[b]Motley Crue - Let Us Prey[/b]
I have heard a few songs by the Crue and hated them. Let us hope this is a better song.

Opens with a cool chunk chunk bend. I like that but if it goes on too long will get old. Then drums. They are a little dull for this part. I thought Tommy Lee was supposed to be a really good drummer? A little more technical part qould go a long way in this section. The singer. Christ I hate this kind of voice. I like growls and screams and shrieks but the constipated forced sound of 80's metal vocals never cease to annoy me.

I like this song there is some cool rhythmic stuff going on. It is repetitive but cool. I like the occasional squeals of guitar. They add a lot. Also I like the bass when it can be heard. It sounds pretty 80's for the most part but some sections I really like (around the 2 minute mark). There is a perfect spot for some really showing drumming but it just isn't there. A guitar solo? Nothing. Just this riff that could support anything but is boring on it's own.

Woah... I dig this ending section of sort of ambience and phasing. The best part is it goes on for a while. It's kind of sludgy sounding and really cool. I could learn to like this. I like the ending of the bass just sort of blubbering away.

7/10 I liked it so much in comparison to the other songs I've heard. Not great (especially thr vocals) but I liked it.

[url=http://s51.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3IY6I968T6MM336P5YZ5BCSBNI]Alpha & Omega - Dream Music[/url] Avant Garde

bump before I leave.

Bump again.

Dibs.

Not sure if I'm really in the mood for avant-garde - been listening to pretty straightforward stuff lately - but here we go.
[b]Alpha and Omega - Dream Music[/b] - 3:10

Starts off with the sound of deep, slow breathing. Just that, for two repetitions, until it's joined (and mostly overpowered) by music. A guitar only, I think, sounds like it's drenched in effects. It's hard to describe the sound it has. It's kind of watery, but not in a bad way (like it's a weak production), it's just..bah. The visualisation it calls to mind - that is, what I feel I'd see were I able to see the music - is something very wobbly, pulsing, kinda thing. Again, hard to describe, because it's not wobbly as in weak (about to collapse), just wobbly as in shimmering, almost.

Anyway, after about a minute we're back with a repetition or two of the deep breathing, before, for lack of a better word, the guitar goes crazy. Not blazing-solo kind of crazy, but avant-classical, Penderecki-style crazy. Lots of squiggly sounds and picks and pecks at the strings. If I wasn't feeling so da[font=verdana]m[/font]n good today I think it'd be creepy.

It's all defiantly amelodic, anyway, and this midsection gives way to the deep breathing, and in turn a slight return to the 'normal' guitar of before (i.e. the non-crazy bit). Not for long though, and the song ends on the breathing again.

I'm unsure what to give this. On the one hand, I really liked bits of it. On the other, it was weird, and I'm not sure if certain part's even the kind of thing I could honestly claim to enjoy in a regular musical sense. But then, I do enjoy Penderecki anyway. Hmm.

A cautious 8/10. The actual sound of the piece (production/recording quality, I mean) was really good now that I think about it.

[b]Songs;[/b]
[url=http://s7.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=10PJ0WB41KEJZ0FT6KCKLPNXTV]Týr - The Edge[/url] (viking/epic metal)
[url=http://s7.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2WKBZXCASUQUP2WTL7XNWDSXV7]Nomeansno - It's Catching Up[/url] (hardcore/punk)
[url=http://s7.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1H4A7T8EKMAJH1TYSIA6SWFMAK]Hot Cross - Finger Redux[/url] (emo/hardcore)

More to come if necessary.

dibs

[B]Tyr-The Edge[/B] -7:44
I'm not really into Viking Metal, but I thought I would give it a shot, since I hate most hardcore.

The song begins with a fairly boring guitar riff with the drums. This goes on for about 35 seconds until it begins to speed up. Then the vocals kick in. Unlike the majority of Viking Metal I have heard, I actually liked the vocals. I thought that it was the strong point of the song. While the first 4 minutes were repetitive I thought, it was still ok. Then the solo half way through the song caught my attention again. I thought it was amazing. There wasn't anything real special about it, but for some reason it just gripped me. Then the singing comes back in. The rest of the song was better than the first half I thought.

Overall, this is only the Viking Metal song I have actually liked so far. Maybe I should dig back into Viking Metal and see if I find something as good as this. I think I could keep this song and give it several more listens. I recommend everyone download it.
[B]8 out of 10[/B] is my verdict on the song.

[URL=http://s45.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2E93EB107Z09N339VFY556G5IW]Earthtone9-tat twam asi[/URL] General Hard Rock
[URL=http://s45.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0DZH9L1W1G5N215DM8MTK8YO58]Pink Floyd-The Nile Song[/URL] Classic Rock

'Tender - I did that song for a movie of mine. Glad you liked it... sort of. I just whored myself through FL. I'll kill myself now.

no-dibs.

[QUOTE=Bartender]Not sure if I'm really in the mood for avant-garde - been listening to pretty straightforward stuff lately - but here we go.
[b]Alpha and Omega - Dream Music[/b] - 3:10

Starts off with the sound of deep, slow breathing. Just that, for two repetitions, until it's joined (and mostly overpowered) by music. A guitar only, I think, sounds like it's drenched in effects. It's hard to describe the sound it has. It's kind of watery, but not in a bad way (like it's a weak production), it's just..bah. The visualisation it calls to mind - that is, what I feel I'd see were I able to see the music - is something very wobbly, pulsing, kinda thing. Again, hard to describe, because it's not wobbly as in weak (about to collapse), just wobbly as in shimmering, almost.

Anyway, after about a minute we're back with a repetition or two of the deep breathing, before, for lack of a better word, the guitar goes crazy. Not blazing-solo kind of crazy, but avant-classical, Penderecki-style crazy. Lots of squiggly sounds and picks and pecks at the strings. If I wasn't feeling so da[font=verdana]m[/font]n good today I think it'd be creepy.

It's all defiantly amelodic, anyway, and this midsection gives way to the deep breathing, and in turn a slight return to the 'normal' guitar of before (i.e. the non-crazy bit). Not for long though, and the song ends on the breathing again.

I'm unsure what to give this. On the one hand, I really liked bits of it. On the other, it was weird, and I'm not sure if certain part's even the kind of thing I could honestly claim to enjoy in a regular musical sense. But then, I do enjoy Penderecki anyway. Hmm.

A cautious 8/10. The actual sound of the piece (production/recording quality, I mean) was really good now that I think about it.[/QUOTE]
That's a good review, in my opinion.

I'd like to do one but the only song's I want other people to hear are classical songs.

People would probably be up for that. There's Forced Listenings in a fair few other sections in the board. Other music and the pit would probably be the most suitable for classical.

But still, just give a few options and make one of them for classical music. That way you can either do an R&M FL, or a classical piece.

letmypeopleho - You can give classical pieces if you want. Just make sure to give more than one choice, and at least one under about six minutes.

[QUOTE=Chu]That's a good review, in my opinion.[/QUOTE]

Thanks. Not sure why you said that though :)

Dibs.

I'm not sure if I've heard anything by Walker before. I've definitely heard you talking about him, but I can't remember if I've ever reviewed something by him for Forced Listening. Anyway;
[b]Butch Walker - Get Down[/b] - 4:03

Starts off very cool. Echoing guitar, and what sounds like orchestral samples accenting the silences. Very nice. Drums cut in with strong, simple beats, which basically plays with the song as it is very well. Good start to it.

Vocals come in, and he's got a good enough voice. Better is the flow he has, he sounds really easy moving through the lyrics, and it just goes well with the music. Female backing singers come in for the chorus.

I know I haven't had much to say so far (about two minutes in), but I'm enjoying this.

A quiet part in the middle; everything goes kind of muffled for a while, so there's no stand-out sound to concentrate on, and then a very 'thin' (in visualisation) guitar solo starts. Very fuzzy tone, it's pretty cool, and the solo itself is a nice, relaxed one, played at first over "ooh"s from the backing singers, and later some acoustic strumming in the background, I think. The strings (samples?) come back in the background, again helping the song progress nicely, as well as just being a good touch.

Another quiet, muffled part, which the song more or less leads out on, on top of some quiet, gentle piano.

9/10, I think. The start was awesome, as were the verses, and the end. Through the midsection it seemed to drag out a little maybe (lack of verses, repetitions of chorus), but overall it was a really enjoyable song.

[b]Songs;[/b]
[url=http://s7.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2WKBZXCASUQUP2WTL7XNWDSXV7]Nomeansno - It's Catching Up[/url] (rock/hardcore punk?)
[url=http://s7.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1H4A7T8EKMAJH1TYSIA6SWFMAK]Hot Cross - Finger Redux[/url] (emo/hardcore)
[url=http://s13.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3GN3PZCBSK2JL3K1OHWBCUD6WT]Talking Heads - Slippery People[/url] (art/post punk - later, with 'world music' influence)
[url=http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3CGS81S8MHA441H17XW06WBSVS]Talking Heads - Psycho Killer[/url] (art/post punk - early)

Bump.

Dibs.

Hot Cross - Finger Redux

My first encounter with the band. Let's watch in:

Starts with a slow single note riff with a nice bassline. Singer comes in with a high-ish voice and a fast riff comes in. Continues with this riff, which is pretty good with the vocals being buried a bit, but that's ok.

Goes slow again, with a similar riff to the intro, then the drums and singer kick in and the guitarists start to play off of each other, which is cool. Cool riff again.

Slows down and ends.

Good track, but vocals are too low in the mix for my taste.
8.75/10

Songs:
Mastodon - March Of the Fire Ants (straight ahead metal)
Porcupine Tree - Sound Of Muzak (progressive acoustic-ish rock)
Judas Priest - All Guns Blazing - (Classic Metal)

Well it's a short song (2:44) and a short review.

No dibs; I can't get my hands on any of the songs without an upload of some kind.

[QUOTE=Grateful Dead]Is it just me, or does 7 minutes seem like an awfully short time to listen to and review a song?[/QUOTE]
Sorry, I know I didn't do a great job, but my time was short. It will be better next time, I promise.

Also, I apoligize for not being able to upload, I'm on dial-up at home, and I do this at school without my music collection.

Dibs.

What I've heard by them, I like.
[b]Judas Priest - All Guns Blazing[/b] - 3:57

Starts off with just Halford's vocals, very high-pitched, singing metal-sounding lyrics. A metal riff starts in, and a little (very cool-sounding) mini-solo leads us into the song proper.

Not much to say here really, it's just high-energy heavy metal, played well. There's nothing peculiar to comment on, so I won't. Good so far, though. A solo starts around 1:17, and carries on for a long time. A long long time. It still survives in some form around 2:25, as the song momentarily slows down before going back to the verse with Halford.

I like the guitars in this song, they keep putting little flourishes, squeals, pinch harmonics and mini-solos on the end of riffs and phrases, it's really very cool. Another solo starts after the verse-chorus, not as long as the last one, but still hardly short. And the song fades out on the sound of an artillery shell, or something similar.

8/10. Good, strong, anthemic metal.

[b]Songs;[/b]
[url=http://s8.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3RQFK8OO694053F6I1EKG9U8Z6]Nomeansno - The End of All Things[/url] (rock)
[url=http://s7.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2WKBZXCASUQUP2WTL7XNWDSXV7]Nomeansno - It's Catching Up[/url] (rock/hardcore punk?)
[url=http://s13.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3GN3PZCBSK2JL3K1OHWBCUD6WT]Talking Heads - Slippery People[/url] (post punk? - later, with 'world music' influence)
[url=http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3CGS81S8MHA441H17XW06WBSVS]Talking Heads - Don't Worry About the Government[/url] (post punk? - early)
[url=http://s18.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=20AVASIPSCCBQ06A1EAXE1NK9Z]Aeon Spoke - Silence[/url]

Dibs.

Un-Dibs. Im very sorry, but im drinking to much to write an acurate review. Ill do one tommorow.

[QUOTE=88_Fingers_Joe]Un-Dibs. Im very sorry, but im drinking to much to write an acurate review. Ill do one tommorow.[/QUOTE]
What? No. Do a drunk review. Drunk posting is so much more fun :)

I'm bumping all my other forced listenings, so I'll do this one too.

:D

Cheers

(review in this space)

..or in this one

[B]Nomeansno - The End Of All Things (5:16)[/B]

Another new band for me to sink my teeth into :)

Lively start with a cool bass line. The vocals don’t sound like they should fit, but they seem to go flawlessly (although I cant comment much on the lyrics). The harmony between the male and female voices is good.

Seems to drag on in this format for a bit too long, but once the drums die down, the guitar part is a change of pace, adds an extra dimension to the track. The fall back into the main melody works, any excuse to get that bass line back is good :)

The vocals keep threatening to go over operatic, but they stay within a sensible level, which is good. (and I cant help but think I recognise the male vocalist from somewhere). The main bass section does get a little old by the end, but there is always something varied or new in there at least towards the fade out, which has some great layering.

7/10

It’s a fun piece, with some over extended sections, but enough variety to keep me interested. Ill take a listen to their other track to see if they’re worth checking out properly.

[B]
Songs[/B]
[URL=http://s38.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1KP9M8LJVK7I93C0LZQSTEASU3]Million Dead - I Am The Party[/URL] - (Rock with almost rap like lyrics)
[URL=http://s45.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3933EOB5WUG8O3NY95HXOWX6WP]The Black Mages - The Skies Above[/URL] - (Varied Hard Rock track with piano, operatic vocals and sweet solos)
[URL=http://s49.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0K5ILD320H4QS1ERQPV89Y072I]Reuben - Freddy Kreuger[/URL] - (Pop Rock with a catchy riff)
[URL=http://s10.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1UJR0GL6YIYEL32WGCDXQILSGV]Mastadon - Ol'e Nessie[/URL] - (Dynamic Metal/Hard Rock)

dibs

[B][I]I Am The Party[/I] - Million Dead[/B]

The song gets under way pretty quickly (not super fast tempo wise, just bit of guitar - drums - vocals all in quick succession). I like it, maybe came in a bit to quick for my liking, but the tune is good, not liking the vocals too much though, seems out of breathy, not sung more shouted but not harshly.

A brief guitar interlude at around about 20 seconds demonstrates some above the norm song writing skills which is cool, happens again then the drums get a little louder for the pre-chorus with the chorus after being very good, but the vocals grate me a little.

The aprés chorus is constructed a little differently, sounds good though. It goes from around the 1: 20 mark to 2: 10, where there is another bridge thingy from the guitar which leads back into the chorus, got some oomph to this, all good. Extra push for the finishing line in the form of some deeper over-drivey stuff ends the songs nicely.

Overall a good track, the vocals were a bit meh in my eyes but I will probably look into this group further...I give it a [B]7.75/10[/B]

[B]Forced ch00ns:[/B]

[URL=http://s5.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=30U9EJBY0891F1HX33KGL2Z0OL]Towards Loss - Wolverine[/URL] - Prog Metal

[URL=http://s21.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0E3VJDKZCI6II2QQPRYA9MYY2K]Sticky 2 Me - New Wet Kojak[/URL] - Saxophone Rock, barely.

[URL=http://s4.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=18MXDZVBTCZTL24OPI4TRESCFW]The Fall of Math - 65daysofstatic[/URL] - Post - Rock/Metal mixture.

Those links may not be around for long because they are some oldies I had uploaded for different reasons, so get in whilst ye can!

I'll try one