new Metal Church

That is the sad state of the industry right now. I told a guy I work with about the new Metal Church and told him he should go buy it. He said he'd just listen to it on Spotify instead. People just don't care about buying music anymore.

ultmetal wrote:

That is the sad state of the industry right now. I told a guy I work with about the new Metal Church and told him he should go buy it. He said he'd just listen to it on Spotify instead. People just don't care about buying music anymore.

Well, I gotta say that there are a lot of artists that are in "Spotify territory" for me as well, only a very small percentage of albums I will go out and buy.

I have purchased 11 albums in 2013, I have listened to many more on Spotify that didn't make enough of an impact on me to justify the expenditure. An album basically has to completely blow me away for me to buy it these days, if it's just "okay" or only has 4 or 5 good songs it's just not worth the money.

Metal Church said on their facebook that the sales don't account for all the preorders through their label. A few days back they even said that the preorders alone were more than the total sales for This Present Wasteland.

This all makes sense. It's a little odd thinking that a national average of 12 people per state have purchased this album.

Yes that seems astonishingly low. And no I didn't get the thing .....yet. Rest assured, I will though and support the band.

I don't think that's all that "sad" it's not practical for people to carry CDs around with them anymore when there's ways to stream a whole library of music, so that makes sense to me.  Though i'd go for iTunes over Spotify as sometimes they have bonus tracks not availible on the CD version.

Also few people will want to pay full price for a CD without hearing at least some samples first to get an idea of what it sounds like.

Vexer6 wrote:

I don't think that's all that "sad" it's not practical for people to carry CDs around with them anymore when there's ways to stream a whole library of music, so that makes sense to me.  Though i'd go for iTunes over Spotify as sometimes they have bonus tracks not availible on the CD version.

Also few people will want to pay full price for a CD without hearing at least some samples first to get an idea of what it sounds like.

True except the other option is to transfer your CD library to a memory card for a phone or portable player, or even better using a program like Subsonic to upload your library to a cloud, and then using the mobile app. I prefer the former since I drive for work and don't like to fumble with CD's on the road. Plus there's the problem of Spotify dropping out in certain areas where 4G isn't present. That tends to be a pain in the ass.

I enjoy Spotify and streaming to some degree, especially that last point you made. I don't like risky buys since my budget is slim. Also I've been able to enjoy the new Metal Church since I haven't had the funds to make the purchase (well, I did last night but found something much more important to buy). I still plan on buying the CD.

I don't really like using cloud storage as from my experiences it's been more trouble then it's worth. Usually I just download MP3s directly from Amazon.

I'm with Vexer, the cloud gets to be a headache so I got rid of it.

Still really enjoying this ne MC.

Yes this thing is killer. Probably the best they've done with Monroe since maybe Weight Of The World.

007 wrote:

Yes this thing is killer. Probably the best they've done with Monroe since maybe Weight Of The World.

+1. Been streaming it like mad. Hoping to make the purchase this weekend.

I have been listening to it a lot but the 1st song on the album is terrible! The rest is bad ass!

Lurideath wrote:

I have been listening to it a lot but the 1st song on the album is terrible! The rest is bad ass!

Yeah, first is the weakest for some reason. It does remind me of Hitman for some reason, maybe the punkish use of power chords, but doesn't really engage me at all.

Got my copy today. My what cheap packaging we have here. The music is intense and this IS the best Ronnie record we have so far, so no complaints there. But this is the worst, flimsiest digipack I've ever seen for a band of this caliber. Tri-fold, no liner notes, wafer thin cardboard, shoddy graphic work, poor font choices, and a terrible, muddy gunmetal gray throughout. At least we have the original logo, a decent photo, and the Explorer cross here and there. Anyway, the album rocks.

EDIT: I also got the new Death Angel in. Whole different level. Jewel case, awesome artwork, thick, sturdy liner notes with two pages of thank you's and lyrics, tight photos, and beautiful use of color/typeface. Total dichotomy.

I'm guessing MC had hardly any budget.

Reading some interviews with Kurdt, I think I know what's going on with the cheap packaging. This apparently is the first time they've flown solo on Kurdt's label, and Rat Pak is a small distrib, so this is purely an independent release. Which also explains the low-profile supporting tour (see below). Either way I'm just grateful they put it out. Regardless of cutting corners, the mix on this album is POWERFUL. Very up front and in-your-face.

This albums needs more discussion. It's ten times the records that Present Wasteland was, and the songwriting really takes one back to the early days. Every track is captivating (Scream is the only weak link for me but it's still a kick ass song). The title track has one of the best riffs I've heard since Accept's latest. Noises in the Wall, an 8 minute song full of tempo changes and different time sigs, is just crazy. Best of all, Ronnie channels Wayne more than ever. Instead of sticking with his mid-range as he has in the past, he goes f*cking high, pushing himself hard and carrying that shrill, abrasive power tone that we all miss.

My only complaint on the album is the leads. Rick Van Zandt is a boring player, and for some reason Kurdt doesn't come up with anything creative like he used to. But it hurts the tension and excitement of the songs none.

Again, this needs to be promoted more. Why isn't fool Eddie Trunk talking about this album? Why haven't these guys been on That Metal Show? Why are they just a footnote in Trunk's latest book? Why don't they get the f*cking attention they deserve?? Completely escapes me.

Here's the supporting 2014 tour, North American leg:

February 14 FRI ORANGEVALE, CA THE BOARDWALK
15 SAT COSTA MESA, CA TIKI BAR
16 SUN W. HOLLYWOOD, CA WHISKY A GO GO 
18 TUE TEMPE, AZ CLUB RED
20 THU SAN ANTONIO, TX BACKSTAGE LIVE
21 FRI HOUSTON, TX CONCERT PUB NORTH
' 22 SAT OKC, OK CHAMELEON ROOM
23 SUN DALLAS, TX TREES
25 TUE INDIANAPOLIS, IN THE HEADQUARTERS 
26 WED CHICAGO, IL REGGIE'S
27 THU CUDAHY, WI METAL GRILL
28 FRI WESTLAND, MI TOKEN LOUNGE
March 1 SAT TORONTO, ON THE ROCK PILE EAST
2 SUN TORONTO, ON THE ROCK PILE WEST
4 TUE Brooklyn, New York ST VITUS 
5 WED NEW CASTLE, DE JB MCGINNES
6 THU AMITYVILLE, NY REVOLUTION BAR & 
7 FRI PITTSBURGH, PA ALTAR BAR
8 SAT SPRINGFIELD, VA EMPIRE
9 SUN CLEVELAND, OH AGORA BALLROOOM
12 WED LAKEWOOD, CO ECKS SALOON
13 THU SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
14 FRI LAS VEGAS, NV LVC
15 SAT RAMONA, CA RAMONA MAINSTAGE
16 SUN SAN RAMON, CA VINNIE'S

Eddie Trunk don't know shit about Metal Church man. My buddy is still working on their documentary and asked Eddie Trunk if he'd like to do an interview and he declined because of his knowledge. He's NOT as knowledgable as he appears and lets out!

I agree the album is BAD ASS! Very powerful!

Eddie Trunk mainly knows about glam stuff that was on MTV.  Someone mentioned FATES WARNING to him once and he had no idea who they were.  He doesn't like stuff that's really heavy. And Badlands is lame. Those albums were chock full of filler and Jake E. Lee desperately needs Daisley to write songs for him.

Eddie Trunk doesn't know nuthin about nothin... Which is why the " stump the Trunk" segment on TMS is so screamingly hilarious... How he got this rep as a hard rock/metal authority is still a mystery.

Yeah I've been reading his second coffee-table book and Slash has it right there in his foreword: "the man knows EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING." For some reason that's how Trunk's image is constantly marketed off and it's obvious that's not the case. I respect him as an ambassador, but he clearly neglects a lot of great bands while claiming to be some omniscient god.

I've already written him several (hundred) times regarding Metal Church, dunno if he's seen any of it. Kurdt's been on his show (never heard the interview, I believe it was for Wasteland), and sometimes Trunk will spin their older stuff, but that's it.

Temple of Blood wrote:

And Badlands is lame.  Those albums were chock full of filler and Jake E. Lee desperately needs Daisley to write songs for him.

I completely disagree, but then again we probably only agree on about 2% of music so that's probably not surprising.

 

Badlands lame? Ok then.

I really like Badlands.

Like the new Metal Church quite a bit as well.

S.D. wrote:

Temple of Blood wrote:

And Badlands is lame.  Those albums were chock full of filler and Jake E. Lee desperately needs Daisley to write songs for him.

I completely disagree, but then again we probably only agree on about 2% of music so that's probably not surprising.

 

I'm sure it's a lot more the 2%.

That out of key solo bothers me towards the end of "Winter's Call", for one.

corplhicks wrote:

Here's the supporting 2014 tour, North American leg:

February 14 FRI ORANGEVALE, CA THE BOARDWALK

I'm going to have to catch them if they are going to be in the Sacramento Area!!!!!!

That place is about 20 minutes from my house.