Tag: Shadows

You Picked It! – The Poodles – ‘Metal Will Stand Tall’ – Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic16 Comments

Alright…You Picked It! This one was never really close. A couple made some last minute moves to catch the leader, but there was no catching this dog as it ended up not even close. The winner this month was The Poodles’ ‘Metal Will Stand Tall’.

  1. The Poodles – ‘Metal Will Stand Tall – 7 votes
  2. Gotthard – ‘Lipservice’ – 3 votes
  3. Jorn – ‘Worldchanger’ – 2 votes
  4. Passion – ‘Passion’ – 2 votes
  5. Reach – ‘The Promise of Life – 1 vote

Thanks to all for participating. The April choices will be up on Saturday! And the choices are all from my collection and the next one will all be focused all on Rock Candy Re-issues. Hopefully you can help me decide which one I should review. And to note, it will be the very last You Pick It! we do hear as there isn’t enough participation to make this worth doing anymore, I’m just going to start pulling from my collection and reviewing on my own going forward. Thanks all for playing along.

THE POODLES – ‘METAL WILL STAND TALL’ (2006):

The Poodles are a Swedish glam/metal band and how I came across them is thanks to two things. First was Melodicrock.com as Andrew McNeice talked about them a lot. The second was the fact that The Poodles had a strong connection to Jeff Scott Soto. Both the lead singer, Jakob Samuel and guitarists Pontus Norgren were in Jeff Scott Soto’s band Talisman. The funny thing is that Jakob was a drummer back then, now he is front and center as a lead singer. Now, what I find interesting is how the Poodles came to being. Jakob was asked to sing the song “Night of Passion” for the Swedish music contest Melodifestivalen in 2006. The winner of this contest goes on to compete in the major contest called Eurovision. Well, Jakob compiled a band together including Pontus Nogren as well as Pontus Egberg on bass and Christian Lundqvist on drums. The band didn’t win, but they did come in fourth which is pretty darn respectable. From there, they went and did an album and here we are.

When you hear The Poodles, you are immediately transferred back to a time when the Glam and Melodic rock scene was at its peak around the world with acts like Bon Jovi and that ilk…well in Sweden that genre never has seemed to die out as they are putting out some great bands with The Poodles leading the charge. The opening track, “Echoes From The Past” comes roaring out of the gate with its pounding drums and gritty guitar riffs. Jakob’s vocals have a grit to them and yet sound so silky smooth and his vocals can soar to the heaven’s. It is full of hooks and harmonies and everything you want in a great rock song.

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The Afters – ‘Live On Forever’ – Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic9 Comments

The Afters are a Christian Pop/Rock Band out of Texas and have been around for over a decade.  If you aren’t familiar with them, you have missed out on some great music and you should go back and give them a listen.  ‘Live On Forever’ is the band’s fifth studio album and was released a little over a week ago by Fair Trade Services (formerly INO Records).

I have had this album on repeat a lot over the past week and it gets better with every listen.  If you like upbeat pop songs with a slight rock edge, then The Afters are what you have been wanting to hear.  The album is full of positive and uplifting songs all with a Christian message.  I always feel good after listening to their music and that is what brings me back time and time again.

The album kicks off with one of my favorite songs they have ever done.  It has a heavy drum beat and a darker, more rock tinged sound.  The song is “Shadows” and will leave you wanting more.  All songs have positive Christian messages, so not going to rehash what each song is trying to say.

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