January 12, 2024

Slave To The System - Slave To The System

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Post Grunge
Label Number: SPT-15263-2

© 2006 Spitfire Records
Ever wonder what it would sound like if members of Queensrÿche and Brother Cane got in a room together and let it rip? Well, that's how listeners got Slave to the System. Comprised of longtime Queensrÿche drummer Scott Rockenfield, ex-Queensrÿche guitarist Kelly Gray, and Brother Cane singer/guitarist Damon Johnson and bassist Roman Glick, the only wild card here is mystery guitarist/singer Scott Heard. And in a battle between both bands, Brother Cane wins here, as there's very little of Queensrÿche's prog metal to be heard. Instead, there are heaps of radio-friendly rock with a classic rock edge -- think of a more straight-ahead Stone Temple Pilots (with shredding guitar solos) and you're not far off. And unlike Rockenfield's full-time band, which is known to take extended periods of time in the recording studio, the 2006 self-titled debut from Slave to the System was written and recorded in a mere three weeks. Included is the title track that features Johnson warning of "vicious barracudas" and a chorus that is slightly reminiscent of Earth, Wind & Fire's "Shining Star," as well as "Love This Life," which momentarily cools the rock fury. While it's certainly a detour from the "thinking man" sounds of Queensrÿche, there's not much here that you haven't heard before on mainstream rock radio.

 tags: slave to the system, slave to the system album, 2006, flac,

ThemeAddict: WWE The Music, Vol. 6 (2004)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Theme Music, Heavy Metal, Hip-Hop, Alternative Rock
Label Number: CK 93572

© 2004 Columbia Records
Collecting the entrance themes of America's favorite wrestlers is nothing new, but Themeaddict: WWE the Music, Vol. 6 ups the ante with a slick bonus DVD. The DVD mirrors the CD when it comes to audio content, but the videos for each wrestler are well put together and inspired. More inspired than the music for sure, since Carlito Caribbean Cool's theme is one of the fakest tropical tunes on record, and the hip-hop here is anything but street. The remix of the Undertaker's theme, "The Darkest Side," is a moody triumph and Motörhead's "Line in the Sand" is the rocking highlight of the album, but if you've ever shelled out for one of the pay-per-view events, you know this stuff already. No matter how well constructed or inspired the songs are, fans are just going to pick their favorite wrestler's theme anyway. Themeaddict could be a cut-and-dry collection, but adding a DVD that's really worthwhile shows some admirable effort and appreciation of one of the loyalist fan bases in the world.

 tags: themeaddict, theme addict wwe the music vol 6, 2004, flac,

WWE - Raw Greatest Hits: The Music (15th Anniversary) (2007)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Theme Music, Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Hip-Hop
Label Number: 888697 21259 2

© 2007 Columbia Records
World Wrestling Entertainment's best-known wrestlers all make their way to the ring with the right arena-rocking anthem backing them up, and this album collects 19 songs made famous as theme music from WWE's broadcasts. WWE Presents Raw Greatest Hits: The Music features songs associated with John Cena ("The Time Is Now"), the Rock ("If You Smell"), Stone Cold Steve Austin ("I Won't Do What You Tell Me"), the Undertaker ("Rest in Peace"), Evolution ("Line in the Sand"), Rey Mysterio ("[619]"), and more.

 tags: wwe, raw greatest hits the music 15th anniversary, 2007, flac,

January 10, 2024

WWE: Anthology (2002)

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Theme Music, Rapcore, Alternative Rock, Hip-Hop
Label Number: KOC-CD-8832
.FLAC via Florenfile (Disc 1)
.FLAC via Florenfile (Disc 2)
.FLAC via Florenfile (Disc 3)
                     *****
.AAC 256 kbps via Florenfile

© 2002 Koch Records
*No professional reviews for this release.

tags: wwf, wwe, wwe anthology, 2002, flac,

WWF The Music: Vol. 5 (2001)

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Theme Music
Label Number: KOC-CD-8830
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© 2001 Koch/Smackdown Records
*No professional reviews available for this release.

tags: wwf, wwf the music vol 5, 2001, flac,

WWF: We Gotta Wrestle! (Hits of The World Wrestling Federation) (1997)

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Theme Music
Label Number: 0089622CTR
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© 1997 Concrete Records
*No professional reviews available for this release.

tags: wwf, we gotta wrestle, hits of the world wrestling federation, 1997, flac,

Various Artists - WWF Forceable Entry (2002)

* U.S. pressing. 
This pressing does not contain
the track "Slow Chemical" by Finger Eleven.

Country: U.S.A
Genres: Alternative Metal, Nü-Metal, Industrial Rock, Post Grunge, Rapcore
Label Number: CK 85211
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© 2002 Smackdown Records/Columbia
AllMusic Review by Johnny Loftus
Forceable Entry features 18 alt.metal, hard rock, and otherwise heavy tracks that double as entrance themes for WWF wrestlers like Stone Cold Steve Austin (Disturbed, "Glass Shatters"), Triple H (Drowning Pool, "The Game"), and Chris Jericho (Sevendust's reference-appropriate "Break the Walls Down"). Marilyn Manson's "Beautiful People" gets an exclusive, more gothically rocking WWF remix; heavy moaners Union Underground's "Move to the Music" serves as the theme for Raw itself. Even federation kingpin Vince McMahon gets into the act, adopting the grinding metal of Dope's "No Chance" as his own. Forceable Entry will be most relevant for wrestling fans. But fans of heavy music -- or anyone curious about Kid Rock covering ZZ Top -- might seek this set out in the local sale bin.

tags: wwf forceable entry, wwe, 2002, flac,

January 09, 2024

Various Artists - Simply Irresistible (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1999)

*A photo of the disc is included in the RAR file.
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Alternative Rock, Pop Rock
Label Number: 01877-72993-2

© 1999 Restless Records
*No professional reviews are available for this release. 

 tags: various artists, simply irresistible, original motion picture soundtrack, ost, 1999, flac,

Lifer - Lifer (2001)

*This is a digital download purchased from Bandcamp. 
The files have been tagged and sorted for convenience.
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Alternative Metal
Label Number: None

© 2001 UMG Recordings, Inc. 
*No professional reviews are available for this release. 

tags: lifer, lifer album, 2001, flac,

Various Artists - WWE: Wreckless Intent (2006)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Alternative Metal, Post Grunge, Hip-Hop
Label Number: 82876 82559 2

© 2006 Columbia Records
The WWE has had a long-standing tradition of issuing forth compilation CDs featuring original music which wrestlers use during the dramatic walk down the aisle to the ring, going back to the '80s when the organization (then known as the WWF) issued the cult favorite The Wrestling Album. However, times and styles have changed, and this 15-song compilation features recordings from some of hard rock and heavy metal's most well-known bands, with some rap singles thrown in for good measure. Contributions from Saliva and Motörhead bookend Wreckless Intent with a potent one-two punch. It's not the best wrestling compilation out there, but it's far from the worst.

 tags: various artists, wwe wreckless intent, 2006, flac,

January 08, 2024

Chrisma - Chinese Restaurant (2007 Remastered Edition)

*Reissued & remastered in 2007 by Polydor/Universal Music Group. 
This pressing contains 9 tracks total.
Country: Italy
Language: English
Genre: New Wave
Label Number: 1748796

© 1977-2007 Polydor/Universal Music Group
*No professional reviews are available for this release.

 tags: chrisma, chinese restaurant, 1977, 2007, remaster, flac,

Jekyll & Hyde - Heavenly Creatures (1998)

*U.K. pressing. 
Contains 13 tracks total.
Country: Sweden
Language: English
Genre: Hard Rock
Label Number: ZR1997001

© 1998 Z Records
*No professional reviews are available for this release.

 tags: jekyll and hyde, heavenly creatures, 1998, flac, 

Shannon Wright - Dyed In The Wool (2001)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Indie Rock
Label Number: QS72CD

© 2001 Quarterstick Records
As indie rockers go, Shannon Wright is something special. After disbanding Crowsdell and embarking on a solo career, she released two wildly different but extremely high-quality solo recordings, the stark, acoustically haunted Flight Safety and the set of rage-rock excess that was Maps of Tacit. On Dyed in the Wool, Wright changes her direction by freeing herself of the constraints of having to play everything on her own records. She enlists help from mates in bands like Rachel's, the Boxhead Ensemble, the Lofty Pillars, Edith Frost, and the Rock*A*Teens, and the engineering help of Steve Albini and Andy Baker. The tracks range from the haunted chamber pop of "Vessel for a Minor Malady," with its sweeping string and piano choruses and broken lyric, to the screaming rawness of "Less Than a Moment," with its angular melody line and deconstructed rock chorus, to the gothically shambolic title track done in waltz time, which has the protagonists singing with a loss so total it upsets the balance of the world: "There goes your body in a box/But it's all I have left/Now this odor lines my shaking bed/There's no order to you/Come with me you dirty wretch/How does this duty send me relief/When I've been cheated of you." The seam of the track splits, allowing for the singer's contradictions to meet with the downpour of emotion and musical fragmentation like a surprise rainstorm in a desert. The lyrics here reflect Wright's precise yet poetic way of mapping the emotional landscape as it careens from pain and loss to hope and then rage. With a band of musical collaborators to free up her musical vision, Wright has given listeners her finest outing so far -- and that's saying plenty.

tags: shannon wright, dyed in the wool, 2001, flac,

January 04, 2024

XYZ - XYZ (1989)

*U.S. first pressing. 
Contains 10 tracks total.
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Glam Metal
Label Number: 7 73525-2

© 1989 Enigma
*No professional reviews are available for this release.

 tags: xyz, xyz album, 1989, flac,

XYZ - Hungry (1991)

*U.S. first pressing. 
Contains 12 total.
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hard Rock
Label Number: CDP 7 96114 2

© 1991 Capitol Records
XYZ wasn't the best heavy metal/hard rock band that came out of Los Angeles in the 1980s; the headbangers weren't in a class with Guns 'N Roses or Mötley Crüe, although their work was generally decent. That is certainly true of Hungry, which didn't go down in history as one of metal's all-time masterpieces but isn't a bad album either. XYZ never claimed to be the most innovative band in the world, and Hungry is far from groundbreaking. But while the material is derivative, it's also satisfying and enjoyable. The CD's most memorable and inspired tracks (which include "Face Down in the Gutter" and "When the Night Comes Down") point to the fact that when they really got going, the Angelinos did have a way with a hook and a riff. Also noteworthy is a forceful cover of Free's "Fire and Water." To its credit, XYZ doesn't try to provide a carbon copy of the original -- the headbangers put their own spin on Free's song and demonstrate that "Fire and Water" could be relevant to the hair metal scene of 1991. Unfortunately for XYZ and other hair bands, that scene wouldn't last much longer -- when Nirvana and Pearl Jam exploded commercially in 1992 and alternative rock took over in a major way, hair bands like XYZ suddenly found themselves being ignored by MTV. But that doesn't make Hungry and other XYZ releases any less decent.

 tags: xyz, hungry, hungry album, 1991, flac,

Tuff - Religious Fix (1995)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hard Rock
Label Number: 71278-60001-2

© 1995 Mausoleum
*No professional reviews are available for this release. 

tags: tuff, religious fix, 1995, flac,

Capone - Pain, Time & Glory (2005)

*A photo of the disc is included in the RAR file.
Country: U.S.A. 
Genre: Hip-Hop
Style: Gangsta Rap, Pop Rap
Label Number: FSL-CD-06

© 2005 Fastlife
*No professional reviews are available for this release.

* Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled.


tags: capone, pain time and glory, 2005, flac,

January 03, 2024

Secret Service - Aux Deux Magots (1987)

Country: Sweden
Language: English
Genre: Pop
Label Number: SLPCD 2790

© 1987 Sonet
*No professional reviews are available for this release. 

tags: secret service, aux deux magots, 1987, flac,

XYZ - Disco Clash (1987)

Country: Germany
Language: English
Genre: Pop, Disco
Label Number: 28-5028

*Not to be confused with the U.S. Hard Rock band of the same.

© 1987 Selected Sound
*No professional reviews are available for this release.

 tags: xyz, disco clash, 1987, flac,

Rahsun - It's Not a Game (Promo CD) (1998)

*This is a promotional/demonstration disc not 
intended for consumer sale. 
This pressing contains 11 tracks total.
A photo of the disc is included in the RAR file.
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Style: Gangsta Rap, Pop Rap
Label Number: ABK 69111-S1

© 1998 550 Music
*No professional reviews are available for this release.

* Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled.


tags: rahsun, its not a game, promo, 1998, flac,

Serious - Serious (1998)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: QALCD-6771

© 1998 Pump Records
*No professional reviews are available for this release.

* Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled.


tags: serious, serious album, 1998, flac,

Various Artists - Stray From The Pack (Quiet Biting Attack) (2000)

*A photo of the disc is included in the RAR file.
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: sr1700

© 2000 Stray Records
*No professional reviews are available for this release.

* Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled.


tags: various artists, stray from the pack quiet biting attack, 2000, flac,