Trollheart

Album title: Nut
Artist: K.T. Tunstall
Genre: Pop Rock
Nationality: Scottish
Familiarity (artist): Zero
Familiarity (genre): A lot; if you include the likes of Bon Jovi, a-ha and suchlike bands

A word before I jump in: Almost mixed her up with K.D. Lang! Woops! No more to say. Let’s see what she has to say.

Tracks

“Out of Touch”
Good rocking beat to get things started, and I get a sense of Blondie from this. Also Texas to some degree. Good voice.
Rating: 8

“I am the Pilot”
Like the slow intro on soft synth and acoustic piano, then it turns into a bit of a bopper, which is sort of disappointing, as I was expecting better. Not bad though. Just not great.
Rating: 6

“Three”
Sort of a hollow slow drumbeat here, and it’s almost acoustic as a track. Don’t to be honest think a lot of this, and it’s not sixty seconds old. Meh.
Rating: 5

“Dear Shadow”
Very dancey, kind of a sub-Madonna feel to it, but nowhere near as good. Catchy, with what seems to be a good hook already. Not bad.
Rating: 7

“Private Eyes”
Yeah I don’t like this much at all. Sort of a breezy rhythm to it, maybe a Katy Perry or Lily Allen feel, not that I’d know. Meh. Not for me.
Rating: 5

“Canyons”
Better, with a good snarling guitar and a rock base to build the song on. Possibly the best on the album so far, though that’s really not saying an awful lot.
Rating: 9

“Synapse”
That hollow drumbeat again, faster this time with some sort of sample which I find very annoying. The song itself ain’t too bad, but that repeated sample is getting on my tits. The bridge is good, to be fair.
Rating: 7

“Demigod”
Vibraphone or marimbas or something which gives this, for me, a sort of Peter Gabriel feel, and yeah to be fair it’s not too bad a song. Mind you, since it’s about a woman it should be she’s a demigoddess, but however.
Rating: 7


“All the Time”
Like the breezy acoustic intro, reminds me of Carole King or something. Very indie rock and the kind of thing you might expect to hear an unknown singing in a cafe while everyone ignores her. Cute.
Rating: 8

“Brain in a Jar”
A song about death it seems, so quite effective with the dark piano and stuttering synth. A pity her other stuff isn’t like this. Country style, powerful song for a closer.
Rating: 10

Average Track Rating: 7.2

Comments: A few good tracks, one really good one, but it would be hard to convince myself to buy this album. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just there is very little there to attract me, and maybe it’s this genre that she sings in, but I’m just not that bothered. If you’re a fan of hers, of course, I’m sure you’ll buy it, but it’s not really for me.

Album Rating: 6E


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVxf...zcA-9Np_VCJ17p

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Trollheart

Album title: Get Over it
Artist: Hartmann
Genre: AOR/Melodic Rock
Nationality: German
Familiarity (artist): Zero
Familiarity (genre): 10 (Once I explain once my level of familiarity with a genre I will, rather than keep repeating myself or referring you back to the first time, indicate by a simple score of 1 - 10)

A word before I jump in: For some reason I had not expected this to be AOR or anything like it, so hopefully this will be a win for me. I don’t know this band though, so who knows what way it may go? I’m reasonably confident though.

Tracks

“Remedy”
A rocking start, though the production sounds to me a little weak. Like the vocals seem to be off in the mix. Good song though, at least in the sample.
Rating: 8

“One Step Behind”
Yeah there it is again. The vocal just isn’t quite right. Maybe he’s just not a good singer. His voice doesn’t seem strong enough at times. Hmm.
Rating: 7

“In Another Life”
This could be the first ballad, certainly starts out low-key enough, and for once his vocal is good on this one. Was that pedal steel? Maybe. First song that has really impressed me so far.
Rating: 9

“What You Give is What You Get”
Immortalised by The Jam in the song “Start”, it’s another guitar-led hard rocker, on which the vocalist sort of reminds me of Jorn Lande maybe. I have to say I’m not terribly impressed at this point. It’s pretty generic.
Rating: 7

“The Movie’s End”
Get a sort of western movie feel from this, with a sharp guitar and kind of echoing atmosphere. The vocal is back annoying me though.
Rating: 6

“Just Drive”
The Knopfler-style guitar intro is nice here, and the song sounds like it might develop into something decent.
Rating: 8

“The Gun”
A good striding rocker which has a lot of swagger about it.
Rating: 8

“Can’t Keep Away From You”
Acoustic ballad, which to be fair really highlights the better aspects of his voice. I wonder if it is after all the production? With nothing to mix here other than the guitar and some percussion he sounds much better. Like this one a lot.
Rating: 9

“Get Over it”
The snarling guitar start to this is good, kind of an ominous feel to it, though they’re kind of ripping BOC off there with the main riff.
Rating: 8

“Stay True to Me”
Another acoustic ballad with some nice synthy strings and an interesting line in percussion. I like this one.
Rating: 8

“When We Were the Young”
This is acoustic too, though almost more in a cowboy style, and I think it could shape up to be a fairly decent closer.
Rating: 8

Average Track Rating: 7.8

Comments: I won’t be so cruel as to say the AOR mentioned here stands for Absolutely Ordinary Rock - in fact, I doubt I’d call this AOR. It’s just kind of standard rock, maybe even pop/rock? Meh, that’s going a little far. Hard rock? Possibly. But whatever genre it belongs in, there are far better examples out there, and I doubt I’ll be adding this to my collection any time soon.

Album Rating: 6B


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhPm8asIIMM

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Trollheart

Album title: Army of Dreamers
Artist: Allen/Olzon
Genre: Symphonic Metal
Nationality: American/Swedish
Familiarity (artist): I have their previous album
Familiarity (genre): Very familiar; I have a lot of albums by the likes of Edenbridge, Within Temptation, Epica and Nightwish, among others.

A word before I jump in: Allen/Olzon is basically a side-project/collaboration between Anette Olzon, vocalist with Nightwish and Russel Allen, singer with Symphony X and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. They also rope in the talents of Primal Fear’s Magnus Karlsson on guitars, bass and keyboards. So on the face of it, quite the supergroup. This is their second release, as shown above, and promises to be a killer album. Maybe.

Tracks

“Army of Dreamers”
You might expect a big Nightwish style orchestral opening. You would not be disappointed. Trumpeting keys over choral vocals and thundering drums leads into a hard rocker and you can hear how the two vocalists merge well.
Rating: 8

“So Quiet Here”
Olzon takes the lead vocal and again we have the orchestral backing, then the vocal switches to Allen. Nice.
Rating: 8

“Out of Nowhere”
Strong piano opening before the guitars pound in and then the strings section rises before Allen takes the vocal, the tempo pretty high.
Rating: 8

“A Million Skies”
Another dramatic orchestral thing, which I have to admit gets so overused in symphonic metal it’s become very boring and predictable. I know, it’s in the name of the genre, but it’s something like power metal: you kind of know what to expect. Good vocal performances from both on a mid-paced rocker.
Rating: 8

“Carved into Stone”
Cutting a bit back on the orchestra here with some fine guitar work, and Allen chanellling his inner Dio. Pretty cool.
Rating: 8

“All Alone”
The first ballad, I imagine, starting as it does with gentle piano and wind sounds, though to be honest it then punches up a bit, so you know, maybe not.
Rating: 8

“Look at Me”
Really kicking out the traces here with a total metal rocker, Olzon taking the first vocal anyway then Allen comes in after her.
Rating: 8

“Until it’s Over”
Another piano intro, so is this the ballad? Never easy to be sure with symphonic metal. Again it’s kind of rising in tempo so I’d say probably no.
Rating: 8

“I Am Gone”
Nice opening vocal from Olzon with dramatic powerful orchestral hits and grinding guitar.
Rating: 8

“Are We Really Strangers”
A powerful guitar passage to start this one off, and it rocks along nicely.
Rating: 8

“Never Too Late”
And one more piano track, possibly the ballad, with it being the closer. Strong choral and orchestral lines here, almost film score territory. But no, I think it’s gone up a gear again.
Rating: 8

Average Track Rating: 8

Comments: It’s not that it’s a bad album by any means, it’s just, what do you get on this album that you don’t on a Nightwish or Symphony X one? It’s more or less the same, and this is the trouble with symphonic metal. Whereas you can kind of laugh at/with power metal, and though sometimes they take themselves seriously they don’t always, symphonic always seems to be deadly earnest, up itself and not a smile to be had. It’s a little boring and a little annoying, and I feel there’s quite a bit of both in this.

Album Rating: 7B


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMifUtcBLBs

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Trollheart

Album title: Sunrise on Slaughter Beach
Artist: Clutch
Genre: Hard Rock/Heavy Metal
Nationality: American
Familiarity (artist): I think I’ve heard one album
Familiarity (genre): Well this is my jam, as they say: one of my favourite genres

A word before I jump in: From what I can recall, I listened to one album - think it was 2013’s Earth Rocker - at a recommendation from Plankton. I don’t remember hating it, but I definitely don’t recall loving it either.

Tracks

“Red Alert”
Comes in slowly and fades in on a kind of psychedelic beat then kicks up into a metal storm. Bit raw I think. Can’t say I like this right off.
Rating: 5

“Sunrise on Slaughter Beach”
A more immediate start, powerful and anthemic, with a stomping beat made for the live stage. Sort of like a far heavier Zep maybe.
Rating: 6

“Mountain of Bone”
Get a kind of low boogie feel from this, muted drumming and a growling guitar. Bit of a tribal idea too.
Rating: 6

“Nosferatu Madre”
Another hard rocker with a kind of punching the air feel, again I imagine will go down very well live.
Rating: 6

“Mercy Brown”
Sort of a cross between Black Sabbath and Nick Cave. Yeah.
Rating: 5

“We Strive for Excellence”
More of a Sabbath feel to this with a hard, attacking guitar and a growly vocal. Meh.
Rating: 5

“Skeletons on Mars”
A sort of trundling, rolling beat to this, but basically it’s sounding a lot the same as this goes on.
Rating: 5

“Three Golden Horns”
Is that organ or digital piano or something? Finally, a track that’s a little diff - oh no, my mistake. Back to the hard rockin' blues stride metal yadda yadda yadda.
Rating: 6

“Jackhammer Our Names”
Slow, hollow, kind of doomy drumbeat with a rising guitar line and this seems a least to be different. Slow and menacing and again I hear the ghost of Cave here, very much so.
Rating: 6

Average Track Rating: 5.5

Comments: Under the usual disclaimer that yes, I have only heard sixty seconds of each track here (clue's in the thread name, people) I know a lot of you swear by them but I just don’t get it. This is very generic rock to me, nothing new, nothing different, something a hundred bands could do and indeed probably do. Pass.

Album Rating: 5C

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5Xg_hQVFL8

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Trollheart

Album title: Shake the Roots
Artist: Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown
Genre: Rock
Nationality: American
Familiarity (artist): Zero
Familiarity (genre):

A word before I jump in: The album cover made me think this would be like some sort of hippy revival/sixties thing or maybe world music or something. I can’t really get anything genre-wise other than rock, but Wiki tells me they have supported AC/DC, ZZ Top, Aerosmith and Guns n ’Roses, so they must have some sort of heaviness to them.

Tracks

“Bare Bones”
Definite sense of country/bluegrass in this one anyway, with some righteous shots of gospel too. Cool.
Rating: 8

“Ain’t None Watered Down”
Good chunky guitar in an Earle style country rocker.
Rating: 7

“Ghost Rider”
First one that’s really come closer to hard rock than country; sharp guitar and driving drums edging it a little towards post-hardcore territory, he says, as if he knows what he’s talking about.
Rating: 8

“Roots”
Hard rocker with a real edge and a reference to Nashville and Elvis. Decent.
Rating: 7

“Hard Learned”
More laid back with some sweet slide, kind of reminds me of Blackfoot for some reason. Also Chris Rea on Dancing Down the Stony Road. Shut up.
Rating: 8

“Shackles”
Growling guitar attack in a kind of staggered pattern, stop/start vocal, think it’s a song about an outlaw on the run.
Rating: 7

“Off the Rails”
Ramping back up the tempo with a ride at top speed, chugging along like the locomotive mentioned or alluded to in the title.
Rating: 7

“Good Thing”
Breezy little tune, kind of lightweight and not that much to say about what I heard of it. Meh.
Rating: 5

“Sell Yourself”
All right, first time I read this I thought it said “Soil Yourself.” Yeah. Anyway it’s a powerful upfront rocker with guitar right in your face. It’s all right I guess.
Rating: 6

“Tennessee”
Who doesn’t expect this to have a country flavour? Of course it does. The false start is mildly amusing, the pedal steel is sweet and to be honest if they stuck to this kind of thing I think I would like them better. A real drinkin’ song. Yee-hah, as they say.
Rating: 8

“Sunday No Show”
But it’s back to the rockin’, and to be fair this is one of the better ones, with that guitar walkin’ right up to you and askin’ what the **** you lookin’ at boy? Bit of an attempt at a rap, which kind of works more than it doesn’t. Good chorus.
Rating: 8

“Midnight Oil”
I feel this is a weak one to end on. It’s not bad, but it hasn’t got the energy of the last track or a few of the others.
Rating: 6

Average Track Rating: 7.08

Comments: Yeah, not a lot to say really. This band come across as being unable to decide whether they want to be a rock or a country band, and fall in between two stools as it were. I think they should probably have gone for the latter choice, cause when they cowboy up they’re really good at it. They rock well too, but it’s just better when they’re country boys.

Album Rating: 7E


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy-yK0m_CKM

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Trollheart

Album title: Closure/Continuation
Artist: Porcupine Tree
Genre: Progressive Rock
Nationality: English
Familiarity (artist): I’ve heard a lot of their material, though I think only one actual album (Fear of a Blank Planet)
Familiarity (genre): Oh this is where I shine! Prog rock? Bring it on!

A word before I jump in: Despite the above, I have a sort of uneasy relationship with Porcupine Tree. When they’re good they’re very good but when they’re bad I find them boring and repetitive, and to be honest my experience of them is weighted on the side of the latter. I can’t point to too many tracks I really like, but I can single out a lot I don’t. This is a double album so could be a mixed blessing. We’ll see. Note: the last seven tracks are just instrumental versions of the ones on disc one, so I won’t be bothering with those.

Tracks

“Harridan”
Bassy opening in a kind of rocky not very prog way, lot of percussion and I’m not fond of Wilson’s vocal here. Bad start.
Rating: 4

“Of the New Day”
Much better. An acoustic ballad, with a far better vocal. Very clear, and the music is better defined and more cohesive.
Rating: 9

“Rats Return”
Fades in slowly with maybe synth or feedback guitar, then bursts into a big Spock’s Beard style staccato rhythm mostly on guitar. Not overfond of this one either.
Rating: 4

“Dignity”
Another very slow fade in, this time on organ and synth with a sort of choral vocal thing very low in the background. Quite nice. Turns into a kind of Seasons End era Marillion thing.
Rating: 8

“Hard Culling”
Another bass driven thing which does very little for me really.
Rating: 5


“Walk the Plank”
More Marillion style in a sort of spooky, atmospheric deal with a kind of phased vocal; reminds me of “Interior Lulu” from Marillion.com
Rating: 7

“Chimera’s Wreck”
Comes in on sort of acoustic guitar, might be a ballad. Quite relaxing and laid back. Puts me in mind a little of Pendragon.
Rating: 8

“Population 3”
Shimmery sort of start gives way to a big guitar punch, quite reminiscent again of Pendragon, especially on “For When the Zombies Come” from Men Who Climb Mountains.
Rating: 6

“Never Have”
Lovely little piano line running this in, seems to be another ballad. Often where Porcupine Tree shine, I feel, is on the slower songs.
Rating: 8

“Love in the Past Tense”
Again the Marillion comparisons come. This sounds very much to me like “Made Again” from their Brave album. It kicks up then after the breezy guitar intro.
Rating: 7


Average Track Rating: 6.6

Comments: This album then is a pretty accurate illustration of the dichotomy that exists for me with this band. Some of these tracks (admittedly, only samples of same of course) sound like songs I would like to hear more of, some definitely do not. There are perhaps enough good ones to justify buying the album, but I have to say that filling it up with seven instrumental versions of the songs that make up the first disc seems a little cynical to me. I can’t see myself being interested enough to buy this.

Album Rating: 6B


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LvS...fmpjjHpcwxgS2X

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018