Comp Swap X The Reviews!

Note to self: If paired up with PRD in a future comp swap, BAIL!

I'm gonna listen to jstate's 2nd comp next. I know some of the bands on it (Gun Barrel, Zandelle, Ted Poley) and others I've heard OF but haven't heard (Artch, Savage Steel, Empire). The rest are completely new to me. Looking forward to more discoveries...

tohostudios wrote:

Note to self: If paired up with PRD in a future comp swap, BAIL!

We were paired once weren't we? I didn't see you like too much of Jstates first cd either there mister

Just be glad I didn't participate...

:glee:

Phoenix Reign Drummer wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

Note to self: If paired up with PRD in a future comp swap, BAIL!

We were paired once weren't we? I didn't see you like too much of Jstates first cd either there mister

WTF? Where'd this post come from?

Phoenix Reign Drummer wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

Note to self: If paired up with PRD in a future comp swap, BAIL!

We were paired once weren't we? I didn't see you like too much of Jstates first cd either there mister

I don't think I've ever swapped comps with you.

And at least I liked about a third of jstate's comp and will be actively pursuing 3 bands from it (S.I.N., Sencirow and War & Peace). So I'm after exactly 25% of the bands on his comp; I think that's a pretty good ratio for these things.

S.D. wrote:

Just be glad I didn't participate...

The only people who could trade with you have to own a bunch of ancient blues albums or extreme metal. Actually, I think you and MC666 might make a viable trade pairing.

tohostudios wrote:

Phoenix Reign Drummer wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

Note to self: If paired up with PRD in a future comp swap, BAIL!

We were paired once weren't we? I didn't see you like too much of Jstates first cd either there mister

I don't think I've ever swapped comps with you.

And at least I liked about a third of jstate's comp and will be actively pursuing 3 bands from it (S.I.N., Sencirow and War & Peace). So I'm after exactly 25% of the bands on his comp; I think that's a pretty good ratio for these things.

haha I got 4 more cds to go so i'm doing pretty good so far.

Personally, if I find one new band to explore and the person I swap with has the same result, I consider the swap a success.

tohostudios wrote:

S.D. wrote:

Just be glad I didn't participate...

The only people who could trade with you have to own a bunch of ancient blues albums or extreme metal. Actually, I think you and MC666 might make a viable trade pairing.

Oh I don't know, my tastes are wide enough to get along with quite a few people here I think. I don't listen to that much blues or extreme metal actually, but I like both styles when I'm in the correct frame of mind.

Tohostudio's comp Disc one

1.The Good The Bad & The Undead - 69 Eyes
Years back I found a Best Of disc of these guys in the 2.00 bin. For a cover of Blondie's Call Me was all it took to take a chance on a purchase. I liked it but never really gave it much of a listen outside of said Blondie cover. Probably should break it out - this track on the comp is infectious. Someone needs to snag this for a Zombie flick, if they haven't already. I like my goth-y catchy as all hell.

2. Caught On The Riverbed - The Answer
Looked forward to finally hearing something from these much praised guys. Reminds me of Night Ranger for some reason. That's a very good thing as far as I'm concerned. Love the swirling choruses. Got a feeling I'd be really into the rest of the album.

3. Rockstar - Barbe-Q-Barbies
Points just for the band name alone. Revved up rocker number. Nothing original in the least but attitude can carry a song a long way. Singer has a pretty wicked snarl here and there that I would've liked some more of. I'm also a sucker for songs that have the singer calling in the guitar and drum parts. Gets me every time.

4. ???????
A mystery track that is just on here to taunt me. Need to find out who this is. It's a melodic rocker that starts with a motorcycle rev and the opening line is "75 down the 101". Chorus is "Rockin All Night…party till the daylight…having the time of our life". Only complaint is I wish this chorus was a little more ragged instead of as clean as it is. But good stuff …. now who is it?

5. Ain't No Holiday - Bobnoxoious
Hate the band name. Love the song. Thing is contagious. Thing won't get out of my head. A punkish chugging bass line is always a winner for me.

6. Reality - Crud
Samples - check. Ministry-esque industrial pound - check. New wave speak-y vocals - check. All works for me.

7. Raised On Rock N' Roll - Distorted Wonderland
Another thing I love is autobiographical songs that serve as anthematic mission statements for a band. "Band fight/No sleep last night" "the screaming crowd/the flashing lights/is good enough for me". Will be checking out more from these guys.

7. She Falls On Her Grave - The Dogma
Some real good symphonic metal. Dig the guy's accented singing. Also like that he throws a curve in the chorus by registering it down instead of bringing it higher. Gives it more emotional depth I feel. I've been long over this genre, and yet I hear something like this and wonder why.

8. Peg O' My Heart - Dropkick Murphy's
Come on it's the Dropkick Murphy's. It's great. Long ago I used to be one of those fans who hated that they moved away from the straight punk stuff. But the older I've gotten the happier I am with the Murphy's being the Pogues for today.

9. Scream 4 Me - Gemini Five
Another one that was tough to get out of my head. Big riffs and killer hook of a chorus. Simple and highly effective.

10. In Vere Veritas - HIM
I don't know about HIM. Always feel I'm way out of the demo for this. I don't hate it or think it's terrible musically. Just doesn't do a thing for me.

11. Fight Fire With Fire - L.U.S.T.
Gang shouted choruses are another weak point for me. No song ever can go wrong with those. Into the singer's voice too. I'm sure he'll probably pay for those shredding howls someday. But until then thanks for entertaining me.

12. Better - Lynam
Opens with cowbell, has "woo-woos" and never lets up the entire time. Good tidy song that does everything well.

13. '78 - Michael Monroe
One of my favorite albums from last year. In fact it's such a strong effort this song is one of my least favorite from it. And that is a tribute to how strong the rest of the material is. "…styles gonna change/but the sentiment ain't.." How true.

14. Fly To The Sun - Sandalinas
Getting a real Paul Stanley vibe from the singer. Perfectly acceptable song. Didn't knock me out but very listenable stuff. Would be curious what their other stuff sounded like. More importantly if it goes beyond the formula at work here.

15. Drain Me - Sentenced
Must get some Sentenced into my collection. This song gets the award for the grower on the comp. I know something is working when I feel it is too short. Could've listen to that solo in the last third for a good minute more.

16. Porno Star - Shiva
Thought I was going to get the UK eighties Shiva when I saw the track listing. Though the song title seemed out of place for those guys. I'll also admit it took more than half the song to realize it was a women singer. But in my defense, I was disoriented from not hearing some prime NWOBM. That all said, I was won over by this in the end. Will investigate this Shiva further.

17. Intoxication - Shriekback
I'll admit up front I'm more of a The The guy. I always associate the two bands together since back in the 80's both were always on the Rolling Stone College Album charts. I have no idea how much you had to sell to be on there, but I'm not kidding those two were on there forever. Convinced me I better look into both. Love the horns on this and for those that say "alternative rock" had no guitar solos there is a nice one towards the end. It's short but it is there.

18. You Brought A Knife To A Gun Fight - Stone Gods
Didn't have to hear a note of this to know I would love it. And it delivered beyond the expectations. Delivered big. Helluva a way to end the comp. Hit the replay button no less than four times first listen.


I first gave this comp a spin driving down the highway. Don't know if Toho intended for it but it is a killer driving disc. In fact it is staying in the car just for that purpose. Only thing that gets the skip is the HIM, but even that is my own hang-up really. Hope disc two can at least come close to this stuff. And looking over the track list it just might. Boss Tones, Angels, RFTC, and even some Sonia Dada.

Quote :

And at least I liked about a third of jstate's comp and will be actively pursuing 3 bands from it (S.I.N., Sencirow and War & Peace). So I'm after exactly 25% of the bands on his comp; I think that's a pretty good ratio for these things.

That is more than I expected in actuality. My bigger fear with these things is people already knowing/having the stuff on there. And let me know if you find the other two S.I.N. albums anywhere. Realize now how lucky I was to come across the one. And the only reason I even got that was the fact it was a Japanese import which caught my attention.

tohostudios wrote:

Personally, if I find one new band to explore and the person I swap with has the same result, I consider the swap a success.

thats why i participate. I always find stuff I enjoy that i didnt know about before.

Glad you liked the comp jstate.

The track I skipped is "Rockin' All Night" from the album "Feel The Power" by Blessed By A Broken Heart. A "screamo" band who ditched 90% of that style on this disc. It's still there in some songs but in tolerable small doses.

Yeah, I like HIM and I'm not sure why because I'm way out of their demo too (that being chicks into the "Twilight" series).

Be forewarned, the second disc is much more all over the place than the first one. And before you even get there, the singers in Smashed Gladys and Sister Sin are chicks too.

Quote :

. And let me know if you find the other two S.I.N. albums anywhere.

Look what I found (and just ordered for less than $6 ppd):

http://www.amazon.com/Somewhere-Into-Nowhere-Sin/dp/B000091ZZX/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1332537554&sr=8-2

EDIT: Also found Equilibrium at NEH Records. And picked up Sencirow "Perceptions Of Fear" from Amazon zshops for about $6 ppd.

For anyone who's curious, here's the song jstate put on the comp that sold me on this band:



And the one from Sencirow:



That Sencirow still sounds a lot like Shok Paris to me.

For comparison, here's the song it reminds me of:

Here's my review of Cognitive Dissonance's comp.......

ASSPONYS - Grim
Not starting out on a good note here,... droning, monotonous, depressing, couldn't wait for it to be over. Just not my thing at all.

JOHN CONNELLY - Hold Your Head Up
Very nice! Great bass line, drums keep everything moving......classic song.

LIVING DEATH - Down
Now we're talking! Starts out kind of mellow and laid back, then goes all thrashy with gang vocals and a decent guitar solo. Little bit of an accent on the vocals but not too distracting. I like it!

EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS - Season In Hell
Sounds like a late 70's/early 80's arena rock song, good guitar tone with lots of melodic fills between vocal lines. Good stuff.

BEREAVED - Eruption Of Violence
The title says it all, this song starts out with a wicked drum fill and never lets up from there. Thrashy, but with a bit of death/black metal influence in the form of some blast beats and tremolo picked guitar parts. Vocals have plenty of attitude and grit while still being understandable. This is what I was waiting for!

SPRING WALTZ - Price Is Right Soundtrack
You're joking, right? Elevator music complete with flute solo.

LURID - The World Wants
Slow, heavy, riff-based metal. Lyrics need a little work, too much repetition of easy rhymes......dead, head, led, and so on.

ZIGOKU QUARTET - The Course Of The Existence
Wow! Very technical metal with lots of riff changes, great guitar solos, and vocals with just enough of an edge to really make the song work. I will be checking out more from these guys.

DEMONSPEED - Micheal Landon's Ghost
Still not sure about this band.......music is okay, heavy enough I suppose, but I hate the vocals. He sounds like Elvis, Jim Morrison, and Danzig with a mouthful of marshmallows!

DURAN DURAN - The Chauffer
It's obviously Duran Duran as soon as you hear Simon Lebon's voice, there's no mistaking that. Mid-paced, moody, melodic music, kind of a mellow break in the middle of the disc.

NEW WORLD HORROR - Dark Skies (When You Die)
Speed! Double bass! Harsh vocals! Thank you!..........Me like.

PEDIFILE - The Definitive Apology
Minor key clean guitar intro..........THRASH! Sounds a little like Seventh Angel's The Torment or Sacrament's Testimony Of Apocalypse......which is not a bad thing to my ears.

MELT BANANA - Warp, Back Spin
Not for me, thanks. The main part of the song, drums, vocals, guitars, those are ok...however, the chaotic synth squeals and siren sounds over the rest of it make it pretty much unlistenable. A whole album of this would make me kill myself.

DAWNBRINGER - You Know Me
I like this one, too. Reminds me of The Hammering Process-era Living Sacrifice with the tribal drumbeat and jerky riffage, but with clean vocals. Needs a guitar solo at the end, lots of space over that riff that should be filled with something.

YAKUZA - Cancer Industry
Tribal drums.....and a saxophone? That's just the intro.....the rest of the song is fast, slightly punkish with shouted hardcore vocals.

DEMON - What Do You Think About Hell?
Slow, ominous, doomy riff......good. Way too much reverb on the vocals.....sounds like he's singing 4 miles away. Not bad overall.

GNR - One In A Million
Axl Rose and an acoustic guitar.........sorry, I'll pass. Listened to it twice just to be sure....yup, I hate it.

NEBULA - Synthetic Deam
Slow, heavy, but boring. The vocals follow the guitar line note for note through most of the song, I lost interest pretty quickly. Sounds like they need to work on their songwriting a bit.

ENTROPY - Transcendence
Another mid-paced song, this one well done, actually kind of catchy. No complaints here!


Found some intersting stuff on here, some I like, some I don't, but I'll be checking out Bereaved and Zigoku Quartet for sure.

We now move on to CD 3. I liked this one a little more than CD 2.

CD 3
1.The AliCat Project- Boozin' N Cruizin'
2.The AliCat Project- Midnight Teaser
3.The AliCat Project- Outlaw City
This band is basically an 80's Hair Band. Theres so many other newer bands that can do this better. Toho might probably like this though.

4.Alley Boys- Til The Day I Die
5.Alley Boys- Only The Lonely
A punk rock band. Sounds like something a friend of mine would probably like so I'll have to show him. They are pretty good. Not sure I would buy anything of theirs but these songs were good enough to listen to.

6.The Androids- Hey You!
7.The Androids- Do It With Madonna
The first song wasn't bad. Catchy, reminds me of Lynam a little bit on their older albums. The second song was annoying and ghey lol.

8.Angeles- Candlelight
9.Angeles- Friday Night
10.Angeles- Ain't Got Time
11.Angeles- On The Road
The song "Candlelight" I wasn't too crazy about it at first but I really liked the Chorus, it was catchy. "Friday Night" was pretty decent too. "Ain't Got Time" I didn't care for as much because it was a little too bluesy. "On The Road" was a little bit of the same bluesy rock n roll sound. Not crazy about those songs but the first 2 were good.

12.Another Society- Let Down
13.Another Society- No Time For Speech
Not a bad band but nothing special. Just a typical rock band, maybe reminds me a little of Godsmack.

14.Apartment 17- Sugar
15.Apartment 17- Wolfgang Meets The Music Box
An alternative rock band. Wasn't too crazy about the song "Sugar" but the second song "Wolfgang Meets The Music Box" was pretty cool. I couldn't find any info on these guys. Is there a website or anything?

16. Apocolypse- Losing The Future To The Past
17. Apocolypse- Visions Of War
18. Apocolypse- Bulletproof
Tried to do some searching for this band too but I only came up with a Brazilian band with the same name and almost the same style as described being a progressive power metal band, but I know that this is not them. Really liked all the songs. They kind of reminds me of older Tarot. Needs some more info on these guys too.

Quote :

Look what I found (and just ordered for less than $6 ppd):

http://www.amazon.com/Somewhere-Into-Nowhere-Sin/dp/B000091ZZX/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1332537554&sr=8-2

Cool, great find. And cheap too. In for one myself.

Quote :

(that being chicks into the "Twilight" series)

Yeah I can never quite overcome that notion. Unfair though it may be, if teenage girls are all wearing a band t-shirt I feel it isn't right for me to be listening to it. That said, I can see why they like it.

Also just ordered my first Gemini Five disc so they have you to thank for a sale.

jstate wrote:

Quote :

Look what I found (and just ordered for less than $6 ppd):

http://www.amazon.com/Somewhere-Into-Nowhere-Sin/dp/B000091ZZX/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1332537554&sr=8-2

Cool, great find. And cheap too. In for one myself.

Quote :

(that being chicks into the "Twilight" series)

Yeah I can never quite overcome that notion. Unfair though it may be, if teenage girls are all wearing a band t-shirt I feel it isn't right for me to be listening to it. That said, I can see why they like it.

Also just ordered my first Gemini Five disc so they have you to thank for a sale.

I hope it wasn't "Black Anthem". Their first one is good and "Sex, Drugs, Anarchy" are great but something went way wrong with that middle one.

tohostudios wrote:

jstate wrote:

Quote :

Look what I found (and just ordered for less than $6 ppd):

http://www.amazon.com/Somewhere-Into-Nowhere-Sin/dp/B000091ZZX/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1332537554&sr=8-2

Cool, great find. And cheap too. In for one myself.

Quote :

(that being chicks into the "Twilight" series)

Yeah I can never quite overcome that notion. Unfair though it may be, if teenage girls are all wearing a band t-shirt I feel it isn't right for me to be listening to it. That said, I can see why they like it.

Also just ordered my first Gemini Five disc so they have you to thank for a sale.

I hope it wasn't "Black Anthem". Their first one is good and "Sex, Drugs, Anarchy" are great but something went way wrong with that middle one.

I agree.

Phoenix Reign Drummer wrote:

16. Apocolypse- Losing The Future To The Past
17. Apocolypse- Visions Of War
18. Apocolypse- Bulletproof
Tried to do some searching for this band too but I only came up with a Brazilian band with the same name and almost the same style as described being a progressive power metal band, but I know that this is not them. Really liked all the songs. They kind of reminds me of older Tarot. Needs some more info on these guys too.

This band Prog-power - good as usal.

That would be them. Thanks!

Quote :

I hope it wasn't "Black Anthem". Their first one is good and "Sex, Drugs, Anarchy" are great but something went way wrong with that middle one.

Fortunately it is the first one. Kinda just pulled the trigger blindly so glad I picked right.

The first one is great - Babylon rockets rocks!!