ladyislingering

Dude, that's cool. I'm listening to "Into the Gap" this morning.

Here's another one that Ki should hear:

"You Take Me Up"



And a 12" mix of "Hold Me Now" because 12" mixes are cool. 10 minutes of Thompson Twins? Hell yeah! (I just wish I could find an extended mix of "We Are Detective"! Classic.)

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Key

With the year coming close to it's final months, bands and solo artists are still finding ways to get their new material out before the year ends. Here's a few more that I am eager to listen to:

Paul McCartney - New

Yes, the album is titled "New", and for someone as legendary as Sir Paul McCartney, I see no problem with such a cliche album title. The album is actually said to be released on the 14th, so upon finding out about it (yesterday), I went to look and see when it's said to be released, and was very excited about the short wait. I, unfortunately don't listen to Paul McCartney as I should, but I do know he's still going strong and that I really should get onto listening to his music. Hearing the single "New" has already gotten me excited, and am very eager to get my sweaty palms on the new album. It's going to be good.

AFI - Burials

AFI is a band that I have not listened to in years, and not for the reason that I think they're bad, I just never got interested in them again since Decemberunderground. Perhaps this new album will relinquish that feeling and I'll come to be a fan again. I'm really looking forward to this album though mostly because I just want to hear if it's any different than what I heard from them a few years back.

Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP 2

This is one of those albums that I hope makes my top list of 2013, because I am always ready to hear new material from Eminem. I remember really enjoying Recovery, and I remember how much I hated Relapse, but hey...it's understandable. I haven't listened to any of the singles released from this album because I really don't want to have the album feel stale once I get it. I want it to feel complete and new. Looking forward to this one.

Key

Trivium - Vengeance Falls



After absolutely loving In Waves, I was pretty dead set on the fact that Trivium may not release that great of an album again, and than they release Vengeance Falls. I'm not really a huge fan of the album title, it sounds very cliche, but others have said the opposite, so it may just be me.

This is one of the albums I was looking forward to this year, and I am very happy it has delivered as good as it has. When I heard it'd be produced by David Draiman, I was a little skeptical since I didn't want this album to sound like a Disturbed knock off, but it doesn't really have that feel to it. It's definitely got the heavy factor that I have come to expect from this band, perhaps more than I was expecting. Guitar solos are definitely top notch, and Matt Heafy has always been pretty good lyrically. It's not even close to the atrocious lyrics of Temper Temper (Bullet for my Valentine).

I really enjoy listening to a Trivium album over and over again, because I feel like the replay value allows to hear different things each time, and I find myself being surprised by new things each time. For example, when I first heard Shogun, I didn't find a lot of enjoyment out of it, but I got around to listening to it again a few weeks ago, and it blew my socks off. I wasn't even sure what it was that I didn't like about it, but it became irrelevant. Same thing with The Crusade.

I already have a lot of favorite tracks off Vengeance Falls, but the one that sticks out the most is probably Strife. It starts off beautifully, and keeps the shock value of heavy above anything else throughout the entire song. And again, the lyrics are pretty top notch. As mentioned before, this album definitely does a good job at that, I don't find the lyrics corny in any way.

In terms of where this album lays on the scale of favorite albums by them, it probably still sits under In Waves (being number 1) only because In Waves surprised me in so many ways, one being the fact that it is such a long album, and each song has it's own individuality that makes it such an enjoyable album. This one has that same effect, but it stills feels very new, perhaps the placement of this album will change over time, but I have definitely enjoyed listening to this album, and waiting the whole year has been more than worth it. Very happy with this, and can't wait to get myself a copy.

Key

Axxis - Owner of a Lonely Heart


No! No No No No! You do not cover a classic Yes song, and you do not cover in such a way that makes me want to release my breakfast through the process of throwing up. This is awful, and I listen to a lot of things that are deamed as bad, but to take such a song and twist it into a power metal version of suck is just uncalled for, especially when the vocalist can't sing a proper chord to save his life.

Owner of a Lonely Heart was the first song I heard by Yes, and i'm sure that's not really out of this world since I think it was for many, and it's one of the easiest accessible song they have i'm sure. However, being that it is very easily accessible and one of the simpler songs Yes has released, that doesn't give other bands the right to cover it. The album this cover comes from was released in 2012, so I imagine their thought process was..."hey, if we cover a popular song, maybe we'll be popular on Youtube and people will hear about us". Well...listening to that cover makes me want to stab my ears and apologize to them for having to be witness to such terrible sound, so yes, it may give you a few minutes of fame, but at the same time, you'll become irrelevant as soon as you try to get people to start listening to your so called original work.

The original should stay the original, and any covers should never be made or deemed as "better", because this song is a classic. JUST because it's a classic, doesn't mean you have the right to cover it.

Trollheart

I would agree that making a progressive rock song into a power metal one is not the greatest idea, and he does an okay but not great job with it. However I would certainly have to take issue with your contention that they did this for attention. Axxis are a huge band --- I have all their albums --- and certainly very well known in the genre. They don't need YouTube postings for "fifteen minutes of fame". I would say (though of course I dont know) they just heard the song, liked it and wanted to cover it. I dont' really see anything wrong with that. It's generally in the same basic genre. What I have a problem with is someone taking a song from one genre and covering it toally outside that, like maybe taking a reggae song and playing it in disco, or a metal song and making a pop tune out of it. "Don't fear the reaper" springs to mind.

But I don't have a massive problem with this. Again --- and I'm not saying you stole my idea, it was probably an unoriginal one anyway --- I do this section in my journal, called "Run for cover", where I look at unusual cover versions. Admittedly, not all are classics, but I would not agree that classics should be exempt from being covered, provided the cover is good and done in respect. What I would have a problem with is someone totally ruining a classic --- like maybe sampling "Stairway to Heaven" or using "Free bird" in a -- oh, wait! --- or using it simply as a way of, as you contend above, getting attention and/or fame. Axxis are not doing this: they have been around since the late eighties, and have sold millions of albums. The one you mention here is a whole album of covers, and I would assume songs that mean something to them, so the idea of using it to get themselves known is completely wrong.

I also have an issue with your assessment of Bernhard Weiß's singing. He's not the best metal vocalist by any means but he's not the worst. He's certainly no Jon Anderson, and really I would agree that his voice does not suit that song. But he's definitely able to sing. Also, can you sing chords? I don't think so: notes yes, chords no. So far as I know.

Here's one of Axxis's better songs in my opinion, just so you can see how he can sing. They have piles of original work; not sure what issue you have with that? Of choice I would have said no, not this song, though think yourself lucky: on the album I see they do Phil Collins, The Polcie and even Celine Dion!!! But the choice to cover a classic doesn't invalidate them as a band, and they have plenty of great albums to stand to them. Maybe you should give them an unbiased listen?

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Key

I honestly didn't know you did a section for covers It's just a coincidence. And to be fair, my opinion about the covers are not to be taken seriously since the whole point is to be overly pissed off, perhaps I went about it wrong.

Trollheart

Like I said, I wasnt suggesting you were. GMTA and all that.
It jsut so happens I'm a minor fan of Axxis, and it just rubbed me up a little the wrong way that you thought they recorded OOALH for that reason, when they're already well known.

Like they say, it's all good...

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Key

^Thanks! I'll make sure to put some on if I remember.

Anyway, I stumbled upon something pretty cool earlier today on pg.lost's Facebook page:

pg.lost / Wang Wen - Split LP



There's seriously nothing better than what I found with this album. For one, it's a collab with one of my all time favorite bands, and it's also a new album with some new material, even if it is two songs. It's also going to be an opportunity to give Wang Wen a listen since i've never heard of them before, but if they are collaborating with someone as awesome as pg.lost, they must be pretty damn good, or so I hope.

The two songs pg.lost did on this album are titled Desperdicio (part 1) and Desperdicio (part 2), and i'm glad they have this at the start of the album instead of at the end. I enjoy the whole thing and have given it a listen a few times already, but pg.lost really gets me in that mood that I find necessary to just lay back and listen to the entire thing, it also opens up the opportunity for me to hope that they come out with some new material under their name only in the near future. They did say they are planning to write some new material so that also adds to the hopefulness that they may be bringing out some new music. Either way, this is a pretty cool LP and will probably look into getting a physical copy as well as keeping an eye on any news relating to new pg.lost material.

That's all for now.

Key

This song has been stuck in my head all morning, and I like it. It's catchy and the lyrics are pretty decent.

Key

Don McLean - American Pie



This album. This freaking album. I remember hearing American Pie on the radio constantly when I used to drive home with my dad in his Toyota pickup. Years later I found a vinyl copy at a record shop in California, but I had no idea it was a full length album, I thought it was just a single. Upon listening to it, the familiar "American Pie" song came on and was filled with happiness, but then the rest of the album went on, and I was completely blown away. I remember saying "wow, what a freaking great album!", because it really is. I never really knew how much I loved Don McLean's voice until I heard "Winterwood", along with many others. The reason I feel so strongly for this album is mostly due to the fact that it has a lot of memories tied to it completely by coincidence, and the fact that it's a great album overall just makes it that much better.