Warning: Atlantis Review (It's a LONG one!)

[LeFreak]

It's no secret that Atlantis is floating around out there (no pun intended). Since many past and present members and fans know of me (for better or worse), everyone will know that I'll undoubtedly be buying copies of all versions of the cd for my fairly extensive collection once they're released. There's no doubt about that, as you'll learn in my review. All said, I couldn't resist posting my reaction sooner rather than later.

TNT has finally exorcised the demons of its past, casting out most of the 80s trappings that defined the music of that sordid decade of soaring vocals, big hair, and tons o' flair. Let's face it, the 80s brought us a wave of guitar virtuosity in its screaming, speedy solos that raised the technical bar to a new height and told aspiring guitarists "you must be this fast to ride." That had its benefits and its drawbacks. It was a decade of excess, where everyone wanted to be the fastest, loudest, and highest-pitched. Add to that, the adrogynous men running around in lipstick, lace, leather pants, and hair teased to the rafters, and you gradually ended up with a flood of insipid, pretentious crap packaged and stocked on store shelves everywhere. That's what killed the hard rock movement that began with a big bang in the 70s.

On Atlantis it's safe to say that very little direct 80s influence remains with the band anymore. The guitars are still speedy in spots and there are copious amounts of leads for sure. There's still a level of high gain amplification that reminds one more of the 80s than any previous era. I detect a bit of power chord work, even a very 80s "gallop" rhythm peeking out here and there. There's even some vocals in the higher register happening thoughout. What has changed dramatically is the overall presentation, setting, groove, and vibe of the music as a whole.

The change seems drastic at first, but it's actually completely rational and expected once you do your research of the post-80s TNT catalog. The sound we're hearing was already evident on Daisy Jane from 1997's Firefly, as well as Cool It. As recently as What A Wonderful World and the Letter from All the Way to the Sun, we could see there was a pull toward more timeless, classic eras of music, before the pretentious heyday of the 80s hair rock fiasco that was riddled with motley crews, rats, and all kinds of other musical poison. Who wouldn't want to look to things like the British Invasion for influence and inspiration, especially when the options are trying to resurrect the dead by going on a crash diet or waiting ten years (or however long) for a new Guns 'n Roses album, a band I wish would just die once and for all already. Sleaze rock, glam, and all those vapid sub-genres are dead, and the few who are trying to resurrect them have one foot in the grave already, they just don't know it yet. The micro-scenes that support these attempts at reviving a dead fourth or fifth generation sub-sub-genre are dead in the water, and while screaming loudly in their equally loud outfits, aren't even making a blip on radar screen of the world scene.

Being someone who lives in America, also a musician and a full-time college student, I communicate with people of all ages on an extensive basis and there is absolutely no doubt that the 80s hard rock and heavy metal scene is a long-time dead in this country at least. Some kids actually study it in their music appreciation classes in high school oddly enough, perhaps during that one week (or less) devoted to the fluffy 80s era (my friend's teenage son was actually studying about the 80s one week in music class in a public school). That's the attention it gets from the youth these days; past-tense treatment. However, I see tons of local youth, from high school through their college twenties, wearing their 60s and 70s t-shirts and jackets to school: the Beatles, Cream, Hendrix, Cheap Trick, Bowie, T-Rex, etc. I see kids in the local music programs playing that stuff on their instruments. I see kids, who think Poison and Crue are a joke, listening to the music of the decade that preceded the decade of decadence.

Is this some kind of trend? Are the 60s and 70s making a comeback? I don't believe so. I say this because the 80s almost made its little comeback a couple of years (or so) ago, and it didn't take. I have friends who are just now beginning to hit their thirties and who I've known since they were in their teens or early twenties. Many of them were weaned on Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, and Stone Temple Pilots. However, they were also listening to Bowie, Elton John, the Beatles, Queen, and the like. Presently, while the dated alternative rock has long since fallen out of interest with them, many are still listening to the classic era of music. Moreover, people always love the artists who come out capturing the sound and style of that classic era, namely artists like Lenny Kravitz and the Jellyfish, among others. Simply put, somehow the pre-MTV 60s and 70s produced what has become the timeless sounds, while the post-MTV world became a muddled quagmire of commercialism and music that was geared more towards appealing to the eye rather than the ear. Well-composed music lost out to mediocre drivel tailored for the visual media and quality musical content took a backseat to the all-important image.

Good examples of change have been Richie Kotzen, who burst onto the scene as one of the notorious youthful Shrapnel shredders, then made a name for himself playing with Poison (of all things). He has since continuously moved in a pop direction, combining his very apt guitar talent to songwriting rather than lame hair rock ramblings. Furthermore, he has delved into jazz and fusion. Former Canadian metal queen Lee Aaron recently reinvented herself as a jazz diva, making music far more endearing and mature than her days of high hair. To hear her now and then see what she was doing then makes me laugh; she growed up. Paul Gilbert has also retained his sharp guitar skills while looking to the 70s pop sounds of bands like Cheap Trick and the Sweet to model his own sound after. It's very hard for me to call Kotzen or Gilbert a metal—or even hard rock—musician; they're just rock musicians. Well-rounded ones at that.

For me personally, I've found myself listening to less and less of the 80s music over the years, eschewing that music for the music I was weaned on in my pre-teens: the music my father listened to. I'd honestly have to say that it's a rare event that I listen to the old TNT releases (up to Realized Fantasies) save for when trying to figure out riffs, licks, and leads. As many of my old 80s cds landed on Ebay, I steadily replaced them with Queen, the Beatles, ELO, Supertramp, Cheap Trick, Klaatu, Be Bop Deluxe, City Boy, Nazareth, and a host of other artists from an era before MTV and the internet. I've found that bands like these stand the test of time, with older and younger people alike. Oddly, I see people in their fifties and kids in their teens digging the same thing, generally tossing everything in between by the wayside eventually. That's not to say there are legions of kids out there still following whatever the latest craze, thinking they're actually on the "cutting edge" of the scene, when really the cutting edge was back when rock stormed onto the scene and everything was still new and original. It has just been diluted generations of sub-genres ever since, whether you play it down-tuned, sped up, in shocking costumes and make-up, unplugged, or whatever the gimmick.

Lastly, in considering the state of TNT in 2008, it's important to note that children of a divorce will always want their parents to reconcile and get back together again. They usually can't accept it and find it hard (almost impossible) to adjust when their parents begin seeing other people. After all, the family unit has been split asunder, and that always leaves the children dysfunctional, many times socially and emotionally bereft. After a divorce, many parents reinvent themselves. Perhaps they begin pursuing interests that had been set aside for the sake of the marriage and the children, but now they've become in touch with themselves and have decided that the sacrifices they made were not in fact in their best interests. Some return to school while others pursue new careers. Others completely change their circle of friends, or relocate and start their lives over. Some take up new hobbies—like art—or resume ones they had in their youth. Many simply no longer feel a strong connection to their past and just want to move on.

On The New Territory, TNT began landing on the shores of their new territory and staking claims, reinventing themselves in the process. Again, it's no surprise because Ronni LeTekrø showed ample evidence of this influence with Vagabond and on his solo releases, plus glimpses in the more recent TNT repertoire. In 2008, on Atlantis, TNT is making inroads, exploring and conquering in their new territory, like conquistadors, taking no prisoners and making no apologies. Most of all, not apologizing to the dissenting voices of those back in the old world who protest the courageous decision to sail the open seas and find their new world.

TNT looks to the classic era of rock for their inspiration. People who claim they're just copying other bands of the classic era of rock are in desperate need of an ear exam and should call their doctor post-haste for a check-up because the music on Atlantis has Ronni's stamp all over it; show me one band from the 60s or 70s that had that guitar sound and style. Also, Ronni hasn't completely shed the 80s influence. After all, it was the scene he cut his teeth on. I can still hear it, but he's been shedding it like an old skin. After molting several times, the 80s evidence is gradually becoming more disguised, and not to the band's disadvantage.

On thing I really dig about the new release is that there are still some strings present, and I think I detected some horns at one moment. There's not a lot of additional instrumentation, but I can catch brilliant moments of it and I believe it's a very welcome addition to the TNT sound, adding some new depth and dimension. I don't know if they're actual instruments, or keyboard sampled, but I wouldn't be averse to hearing more multi-instrumental incorporation in the future.

The production is excellent, as is the final mix. I didn't personally have any issues with this on Territory as many did, especially if you compare it with Transistor, which is a TNT release in desperate need of re-mastering because it's so flat. There are oodles of layered guitars on this album. Really: oodles. I believe that's the technical term. Also, gobs of overdubs. Isn't that the same thing? Oodles and gobs, my friends, oodles and gobs. Plenty of little lead breaks and melodies abound...and the guitar solos are back. The trademark machine-gun playing has returned, although I have to admit to hearing nothing new in that regard; same ol' same ol'. However, it's so dynamic and always just the ticket for pushing a solo to the brink. That's part of the magic of that specialty. Machine-gun ideas aside, the lead melodies on this are brilliant, very catchy in their best moments. There are also some great breaks where the guitars are drenched with heavy delays or the Digitech Whammy is being given a right going over. One thing I like a lot about more recent Tekrø output is all the variety of guitar tones and effects as opposed to the 80s TNT sound where there was the rhythm tone, the lead tone, and the clean tone. There are tons of choruses, flangers, phasers, pitch-shifters, wah, octaves, fuzz, and other goodies on constant rotation adding a mosaic of new sonic dimensions to the tonal palette.

Tony Mills' vocals. Hmmm...Tony Mills hadn't really made a blip on my radar screen prior to TNT. I'd owned about three Shy releases, and I remember remarking to a couple of friends once that if Harnell ever left TNT, this guy would make a perfect replacement (ironically). I also thought he sounded a lot like Triumph's Rik Emmet, a vocalist I really dig hardcore. Either way, my Shy cds eventually found their way to Ebay and that was the end of the matter. However, I think Ronni found his new writing partner at long last. I firmly believe that Tony Harnell was the man for the 80s era; the perfect man for the job. The Tekrø/Harnell team was tops, comparable with the best writing teams in the business. However, I thought that the Tekrø/Lande team was never surpassed in the 90s, even after TNT reunited. In fact, I still think the s/t Vagabond release is the most magical Tekrø release still to date. That said, I could really hear the promise and potential on Territory, hoping that they would grow into that given a little time. On here, Mills shines and I think he is every bit TNT's frontman now. He's the new shot in the arm to revitalize the band in this time of change and exploration. Now it's evident he hasn't stepped into Tony Harnell's shoes because he brought his own boots to the gig with him. The vocals are sublime and I can't think of Mills as just a potential "replacement" any longer.

Hello, Hello is a great opener, setting the stage for the mood of the album. The most promising aspect is that I've always been a fan of the cool, melodic mid-tempo TNT tunes like Tonight I'm Falling, She Needs Me, the Letter, Live Today, and Can't Go On Without. This album is chock full of the great mid-tempo tunes. Opening up with one immediately grabs my attention and starts to give me high expectations. Hello, Hello is a great feel-good tune, upbeat with positive energy, a signature of this release. One thing I notice that Harnell took away with him when he left the band was the darker side of the TNT sound; I hear it resurfacing in Starbreaker and that's how I'm sure that was him. There's a strong positive flow of energy in the TNT sound now, which may upset fans because they might have been mistaking that dark sound as some sort of metal edge.

Peter Sellers' Blues is flat-out killer. Two super-strong songs right at the outset and I'm thoroughly psyched about the remaining listening experience. I'm starting to have My Religion flashbacks now. This is a cool, slinky-sounding tune. And no wonder, the original Pink Panther theme was as slinky a sound as music can get! Mills' vocals shine...seriously shine. The guitar solo is tré cool squared, from the opening clean lines, through a hip jazzy-bluesy lick that I had to learn immediately (thank you, Mr. Ron!), into some machine-gun clichés, and some psychedelic metal blues ideas, and finally a descending machine-gun run to segue back into the way kewl chorus of Peter Sellers' Blues. Peter Sellers, where are you?

Baby's Got Rhythm follows, and thus far this is the strongest straight run of tunes I've heard since the My Religion masterpiece. Baby's Got Rhythm is a perfect example of my experience of listening to Atlantis. I couldn't just listen to the song and move on to the next one. I found myself hitting the play/rewind :^D button repeatedly. I had to hear this song multiple times before I could move on to the rest of the album. This song is all about groove. If you don't find yourself tapping your feet, snapping your fingers, bobbing your head (and possibly even doing the white man's overbite) during this song there's a very good chance that you're a paraplegic and haven't noticed yet. The rhythm 'n groove is very hip and driving on this tune, from the insistent ostinato rhythm to massively catchy vocal. Songs two and three are now among the very best I've ever heard from TNT. Of course, the guitar solo is a little string of Ronni clichés; nothing new but still cool.

Tango Girl reminds me a little of the Warlock song Metal Tango for obvious reasons, but augmented with an added Queen flavor. The rhythm is a driving tango (no, seriously!), and there are beautiful exotic guitar lines punctuating the vocals. Tony's vocals are top notch here and Ronni's guitar solo is mega cool, especially the harmonized part of the solo, which provides a huge contrast to the opening section of the solo.

Me and Dad is a seven-minute plus ballad which is as nice as any ballad is going to get. I liked Milestone River much better because of the Celtic influence and violin, and I think Under My Pillow—with the angelic vocals of Mai Britt Normann—is way up there as well. Hard to top those, especially if you're not really a ballad person like me. Still, it's a nice contrast nonetheless. It also marks the beginning of an odd intermission that breaks up the first and second halves of the album to my ears. This is a sweet ballad, with some great guitar lines, nice acoustic guitars, clean guitars, cool lead, and more top tier vocals, but it's still a long ballad, which becomes a noticeable event when it's smack in the middle of an album like this.

The song that follows is the title track, Atlantis. After repeated listens, Atlantis is beginning to grow on me, but it definitely was not as immediate and gripping as the earlier tracks. It's just not as strong, and following the long ballad, still has an odd affect on me. I love the main riff and the instrumentation. The solo is cool, but could've used...something more. It starts off really well. The vocals are great, but the lyrics; I just don't get it. I appreciate the song, but it's the one tune on the disc that could've been traded off for something else, especially in light of what's coming up. To make this a true gem of an album right through, I would've rather heard Can't Go On Without or Fountain of Love here, especially since those tracks would have fit the second half of the album perfectly, making the record flow magically. The track, as it is, sort of stands out like a sore thumb.

Taste Of Honey. Oh boy, I couldn't get past this track. I really couldn't get past this track. This has got to be one of the coolest songs I've heard in the last few years. This kind of music is medicine for the soul. It feels so good. There's a vibe to this kind of tune that is hard to express in words, so just sink into the bean bag chair and let the headphones work their magic. The guitar solo has a little break featuring some kooky Whammy pedal before going into a sticky sweet solo that perfectly matches the sticky sweet vibe of this groovy song. Ronni and Mills did it right here. This is where the magic is at. It's going to be hard not to refer to this as my favorite TNT song now. The jury's still out on that one. It's a strong competitor with the very best of them. BTW, this song is one that fits Mills' voice perfectly; I couldn't picture Harnell singing it and the result coming out the same.

What's really cool is that—gosh darnit—they sustain it into the next track, Bottle Of Wine. This is the new TNT sound. This is what I heard glimpses of on the last album. This is what I hoped for. This is hip to the Nth degree. Where the hell do I get this on 8-track?! Or at least vinyl. This is so infectious; these tunes get stuck on the brain and no amount of scratching can cure that itch. I'm sure the metalheads will just love the "whoo!" sung on this track. :^D

Missing Kind keeps the killer vibe going on and on an on, like the Energizer bunny. By this time, I'm quite sure that I'm really hearing a new and improved TNT and the odd duck, Atlantis, is already being forgotten...and accepted. "I don't wanna be the missing kind, don't wanna be the last in line, don't wanna press play/rewind, don't wanna be the missing kind." Although I don't really get into typical ballads, I do like this style of "softer" tune. It doesn't feel at all like a proper ballad, just a good, laid-back tune of cool proportions. Tony Mills' vocals really shine on this song.

Love Of My Life is simply building on the same killer vibe (yes, killer vibe is the key phrase here). The song suspiciously reminds me of Live Today, which is probably why I really dig it a whole lot. In fact, I'm extremely convinced that if Tony Harnell were singing these exact same songs, there would be an almost immediate unanimous acceptance of the material. Frankly, I see a lot of similarities and parallels to pre-Mills material and this is what thoroughly convinces me of the children of a divorce theory/analogy, especially in light of the Starbreaker release, which has killer TH vocals, but aside from about three or four standout tracks, much of the rest of the material sounds like variations of those few tracks. Variety is also lacking in the latest Jorn releasebut to an even greater degree. I'm a huge Jorn fan, but the new album made no attempt whatsoever to find any kind of new territory. It ended up being a second-rate rehash of what he'd already done before, minus the quality. That makes two former Tekrø collaborators. Harnell's Cinematic seems quite promising though, judging from the MySpace tracks.

Had It, Lost It, Found It closes out the release on a high note. A huge exponent of Ronni's style is a crazy balancing act between melody and dissonance, which he capitalizes on in this track. Of course, music is about tension and release, consonance and dissonance. There's a lot of cool dissonance on this song, as well as throughout the record. The riffing is awesome, the choruses are a great contrast to the verses. The solo starts with some cool double harmonic minor machine-gun lines, moving into a melody riff with long delays, then into a some melodies played with great phrasing. The whole solo reminds me a bit of Ronni's work on Soaring On from Carnivora. It's a great close to the album. Maybe Atlantis and Had It should switch places in the track line-up. I think that would work better. This would've been a stronger follow-up for the ballad.

So, Atlantis has added a lot of new tracks to my all-time TNT favorites list, including Peter Sellers' Blues, Baby's Got Rhythm, Taste Of Honey, Bottle Of Wine, Missing Kind, and Love Of My Life. That's far more than the usual TNT album. For example, My Religion had She Needs Me and Live Today, only two despite that being my favorite TNT release. AtWttS had The Letter. On Intuition there was Caught Between the Tigers, Tonight I'm Falling, and Forever Shine On. For The New Territory, the songs that really did it for me were Can't Go On Without, Fountain of Love, and (yes—wait for it!) Now We're Talking. Of course, I always dig all the TNT songs, but like anyone else, some stand out for me more than others, while some become more or less comparatively forgettable (No Guarantees, 2 Seconds Away, Atlantis). So, due to the very high proportion of great songs, I would have to say that Atlantis now tops My Religion as my favorite TNT release to date. I think it's TNT's strongest and most mature release yet.

For me, there's a very distinctive first and second half of this disc, with a sort of intermission in between. It's not too distracting, but somehow manages to disrupt the otherwise perfect flow. I'm going to make a burn where I trade out the positions of Had It and Atlantis, which I think may work very well for my listening ears. Then I think it'll flow nicely.

I have to say that Vagabond's s/t is still my favorite Tekrø release. If the album had a couple additional tracks for longer running time and a couple of switcheroos—say Milestone River, Can't Go On Without, and Fountain Of Love for Me and Dad and Atlantis—I think that this release could very well have even toppled the first Vagabond. Interestingly, I think Atlantis almost sounds like it could've been the follow-up to A Huge Fan Of Life. It has the retro vibe of the former, but the energy of the latter.

The quality is here top of the line and people who are saying this isn't melodic rock are definitely not clued into what melodic rock actually is because TNT is melodic and they are playing rock music. Rock is a huge genre of which there are a multitude of sub-genres, sub-sub-genres, sub-sub-sub-genres, bastardized sub-genres, sub-genres mistaken that they are creating a new genres when in fact they are several generations diluted bastardized sub-genres, and so forth. TNT is higher than ever in melodic content, and I don't think any person with ears would contend that they're aren't rock. What these people really want is melodic hard rock, melodic heavy rock, melodic metal, sleaze rock, heavy glam rock. Some of the most disillusioned want heavy metal, which TNT never was to begin with. Just because they wrote a couple songs like Tell No Tales and Deadly Metal, that didn't make them strictly a metal band when compared with what was out there at the time, otherwise we wouldn't also have songs like Tonight I'm Falling and Satellite coming from the same band. People seem to have mistaken a certain level of energy for a certain sub-genre by a band that has always straddled the lines between several sub-genres and has experimented with many ideas from pop, retro, contemporary, metal, punk, and whatever else caught their fancy and whim from year to year, recording to recording. It's no surprise that the legacy continues. The fact that it continues without certain familiar names and faces is a whole other psychological story for these people. TNT outrightly stated that they were headed into new territory, but that's what they've always strived for to begin with.

Should TNT change their name to please old fans because they're doing what they've always done, but with some new faces in the fold? Rather than the band changing its name to distance itself from its own legacy, perhaps the former fans should change their names in effect to distance themselves from music they can't grow into while pining away for the 80s glam or denim 'n leather heyday. As for TNT, methinks they're movin' on.

[Jan-Inge]

WOW! Very interesting reading, looking forward to be hearing the cd, this was like poetry, I very much enjoyed reading this, couldn't stop reading

And I'm gonna see them in just a few days Wonder which songs they will include in the set list?

Thanx man.
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[Tntfan101]

I real love this review Dennis-I really agree with ALL of your points! Atlantis is a great album, and the people on melodic rock's forum are simply clueless to it's awesomeness. We had My Religion for 2(and a half if you count taste ) albums; now it's time for new stuff. I prefer this release to Territory, the lyrics and guitarwork are buch better written; and Tony Mills is just Amazing with a capital A! My personal favorites are Had it, Lost it, Found it, Love of My Life, and Missing Kind.
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Why don't you take me, break me, intoxicate me now?

[LeFreak]

Thanx. I get so stuck on The Taste of Honey that it's not funny (hey, I rhymed!). I've gotta back off on that song or I'm gonna wear it out. I really dig the whole second half of the album hardcore, and the disc starts off with such a bang it blows my mind. I really think they've almost outdone themselves with this one.

The huge difference between the TNT of just a few short years ago and the TNT of today—whether the misguided metal fans realize it or not—is that the old TNT surpassed in the cool riffs, the wild guitar solos, and the soaring vocals, while the new TNT is being redefined by being a well-rounded songwriting band. The songs are, for the most part, very immediate and gripping because all the parts are working together very harmoniously as a unit. The songcraft is maturing to a very keen level right now where I think it's beginning to transcend the sub-genres and becoming, simply put, good rock music.

I've had various friends listen, all of them musicians over forty and fifty years of age, and had even more enthusiastic responses this time than to Territory (which was very well-received by the same group). These are all full-time professional musicians who never used to be impressed by the more "hard rock" side of TNT. Their remarks have already compared Atlantis to Queen, ELO, and Supertramp (!). One friend, who's band from the 70s has recently reunited and is almost finished recording their new rock cd in the retro 70s vein heard this and remarked "then there's still hope for us," when I told him the first reviews of the release seem to be positive so far, and the ratings have been good in one of Norway's largest publications.

A couple of younger (late twenties), non-musician friends have also responded very well to the new sound, and these are the same friends who used to roll their eyes at me when I showed up with a new TNT release, mainly because of the long backlash against hair metal in the U.S. I'm finding that a variety of ages are becoming much more open to the new TNT sound than to the older style and I think that's mainly because it doesn't fit so squarely into the dated 80s sound any longer.

As for Andrew and his posse at melodicrock.com, I don't think they're actually on board with the concept of melodic rock at all because they're expecting something different. Somehow I think that "something different" is something more AOR or more metal; nothing in between, and definitely nothing retro or classic era rock. After all, TNT has more in common with the Jellyfish or Imperial Drag now than they do with Dokken or the Scorpions. They're setting up some much-needed distance between themselves at that sound, which is cool because I can't tell you how many times I've had people hear TNT and then tell me they sounded like the Scorpions (?!?!?!).

I think this is a very, very good thing for them. The thing I'm most pleased with above all else is that Ronni has stayed true to himself and not caved into to so-called pressure from displeased self-ascribed fans (fans are often a liquid asset; they come and go). All true artists in any field of art are always trying to create art that provokes a strong reaction from the observers, whether positive or negative. Ronni is succeeding as an artist because he is provoking reaction and dialogue, for better or worse. That's what artists have been doing for a long time now. The funniest thing is that people like Marilyn Manson have to create a an image and go to drastic measures to provoke reaction and response to what he does as a performer; all Ronni has to do is just be himself and write, record, and release his music. I never cease being amazed at the reactions it gets. He's got a gift for stirring up controversy just by virtue of straddling genres and being a songwriter. Not bad. Not bad at all.

[hawkiiz]

[Bajas]

Great review LeFreak. I will get the cd in my mail tomorrow.

I think you have the longest post on the forum so far.
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Take it like a man -Woman!

[DCK]

[LeFreak]

[hawkiiz]

maybe you are right, but when did tnt last play in the US? when are their next show scheduled, and how do that support your point?
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[LeFreak]

[Tntfan101]

This album is great guys; sorry, but the 80s have been repeated wayy tooo much.

This album is much better written then it's predecessor; I think Melodic Rock are just being arrogantwhen they claim "it's just like territory"...

And I think HILIFI is the heaviest TNT have been actually, it's a jugular track, and my fav currently...i think I know what the song is about*coughmelodicrockandothersocalledTNTfanswhowantthebandtoquitcough*
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Why don't you take me, break me, intoxicate me now?

[hawkiiz]

[bjodahl]

Here we go again.....

Nothing like traditions

[hawkiiz]

dont worry. i have no intetion of being dragged into anything this time.
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[DCK]

Dennis really knows how to get on

As for CrashDiet, in 2007/08 they toured Europe and even went to Brazil. Where did TNT go? They even had Mick Mars over from the US to write a song.

I'm not saying you're wrong about the American music market Dennis, I'm sure they will be laughed off stage. Motley Crue was repeatadly "laughed off stage" in their Carnival of Sin tour. Motley Crue drags people to their venue not because their songs are so friggin good, but because they used to look cool and was a real dirty rock band with big hair. Oh and they do have some good songs too. So, you Americans can just stick to what you like. Rap and R&B and "real" rock bands. Good riddance.

So what if sleaze metal exists in pockets around in Europe? It's an underground thing. Sort of like TNT these days. The turn-out for an American TNT show and an American CrashDiet show will end up being about the same amount of people. However, the age difference would be about 20 years. Wait, maybe 30?

Sweden took on a different direction than Norway. Norway turned into death metal. Sweden turned into sleaze metal. CrashDiet's latest album got several awards and did better on Swedish charts than TNT have done since the 80's (not counting the greatest hits collection).

But in the end, I'm just having a go at you Dennis
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