This is what I did before I started reviewing for real. I would just write short, quick reviews of albums I bought. So, I'll do the same here, but only do albums that will likely not be reviewed on the main site, they may be metal or not, so don't get pissed if I review something considered mainstream or "non-cool."
PRONG - SCORPIO RISING (Quasi-Industrial Metal)
I just picked this up the other day in the used bin. I've heard bad things about it over the years so I never put it on my priority list, just the other day Aaron said it sucked, but it was cheap and well worth the money paid. It starts off strong, but kind of dips after track three, "Embrace The Depth." After that it's a mixed bag, sounds like a band struggling to figure out Prong's style, to be honest. It's not a complete snoozer, but nothing amazing, just mediocre with some good tunes mixed in. Hopefully their upcoming album will be much better, the demos suggest so.
Rating: 60/100
Website: http://www.prongmusic.com
Downloads: http://www.myspace.com/prong (Two New Demos Available)
FRANK HANNON - GUITARZ FROM MARZ (Southern-Flavored Hard Rock)
For those who're rock fans, this is Frank Hannon of Tesla's first full-length solo album, he released an EP on New Year's Eve last year. After Tesla broke up a few years back he started a southern rock band called Moon Dog Mane, it was very Lynyrd Skynyrd-ish. This CD has some of those elements, but there's a lot more hard rock involved. It's an excellent CD with a couple of misses, especially the ridiculous "Funk It Up!," which is like this half-retarded disco funk jam with somebody doing this terrible quasi-rap/talk thing. It's flat out terrible. The rest of the CD is pretty good, with some really standout tracks like "Eye Of The Mind," "Diamonds In The Sky," "RE-Evolution," "Chain Reaction" and "Stop The War." It's definitely worth checking out if you're into old school rock music, or a Tesla fan.
Rating: 80/100
Website: http://www.frankhannon.com
Downloads: CHAIN REACTION, RE-EVOLUTION, EYE OF THE MIND (MySpace Stream)
REBELLION: A TRIBUTE TO QUEENSRYCHE (Various Artists/Styles)
I heard clips from this CD ages ago and remember thinking they sounded really good. I always meant to keep an eye out for it, but never did find it. Then I just recently happened across a cover of "Take Hold Of The Flame" by Ion Vein and I noticed it came from this album, holy fuck was this cover awesome! Seriously, it was simply amazing. So I bought it on eBay for a couple bucks. The Ion Vein cover would have made this worth it alone, but for a tribute album this one has a lot of really cool covers. Black Symphony cover "Deliverance" and totally make it their own, it sounds like the same song, but it's very different. A little crunchier with more of a rock vocal approach, some synth work and a slightly different arrangement on some parts. Very cool tune. Then there's Darkside's male/female vocal doom-death cover of "Someone Else?." The Queensryche album version is just piano and vocals so this is pretty cool, it's a bit raw, but still pretty snazzy. Martina Hornbacher from Therion is in this band.
Shadowkeep do a nice cover of "Queen Of The Ryche," but the vocals are a little annoying. Some band named Mesmerize do a cool cover of "The Needle Lies." The only bad song is this ridiculous cover of "Jet City Woman" by a band called Rewind, the dude's vocals are just horrendous. The cover of "Operation Mindcrime" by Orange Moon is just weak, it falls flat on it face. And of course, there are those songs—good and bad—that completely fuck up the lyrics. Lyrics that are available in the album booklets, or correct at a million places online. That pisses me off. Anyway, it's good little tribute CD, one of the best I've heard.
Rating: 70/100
Website: ION VEIN, BLACK SYMPHONY (Under Construction), DARKSIDE
Downloads: N/A
OVERLOAD 2: A TRIBUTE TO METALLICA (Various Artists/Styles)
Unfortunately this album suffers from the typicality of most tribute CDs of this sort, especially those from Dwell Records who seem to release a new one every week. It's just not very good. The highlights here include a melodic death metal version of "Nothing Else Matters" by the death metal band Solarsis, it's a killer cover, heavy and totally different. Last Chapter, the doom band, do a nice cover of "Escape," but they stay pretty much true to the original, which is unfortunate since they're a fucking doom metal band. Some band called From The Depths does a nice version of "For Whom The Bell Tolls," but they would have served it better not singing in such a heavy vocal tone.
The rest of CD just isn't very good, most of the songs simply suffer from bad vocals. Why all these death metal bands try and cover non-death metal songs, or even songs that aren't remotely that heavy, is beyond me. Still, that Solarsis song is definitely worse seeking out.
Rating: 30/100
Website: SOLARSIS
Downloads: N/A
