The Scrounger's Report

Aug. 12, 2000

Too many CDs, too little time...

Oy. Between the CD trades, Ebay purchases, and local scrounging,
I've got a stack of CDs a foot and a half tall sitting in front
of me. And now someone (gee, guess that would be me) has to
actually type all their information into my collection database.

AUGH!

Anyway, here's the stack of AOR, hard rock, and heavy metal
I've gotten in lately, in no special order:

Skylark - After the Storm
Skylark - Dragon's Secrets
   The latter is definitely better than the former, but there's
   something about this "power prog" that just doesn't grab me.
   Also, the production (as with Eddy Antonini's solo disc)
   is subpar.

The Screaming Jets - Tear of Thought
   Not anywhere near as good as "All For One"

Railway - S/T + 2
   Rawer than the other discs I have by them, but still
   not bad.

Michael Nitro - Counting the Days
   Upon first listen, it bores me. Nondescript stuff.
   I'll have to give it a few more spins.

Treason - Code of Silence
   This is different. It's alternative (read: "grunge")
   as far as its musical base, but it employs some
   fairly decent vocal harmonies. It straddles the
   line between "modern" and "melodic".

Mammoth - XXXL
   This sounds like a bunch of demos and outtakes from
   the S/T. It's not bad, but it doesn't stand up to
   the brilliance of the first album. The photos are
   cool...

Anthrax - Fistful of Metal
   Their first effort, pre-Joey Belladonna. Excellent
   stuff...

Silent Force - The Empire of Future
   Not bad, but it's not D.C.'s Royal Hunt-level material.

Seventh Angel - Lament for the Weary
   Fairly dark christian metal. Heavy stuff. Excellent.

Therion - The Beauty in Black
   1995 EP. Completist fodder.

Halford - Resurrection
   Quite possibly the album of the year! If you enjoyed
   vintage Priest, get this album. Now. You heard me. NOW!

Vandamne - Night Crimes
   Hard rock on the Long Island label. Ho hum.

Philadelphia - Tell the Truth
   Christian hard rock from 1984.

Circus of Power - S/T
   Sleaze rock ala Aerosmith, but a bit rougher.

Denner - S/T
   "goth hard rock"? Tough to describe actually.
   
Waysted - Wilderness of Mirrors
   Raw in comparison to "Save Your Prayers", but nice to
   have.

Hybrid Ice - S/T + 1
   Much more proggy than I would have expected. Fairly
   good though. Bonus track is worth it.

Frontline - Right Attitude
   Only half of it is new, the rest is from "Heroes"

Talk of the Town - The Ways of the World
   Jury's still out. Good, but not the calibre of the
   first 2.

Arcangel - Arcangel
   Jeff Cannata's group from 1983. Not bad. Keyboard-driven.

King Kobra - Thrill of a Lifetime + 1
   Finally this gets reissued. Well worth getting, even
   if the bonus track is a bit puzzling...

Fate - A Matter of Attitude
   CLASSIC Scandinavian AOR. Wunnerful schtuff.

Zwarte - S/T.
   Bar rock from a local band. Mediocre at best.

Matthew Ward - The Matthew Ward Collection
   Hrm....didn't know he had a greatest hits compilation.

Alex Masi - Attack of the Neon Shark
   Primarily instrumental album, but track 1 with Jeff
   Scott Soto on vox is the draw...

Prophet/Driver (Reborn CLassics)
   The Prophet S/T makes their other albums pale by comparison.

Babylon AD - American Blitzkrieg
Shotgun Symphony - Losing My Mind (EP)
Majestic - Abstract Symphony
Spiders & Snakes - Astro Pop
Stormwitch - War of the Wizards
Steeler - Strike Back
Bikoxi - Let the Games Begin
Haywire - Nuthouse
Lancia - S/T
   Haven't listened to these yet...

-Dan