Monday, November 30, 2009

Off Topic Opinion for the Day

I wanted to copy the code of yesterday's Off Topic and accidentally posted today's topic in it's place...oh well. Enjoy 2 days in a row of the same Off Topic Opinion for the Day! Everyone except the that saw yesterday's post missed my Yngwie rant!

I want to start with a moment of intellect (it took hours to find this one today):



Now that I feel enlightened I would like to share my favorite music video:



No rants until I get some followers!

The Official Parent's Shopping Guide

Cool Shit for the Day

Van Halen got their big start opening for a 70s metal band in LA named Sorcery

Sound Familiar?


Pretty innovative for the 70s eh?

Check Out Sorcery Here

Weekly Shredder's Rig - George Lynch in Under Lock and Key

The tone!!!

Lynch's Rig Would Be As Follows:

From the producer himself:
"We had two Marshall heads and two Laney heads, not sure which models, but one of them was a Plexi. We had cabs in three different rooms: two cabs were placed in the big room at Amigo, one connected to a Marshall, the other connected to the Laney. The Marshall was responsible for the high end part of the sound and the Laney was set to take care of the low end. There were 14 (fourteen) mics set up in that room in various psoitions around the cabinet and some further away to get some room tone. The second Laney was sent into a very dead room and had a Boss chorus pedal in front of it, set to very slight chorus. The second Marshall was sent into a small, tiled bathroom, to add a different room tone. Those 16 mics came in on the MCI 500 console mic pres. They were bussed to one bus and that bus had a UREI 530 EQ on it (best guitar EQ ever). George mentioned that he always gets a great tone with his Fostex 4track recorder when it's in total overdrive, so I asked him to bring it in. So after the 530 everything was sent to the Fostex 4track, which lived under a packing blanket under the console, so nobody would see it. The Fostex was on stunn, completely overdriven and was sent on to the 3M 32 track dig machine from there."

Assuming certain gaps in this explanation, let's break it down how we would normally:

4 Heads: 2 Marshalls and 2 Laneys for different sections of the EQ
I assume the "Plexi" head was his famed Modified Plexi.

Cabs: I assume Genz-Benz, correct me if I'm wrong

Boss Chorus Pedal

UREI 530 EQ Post Mic

and...FOSTEK 4 TRACK OVERDRIVEN!!! I think this may be bullshit...can't confirm it though.

It's also commonly known that Lynch would use an Ibanez Tube Screamer to push the preamp of his Marshall for many leads.

Weekly Writer's Pick

My pick of the week this week would have to be:

Dokken's Under Lock and Key

Lynch sounds and plays amazing. Vocals are catchy. Riffs are clever and good. Lynch tone = Amazing!

I've been listening to this CD for about a year now and it still hasn't gotten old.

Check Out Under Lock and Key

Metal Band of the Day (modern) - Heart of the Hero

Favorite Album - Wasn't Provided with One

Favorite Track - My Trust Must Be Earned

Key Member(s) - Drummer

Cool Point - Have gone by 2 other names, The Throne and Phalanx

Best Solo - None

Do They Do It Well? - They want to go for something new...it doesn't sound like what they claim to be influenced by. Maybe there was some misinterpretation as to what a Hair Metal band is?

Fashion (1 to 10) - 1, not diggin it at all. Don't even look like a band...they look like a bunch of kids I went to High School with...well the singer looks like he's in a band a little

Comments

I received a kind e-mail from one of these guys after a listing requesting bands to send songs. While I won't share the whole e-mail, I think they wanted to make clear: "Our whole goal as a band is to be the NEW hair metal or NWOBHM style (though, we're from San Diego, not Britain, haha) We're hoping that we portray a modern musical styling combined with our love for hair metal." So I will judge you as a hair or NWOBHM band.

NEW BAND DISCLAIMER
With a new band or a band trying to make it, I understand that the what's accessible to financially backed bands isn't accessible to you and I try to judge it not on engineering quality but what I hear. Of course you should always strive for the best quality everything.

I was able to listen to 2 high quality recordings from this group and did not particularly like what I heard...it's going to be harsh guys.

I'm going to play the songs as I review this one:

You're first song, "The Colour of Heartbreak", was not Hair Metal...in any way, shape, or form. What gave you this idea? There was way too much going on during the vocals and the guitar player has to get his chops down a little better. He's got to practice that tapping...it sounded horrible.

Vocals... I can't stand that horrible whiny sounding FOB shit for vocals sound. Grow some balls maybe? I hate that style of vocals. Absolutely hate it. I'd rather listen to auto-tuning rappers (did I catch some auto-tuning at the end of your second song)

Rhythms were very tight in parts and then sloppy in parts. It was progressive...but just gave me a headache. Sounded like a bunch of shit thrown together without transitions. I'm sorry, but I had to stop it around 5 minutes or so...so on to the next song.

Gay intro...maybe it will be funny. Woo, vocals AHHH. I can't tune them out either...Guitar sounds better though...you guys have to tame how many guitars you're going to track. It sounds very jumbled in parts.

This music has no organizational structure (I listen to Black Metal, Death Metal, Thrash, etc. as well and have been for over 10 years, so don't assume it's because I can't take "the wrath, heartbreak, and heaviness". I don't dig this kind of teenage heartbreak shit.

I'm digging your bridge. WOW! Good bridge out of nowhere. Let's see how it pans out and transitions. Good transition but I'm going to have to stop wasting my Hair Metal reader's time with a non Hair Metal or NWOBHM band.

Solo sucked by the way...

You guys obviously want to go somewhere so stick to it. My opinion's only one, maybe you just found a niche that I don't belong in.

Remember to say “THEY ROCK HARD \m/” in the comments if you want to vote for them as the best from the 80s

Metal Band of the Day (from the 80s) - Warrant

Favorite Album - Dog Eat Dog

Favorite Track - April 2031

Key Member(s) - Jani Lane and Erik Turner

Cool Point - Jani Lane has married some of the all-time hottest chicks (he marries like many men date): Bobbie Brown, Rowanne Brewer, and almost married to Sheila Lussier...but the engagement was broken off after 3 years. I'm sure the conversation went something like:

Sheila: Jani...I really love you...I just don't want to get hurt. You've been through 2 marriages already and they only lasted a few hours...Who's to say I won't be any different.

Jani: Well baby...I love you...you know...like a fuckin...shit man...you're fuckin special baby. Ya know?

Best Solo - Machine Gun

Fashion (1 to 10) - 7 Pretty cool...nothing sticks out.

Comments

Warrant's a...run of the mill Hair Band. They're alright, have some cool points, nothing's too shocking. They're a pro band and they'll always be known somewhat. Their best album was a stereotypical pop album with a couple songs that stick out as good and a bunch of fillers. I liked April 2031, which was a completely different song than anything I've heard them make. Reminded me of Tool's song Jimmy.

Did a new album in 2006 named Born Again. The album actually sounded more like the band originally did than most of the other 80s "revival" bands. It still sucked.

Remember to say “THEY ROCK HARD \m/” in the comments if you want to vote for them as the best from the 80s

Check Out Dog Eat Dog