Tag: W.E.T.

W.E.T. – The Albums Ranked Worst to First

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic5 Comments

As we now know as we have review five studio albums, W.E.T. is a culmination of some great artist including Robert Sall of the band Work of Art (The “W”); Erik Martensson of the band Eclipses (The “E”) and Jeff Scott Soto of the band Talisman (The “T”). All three bands are Swedish bands and all on Frontiers so it made it easy to bring these three guys together. Rounding out the current band are Magnus Henriksson (Eclipse); Jamie Borger (Talisman) and Andreas Passmark (Work of Art & Royal Hunt). All in some shape, form or fashion have been a small part of one of the three founding bands.

What started as a possible one-off project with Frontiers Records, the first album came out in 2009 and 16 years later we are now through 5 albums and one live album and a ton of great music. There is not a bad album in the bunch as ALL 5 scored a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars or better. Not many bands can do that in my book. So, which ones are better than the others, let’s take a look.

THE WORST (NOT REALLY) – ‘APEX’ (2025)

I can’t really say this is a bad album at all because it isn’t.  If I had any complaint it is the same as I usually give for any Eclipse album. And that is that the songs can be repetitive, the stylings are all similar with little variety, however, the songs are so catchy and hook-laden that you don’t mind in the end.  As I said earlier, this is the sweet spot for Jeff’s vocals and my favorite style for him to sing.  Erik Martensson’s fine song writing is on full display. How he can write so many great songs is beyond me with this and Eclipse.  The guitar playing, the keyboards, the bass and the drums are in perfect harmony on these releases and they don’t know how to make a bad album.  My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars.  This is a brand new album so it could be a grower, but it is here because it doesn’t really offer anything new from the first four.

Continue reading “W.E.T. – The Albums Ranked Worst to First” →

Jeff Scott Soto – All The Albums Ranked Worst to First (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic21 Comments

It took me 20 months to get through Jeff Scott Soto’s catalog and have been through 89 reviews of items in my collection. That is an insane amount of albums, singles and collector’s pieces to have in a collection, let alone one artist. Jeff started way back in 1984 with Yngwie Malmsteen and has been on over 50 studio albums, numerous live albums, compilations and tribute albums, soundtracks and anything else you can think of and it was a personal goal of mine to visit every single one. I don’t think you will find any website with a more extensive collection of Jeff Scott Soto Reviews then right here at 2 Loud 2 Old Music.

Not every album he has done is good..not at all, but most of them for me are at least a 3 out of 5 or better. And the ones that aren’t, have at least a few songs to add to an already impressive playlist. Along this journey, I have had the pleasure of meeting Jeff twice after his shows and he has been so kind each time and signed numerous album covers for me. However, I was never able to get the interview I had hoped for, but I am not giving up hope as one day it will happen. Until then, let’s go through every studio album where Jeff is the main singer and rank them from the worst album to the best album and everything in between.

There are 53 studio albums that I have where Jeff is the featured singer and we touch them all. I hope you enjoy the walk though the albums and maybe find something you would like to hear. If you discovered at least one album as a result of this series, then my work is done. If not, “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU???”…kidding. Sorry, lost my head there. Enough of this chitchat, let’s get to the list.

Updated May 2025

First, the ones that scored 2 or less out of 5 Stars

THE WORST: Bakteria- ‘Defecate! Suffocate! Mutilate! Masturbate!’ (1992/2009)

Musically, it is pretty freaking heavy. Uptempo, speed metal vibes at time and as the sticker says, a mixture of Metal/Sludge/Crust/Punk. All I know is it sucks. Jeff sings in almost a growl, that is deep and completely unrecognizable as it is borderline guttural vocals at times. I listened to this in the car on the drive home from work one day and I thought to myself, “If I have a wreck and die, the police and my family are going to wonder what the hell I was in to with that crap playing in my car.” I was actually a little embarrassed to be listening to it. I am a little embarrassed to actually own this and have it in the collection, but my Soto Collection isn’t complete without it sadly. My Overall Score is a 0.0 out of 5.0 Stars! And that is being nice. It is the WORST ALBUM I HAVE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE!!!

Continue reading “Jeff Scott Soto – All The Albums Ranked Worst to First (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)” →

W.E.T. – ‘Apex’ (2025) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic8 Comments

As we now know as we are on their now fifth studio album, W.E.T. is a culmination of some great artist including Robert Sall of the band Work of Art (The “W”); Erik Martensson of the band Eclipses (The “E”) and Jeff Scott Soto of the band Talisman (The “T”). All three bands are Swedish bands and all on Frontiers so it made it easy to bring these three guys together. Rounding out the band are Magnus Henriksson (Eclipse); Jamie Borger (Talisman) and Andreas Passmark (Work of Art & Royal Hunt). All in some shape, form or fashion have been a small part of one of the three founding bands.

The album was released on March 28, 2025 a good 5 years after their last release and way too long between albums. I am sure getting these guys schedules to all coincide at the same time is not an easy task, but they managed it thankfully. A band I thought was going to be a one-off project now has 5 albums and a live album spanning over 16 years since the release of the debut back in 2009. If you love solid, melodic hard rock, this will not disappoint. And as usual, Erik Martensson is handling the productions so you know the sound is going to be amazing and it is.

The album opens strong with “Believer” and it is worth every minute we’ve waited since the last release. Jeff sounds amazing and I have to admit this is his wheelhouse and my favorite style of singing for me. The guitar solo on here is blistering fast and just rips right through the song. The drums are pounding and all is immense and powerful. The sound is more Eclipse than Talisman or Work of Art, but I’m good with that. Erik does most of the writing so that Eclipse influence is going to flow through.

Continue reading “W.E.T. – ‘Apex’ (2025) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)” →

The Collection: Ep. 55 – April 2025 Wrap-Up

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic10 Comments

As we end another month, it is time to go back and see what 2 Loud 2 Old Music added to the collection. This is April 2025 and we have lots of vinyl, CDs and even some 8-Tracks. So much to go through including a new Rock Candy collection, new items for the Kiss collection and a couple Box Set collections. Lots of great new albums and old ones to go through and show for this month so I hope you enjoy the show!!

So go check it out as it will be live tonight right now, May 5, 2025 at 7pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

And here it all is if you can’t watch…but please watch!!

The Collection: Ep. 50 – March 2025 Wrap-Up

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic1 Comment

As we end another month, it is time to go back and see what 2 Loud 2 Old Music added to the collection. This is March 2025 and we have lots of vinyl, CDs and even some 8-Tracks. So much to go through including a new Rock Candy collection, new items for the Kiss collection and a couple Box Set collections. Lots of great albums to go though and show for this month so I hope you enjoy the show!!

So go check it out as it will be live tonight right now, March 31, 2025 at 8pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

Friday New Releases – March 28, 2025

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic3 Comments

Happy Friday. Things are heating up as Winter is coming to an end and Spring is starting to hit in full bloom. And speaking of heating up, so are the pre-orders as I have The Darkness, W.E.T., Fleetwood Mac and Van Halen arriving today so a lot to listen to when they arrive. What do you want to hear this week and what did we miss? Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.

  • The Darkness – Dreams on Toast – (Napalm Records)
  • W.E.T. – Apex – (Frontiers Records)
  • Sick Puppies – Wave the Bull – (ONErpm)
  • Deafheaven – Lonely People With Power – (Roadrunner Records)
  • Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac 1975-1987 – (Rhino / Warner Records)
  • Santana – Sentient – (Candid)
  • Bryan Ferry – Loose Talk – (Merry Star Productions)
Continue reading “Friday New Releases – March 28, 2025” →

What to Expect in New Music for 2024?

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic16 Comments

2024 is upon us and it is always fun anticipating what new albums will come out in the year. Since today would normaly be a Friday New Release post, let’s look at the new releases coming our way in 2024. There are quite a few we already know about, but some haven’t been officially announced or even a date set yet.

Last year, there were a few artist I was hoping would release an album that might have or might not have released one.  It is always fun to hope for new music from these bands, but sometimes there are disappointments.  Here are the ones I was hoping to get new albums from last year and what actually happened…

  • Def Leppard – Too soon for a new album, but give us The Collection Vol. 4!!  We still didn’t get The Collection Vol. 4, but we got a new album…sort of. We got ‘Drastic Symphonies’ which was a compilation with a symphony orchestra added and no, not good.
  • Kiss – I will keep this on the list until I die!!  At least give us another Soundboard LP.  We did get a new Soundboard LP, but only one this year and for the Poughkeepsie show in 1984 with Mark St. John and that is really cool!!
  • Guns ‘N Roses – Rumors, Rumors, Rumors!!  Will we ever get a new album!  Nope, but some singles…nothing yet.
  • Aldo Nova – He keeps talking about a 2CD set for over 3 years and still nothing much, but will he get around to releasing the full Life & Times of Eddie Gage? I hope so.  And again, more talk but no 2 CD album for The Life & Times of Eddie Gage…when Aldo?  When?  But he did start touring again.
  • Ace Frehley – It is time for a new album…no Origins, Vol 3…a new album!!  No new album, but one was announced and will be here in early 2024!! YEAH!!
  • Bon Jovi – A new album WITH RICHIE SAMBORA!!!  Nope, still nothing. A lot of talk about a Reunion, but no new album. Something’s brewing though as their 40th Anniversary gets ready to roll around.

Okay, are there albums I want to see this year from some of my favorite bands that haven’t been announced or in some cases even rumored?  Of course there are.  These are the bands I want new albums from this year…but it might not happen.

  • Def Leppard – It is time for The Collection Vol. 4!! Come on boys, give it to us!! Or a new album…whichever you want.
  • Kiss – I will keep this on the list until I die!!  Time to start up more Soundboard LPs or another box set…give us something!
  • Guns ‘N Roses – Rumors, Rumors, Rumors!!  Will we ever get a new album!
  • Aldo Nova – He keeps talking about a 2CD set for over 3 years and still nothing much, but will he get around to releasing the full Life & Times of Eddie Gage? I hope so.
  • Bon Jovi – A new album WITH RICHIE SAMBORA!!!
  • Robbie Williams – Hey Robbie, time for a new pop album…no more Trance please!!

From what I have gathered around the internet, here are the bands that should have new albums out in 2024 or are rumored, but no dates announced yet. The ones I would give a try will be highlighted in Blue. The ones with Dates Announced are at the bottom of this post. The list is building up nicely!!

Continue reading “What to Expect in New Music for 2024?” →

W.E.T. – ‘Retransmission’ (2021) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic20 Comments

As we now know as we are now on their fourth studio album, W.E.T. is a culmination of some great artist including Robert Sall of the band Work of Art (The “W”); Erik Martensson of the band Eclipses (The “E”) and Jeff Scott Soto of the band Talisman (The “T”). All three bands are Swedish bands and all on Frontiers so it made it easy to bring these three guys together. Rounding out the band are Magnus Henriksson and Robban Back both from the band Eclipse as well. And a new face to the band with Andreas Passmark (Royal Hunt) will handle the bass duties.

The album was released on January 22, 2021 right slap dab during the COVID pandemic. So, no touring sadly. However, at this point in the pandemic, band’s were still delaying albums and we are so grateful that W.E.T. did not. Their fourth studio album, ‘Retransmission’, sees Erik still at the helm and this time, the guitar is king a little more than it has in the past. But don’t worry, if you are expecting to hear W.E.T., you will in spades as you still get melodic rock, 80’s anthemic AOR and solid music throughout still drenched in keyboards and smothered with great melodies and vocals from the great Jeff Scott Soto. They have become AC/DC in a sort of way with the fact that all the albums sounds the same, but in a very good way. I think people might be upset if they changed their sound, thankfully, they did not. Just punched it up, polished it off and delivered another spectacular release. Let’s see how it holds up.

“Big Boys Don’t Cry” comes screaming out of the gates with its bombastic drums, ear-splitting guitars and as is usually the blueprint, you get both Erik and Jeff on vocals for this first song and it is a scorcher. The melodies and harmonies between the two are better than ever. The anthemic beast of a song shows that W.E.T. have not lost a step in the three years since their last release. They come out swinging with this one.

Continue reading “W.E.T. – ‘Retransmission’ (2021) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)” →

W.E.T. – ‘Earthrage’ (2018) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic21 Comments

Almost a decade earlier, Serafino Perugino of Frontiers Records, thought a supergroup with Jeff Scott Soto doing Journey type AOR music would be a smart idea. He is notorious for putting all these great musicians together for so-called supergroups and some would say he does it WAY TOO MUCH! And I would agree, except for W.E.T. W.E.T. is a culmination of some great artist including Robert Sall of the band Work of Art (The “W”); Erik Martensson of the band Eclipses (The “E”) and Jeff Scott Soto of the band Talisman (The “T”). All three bands are Swedish bands and all on Frontiers so it made it easy to bring these three guys together. Rounding out the band are Magnus Henriksson and Robban Back both from the band Eclipse as well. What most thought would be a one-off project has now turned in to 3 studio albums and one live album and we couldn’t be happier.

But, will the third time be the charm? Will this be as good or better than the first two or have they outlived their usefulness? The answer to those questions is that this band keeps getting better and better with age. They are like a fine wine and although there is a little cheese in this sound, the album gives us a group of songs that has so many hooks that the US Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a warning about that fact. So, sit back and get ready to get caught up in the music hook, line and sinker. And I am sure all that sounded as bad as it felt writing it. Since I’m only writing bad jokes at this point, lets get to the music.

The album opens with the stellar first single “Watch the Fire” and mine it is something to behold. It opens with an atmospheric keyboard sound, then the guitars and drums come roaring in and then we get Erik’s vocals to kick off the song and Jeff joins in as well. Another fantastic duet between the two and it is shame this is the only song they do it on, but what a song. The melodies, the harmonies, the hook-ridden chorus, the wicked guitar solo, it is melodic rock at its absolute best!! This is one of the best songs they have done on the three albums.

Continue reading “W.E.T. – ‘Earthrage’ (2018) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)” →

Jeff Scott Soto – ‘The Authorized Biography’ by Frank Tunney and Ronny Hahn’ (2014) – Book Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic36 Comments

Back in December 2021 when I announced I was doing a Jeff Scott Soto Series, I got a lot of response on the picture of my collection. One such person contacted me on Facebook and offered to send me a hard back edition of a biography on Jeff Scott Soto, so I quickly thanked him and agreed. He quickly mailed out this glorious copy of the book. His name was Sundeep Pooni and that book has been a massive reference guide for my review series up to this point. So, a big thank you to Sundeep and his very generous gift!! From here on out in the review series, we are past the date of the book so none of the albums I’ll be reviewing from ere on out are in the book, so I am on my own.

Before we get to the next review, let’s go through this book. It was originally written by Ronny Hahn and it was written in German and only an electronic book. For the 30th Anniversary of Jeff’s career, it was released thanks to Frank Tunney who took the original book and added more chapters and re-organized the structure. It is now a hard back book and chock full of the details of his career that all hardcore fans love to know. The book is called “Authorized” so it has the blessing of the man himself and that is good enough for me.

The book starts off with the original foreward written by Ronny Zahn and then there is a great dedication to the late Marcel Jacobs who played with Jeff in several bands and was a very close personal friend. It was a terrible loss, but thankfully he left behind a great legacy of music. Afterwards you get a brief biography of Jeff’s very early life, but the rest of the book is all Jeff’s music career.

Continue reading “Jeff Scott Soto – ‘The Authorized Biography’ by Frank Tunney and Ronny Hahn’ (2014) – Book Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)” →