Review of the new album at melodicrock.com

[SKISPRINGER]

[Turbo Sensonic]

[SKISPRINGER]

i agree 66% with you...
andy is a great singer. this is my only argument with you...
but you know sometimes a singer seems like to be born for a certain band.
andy was for pc 69...
_________________
www.bbsociety.com
for TH,TNT,music,fun,babe of the day
and free spirits...

[PeSt]

... and Helmut Lotti was born to the elevator music genre...

I'll let you all in on a secret - People sometimes don't get along. And there is nothing anyone can do about it. My saddest moment in rock was when Triumph and Rik Emmet couldn't get along. Whatever the reasons were, I'm sure they were important enough for one or more of the parties to act the way they did. Did it seem rational from my point of view - a fan ? Not at all. Is there anything I can do, or could have done ? Probably not.

Looking at the rock history we see lots of people moving back and forth between backs. Some have made success, some haven't. The point is that they believed at the time that they were doing the right thing, and it is their artistic (and sometimes financial and other reasons) belief that made it so. We can speculate all we want, but part of the mysteries should remain untold stories. At least until the (un)authorized biography comes ot (Lemmy, Mötley Crüe etc).... The stories are their to tell.

We're way off topic, and we may continue this in the off-topic.

PeSt

PS: Helmot Lotti may (or may not) disagree with me.

[Phantom Rider]

As with every TNT CD I spend so much money getting an import here to the USA. This one was no different except the final result. First off do NOT bust my balls since I have been there from the beginning with this band. I could understand this CD if this band was renamed. I hear people say the songs have "humor" in them. Sorry I would have purchased a comedy CD if I wanted humor. If there is humor in the songs then it sure is not "American humor" because I do not get it. It must be an inside joke. I can not put to words my shock listening to this CD.
I beg of you to rename this band. This may be enjoyable to some but it is NOT TNT. I am not knocking the talent of this band or Tony Mills. I do not mean to offend anyone with this post but I would not consider this as an advertised TNT CD. Maybe this CD was made for a more local audience but here in America well... we just don't get it.

[SKISPRINGER]

[Ralf]

[LeFreak]

I don't know who "we" is, but I'm from the US, and I "get it." I think that there is a lighter mood and a "cheekiness" that we only got tiny glimpses of in past TNT. But a lot of "we" in America don't get a more British/European sense of humour anyway. Too bad.

There's been such an amazing backlash, primarily from professed fans, like never before. Melodicrock.com (almost melodic crock[dot]com), Heavy Harmonies, and even the forums, are rife with it. I've never seen a band so intensely pigeon-holed by its own professed fans (so this isn't directed toward all fans, to be clear). More alarming is the fact that so many seem to stick around to take jabs at them, rather than just giving up on the band and leaving. It's almost like a sport or a game. TNT is a piñata, and a lot of blindfolded kids are taking whacks at it, although I don't think any candy is going to come out anytime soon.

Anyway, we need to help TNT to understand what the fans want! We need suggestions!

Ronni: Don't let a solo go by without at least one barrage of 32-notes. If the guitar's not smokin', then the music's chokin'!

Tony: Scream your brains out until your nose is bleeding, and my ears are too. If it's not breakin' glass, then it's suckin' ass! And don't ever forget that TH is a god among men. No one will ever measure up. Don't forget that every time you step up to a mike. **No offense to TH, but I'm trying to make a point, here**

Diesel: we need more crazy drum rolls, and some heavy double-bass drumming would up the ante with the heavy factor and keep the other guys in line. HEAVY f****n' METAL!!!

TNT: The band really needs to change its name. I suggest you start spelling it backwards! We need another "Tell No Tales" or "Intuition" desperately. Just use the same chords/progressions, but rearrange the lyrics a little so we'll be fooled. And there just aren't enough songs with viking themes anymore. Another "Seven Seas" would be nice. It's the 21st century: aren't there more than just seven seas to sing about now? There's a whole territory to mine! Same album, different cover. It works for AC/DC! There's no room for experimenting in TNT: that's what solo albums are for! It would be nice to see you guys squeeze into some spandex again. After all, spandex never died: you just don't see it on people outside of gyms anymore. Or, denim and leather would suffice, because people think of TNT as a HEAVY METAL band, and not the melodic rock that they seem to be. Some studs and spikes on the outfits wouldn't hurt either. And remember: most of us are stuck in the 80's, so we need TNT to write a bunch of tunes like they would've in their early-mid 20's.

Sorry, but there may have been a hint of sarcasm in there. If anyone was offended, then they probably needed to be. I've watched fights, battles, insults, jabs, pokes, verbal sucker-punches, etc. for what seems like months. I even saw that kiss-ass bastard Bryan from SorceryStudios take a very cheap jab on melodiccrock.com. I would've thought that was beneath him, but he showed his true colors (very professional). I don't really care much about any of it, although it makes for darkly humorous reading. Still, I strongly think all the people who have some kind of bizarre expectations from any true musicians who are trying to explore sound (not their sound, but sound and style in general) should just back their bags and leave, not letting the door hit them in their individual or collective asses on the way out. Simple as that. There's always a turnover rate in most long-time bands' fanbases, so the people who can't (or won't) grow with a band should just shut up and leave. There's plenty of other stuff out there, and so many bands playing straight up hard rock and metal with little variation from one disc to the next. Find 'em; embrace 'em; make sonic whoopee with 'em!

It's funny how some people make outlandish statements (in the past) like "Tony Harnell is God" or "Ronni LeTekro is God." They're just some guys making a living making music. Still, it's the fans (not all, for the hyper-sensitive) who are the first to crucify a band. People who don't follow the band exclusively are usually the most objective, it seems.

I find it hilarious when people say that some will blindly love anything Tekro or TNT does without question, when I know that so many more will heartily embrace (and all but dry-hump) anything Harnell releases, and with much fanfare and parading as well. I don't believe in laying the praise on too thick on either side: credit where credit is due. I try not to viciously attack either, because all true artists are just trying to follow their muse. But, alas, perhaps they've gone too far at last, and it's time to get back to painting by numbers. TNT should let all the fans write their next album, and they'll just record the resulting material and release the finished product.

Now, I'm going to listen to some pre-1989 TNT on vinyl, because we all know that TNT ceased to exist as a true band after 1989. Oh yeah, there was a little creative hiccup called My Religion that sent a shiver through the fans, but it's not on vinyl so I'm not playin' it!

[PeSt]

Good honest summarizing post that shows opinions shared by many.

Props.

PeSt

[steinman]

[hawkiiz]

i think that a lot of people think of this more like a vagabond record than a tnt record. thats the problem. ok?

yes. motley changed singer. and for me that record is not motley crue either. generation swine is motley crue, and i think its one of their absolute best albums. so what?

gnr have axl left from the old days, and dizzy that have been there since 1991. i still think its gnr. for me gnr is axl rose. from my point of view he deserve at least 60% of the credit for their success. and also i think they sound much better now. others dont agree and say slash must be there. i dont care.

with crue its different. for me they only have one line-up. if any of those quit, or god forbid they add another guitar player or whatever it will not be motley crue. not at all. because they are that gang.

i had to defend this bullshit after rockefeller to. even i said i loved the show so it seems it is hard to take for some people. the point is. i dont have any frakking ideological reason for enjoying a band or "accepting" the line-up under that specific name. it is how it feels for me that matters. nothing else!
_________________
www.bbsociety.com

[Phantom Rider]

[LeFreak]

Phantom Rider: One, I'm not blinded by loyalty. I really love this release. No kidding! Call me crazy, but don't call me late for supper. This response wasn't about you, actually, but I guess your post became the segueway into my finally posting what I've thought about all the negativity surrounding the new release, mainly because of the "we" statement when, in fact, you don't represent me (from same nation) at all. I have to turn that "w" upside down and say "me" gets it. But the rest of the response is just to dozens of posts at various places over the last month+. It's not emotional, or charged, or anything, it's just my turn at voicing my honest opinion. I think you just finally unlocked it with the all-inclusive "we" statement, prompting me to speak for myself.

Personally, I would say "It was cool having you around as a fellow TNT fan, bon voyage," now that you are a self-described former TNT fan. The backlash from this has been so wild, I'm expecting to see TNT recovery meetings soon ("I'm ——, and I was a TNT fan" *everyone claps supportively). And it's nothing personal: that goes to all the people saying they were a fan, they'll never buy a TNT album again, this is the last straw, yada yada yada.

I guess I just don't "get it." I don't think it's that outlandish an album as people are claiming. It's not that bizarre. Definitely not in proportion to the backlash it seems to be getting. Granted, there's a bit more dissonance than usual, and some odd shifts in songwriting style from track to track, but I think this release features some of the catchiest choruses I've ever heard on a TNT album. Definitely the coolest harmony vocals, hands down (to my ears). Maybe because they're not so perfect (which seems very deliberate to me). The arrangements are a little odd and more experimental than what some would've liked, considering that the songs are still just melodic rock. There's some very standard ideas on here, but they're combined with some oddball choices in direction that may not have been the best choices if you wanted radio airplay, or to be more mainstream (or obviously to appease a group of fans).

Anyway, fans come and go, and so it goes. The reason I suppose I find it so funny is that I've watched so many bands make changes (some great examples brought out by others here), but I've never attacked them (not that you are; I'm just making a point) like so many are doing. I just go elsewhere for my music. I don't go onto messageboards or forums and slag their music. For instance: Harem Scarem. I think "Weight of the World" was a masterpiece. The two that followed next were disappointing, but I bought them. I even listen to them every once in a blue moon. The new one just didn't grab me when I listened to the sound samples...so I didn't buy it. I still have yet to go to a Harem Scarem forum and say that the band should change its name because they changed their direction too often, or that Pete Lesperance forgot how to play the guitar just because he's not playing quite the same as on WotW or "Mood Swings." I just didn't buy the new album. Simple as that. But I'm not a "former" Harem Scarem fan. I'm technically still a fan, because I love select material from their catalog. Also, I'm not "former," because I'll still check out the next one, knowing how they like to shift direction often. The recent one just wasn't my cup o' tea, so I'm skipping it. I'd still see them live if they came around (although I wonder if they've ever played in the U.S.), and I'll still give the next one a chance.

I'm just saying, there's a lot of over-reaction to this release. I'm wondering how many people will dig it out in six month's time out of boredom, stick it in the player, and suddenly like—or love—it. I think a lot of this is just the initial shock that it's really a bit different than what people may have wanted, especially because so many are Jonesing for another "Tell No Tales" or "Intuition," which is sad in itself, asking the band to just repeat itself (like asking them to "please, take a few steps backward"). Look at how different "Firefly" was, and "Transistor." I just don't see how this is any more radical than what we've already seen, with or without TH. Actually, I believe we should expect this from TNT, and be disappointed it they don't! It's their nature by now: why should they change? It's not the monster it's made out to be, especially at Heavy Harmonies and Melodicrock.com (but I just can't be on every forum and message board: three is enough for me!). Andrew was objective and professional, but a lot of people have just stooped to slinging mud (and feces). Again, generally speaking, not directing at you.

Anyway, awesome reading the posts as always. No one can say TNT doesn't have intelligent fans: we just have to agree to disagree a lot. Steinman makes excellent points!! Way to go!

[PeSt]

Good post. The post you did on the BBS forum only put in better words than mine, some of the reasons why The New Territory is such a great listening experience. And why it should be played loud enough to allow all facets of the song through. There is some musical and mixing gems thrown in here and there.

Thanks for your insight.

PeSt

[Phantom Rider]