In recent years I have tried to expand my horizons especially into the hardcore genre. With the latest release from Lionheart, entitled Love Don’t Live Here (LHHC Records), I remember why the generic hardcore band is just something I cannot buy into. Although this record is shy of the thirty minute mark, I found myself rolling my eyes after two tracks in. I completely understand that hardcore is meant to be self empowering, but these lyrics honestly had me laughing at how corny, juvenile they are.
While I did not really have any favorite tracks, I do have some thoughts on a couple tracks. First and foremost, ‘Keep Talkin’ (yes, they dropped that “g” at the end of talking) easily has the worst lyrics on the entire album. “I don’t give a fuck about none of y’all so fuck y’all… so suck my dick” really just sums up the entire album. Generic hardcore riffs, followed by lackluster breakdowns, with edgy lyrics written over the top, really only attracts one kind of music fan: the edgy teenager. ‘Still’ is another laughable track where the lyrics are basically the band praising, well themselves. ‘LHHC’ and ‘Lionheart’ are shouted throughout the song while other lyrics such as “we do it like this” are also incorporated before another poor breakdown.
To put this into perspective, I could only get through Love Don’t Live Here maybe two or three times entirely. Every other attempt ended with me jumping to something else because this album was just too much to try and listen to seriously. Just imagine twenty-seven minutes of shitty breakdowns, a vocalist that records his fabricated laugh in between each line, and even doing a mic check in the intro of a track, and you have the latest release from Lionheart. I hope this was the first and last Lionheart album I ever have to listen to.
Ever get that feeling that you should have done something much earlier than when you did? That is how I felt when I finally got around to listening to Rotting Christ for the first time via their latest, Rituals (Seasons of Mist). The Greek black metal outfit took me by surprise with this release as I ignorantly always expected a band with such a name to sound like your typical Norwegian black metal (read as: boring). In this instance, I enjoy accepting the mistake I made and cannot stop listening to this thunderous album.
Trying to pick my favorite tracks out of this album proved to be incredibly difficult as every last one carries its own personality and all are memorable. Alas, we start with the opener, ‘In Nomine Dei Nostri’, which literally sounds like a ritual. The opening has thunderous tom hits on the set while vocals are chanted over the top that sound like a call an answer between a shaman and his followers, hailing all of their deities. ‘Elithe Kyre’ may be the best song on all of Rituals. The chorus sections are absolutely flawless. The chord progression of the tremolo guitars on top of the thunderous drumming gives me goosebumps with every listen. The bridge into the solo is equally as awesome as we here some more tribal chanting/drumming before faces get melted by the solo. ‘For A Voice Like Thunder’ is probably the most black metal sounding song on the album (which also features Nick Holmes of Bloodbath/Paradise Lost fame on vocals). This track is just heavy enough at the perfect tempo that there is no need to toss in a zillion blast beats. The guitar leads are also incredibly catchy and I find I whistle them quite frequently.
Rotting Christ has easily earned a new fan with their release of Rituals. I will certainly make myself familiar with their previous work as well. As for this album, it is an absolute animal that is being released on our world that all fans of metal will witness their jaws hit the floor. At bare minimum, I can see this album being Album of the Month for February. As for end of year lists, it is going to be a competitive year, but I have no doubt in my mind that this monster of an album will still be hanging around.
Formed in 2010 in Stockholm, Swedish band Grievedfinally announce themselves with their first full length release, the eponymously titled Grieved (Prosthetic Records). The band already have an eight track 12” called ‘Samaritans’, a four track 7” called ‘Ageing’, and a shared EP with Hardcore/Punk band Runes (all on Anchors Aweigh Records) under their belts, but hopefully this release should be the one that gains them a much wider audience.
Ostensibly a Hardcore band, Grieved appear to have a more nihilistic attitude than most, showing little to no interest in expressing uplifting messages of empowerment and self belief, but wanting to create a colder, darker atmosphere in which to vent their anger. There’s little to no reliance on speed either, with most of the songs being slow to mid-paced affairs. On some (fairly brief) occasions the band even appear to have just as much in common with some Doom and Black Metal acts as they do Hardcore.
Opener ‘Opaque’ begins with dissonant distorted guitars before being joined by drums and a thick, rumbling bass. From then on, singer Marcus Lundqvist takes over as he roars and screams his bleak message over slow but effective chugging riffs. ‘Fogbound’ follows with a slightly more uptempo feel, but not for long as the song slows down to a crawl halfway through, the drums used to inject short bursts of urgency along the way.
‘June 22’ is a distant and cold sounding guitar instrumental which acts as a segue into the next track ‘Drain’, another slowish song with a simple riff and broken glass vocals. ‘Turn Cold’ is up next and follows a similar pattern, and is followed in turn by ‘Losing Touch’ which again does the same thing until halfway through when, after lulling you into a false sense of security, it suddenly wakes up, speeds up, lashes out and smashes you around the face with furious blastbeats.
‘Shattered’ is chunky and heavy and gets to the point in just over a minute and a half, and is followed by ‘Synesthesia’, a second, but quite different guitar instrumental. Penultimate track ‘Asunder’ starts slowly but gathers pace quickly and is over almost before you know it. Closer ‘Reverie’ begins with strummed open chords before gaining momentum and building purposefully towards a suitably dark and melancholic climax.
On first listen, you could be forgiven for thinking some of the songs sound rather samey or follow a similar format, and while that might be true to a point, further listens reveal that each track does actually have its own distinct texture and personality while interlocking perfectly with the others to make a superbly solid, cohesive sounding record.
Over the years, I have heard people mention that the earliest forms of heavy metal came from what is now known as classical music. With that in mind, Fleshgod Apocalypse have once again put together an album with equal elements of death metal and symphonic elements. King (Nuclear Blast) builds off of previous releases from the Italian metal outfit and certainly went for it all on this album. From the instrumental ‘March Royale’ to the closing piano outro of the title track, Fleshgod Apocalypse will have you head banging and then picking your jaw up off the ground.
King was a hard album to try and narrow down on favorites. I liked the tracks that were overly death metal, but also loved the overly symphonic songs with epic choruses. ‘Healing Through War’ is a great mix of both. The syncopation of all of the elements throughout the song give you that death metal feel but keep you grounded with the piano and over the top symphony orchestration. For the fans who love the slow, heavy tracks, ‘Cold As Perfection’ absolutely slays. The chugging guitars (and accompanying orchestration) over the consistent double bass attack will certainly get your neck cranking. ‘And The Vulture Beholds’ may be the best track on the whole album as it blends in more death metal elements with over the top orchestration which culminates to some of the most epic passages I have heard in quite awhile. Around the three minute mark is where most fans will collectively shit themselves if this song makes the cut for a live set.
All in all, King is a solid album that could see its way onto my Top 20 come year end depending on how the rest of this year pans out (yes it is still early, but believe the hype!) The downside of the album was the track ‘Paramour (Die Leidenshaft Bringt Leiden)’ based on its placement in the middle of the album. Perhaps it would have been suited at the tail end of the album in place of ‘King’. The song itself is actually quite enjoyable, but it just brings the flow of the album to a screeching halt for almost four minutes and then picks back up. Regardless, Fleshgod fans will certainly enjoy this record even if only for the improvement of the mix/production from the last album.
Modern thrash is a tricky genre to pinpoint. It could mean a band falls into the oft-maligned retro-thrash scene, or it could mean that they’re more akin to bands such as Lamb of God or The Haunted. Wisconsin’s Product of Hate falls somewhere in between those two. On their debut album Buried in Violence (Napalm Records), Product of Hate display a punishing blend of modern groove and classic thrash that is both awesome and frustrating. The opening track, ‘Kill. You. Now.’ begins with a flashy riff reminiscent of early Testament, which becomes a recurring treat that is sprinkled lightly throughout the album. The rest of the song follows the same kind of punishing groove/thrash that Exodusperfected during their Rob Dukes era. This can be said for nearly every song on Buried in Violence, really, save for the instrumental interlude ‘Vindicare,’ which displays a melodicism that is absent from the other ten tracks.
The sibling guitar duo of Gene and Cody Rathbone is Product of Hate’s most impressive and obvious strength. While they stick with relatively standard riffing for most of the album, the flashes of finesse and their excellent soloing prove that these are talented musicians. The clean and punchy audio mix, done by death metal legend James Murphy, adds a sharpness to the audio beatdown that Product of Hate inflicts upon its listeners. The most frustrating characteristic of this album lies mostly with the vocals, as they are the typical, generic “tough guy” vocals that are often found in groove metal and metalcore. The aforementioned Rob Dukes is a decent comparison, actually. Although, admittedly, Adam Gilley’s vocal range is much more varied than that of Dukes’, ranging from an effective death metal growl to an impressive thrash scream. One extreme or the other would give this album, and the band, much more of a singular identity. Instead, it’s difficult to differentiate the vocals here from any other metalcore vocalist. Another frustrating aspect is that a couple of songs, namely ‘Kill. You. Now’ and ‘Blood Coated Concrete’ lose steam near their end due to unnecessary deathcore-esque breakdowns. Going from thrash riff/guitar solo to brutal breakdown is quite jarring, and it immediately takes you out of the song.
Product of Hate’s tight musicianship and youthful exuberance proves that they should be a killer live act. While their debut lacks a bit in songwriting and originality, the band shows a ton of promise for the future.
For many years now, Megadeth has been a beast of two heads. The first, basically just a dripping, cavernous maw filled with razor sharp knives, was born in 1983 and would attack anything that moved with unnatural speed, venomous aggression, and of course, biting sarcasm. Then, a few albums down the road, a second head began to form alongside it’s bitter, hateful brother. Although still not the friendliest of things, this second head possessed a more laid back personality, preferring melody, patience and a more commercial approach to music.
Since the early nineties, these two distinctly different personalities have sat, occasionally uncomfortably, side by side on the same body, one continually attempting to become the dominant force over the other. When the original, Thrashier head gains control, we get albums like Endgame (Roadrunner), but when its more easygoing counterpart takes the helm, records like Cryptic Writings (Capitol) or the much maligned Risk (Capitol) are the results. Every now and again though, the two set aside their differences and actually co-operate, working together to try and achieve great things. Other times, it all goes horrifyingly wrong and things like Super Collider (Universal/Tradecraft) happen.
On new album, Dystopia (Universal/Tradecraft), the balance between the two is as good as it’s ever been. Just pretend Super Collider didn’t happen. Scrub it from your mind because the turnaround from 2013 to 2016 is unbelievable. While people have been happily writing Megadeth off as a spent force, frontman Dave Mustaine does what he always does with his back against the wall – digs in belligerently and refuses to go down without a fight.
In a situation like this, one of the best ways to make positive steps forward is to return to the past. And while it’s sometimes difficult to know whether a band is harking back to former glories so fans can identify quicker with new material, or whether it’s just because it’s an easy option from a band out of ideas, the answer lies in the shape of a ginger frontman. Dave Mustaine may be guilty of many things, but he doesn’t do easy.
So, when opening track ‘The Threat is Real’ begins with it’s atmospheric Arabic maqam introduction, one of the first things that leaps to mind is ‘Holy Wars… The Punishment Due’ from 1990’s Rust in Peace (Capitol). Although not as good as that seasoned classic, ‘The Threat is Real’ is still a great way to start an album. Snappy lyrics, a chunky central riff and some sharp soloing courtesy of new boy Kiko Loureiro help this song become easily the best album opener since ‘Sleepwalker’ from 2007’s United Abominations (Roadrunner), even if it does sneakily try and fit an ever so slightly reworked ‘Five Magics’ riff in at the end.
The slightly downbeat, but still quite pacy title track follows next. Melodic riffs and catchy verses only let down by a slightly unimaginative chorus. However, it’s a more than worthy title track, and one with definite shades of ‘Hangar 18’ as the second half of the song becomes an entirely instrumental affair.
The already released ‘Fatal Illusion’ rumbles into view next, it’s discordant intro followed by a fast, smoothly played bassline from the always reliable David Ellefson. Some quick incisive riffing follows along with the first real signs that drummer Chris Adler, borrowed from Virginia’s Lamb of God, is seriously beginning to put his own individual stamp on the album. From then on though, it becomes a bit of a hotch-potch of other songs, with riffs and vocal patterns being casually lifted from the likes of ‘Devil’s Island’, ‘Black Friday’, and ‘Five Magics’ (again). Luckily, this is the only time the reliance on older material is so blatant, and with ‘Fatal Illusion’ being the song used to introduce people to the album in the first place, it was possibly even written that way with that in mind.
The album stalls briefly with the mid-paced and pretty forgettable ‘Death From Within’, which although isn’t awful or anything, is just sort of there. ‘Bullet to the Brain’, a song which on the face of it appears to be about a man lured into having an affair, but knowing Mustaine probably has some sort of deeper hidden political meaning, starts with a brief acoustic intro before turning on the heavy and delivering one of the catchiest choruses on the album. The brooding ‘Post-American World’ follows next, warning of future political dangers while tweaking the main riff to ‘Sweating Bullets’ to suit its purpose.
Next up is ‘Poisonous Shadows’. Somewhat similar in tone to ‘A Tout Le Monde’ (albeit with different subject matter), its gentle, recurring backing vocals and quiet piano outro (played by Loureiro) give the song a distinct personality while Adler finally becomes the star of the show, his powerful drumming pushing the song forward with precise, interesting patterns.
‘Conquer or Die!’ is one of the better instrumentals in Megadeth’s arsenal. Beginning slowly, a uniquely Mustaine riff takes over, becoming heftier as the sound of bells toll ominously behind some fantastic solo work. Instrumentals have been known to sap the interest of some listeners, but any cobwebs which may have appeared during ‘Conquer or Die!’ are instantly blown away with the ferocious intensity of ‘Lying In State’. A bludgeoning riff kicks things off, Adler adds to the carnage and Mustaine spits out the words with sneering disdain as it builds towards a frantic and extremely satisfying conclusion.
After such an explosive climax to the previous song, ‘The Emperor’, with it’s uptempo punk meets Alice Cooper vibe, feels strangely out of place. Also, it’s “The Emperor has no clothes” chorus conjures up some very unwanted images of a naked Mustaine wandering around his bedroom in just a pair of socks. Forget the themes of war, deception, murder, and political subterfuge. That image alone is scarier than all of those put together.
A cover of ‘Foreign Policy’ by California’s Fear rounds things off. Nice and straightforward, Mustaine does a better job of evoking the spirit of punk in this than he did with ‘Anarchy in the UK’ back in 1988, even if it does feature a very un punk-like guitar solo. Truth be told, these last two tracks are good but fairly unnecessary additions. Just treat them like bonus tracks and convince yourself the album finishes with ‘Lying in State’.
Varied and entertaining, ‘Dystopia’ is Megadeth’s best album in years and everything that fans who recognise Mustaine’s youthful piss and vinegar has matured into something else could hope for. Super Collider, is but a distant memory so stick it back on the shelf to gather dust, grab this one instead and smile that blacktooth grin once more.
Serenity from Austria releases their fifth album Codex Atlanticus via Napalm Records on 29 January 2016. The opening of Codex Atlanticus sounds like a soundtrack for some epic heroic battle. There are lots of violins and ethereal vocalizing. As it moves forward you are swept up in the grandiose music and then it abruptly ends. I halfway expected our hero to come bursting forth, sword in hand to take on the bad guy. But no, then came some really nice piano music and the crushing sound of rock and roll which quickly led to electronica prog. A lot of stuff is happening and ‘Follow Me’ hasn’t even been on for a minute. The vocals kick in and I’m transported to the 90s and Japanese cartoons. I swear, Georg Neuhauser sounds like the go to singer for every awesome Japanese anime series. You want to sing along whilst striking a pose in a mirror.
Neuhauser’s vocals aren’t the only things that are inspiring. The sheer cacophony of composition on Codex Atlanticus is uplifting. From Andreas Schipflinger’s drumming to Jan Vacik on keyboards. Codex Atlanticus may at first sound cheesy, but let yourself go and get lost in the music. It makes you feel good! The lyrics are uplifting and powerful. The more you listen to this album, the better it becomes. For example, ‘Iniquity’ is a song that Iron Maiden wishes they wrote. It’s got great guitars, awesome soloing, epic auxiliary music, and meaningful lyrics without being boring and heavy handed. ‘Iniquity’ is definitely my favourite track on the album!
Codex Atlanticus is multilayered. The compositions are chalk full of twists and turns. ‘My Final Chapter’, for example, starts out with a pagan influenced flute and adds power ballad vocals. It’s an interesting mix. At 2:28 a strong 80s hair metal guitar solo crashes in and uplifts the song. Codex Atlanticus is full of such juxtapositions. Serenity’s Codex Atlanticus is a solid progressive orchestral saga soundtrack album.
Hailing from Finland, the country that gave us Nokia phones, Nightwish, and the actualhome of Santa Claus, comes psychedelic sextet Jess and the Ancient Ones. Formed in 2010 initially as a seven piece, the band released their self-titled début two years later and quickly found themselves lumped in with the burgeoning occult-themed rock movement; their second full length album Second Psychedelic Coming: The Aquarius Tapes (Svart) distancing them from such casual pigeon-holing, proving there’s more to JATAO than just occult imagery with a ’60s/’70s vibe.
Beginning with a drum intro that sounds like The Surfaris performing ‘Wipe Out’ at midnight while wearing black robes and cowls, opener ‘Samhain’ (remember to pronounce that as “Sow-in”, kiddies) is basically surf music for Satan. Adding excerpts from the “Witches’ Sabbath” episode of CBS’s Radio Mystery Theater, actor E.G. Marshall‘s monologue about convocations of sorcerers, old chronicles and orgies gives the song a real White Zombie feel before hitting you with an unnaturally bouncy riff and a chorus you won’t be able to get out of your head before the next autumn equinox.
‘The Flying Man’ slows things down a little and features some nice organ work and a simple chorus. ‘In Levitating Secret Dreams’ is a catchy little number with hand claps and more surf guitars, written about Swiss scientist Dr. Albert Hofmann. Not heard of him? Well, he’s the chap who synthesised LSD way back in 1938 and took the world’s first intentional acid trip five years later.
‘The Equinox Death Trip’ is driven by a pulsing bass line and a strong beat. Singer Jess‘s vocals ring clear above everything, backed by some nifty keyboard work and lots of wah pedal during the extended solos. No album like this would be complete without the recorded ramblings of Charles Manson, and the excellent ‘Wolves Inside My Head’ uses them to great effect, accompanying the trippy surf guitar riffs and “Oh, Charlie darling. What have you done?” refrain perfectly.
If you ever wanted a song where a band throws everything they have at a dartboard to see what sticks, then the ambitious 22 minute closer ‘Goodbye To Virgin Grounds Forever’ is for you. Luckily, far more sticks than falls out, and although clearly overlong, only really drags in a couple of places.
Although not as immediate as the début, The Second Coming has a lot more going on and may take a few listens to fully get to grips with. It can occasionally feel cluttered, or conversely, need a bit of a kick every now and again, but overall it’s a more than worthy follow-up that will have you reaching for the denim flares and incense sticks to make the experience even more authentic.
From Black Sabbath’s 1970 début to the present day, cover versions have always been part of the Metal furniture. They can appear as part of the album itself, tacked onto the end as bonus material, or in more recent times, even given a disc of their own to supplement Special Edition packages. In fact for some bands, covers almost come as standard. But to release an entire album of them? Well that could still be seen as a little unconventional.
It’s been done before, of course. Metallica even did it twice (well, once and a half), Slayer took a stab at it, Ozzy had a bash, and more recently Hatebreed threw their hat into the ring with surprisingly effective results. However, whereas those acts chose songs which came as no real shock to anyone, there are a couple of genuine surprises on Skeletons (Evilive/Nuclear Blast). Danzig does ZZ Top and Aerosmith? Really?
Yes, really. And what’s more, he does them well.
Kicking off with a rollicking version of the theme song to obscure 1967 biker flick ‘Devil’s Angels’ it’s pleasing to report that Danzig’s voice is still in fine fettle. The obscure movie theme, er… theme continues with the title song to 1969 movie ‘Satan’s Sadists’. A slow, bluesy number which allows Danzig to croon to his heart’s content, featuring lyrics he could easily have written himself.
Unsurprisingly, the album kicks off properly with the arrival of Elvis. Lifted once again from a movie soundtrack, ‘Let Yourself Go’ comes from the 1968 Presley movie ‘Speedway’, and this new version is an absolute thumper. As soon as it finishes, you want to go back to the start and listen to it all over again. And again. A satisfyingly heavy version of Black Sabbath‘s ‘N.I.B.’ follows. Not a patch on the original of course, and Tommy Victor’s pinch harmonics do start to become a little grating, but it’s a meaty enough version with Danzig’s stamp all over it.
Up until now, covering Black Sabbath, Elvis and low-budget biker movies should come as no real surprise. But Aerosmith? Taken from Get Your Wings (Columbia), ‘Lord of the Thighs’ sounds more like a Danzig original than an Aerosmith song by the time it ends. The Litter are next up for the Fonzig treatment. A psychedelic garage rock band from Minneapolis, their song ‘Action Woman’ from 1967 was their first hit, and once again not the most obvious choice of song to benefit from a Danzig overhaul. But yet again, the big muscular cuddly one comes up trumps.
It’s a case of so near, yet so far with ZZ Top‘s ‘Rough Boy’; an adventurous selection anyway, it so very nearly comes off thanks to Danzig’s voice (probably his best vocal performance on the record), but Tommy Victor’s constant pinch harmonics renders it irritating to the point of distraction. Even Zakk Wylde‘s ear piercing harmonics would have been easier on the ears than this. Also, the addition of a couple of needless “fucks” added to the lyrics distract you even further. Frustrating.
Danzig turns The Troggs classic ‘With A Girl Like You’ into a Misfits number with consummate ease, ‘Find Somebody’ by The Young Rascals gets a lively makeover, and the album closes with a suitably depressing version of The Everly Brothers‘ already melancholic ‘Crying in the Rain’.
Danzig’s voice is as strong (and divisive) as it always has been; a few minor wobbles and cracks here and there but nothing too bothersome. The production is nice and warm, and the album cover features a naked-from-the-chest-up porn star Kayden Kross in skullface make-up. Which is nice.
An interesting collection of songs, Skeletons should sit comfortably on the shelf alongside Danzig’s other releases, and surely without any of the ignominy of being referred to in the future as “oh yeah, that pointless covers album”. If you consider compilation album The Lost Tracks of Danzig (Evilive) to be worthy of inclusion in your record collection, then this should definitely be in there too.
It seems that being in one band just isn’t enough for some musicians these days. Especially within the European Power and Symphonic Metal scenes. Quite possibly two of the most (musically) incestuous genres of all, there seems to be an unwritten law that every band has to release an album featuring a bare minimum of one special guest, or contain at least two members who have performed, produced or written material for no fewer than three other bands. So it comes as no surprise to find that the first release from Phantasma, a collective effort from Charlotte Wessels(Delain), Georg Neuhauser (Serenity) and Oliver Philipps (Everon), contains performances from no less than six guest musicians. As enticing as that prospect may be to fans of the acts involved, it’s all too common for collaborations like this to end with mixed or disappointing results, and The Deviant Hearts (Napalm) is no exception.
Opening with a nice, but rather twee sounding duet from Wessels and Neuhauser, the piano played ‘Incomplete’ sounds like it would have been more at home at the end of the record rather than the beginning. Evergrey vocalist Tom Englund lends his voice to the powerful title track, and things continue in good form with ‘Runaway Gray’. Easily the best track on the album, it features a superb performance by Wessels, with more than a hint of James Bond theme song about the verses, and even a touch of Rush during the middle section.
Things take a hefty downward turn, however, with ‘Try’. A horribly overwrought ballad featuring Trans-Siberian Orchestra singer Chloe Lowery, who although clearly capable of belting out high notes with ease, seems unable to sing softly without her voice cracking on almost every line. ‘Enter Dreamscape’ is a substantial improvement on the previous track, but it’s still just standard fare which sounds like it could have been written for any band within the genre.
‘Miserable Me’ begins by slowing down and reworking the tune to ‘Money, Money, Money’ by Abba before plodding off to nowhere interesting. Duet ‘The Lotus and the Willow’ is an attempt at recreating the Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue classic ‘Where The Wild Roses Grow’ but falls miles short of the mark. An insipid and forgettable tune, the song only lifts off momentarily during its Top Gun-esque guitar solo. ‘Crimson Course’ is another nondescript song that sounds like it could have been written for anyone, and the only memorable thing about ‘Carry Me Home’ is the return of that Top Gun style guitar solo.
By now, everything has started to sound like music from movies and other bands, and ‘The Sound of Fear’ does nothing to change that by appearing to be several old songs at once. The upbeat ‘Novaturient’ rescues things a little until it tries to be Meat Loaf, and ‘Let It Die’ closes proceedings as best it can, but it’s essentially just another song with nothing more to offer than a reasonably strong chorus.
At its best, The Deviant Hearts is a good, listenable album with two or three memorable songs, a handful of strong choruses, and some excellent vocal performances by Wessels and Neuhauser. But for the most part, it’s just a collection of songs not strong enough to make it onto the albums of any of the bands involved.
