COMP SWAP XII Reviews Thread

Thread for the comp swap reviews!

I was teamed with Cintanul and OCI. I've listened to the comp Cintanul made for me a few times today. A bunch of the songs stuck with me already so I figured I might as well review it while I listen to it again. I uploaded the songs on my iphone and I think I'll be keeping it on there for a while cause I did really enjoy a lot of it. Anyway heres my review of Cintanuls Comp.

CD 1
1. Geddy Lee- Home On The Strange
I like RUSH. This songs ok not really anything like RUSH so you can't compare it to that. Its ok. Not sure if i'd pick this up but I'd like to hear more to see what the other songs are like.

2. Katana- Heart Of Tokyo
Pretty good song. Catchy. I'd like to hear more to see if theres something a little bit better but this song is good.

3. Klaymore- Life's A Bitch (But So Are You)
Wasn't crazy about this one. Don't really like the vocals.

4. Van Canto- The Mission
I was thinking these guys were different. Its interesting but its missing the guitars.

5. Esoterica- Tomorrow I Won't Remember
Not bad. I'd like to hear more

6. The Gaslight Anthem- Great Expectations
I've heard of these guys before but didn't think I would like them so I never checked them out. I might have to change that. I like this one.

7. Brian May- Star Fleet
I've never heard any Brian May stuff before. Wasn't sure what to expect. This isn't too bad but its not something I'd go out and get right away.

8. Skiltron-Skiltron
Irish metal! haha not bad. I'd like to hear more

9. Civil War- Rome Is Falling
Is this the band that was Sabaton? I'm pretty sure thats who it is because the music sounds exactly like them. I'm not crazy about the vocalist but I like the song a lot. I've been wanting to hear this for a while but I kind of forgot about it. I want to hear more.

10. Seven Kingdoms- After The Fall
I haven't really listened to too many female fronted metal bands in a while. Mostly because I've grown tired of it from all sounding the same but this has peeked my interests.

11. Rebellion- Eric The Red
I've always like the music of this band but I don't like the vocals.

12. Heaven's Basement- Misunderstood
Not a bad song. I was expecting worse actually and I don't know why. haha But I actually liked it.

13. Gary Hughes- Avalon
Not crazy about this song. Too AOR for me.

14. Keldian- Crusader
I had these cds a year or two ago but I ended up getting rid of them. they were good but just not good enough for me to keep them. the vocals are the weak point otherwise the music is cool. This was actually one of the songs I did like.

15. Crimson Cult- Warrior Son
Pretty good song. I'd like to hear more.

16. Delany- Web Over London
Another good song. I'd like to hear more. Sounds a little Pink Cream 69ish.

CD 2
1. Marillion- Berlin
I want to like this band on their album artwork alone. I wish I could like their music as much as I like their artwork. I really need to hear more. I do like this song but not enough for me to start picking up albums.

2. Voyager- The Devil In Me
really liked this one. I'd like to hear more

3. Cardiacs- A Little Man and a House
Weird song haha.

4. No-Man- Carolina Skeleton
This ones a very mellow track. Reminds me a little bit of Dream Theaters The Spirit Carries On, except this song isn't as good. I'd like to hear a more upbeat track from these guys, if there is one.

5. Madmen and Dreamers- Madmen and Dreamers
I don't like this song at all. To me its the worst song on this comp.

6. The Windmill- Don't Be Afraid
Not a fan of this song either. The chorus part is cool but I don't like the rest of it. The vocals make it feel like elevator music.

7. Shadow Gallery- Roads Of Thunder
I used to listen to these guys back when they first came out. I thought they were ok but not enough for me to keep getting their albums. I eventually got rid of the album I had of theirs. I still check them out from time to time but I still don't really care for them.

8. Guilt Machine- Over
This song isn't bad. I'd like to hear more. Not really a 100% crazy about it but I'm interested enough to hear more.

9. Mystery- Wolf
Pretty good. music wise it reminds me of Threshold. I'd like to hear more.

10. Mostly Autumn- Tennyson Mansion
Not a bad song. Not too crazy about it but I'd like to hear more before I completely make a decision.

11. Arena- The Butterfly Man
Despite the lyrics I thought the song was pretty cool. It's a little broadway-ish sounding. I'd like to hear some more of these guys too. I've heard of them for a long time just another one of those bands that I never bothered to give a shot.

I liked the first cd more but there was some good stuff on the second cd as well. This was one of the better comps I've gotten in a while. I really enjoyed it, even the songs I wasn't too crazy about...well except for that Madmen and Dreamers song haha, otherwise this was a really good compilation. Thank you very much Cintanul! I had fun. I might even bother you in the near future to give me some more songs from the ones I liked haha

My favorite Skiltron album is "The Highland Way".  I highly recommend that album but the self-titled song must be from another album.  The coolest thing to me is that Skiltron is from South America. Listening to the music, you'd never guess that.

And IMO, Shadow Gallery's "Road Of Thunder" is one of their best songs; if you don't care for that one then I'd say forget about the band.

I liked that Shadow Gallery song but they don't have enough songs for me that I like enough to get back into them.

Phoenix Reign Drummer wrote:

9. Civil War- Rome Is Falling
Is this the band that was Sabaton?

That's right, this is the band made up of ex-Sabaton members.

Quote :

16. Delany- Web Over London
Another good song. I'd like to hear more. Sounds a little Pink Cream 69ish.

Delany is one of those bands/projects featuring multiple vocalists.  Lana Lane appears on the album, and the one on this song happens to be David Readman of Pink Cream 69, which would explain why it sounds like them.

Quote :

4. No-Man- Carolina Skeleton
This ones a very mellow track. Reminds me a little bit of Dream Theaters The Spirit Carries On, except this song isn't as good. I'd like to hear a more upbeat track from these guys, if there is one.

They don't really do upbeat unfortunately.  I only have a compilation from them and it's been a while since I listened to it, but nothing comes to mind at the moment.

Quote :

well except for that Madmen and Dreamers song haha,

It's probably a song that works better as part of the album as a whole rather than taken out of context like this.  When I listened to the comp before uploading it, I wasn't quite sure if it worked or not and debated whether to keep it in or replace it with something else.  Eventually I kept it, which I guess wasn't the right decision because you didn't like it, sorry about that.

Cruedevil sent me his comp last night. Dropbox gave it to me in alphabetical order by artist name, which I don't know if that is how he intended. Also, I ripped the comp to CD to listen to at work, so I had to put it on two discs. I will review the first on here.

1. La femme d'argent- Air. I had friends in my 20s who listened to this band, and stuff like Portishead. I didn't really pay it much attention at the time, as it wasn't heavy. In my mellower 30s, I dig it. Ambient, but not boring--didn't feel like seven minutes long.

2. Days- Amebix. This is a band name I remember well from punk-fueled teenage years, although I don't know that I ever heard them. I imagined they would be crustier and grindier. This track was okay but didn't do a whole lot for me.

3. Dumb- Apes, Pigs & Spacemen. Best band name on the comp. This tune is just rock. Not retro, not modern. Just some dudes playing rock. I dig it and will likely look into these guys further.

4. All Hell For A Basement- Big Sugar. Again, just some dudes playing some rock. This was pretty good, but not as good as the Apes, Pigs & Spacemen.

5. Baby's On Fire- Brian Eno. Eno is someone I am, of course, familiar with in name, and he has worked with/recorded with a bunch of artists I listen to. I've never actually listened to his own solo stuff though. I liked it. Just art rock as you like it.

6. American Heavy Metal Weekend- Circle Jerks. I'm long time Circle Jerks fan and this one is a favorite.

7. Demon Tied to a Chair in My Brain- Dax Riggs. Never heard of this dude before, but damn is he awesome. For the first half of Crue's comp, this is the gem of the stuff I hadn't heard it. I will be checking out his stuff further, no question.

Too Drunk To F***- Dead Kennedys. Even though I was straight edge from the time I was 15 till I was 32, and this song never applied to me, it, along with the whole of Give Me Convenience... , was one of my youth anthems for sure.

Automatic Thrill- Gluecifer. This was cool. I have seen these guys' CDs in the used bins in the past but never picked them up. I enjoyed this tune.

Apartment 31- Goon Moon. This one was a little less memorable for me. Like darker, ambient instrumental type of stuff. Not bad, really, but I didn't get too into it.

That was the first half of the comp, ripped to one disc. I've still got 10 tunes to go, but wanted to post this while it was fresh. So far, so good.

Citanul wrote:

Quote :

16. Delany- Web Over London
Another good song. I'd like to hear more. Sounds a little Pink Cream 69ish.

Delany is one of those bands/projects featuring multiple vocalists.  Lana Lane appears on the album, and the one on this song happens to be David Readman of Pink Cream 69, which would explain why it sounds like them.

It's probably a song that works better as part of the album as a whole rather than taken out of context like this.  When I listened to the comp before uploading it, I wasn't quite sure if it worked or not and debated whether to keep it in or replace it with something else.  Eventually I kept it, which I guess wasn't the right decision because you didn't like it, sorry about that.

That was David Readman? I have to listen to it again then. It didn't sound like him, but there was similarities. haha thats weird. I can usually pick up his voice. I even listened to these songs again at work yesterday. I enjoyed them very much. Don't worry about it. I'm a tough person to please when it comes to music.  You did a good job.

OCI said he would make a metal disc and a non metal disc. I said that was fine. I'm up for anything. Looking through his RYM.com page I saw a lot of stuff I really didn't expect from him and I thought to myself oh crap I hope he doesn't put that on my comp. Well a lot of those unexpected things ended up on the Non Metal disc. HAHAHA! Its cool though. I'll give anything a try. Only things I truly do not like at all, music wise, is Rap and Country. There are other genres I do not like either but as far as the main genres go thats it. Well after listening to the Non Metal disc I have to add to my list HAHAHA! No disrepect to OCI. He redeemed himself on the metal disc haha. So with that in mind here we go..

1. Enigma - Seven Lives
2. Enigma - In The Shadow, In The Light
These tracks aren't too bad. Very different from anything I would listen to. I'd like to hear at least one more song. Its not something I would buy unless I heard a few more songs that really blew me away, but they were listenable. Kind of chill out relax music.

3. VNV Nation - Solitary
4. VNV Nation - Sentinel
These weren't too bad either. My only gripe would be that the beats were just so repetative. Again something very different. I felt like I was in a dance club while I was working today listening to this haha.

5. Miles Davis - Moon Dreams
6. Miles Davis - Paraphenalia
I know who Miles Davis is. Could I hear a song and say "OH! Thats Miles Davis!", no I can't. I could not get into this at all. Not my cup of tea. I thought I was watching the beginning to the show HOMELAND on Showtime haha!

7. Wadada Leo Smith - DeJohnette
8. Wadada Leo Smith - Traveler
These two I could not even listen to all the way through. I thought Mr. Bungle was pretty messed up with all the sounds they would do in their songs and somehow it would actually all come together and be really cool and intersting. This is just way beyond that. I don't even know what this is called? Is it suppose to be Jazz? and to try and put me through 15 minutes of it with one song! LMAO! GOOD ONE! HAHAHA! I'm sorry this was just total ear torture.

9. Camel - Echoes
10. Camel - Lady Fantasy
This was a breath of fresh air after those last few songs. Old school Progressive rock. I've heard of these guys, but because of the name I never really bothered checking it out. I had a feeling this is what they would sound like. I'm not 100% excited about it, but I do like it and would
like to hear more. Good stuff.

Now onto the Metal disc!

1. Skyliner - Signals
2. Skyliner - Symphony In Black
Really impressed with this. I'm going to get the albums as soon as I can. Money is tight at the moment. I wasn't really sure what to expect, cause I have heard a song or two but I guess they didn't stick with me. Hearing this time though it has stuck and I love it. Also going to show another friend of mine (the only friend I have who listens to the same music as I do) he will like this too. I'm not blowing smoke up your butt either cause if I didn't like it I would say so haha.

3. Winterborn - Wildheart
4. Winterborn - Land Of The Free
I've heard of these guys. These songs were really good. I'll have to look more into them.

5. Stormwitch - Slave To Moonlight
6. Stormwitch - Russia's On Fire
A few years ago I snatched up all the Stormwitch albums after hearing a few songs that I liked. After listening to them all I didn't find too many more songs that I really cared for enough to keep them. I like these songs and it made me remember having these albums. Maybe I shouldn't have sold them off so quickly.

7. Dark At Dawn - Out In The Fields (Gary Moore cover)
8. Dark At Dawn - Arabian Fights
When the cover song came on I wasn't really paying attention and I thought they covered a Gamma Ray song. Then I remembered that Gamma Ray covered the song too haha! I like Gamma Rays version better. This guys vocals don't fit with the song well. Their original song though I like. His voice sounds a lot better as well with that one. I might have to look more into these guys as well. I've heard of them for a while, just another one of those bands I never took the time to give a listen.

9. Satan - Blades Of Steel
10. Satan - Life Sentence
Heard of them but not the music. It was ok. Kind of what I expected cause I knew they were an older band.

11. Royal Hunt - Hard Rain's Coming
12. Royal Hunt - Divide And Reign
I remember when Royal Hunt first came out and everyone was talking about how great they were. I gave them a shot but really didn't care for it at the time. Hearing the song with DC Cooper really peaked my interests in them. Even the second song I liked as well. I have to search back into these guys again. I might be missing out.

13. Darkseed - CountingMoments
14. Darkseed - My Burden
This band is pretty good. I liked both of the songs. I'll check more into them.

15. Domine - Uriel, The Flame Of God
16. Domine - On The Wings Of The Firebird
Wasn't crazy about this one. Its not bad. Typical power metal just not anything to get me into it.

Thats all. Obviously I liked the Metal disc more. Some really great stuff on there that I will be checking out. Thanks a lot OCI! This was one musical journey for sure haha.

Alright OCI!   As usual he included Dark At Dawn on his comp; I always do the same thing as I think this band is criminally underrated/unknown.

One of my personal faves:

Hahaha.   Glad you dug it especially my stuff haha. Don't worry, you got a couple months to save your money for the album. It will be easily acquired early 2014 from a very well known metal label.

Yep - Royal Hunt, that other song is Mark Boals on vocals. And then they have a John West era. It's pretty tough to go wrong with most any Royal Hunt stuff IMO.

Glad you enjoyed the comp! My tradition is I try to do two songs per artist, cuz I feel like that gives people a better feel for some of what I pick out.

Orion Crystal Ice wrote:

Hahaha.   Glad you dug it especially my stuff haha. Don't worry, you got a couple months to save your money for the album. It will be easily acquired early 2014 from a very well known metal label.

Yep - Royal Hunt, that other song is Mark Boals on vocals. And then they have a John West era. It's pretty tough to go wrong with most any Royal Hunt stuff IMO.

Glad you enjoyed the comp! My tradition is I try to do two songs per artist, cuz I feel like that gives people a better feel for some of what I pick out.

Yea man your stuff is great. Is that song from the new album or is that from the demo? Didn't sound like a demo and I thought your album was already out but when I checked your site out I realized it wasn't.

I remember the John West era which is what kind of turned me off a little. Hes a good singer, I even liked his other band Artension for a while but for some reason his vocals just got boring to me. I really want to check out the Royal Hunt without him.

You did a good job.

Those songs are from the unreleased debut, which you can't get yet and I'm not supposed to do. Haha. So don't share if you can help it..

I'm almost done with your review and will have it up by the end of the night.

Orion Crystal Ice wrote:

Those songs are from the unreleased debut, which you can't get yet and I'm not supposed to do. Haha. So don't share if you can help it..

I'm almost done with your review and will have it up by the end of the night.

oh wow I feel special haha! Don't worry I won't put it on the internets. reason I ask cause I saw your s/t demo on amazon and that song was on there, so I'm guessing the album version sounds a thousand times better.

So me, Phoenix Reign Drummer, and Citanul had a threeway and I'm gonna post the results.







































PHOENIX REIGN LIST

1. Ravage - Reign Fall......I like this, some traditional heavy metal with a little swing, but I've always thought Al Ravage sounded sort of goofy at times on vocals. With this one, it feels like there is this strong musical framework, riffwork, but the vocal parts don't really know what to do. Would love if they tightened that up.

2. Jag Panzer - Chain Of Command......Uhhh, what happened to this band? New ManOwaR called, they want their B-side back...

3. Bejelit - Don't Know What You Need...... traditional/power which is kind of all over the place, here...... This one is hard to listen to...

4. Bejelit - Triskelion.......ok, I always down for a Trek reference. If that's what it's about. I'll just choose to believe that. Cause dude is not...dude is not able to decipher at all. I enjoy this one more than the previous one but it still isn't glueing itself to my brain.

5. Crashdiet - Generation Wild....... Pretty good song here, very very meat-and-potatoes hard rock/metal in that Skid Row vein, but I feel like this is too 'safe' in that genre niche somehow.... but this was enjoyable.

6. The 69 Eyes - Tonight.........Woohoo, some gothic rock here in the classic tradition! Love the two step beat. Great song.

7. Andi Deris & The Bad Bankers- Don't Listen To The Radio..... It's the pumpkin-voiced man and a backing band I'm not familiar with. This one is don't-bore-us-get-us-to-the-chorus all the way...... and it's very hard to really get into Deris' vocals as always for me...ehhhhhh..

8. Pink Cream 69 - Wasted Years.......Very good stuff as PC69 always tends to be, although I haven't pulled the trigger on a buy yet.

9. Big Talk - Katzenjammer........sort of major key, .38 Special (radio singles) kind of feel....... well performed but kind of a genre exercise.... This one didn't do it for me...

10. The Killers - When You Were Young.....An energetic Arcade Fire. Little strange. Shout-rock which is going for a vintage feel in that way but I don't really like it then or now, so.......... not something I would stab my eardrums over, but not for me..

11. Throne Of Chaos - The Window..... Kinda mid paced power metal here, very Finnish... Unfortunately not too memorable, but the middle part with the vintage prog influence, oh yeah, awesome section there.

12. Abraxas - Explorers.....Straight prog-power that has a vague Conception feel to it. I feel like this band probably has better songs than this however.

13. Crows - The Frantic Factor......Some loose power metal, got an older vibe.....This is German melodic power, this is an alright song, but this doesn't put this band into that grouping that exudes why I love so many German bands..

14. Headstone Epitaph - Hole In The Sky......Radio-ready melodic heavy metal that does have some substance. A bit bland though, not reaching hard enough.

15. Dungeon - Resurrection...oooooohhhhHAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! Metal! This is like Paragon or Stormwarrior in that it is exactly what you think it is and it does it well. You like Accept, you like old Helloween, there you go. The resurrection stuff is now, beyond the states we have no hole! GUITAR SOLO! Weedly waaaah, weedily weedily weedily...

16. Circus Maximus - A Darkened Mind.... I hate this band because they have 'Circus' in the name, seriously. Also I hate their new logo. I dig the vocals on this. LaBrie without being, well, uh, LaBrie. There's a little bit of 'generic progpower' gunk in here but generally this might be an album to check out some more. Pretty cool.

17. Hibria - Nonconforming Minds.......This comes off as generic compared to their older stuff.

18. Hell - Darkhangel......Well.............................I'll just say I think I preferred the first record. I mean, yeah, evolve and stuff, but this doesn't even sound like the same band.

19. Ghost- Year Zero......I cracked up every time it said "Bee-el-ze-bub!"...the rest of the song is almost as goofy...this band..this band..I just can't, I'm sorry.

20. Roky Erickson - I Think Of Demons......Happy go lucky rock song about demons. What more to say?

21. Roky Erickson - Night Of The Vampire.....See previous song, add vampires. But this one sounds MADE for a soundtrack..

22. Thin Lizzy - Roisin Dubh (Black Rose).....Classic storytelling Lizzy, though I'm not much of a fan of this particular song...

23. The Church - Almost With You.... Very much new-wave, post-punk... I can REALLY like this if done right, but I don't feel like this song does.....

24. Shiny Toy Guns - Somewhere To Hide.......and this does it right, love it! Must investigate more. FANTASTIC.

25. The Mission - Sometimes The Brightest Light Comes From The Darkest Place....Oh yeah, The Mission! Hussey is sounding rough but it works. At this point he’s a dead ringer for Ville Laihiala, which is amazingly ironic. This is a good song, this seems more introverted than a lot of their stuff, which is cool. I’d like to hear the rest of the record. I'm taking a few points off for usage of the term 'silly sod', however. Sorry Wayne.

26. Dommin - The Quiet Man......New Danzig? Cool. Wait.. no, this is something else. Pretty good stuff though.

27. Polkadot Cadaver - Impure Thoughts.....Here's something I never bothered with because of the band name. This is a little bit like Dog Fashion Disco or similar. Not quite Mindless Self Indulgence. I'm neutral on this but it is interesting to hear as I was totally sure this was some kind of deathcore/dubstep mashup.

28. Deathstars - Death Dies Hard.....Electro-tinged gothic rock/modern metal.... I am either a sucker for this stuff or think it's some of the worst tripe there is - fortunately this is not the latter. Man, but where is that blazing solo before the last chorus? Playing it too safe. But this seems to be a cool band. Makes me think of later Beseech.

29. Life, Sex & Death - School's for Fools.......Something like a more modern Ramones is what this band seems to dish out. Pretty simple. I'm not amazed, but this is cool on that level. Would like to hear the music break out some more, like in that section with the feedback.

30. Wicked Maraya - Watching Over......Heard a few songs from this band before but they sort of stood still with nothing reaching out and getting me... get your Alice In Chains out of my Queensrÿche. (No offense to AiC)

31. Lizzy Borden - Abnormal.....Good Lizzy borderline speed metal song. Sounds new, yet old. They have better, but good song nonetheless, I hadn't heard this.

32. Heavens Gate - Surrender......What do we have here, some classic German metal....maybe like a more mid-paced Agent Steel? Not bad..

33. Iron Fire - Ten Years In Space.....Rule of metal, combining any two 'elemental' words e.g. ice, fire, witch (it counts), iron, storm, steel, earth, metal, and calling your band that is immediately effective. Too bad though that the music isn't always up to par..... try to find an actual riff, guys, if your guitar is going to be that loud.

34. Mob Rules - Soldiers Of Fortune......I'm split on this band. My favorite song is that cover song, 'How The Gypsy Was Born'. This is ok. I may check them out some more.

35. Tad Morose - Beneath A Veil Of Crying Souls......Ok, guitar tone is not at all a Tad Morose sound, but we'll go with it...oh, there's the vocalist....alright, he's good, he can handle this, but what is this dude singing? Have you tried to play this vocal melody on a piano? People would think you slumped over on the keys. Really upsetting this band has come to this..... I wouldn't be able to pick this out of any stack of current try-too-hard USPM.....sturm und drang, crash and burn.

36. Triosphere - Marionette.....Heard tons of stuff about this band. Is their name a 'Total Recall' reference? Some decent mid-paced power here, with some real power.... into the void!... I like the sound and style here generally... I'll look into them some more.

37. Cage - Flying Fortress..... Well, everyone's favorite Judas Priest tribute is doing Sabaton far better than Sabaton does on this song. Go Sean! Just a few more moments, then it's bombs away! What's up with the drum sound, though? Is that why it shows up as rap in iTunes? Oh well. Good stuff.



Thanks for taking the time to do this bruh! Citanul... you're next.

Phoenix Reign Drummer wrote:

2. Voyager- The Devil In Me
really liked this one. I'd like to hear more

Amazing band, yet another reminder why I detest 90% of my favorite genre - why others can't be that good?

Orion Crystal Ice wrote:

12. Abraxas - Explorers.....Straight prog-power that has a vague Conception feel to it. I feel like this band probably has better songs than this however.

Abraxas are very flat, in a good way, songs don't stick out much. Doubt it will blow your mind, but their sole album has plenty of nice little moments within.

You really think that Hell song doesn't sound like the same band? I can see it being a little different than the first album because the guy who wrote those songs died. The new album I think really continutes where they left off. They whole album is fantastic. The lyrics and music are all thought out really well, I think. A friend of mine was praising how good it was the other day he loves it too. If you like the first album you'll like the new one, you have to check out other songs.

Polkadot Cadaver is basically Dog Fashion Disco, its the same vocalist. He started this band when DFD broke up, but now DFD is coming back. I'm a big Mr. Bungle fan and since they aren't around anymore DFD and Polkadot Cadaver fill that void.

I don't think I've heard Mob Rules do that cover song I'll have to check into it. I probably just never realized it was a cover cause I have all their albums. Wargod got me into them when I did my first comp swap. He showed me the song Coast To Coast and there was another one but I forget but they are a great band. I like their older stuff better but they still put out some really good songs.

I thought you would have liked more. You were tough to figure out going through your RYM profile. Your all over the place hahaha!

BearOnUnicycle wrote:

Phoenix Reign Drummer wrote:

2. Voyager- The Devil In Me
really liked this one. I'd like to hear more

Amazing band, yet another reminder why I detest 90% of my favorite genre - why others can't be that good?

Orion Crystal Ice wrote:

12. Abraxas - Explorers.....Straight prog-power that has a vague Conception feel to it. I feel like this band probably has better songs than this however.

Abraxas are very flat, in a good way, songs don't stick out much. Doubt it will blow your mind, but their sole album has plenty of nice little moments within.

Yea I don't think the songs get better than the one I chose. They are all pretty similar to that style. Its the only album they ever put out. I think the album as a whole is pretty good.

Quote :

29. Life, Sex & Death - School's for Fools.......Something like a more modern Ramones is what this band seems to dish out. Pretty simple. I'm not amazed, but this is cool on that level. Would like to hear the music break out some more, like in that section with the feedback.

Here's the best LSD song IMO. It really makes you wonder whether the lead singer really was a homeless mental case as the band bio proclaimed but I think it's the catchiest thing on the album.

NSFW:

Here are the links to the comps I sent Wurthless if anyone else is interested:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5laeb5a5dubyngk/Comp%201.zip

https://www.dropbox.com/s/oiyvaz1eqxevhxu/Comp%202.zip

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ywxam0wxwh7t77q/Comp%203.zip

CITANUL TIME (CD 1)


1. Eden's Curse - Trinity..... We're off to a good start, some catchy heavy metal here, not entirely unlike Firewind...getting some Michael Sweet vibe from the vocals, some Threshold. Good stuff.

2. Poisonblack - Rush...... Well, this is Ville Laihiala's show all the way, which is to be expected...heavy gothic rock n' roll... I hesitate to call this metal, which is fine, but I do wish the guitars would do more, this guy must be so bored. I'd really dig some less formulaic Poisonblack I think.

3. Stiltskin - Inside...... This must have come out during that particular era of alternative rock in the early 90's. There is a lot worse than this that came out at that time though. I wouldn't put this on repeat, but I can deal with it.

4. Awake By Design - Silence Undone...... Some tried and true prog metal, but this band really needs to figure out where they're going with their songwriting...

5. The Awakening - The Sounds Of Silence...... The meter on this song is way too close to 'Mad World', and I hate that song, so I hate this too. The Leonard Cohen feeling here and there is cool but this also doesn't really go anywhere......

6. Furyon - Disappear Again.... Wouldn't it be cool if the band name was 'Furryon' and it was some kind of sci-fi themed band where all the members are furries? No? Ok..... Well, on here I'm definitely getting the alt-metal feeling. You know - Nixons, Candlebox, Alice In Chains, et al. Pretty good I must say, it achieves that without sounding completely unwashed.

7. Magnum - How Far Jerusalem.... Oh yeah, that classic hard AOR. Gotta check out some more Magnum. I remember I got this Christian band called Ezra and thinking how much like Magnum it sounded. This is only the third or so song I've heard but I'm in that mood now and need to go for more.

8. The Men They Couldn't Hang - Rain, Steam, And Speed...... Folksy new-wave, or folk-rock which is new-wavey? Very interesting in any case. Also I'd swear this is Ian Anderson on vocals from time to time. This is pretty cool - and typically, I don't care about anything related to any or all definitions of 'folk'. May investigate some more.

9. Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mine..... I was never big on this band, but then I'm not Aussie. A lot of their stuff is a bit laid back for me, weird for a band with such a cool name. It's got a good storytelling sentiment though. Who's gonna shave me?

10. Suade - Stay Together..... My man Citanul has been piling on the Brits with this comp. A little shoegazey alt-rock, this one. I don't dig it too much, but I do dig the genre so I appreciate it.

11. Pop Will Eat Itself - Everything's Cool.... Okay, one of the best band names ever, that's what I've always thought at least. I got some exposure to this band back when anything and everything on rock radio was similar to NIN and KMFDM. I know some of their stuff was more standard however. Not bad..

12. Demon - Night Of The Demon..... Instantly I know I'm getting some NWOBHM just by the band and song names. Hey, but that guitar tone is totally Joe Strummer. What?? But it rules. Great stuff here and one of those songs that you wonder how it didn't take over classic rock radio.

13. Winterfell - Threnody..... Let me just say there are way too many bands doing 'A Song of Ice and Fire' stuff. Ick. Anyway, sort of proggy prog metal here, I guess. It's not doing a lot for me though. In the immortal words of Jermaine Dupri, "Wat da hook gon' be??".

14. Steel Prophet - Ides of March...... I like a Steel Prophet song here and there, and then the rest tends to be directionless, like this..

15. Kiske/Somerville - Nothing Left To Say..... I was curious about this project, anddddddd.... it's underwhelming, vanilla, middle of the road. But then it's a Magnus Karlsson project...

16. Skyclad - Inequality Street...... unfortunately I don't like Skyclad much, haha..

17. Wisdom - Live Forevermore..... Heard some hype on this band, this is definitely the super standard power metal school of HammerFall, Nocturnal Rites, etc, maybe a little more bombastic. It's not totally selling me or standing out, however....good BUT...there are giants in this genre..try harder guys!


Part 2 coming.

I'd much rather listen to Wadada and Miles than that metal disc.  

Or new stuff from Slayer despite it being inferior to everything I put on that metal disc?

Orion Crystal Ice wrote:

CITANUL TIME (CD 1)


3. Stiltskin - Inside...... This must have come out during that particular era of alternative rock in the early 90's. There is a lot worse than this that came out at that time though. I wouldn't put this on repeat, but I can deal with it.

Is this the band that Ray Wilson was in before he sang with Genesis on Calling All Stations?

Orion Crystal Ice wrote:

Or new stuff from Slayer despite it being inferior to everything I put on that metal disc?

I get in the mood for Slayer about once a year at this point. As for inferior/superior that is 100% a matter of opinion so we just see it differently, which is cool.  

Phoenix Reign Drummer wrote:

9. Camel - Echoes
10. Camel - Lady Fantasy
This was a breath of fresh air after those last few songs. Old school Progressive rock. I've heard of these guys, but because of the name I never really bothered checking it out. I had a feeling this is what they would sound like. I'm not 100% excited about it, but I do like it and would
like to hear more. Good stuff.

I didn't discover Camel until a few years ago, but I just fell instantly in love with their sound. You really can't go wrong with any of their first 5 albums (Camel, Mirage, The Snow Goose, Moonmadness and Rain Dances) and there is plenty of other good material throughout their career. My only regret is that it took me this long to discover them.