Bach - Angel Down

Eyesore wrote:

blackieboy wrote:

scottmitchell74 wrote:

Quote :

I can tell you that without a doubt, the wait will be worthwhile. 'Angel Down' is the metal album of the year, if not the 21st Century so far.

That's high praise (and probably hyperbole) but if it's Slave To The Grind worthy then it'll be worth a chance. That album has held up so well over time. Just Metal......

Scott, did you hear the samps Eyesore posted from amazon? Bach's new album is like "Slave to the Grind" - if not better!!!

This won't touch Slave To The Grind. That album is a classic. This one sounds like it'll be really good, but it won't even compare.

Different strokes for different folks ... I'm liking what I'm hearing on these samps MORE than "Slave to the Grind". I'll have to hear the whole thing first before judging though.

http://spinner.aol.com/artists/new-releases-full-cds?defaultTab=3

Stream the whole album. Not a fan of the first song at all.

Eyesore wrote:

http://spinner.aol.com/artists/new-releases-full-cds?defaultTab=3

Stream the whole album. Not a fan of the first song at all.

Anyone else having problems with the stream?

Picked it up day of the release-- really good stuff.

Faves:

You Don't Understand
Back In the Saddle (Awesome cover, classic Axl)
Love Is A Bitchslap (Reminds me of Skid Row)
Stuck Inside (Cool modern sounding metal song)
By Your Side (Favorite song from the album, if the year was 1989, this would be a huge power ballad hit)
Falling Into You (Another good ballad, reminds me of Arcade's 'Cry No More' at some points)

The rest of it I can kinda give or take. There's definitely some heavy stuff here though. I was expecting more of a 80s melodic hard rock album, but there's some current heavy metal sounding stuff here. But that's not to say it's "nu metal", because it's not.

I recommend the album, and at this point, I give it a 7/10.

I ordered this from The End as a Black Friday special. It's out of stock, so I'll have to wait even longer to hear it.

Tall Tyrion wrote:

I ordered this from The End as a Black Friday special. It's out of stock, so I'll have to wait even longer to hear it.

I ordered mine from there last night,TT.Maybe I got the last one.Sorry

From what I've heard thus far, it almost sounds like Bach is using Halford's RESURRECTION as his template for ANGEL DOWN. Hell, he's got Halford's guitarist (Metal Mike Chlasciak), drummer (Bobby Jarzombek) and producer (Roy Z) on here. And the song "American Metalhead" coulda come right off of RESURRECTION. (although Halford probably woulda sang "British Metalhead," haha)

Sounds promising!

thrasher73 wrote:

Tall Tyrion wrote:

I ordered this from The End as a Black Friday special. It's out of stock, so I'll have to wait even longer to hear it.

I ordered mine from there last night,TT.Maybe I got the last one.Sorry

Why I oughta......

just purchased from Amazon. i look forward to hearing it.

Fat Freddy wrote:

From what I've heard thus far, it almost sounds like Bach is using Halford's RESURRECTION as his template for ANGEL DOWN. Hell, he's got Halford's guitarist (Metal Mike Chlasciak), drummer (Bobby Jarzombek) and producer (Roy Z) on here. And the song "American Metalhead" coulda come right off of RESURRECTION. (although Halford probably woulda sang "British Metalhead," haha)

Sounds promising!

Well, "American Metalhead" is a Painmuseum song that Metal Mike brought over (it's on their Metal For Life album), so it's definitely got a different vibe. Personally, I think they should have done an entire album like that song. Bach clearly has the chops for it. Sometimes I feel like some of these songs are trying too hard to sound old school. The problem is that you tell it's coming from a more modern kind of player that can't quite grasp the vibe of a true 80s rock/metal song. Yeah, it's Bach, but he tears it up on "American Metalhead," they should have just went down that road.

It's still a great album, though. Out of Bach's catalog, it's only outshine by the first two Skid Row albums, I think.

Eyesore wrote:

Well, "American Metalhead" is a Painmuseum song that Metal Mike brought over (it's on their Metal For Life album), so it's definitely got a different vibe.

Haha, oddly enough after posting that yesterday, I went home and I was looking thru an old ish of Metal Maniacs last night and found an article about Mike Chlasciak's Painmuseum. Lo and behold, it mentioned the song "American Metalhead," so I was like "D'oh!"

I am amazed at the quality of this album. I rank it slightly below Slave To The Grind and ahead of Skid Row S/T. This thing simply crushes. Heavy as hell and Baz sounds great. The Aerosmith cover is killer and I really like the Axl song Stuck Inside. Angel Down certainly makes any Johnny Sollinger Skid Row sound like total crap. Prediction - Skid Row reunion in 2 years.

Tall Tyrion wrote:

I ordered this from The End as a Black Friday special. It's out of stock, so I'll have to wait even longer to hear it.

Just got a shipping confirmation from the End on mine.Did you get one yet Nick?

Fat Freddy wrote:

From what I've heard thus far, it almost sounds like Bach is using Halford's RESURRECTION as his template for ANGEL DOWN. Hell, he's got Halford's guitarist (Metal Mike Chlasciak), drummer (Bobby Jarzombek) and producer (Roy Z) on here. And the song "American Metalhead" coulda come right off of RESURRECTION. (although Halford probably woulda sang "British Metalhead," haha)

Sounds promising!

That was my initial thought upon hearing this CD and I didn't even realize he had Halford's guitarist, drummer and producer. I haven't really found a Roy Z produced CD that I didn't like.

thrasher73 wrote:

Tall Tyrion wrote:

I ordered this from The End as a Black Friday special. It's out of stock, so I'll have to wait even longer to hear it.

Just got a shipping confirmation from the End on mine.Did you get one yet Nick?

Oops, missed this. Yep, I've had it for awhile. Stellar album!

I couldn't stand this album. If Bach would actually sing instead of just yelling the vox, it would be much better IMO. The only songs I like are the ones where he actually carries a tune.

tohostudios wrote:

I couldn't stand this album. If Bach would actually sing instead of just yelling the vox, it would be much better IMO. The only songs I like are the ones where he actually carries a tune.

My thoughts exactly! He's such a good singer....just SING! Screaming at me doesn't impress me.

tohostudios wrote:

I couldn't stand this album. If Bach would actually sing instead of just yelling the vox, it would be much better IMO. The only songs I like are the ones where he actually carries a tune.

I too think he's definately a better singer than screamer, but it doesn't bother me. For the most part, it fits the heaviness of the music. I'd say his intention was to put out a good metal album and he did just that. If you look at the progression of the Skid Row albums while he was in the band, they got heavier, perhaps to lose the "hair metal" tag they were inevitably stuck with anyway. Fans looking for "I Remember You" or "18 & Life" are gonna be disappointed. Same with any young Gilmore Girls fans that are looking for cutesy rock music to put on their blinged-out Hello Kitty iPods.

I never cared much for Bach's vocals on the ballads like I Remember
You. Nails on a chalkboard to my ears. Maybe that's why I like Angel
Down so much.

Slave to the Grind was great, it came out late enough to not be influenced by glam and early enough to not be influenced by grunge and alternative. The songs there have the perfect vibe. One of my favorite albums ever.

Will the Bach album come close to this? I doubt it.