallas Black, he sent me 4 discs to review (I sent him three). The first disc was full of good melodic metal and hard rock. He also sent me multiple songs by each band. Here's what I thought of Disc 1:

Allen-Lande – Hunter’s Night, Where Have The Angles Gone, The Revenge, Under The Waves, The Showdown, Bloodlines

I had not heard of Allen-Lande before I received the discs from DB so I looked them up on the Wikipedia. The band is a side project of Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear), Russell Allen (Symphony X) and Jorn Lande (Masterplan). Great, melodic metal/borderline hard rock. The only track I didn’t really like was Bloodline, I found that track rather boring, but the rest are great!!!

Symphony X – Set The World On Fire, The Sacrifice

I am familiar with Symphony X and I like their stuff – I plan to go see them in concert on the next tour. They are very Dream Theater influenced and I never understood why they aren’t bigger than they are. Both of these tracks are great tracks!!!!!

Masterplan – Back For My Life, Headbanger’s Ballroom

I have not heard Masterplan prior to this listen. Jorn Lande can sing his a$$ off!!!! This is melodic Metal and it sounds great!!!! I will be adding this group to my ‘want’ list.

Sunstorm – Divided, Gutters Of Gold

I have not heard this band before nor did I know that Joe Lynn Turner was the vocalist. Or that two of the member are from PC69. More melodic metal borderline hard rock and it sounds good, not as good as the previous two Masterplan songs but good stuff. Turner just has a great voice!!!!

Pink Cream 69 – Shame, High As A Mountain

I have several PC69 albums and I do like the band. When I first heard the name, I though they where a hard core punk band or a college alt band. Instead they are more of a Pop Metal band (yep, using the 80’s terms for Hair Metal). Both of these are good tracks. PC69 is a good listen. I think they would have been much, much bigger with a different name.

Place Vendome – Streets Of Fire

Another band I have never heard of, so I looked them up on Wikipedia. They are another side project of members of PC69 and where founded by the President of Frontier Records. The track is more on the hard rock side of things than PC69. Pretty good song that, in the words of Manny, is catchy as an STD. A possibility to add to my collection.


Overall, a good comp that introduced me to bands I have not heard before and a few that are now on my want list. Disc 2 to come next week.....

Glad you liked quite a bit of the comp. Because past comps have had some songs that had the listener running to the skip button, I get a little nervous about how my comps are recieved. I will review your's shortly, but I can say that there was nothing unlistenable, every song was on a scale of decent to awesome.

DallasBlack wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

For my trade with Dallas Black, he sent me 4 discs to review (I sent him three). The first disc was full of good melodic metal and hard rock. He also sent me multiple songs by each band. Here's what I thought of Disc 1:

Allen-Lande – Hunter’s Night, Where Have The Angles Gone, The Revenge, Under The Waves, The Showdown, Bloodlines

I had not heard of Allen-Lande before I received the discs from DB so I looked them up on the Wikipedia. The band is a side project of Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear), Russell Allen (Symphony X) and Jorn Lande (Masterplan). Great, melodic metal/borderline hard rock. The only track I didn’t really like was Bloodline, I found that track rather boring, but the rest are great!!!

Symphony X – Set The World On Fire, The Sacrifice

I am familiar with Symphony X and I like their stuff – I plan to go see them in concert on the next tour. They are very Dream Theater influenced and I never understood why they aren’t bigger than they are. Both of these tracks are great tracks!!!!!

Masterplan – Back For My Life, Headbanger’s Ballroom

I have not heard Masterplan prior to this listen. Jorn Lande can sing his a$$ off!!!! This is melodic Metal and it sounds great!!!! I will be adding this group to my ‘want’ list.

Sunstorm – Divided, Gutters Of Gold

I have not heard this band before nor did I know that Joe Lynn Turner was the vocalist. Or that two of the member are from PC69. More melodic metal borderline hard rock and it sounds good, not as good as the previous two Masterplan songs but good stuff. Turner just has a great voice!!!!

Pink Cream 69 – Shame, High As A Mountain

I have several PC69 albums and I do like the band. When I first heard the name, I though they where a hard core punk band or a college alt band. Instead they are more of a Pop Metal band (yep, using the 80’s terms for Hair Metal). Both of these are good tracks. PC69 is a good listen. I think they would have been much, much bigger with a different name.

Place Vendome – Streets Of Fire

Another band I have never heard of, so I looked them up on Wikipedia. They are another side project of members of PC69 and where founded by the President of Frontier Records. The track is more on the hard rock side of things than PC69. Pretty good song that, in the words of Manny, is catchy as an STD. A possibility to add to my collection.


Overall, a good comp that introduced me to bands I have not heard before and a few that are now on my want list. Disc 2 to come next week.....

Glad you liked quite a bit of the comp. Because past comps have had some songs that had the listener running to the skip button, I get a little nervous about how my comps are recieved. I will review your's shortly, but I can say that there was nothing unlistenable, every song was on a scale of decent to awesome.

I thought there are some great stuff on that comp!

exact33 wrote:

DallasBlack wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

For my trade with Dallas Black, he sent me 4 discs to review (I sent him three). The first disc was full of good melodic metal and hard rock. He also sent me multiple songs by each band. Here's what I thought of Disc 1:

Allen-Lande – Hunter’s Night, Where Have The Angles Gone, The Revenge, Under The Waves, The Showdown, Bloodlines

I had not heard of Allen-Lande before I received the discs from DB so I looked them up on the Wikipedia. The band is a side project of Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear), Russell Allen (Symphony X) and Jorn Lande (Masterplan). Great, melodic metal/borderline hard rock. The only track I didn’t really like was Bloodline, I found that track rather boring, but the rest are great!!!

Symphony X – Set The World On Fire, The Sacrifice

I am familiar with Symphony X and I like their stuff – I plan to go see them in concert on the next tour. They are very Dream Theater influenced and I never understood why they aren’t bigger than they are. Both of these tracks are great tracks!!!!!

Masterplan – Back For My Life, Headbanger’s Ballroom

I have not heard Masterplan prior to this listen. Jorn Lande can sing his a$$ off!!!! This is melodic Metal and it sounds great!!!! I will be adding this group to my ‘want’ list.

Sunstorm – Divided, Gutters Of Gold

I have not heard this band before nor did I know that Joe Lynn Turner was the vocalist. Or that two of the member are from PC69. More melodic metal borderline hard rock and it sounds good, not as good as the previous two Masterplan songs but good stuff. Turner just has a great voice!!!!

Pink Cream 69 – Shame, High As A Mountain

I have several PC69 albums and I do like the band. When I first heard the name, I though they where a hard core punk band or a college alt band. Instead they are more of a Pop Metal band (yep, using the 80’s terms for Hair Metal). Both of these are good tracks. PC69 is a good listen. I think they would have been much, much bigger with a different name.

Place Vendome – Streets Of Fire

Another band I have never heard of, so I looked them up on Wikipedia. They are another side project of members of PC69 and where founded by the President of Frontier Records. The track is more on the hard rock side of things than PC69. Pretty good song that, in the words of Manny, is catchy as an STD. A possibility to add to my collection.


Overall, a good comp that introduced me to bands I have not heard before and a few that are now on my want list. Disc 2 to come next week.....

Glad you liked quite a bit of the comp. Because past comps have had some songs that had the listener running to the skip button, I get a little nervous about how my comps are recieved. I will review your's shortly, but I can say that there was nothing unlistenable, every song was on a scale of decent to awesome.

I thought there are some great stuff on that comp!

Good, because just about all the songs he has are on the ones you got, minus the ones I knew for sure you knew about (i.e. Place Vendome and PC69). On your comps, I think you'll be suprised at those Toto songs. While not very heavy (they're AOR that border on MHR in some instances), those later songs sound nothing like what they're famous for.

DallasBlack wrote:

exact33 wrote:

DallasBlack wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

For my trade with Dallas Black, he sent me 4 discs to review (I sent him three). The first disc was full of good melodic metal and hard rock. He also sent me multiple songs by each band. Here's what I thought of Disc 1:

Allen-Lande – Hunter’s Night, Where Have The Angles Gone, The Revenge, Under The Waves, The Showdown, Bloodlines

I had not heard of Allen-Lande before I received the discs from DB so I looked them up on the Wikipedia. The band is a side project of Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear), Russell Allen (Symphony X) and Jorn Lande (Masterplan). Great, melodic metal/borderline hard rock. The only track I didn’t really like was Bloodline, I found that track rather boring, but the rest are great!!!

Symphony X – Set The World On Fire, The Sacrifice

I am familiar with Symphony X and I like their stuff – I plan to go see them in concert on the next tour. They are very Dream Theater influenced and I never understood why they aren’t bigger than they are. Both of these tracks are great tracks!!!!!

Masterplan – Back For My Life, Headbanger’s Ballroom

I have not heard Masterplan prior to this listen. Jorn Lande can sing his a$$ off!!!! This is melodic Metal and it sounds great!!!! I will be adding this group to my ‘want’ list.

Sunstorm – Divided, Gutters Of Gold

I have not heard this band before nor did I know that Joe Lynn Turner was the vocalist. Or that two of the member are from PC69. More melodic metal borderline hard rock and it sounds good, not as good as the previous two Masterplan songs but good stuff. Turner just has a great voice!!!!

Pink Cream 69 – Shame, High As A Mountain

I have several PC69 albums and I do like the band. When I first heard the name, I though they where a hard core punk band or a college alt band. Instead they are more of a Pop Metal band (yep, using the 80’s terms for Hair Metal). Both of these are good tracks. PC69 is a good listen. I think they would have been much, much bigger with a different name.

Place Vendome – Streets Of Fire

Another band I have never heard of, so I looked them up on Wikipedia. They are another side project of members of PC69 and where founded by the President of Frontier Records. The track is more on the hard rock side of things than PC69. Pretty good song that, in the words of Manny, is catchy as an STD. A possibility to add to my collection.


Overall, a good comp that introduced me to bands I have not heard before and a few that are now on my want list. Disc 2 to come next week.....

Glad you liked quite a bit of the comp. Because past comps have had some songs that had the listener running to the skip button, I get a little nervous about how my comps are recieved. I will review your's shortly, but I can say that there was nothing unlistenable, every song was on a scale of decent to awesome.

I thought there are some great stuff on that comp!

Good, because just about all the songs he has are on the ones you got, minus the ones I knew for sure you knew about (i.e. Place Vendome and PC69). On your comps, I think you'll be suprised at those Toto songs. While not very heavy (they're AOR that border on MHR in some instances), those later songs sound nothing like what they're famous for.

you put songs by the dog in the Wizard of Oz on my comp???

DallasBlack wrote:

"I'll get you my pretty! And your little dog too!"

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That photo is frightening!!