Review by Aaron P

These are the songs we love from the 90s hard rock era of Metallica. This remaster is awesome and the live tracks sounds wonderful. Worth picking up!

Revolution Saints are certainly a talented band, but this release is quite the enigma because it’s just all over the place in tone and composition. You have songs like the title track that are well constructed, but then you have songs like Changing My Kind that are just so paint by numbers, cookie cutter modern AIR that it’s like they’re really trying to copy themselves.

I still prefer this band with Turner, but, Romero does decent enough on this effort, with some solid AOR that sounds like it comes from a Frontiers-made band from the songs to production. Tracks like I’ll Stand for You and Restless Fight are standouts. Recommended.

McAuley, Reb and Pilson (and that drummer guy) just get better and better with every Black Swan release; Paralyzed is easily their best album to date. They are just as melodic and catchy as they were in their sophomoric effort, but, they ramp up the composition in this effort. The title track, Cold Wind and King are great. However, this Japanese version is the one to get because while bands just put a piano or acoustic arrangement underneath vocals they already recorded for a track on an album and call it a bonus track, the way they do it here for Cold Wind is AWESOME. Get it!!

This is an admittedly biased review for the simple fact that while this album is very much “average” in every conceivable way across the board, Mr. Darkness is a modern day Ozzy masterpiece. Literally flawless, it has everything I want from amazing guitar solos, time changes, mood changes … this album is worth picking up for this song alone. In fact, the 4th star is just for that song!!

I love both of the b-side songs on here, and love hearing my boys go dubstep even if it’s dated. But I mainly bought this for the DVD, and it doesn’t disappoint. If you’re a diehard, get this!

I love this album because they fixed everything that needed fixing from their first effort. The Arnold voice sounds better, the songs are better, and I love the second CD with the covers. Quad Brutal is still my favorite, but I love listening to this one too!

I was expecting more from these guys, but it’s more of the same Frontiers color-by-numbers band that doesn’t do anything interesting. It’s not bad, but it’s probably not worth it because it’s so nondescript.

These guys are the lighter, more rounded and polished side of modern AOR. Street Rummer encapsulates everything they’re about: soft vocals, soaring melodies and solid composition. Recommended!

Chez still has an amazing voice, but the songs here are collectively better than her last effort (but the track Power Zone is still her greatest). This one is a little more sexualized than the last CD, which is kind of annoying because it ruins some of lyrics by forcing the image, but it’s tolerable. Overall, if you liked her first two albums, you might like this one better!

Big fan of this set - arguably their best album chock full of modern AOR, and the DVD has some great content for the uber fans. Definitely pick this one up!

Black Swan’s debut effort is merely “good” which is annoying because it had tons of promise since McAuley, Reb and Pilson are awesome (drummer is super boring though). Thankfully, GM is exactly what I dreamed they would be, in large part because the music is infinitely more melodic. In fact, it sounds very Winger debut album-ish. Highly recommended!

This is the first Fate album I’ve ever owned, and the only reason they are even on my radar is because apparently the band was first started by someone IN the original Mercyful Fate. Bridges Are Burning is an amazing track with a sick riff and chorus, but sadly none of the other songs come close to this caliber. The rest of the album is average.

I consider myself a big fan of CL, but admittedly I don’t know their early works. That said, I know these are up to date recording of their old songs, and this is AWESOME. Twisted Fate especially encapsulates getting that makes this band great. Highly recommended for all metalcore fans and essential for Lake fans

Big fan of Robin, MSG, Black Swan and the like … but this album just isn’t it. Unlike his record Standing on the Edge - which is awesome - this one just doesn’t deliver because while Robin sounds good, the songs are just bad. Nothing is catchy, nothing is memorable, the musicianship is boring - they’re just there. I hate to say it, but, pass.

I’m a fan of Stormwarning, so this band featuring lead singer Ramonda - definitely piqued my interest. And Walls is better than the last Stormwarning album! I find it heavier, we can hear Ramonda’s range, and the songs are just better. Moonlight, Fire and Hearts are standout tracks. Highly recommended

The first track is the melodic track and the second is the harder, more breakdown-ish track. They're both fine, and get the job done. The DVD is good, but I would have preferred spending a bit more money on a blu-ray. Due to the price point for just 2 songs and a DVD which only fans will be interested, I can only recommend this TO fans.

I was highly anticipating this album since I was super interested to hear the band without Ryo in a studio setting. For the most part, I was not disappointed. The music is great as ever, and John sounds fine. The first half of the CD is the strongest. However, the production is NOT great - after listening to this album after the CD EPs, there is a definitely drop in quality: there is clipping, a bit of distortion and not as much sound separation. Secondly, and speaking of the EPs, the two live tracks exclusive to the Japanese edition are welcome, but, they also don't sound great. That all said, this is great modern metalcore, a must have for Lake fans, and highly recommended.

Scorched is middle of the road for Overkill - you get what you expect with Bobby’s vocals to DDs bass to equal parts thrash and breakdowns. They don’t reinvent the wheel or do anything crazy, but that’s fine. The first half of the album is definitely stronger than the second.

This AILD album is angry, melodic and fast, which is what Tim does best with this arguably best lineup of musicians. Out the gate, Beyond Our Suffering sets the stage for a brutal metal assault. Anger and Apathy is another amazing, melodic track. Highly recommended!