Disappointments of the year ......

[LarryD]

While we put together year end lists, rather than intertwine the good with the bad, I started a separate post for the disappointments of the year. That way we won't waste time having to read through the "WTF are you talking about" posts when someone hits a nerve .......

I appreciated Random Axe's take on the new Kamelot ..... I can't consider it a disappointment because I did not buy it. Here are some of my disappointments for the year..... there were more, I just have to find them and add to my list ......and these aren't in any order.


WITHIN TEMPTATION / Bleed Out -
I've been backing off of WT for the past few discs now .... when bands start to change sound, style, or members, I start to head south. That has always been my way, and WT is no different. The days of saying that Sharon's voice is worth the price of the disc are long gone, and I didn't buy this one. I'd heard enough of it to know that they have gone into a much more poppy direction than previous, and some of the vocal processing and electronica elements don't sit well with me anymore. I've got all the WT I need - especially the live DVD / Bluray shows ...... I did get to see them during The Unforgiving tour, so I'm happy with my history of the band......


MYRATH / Karma -
Another one of my favorite bands trying to do the poppier thing. This disc isn't even out yet, and from what I've heard from people, and hearing some of the songs on the disc ( it was leaked and then pulled for some reason ), I knew that I wasn't going to dig the direction. I know the last two discs have had some poppy injections here and there, but I chalked it up to melodies because they still held onto that heavy guitar and metal sound they I loved from the beginning. Of course I'm jumping the gun, but I know enough ahead of time to say that I probably won't buy this one when it comes out .....my new motto with these bands is going to be > STOP THE POP.


ARENA / LIfian Tour - Live
Another one I didn't buy - and won't. I have loved Arena from the start. Even with all of their singer changes over the years, something I hate when bands do, I've stuck it out and adjusted. One of my favorite singers, Damian Wilson, is back in the band, and fronting this disc. We all remember the previous disc and all of the back and forth CLaus and I went with the production values, or lack of in my case, but again having not heard a note of this disc - how the hell can a band in 2024 charge $24 for a CD and have a sub-par production ? How can a band like Arena charge $24 for a disc - period ? Regardless of the sound. Again, I'm at a point where the singer is NOT worth the price of that disc, and I'm just absolutely refusing to do it. Nope - not doing it.


MOSTLY AUTUMN / Studio 2 -
One of the more well known bands around the Prog Rock / Neo-Prog world, when I heard that they had recorded this at Abbey STudios, I jumped on it without hearing a note. Now I know the band can be folky at times, and I'm ok with that - but here, their epic / dramatic sound seems to be missing and in its place is more of an acoustic / unplugged version instead of one of their more epic sounding releases. I thought it was going to be like that, but nope. Disappointment.


RAY ALDER / II -
Here is where the fun begins for posts like this one. I absolutely loved the previous Ray Alder disc, and jumped on this without putting on a swimsuit and hitting the pool naked. This disc just doesn't capture the raw emotion and melodies that the first one did. This one seems a bit more grittier if you will, more cold and unfeeling......really threw me for a loop.


VOYAGER / Fearless in Love -
It isn't so much that the disc disappointed me, I think its the fact that I have enough Voyager, and having that last live Bluray show is like the coup de grace for me.......this disc seems much poppier than previous outings, and for that it gets the disappointment nod. In a live setting, this band is hard to beat. I'll go back to previous Voyager if I want what I consider classic Voyager.


AVANDRA / Prodigal -
This disc came out in Nov 22 ... but I don't think we could get it until the 2023 if I recall. I loved their previous disc, Skylighting. I figured that was their breakthrough disc with the prog people, and then Prodigal came out. Completely different from what I heard on Skylighting, and the production was awful. It was just a muddy wall of sound. I don't think I played it once all the way through. Total disappointment.


PENDRAGON / North Star -
A 24-minute EP which sounds like they didn't want to make the great Love Over Fear a 2-CD set. But they should have. These filler songs would have been great in between the epic songs that made up Love Over Fear. As it stands, these 3 songs just don't do well on their own, they don't have a separate meaning to them, and they certainly are weaker than anything on Love Over Fear. IMO, not only a disappointment, but a huge mistake.


CHRISTINA BOOTH / Bar Stool Prophet -
The great lead singer from the prog rock band Magenta, releases this one after putting out a previous solo disc called The Light, which was fantastic. This one here, and I haven't played it in awhile, sounds more like a mish mash of different styles rather than a cohesive disc. Elements of pop, folk, some prog moments, it just sounds a little disjointed - and coming off of The Light, which was a wonderful piece of emotional music, this one falls a little flat and just doesn't hit me the way I thought it would. If I'm not mistaken, when I played this, my wife said it sounded like Joan Baez. If she is correct, then you get the idea.


ORPHANED LAND / A Heaven you May Create - (CD/DVD)
Not much more to be said here that wasn't said in the original post recently. For a 30th anniversary show, they absolutely blew the DVD portion of this. Not good - and a complete disappointment.

[Random Axe]

I'd already made my feelings clear about the Kamelot album elsewhere so I won't summon that up again.

My other one I was going to post about but waited till a proper thread or time is Ray Alder.

Outside of DeYoung, he's my all-time favorite vocalist. His voice literally speaks to me on several levels. The first solo was a nice, cathartic and emotional album filled with some more experimental ideas from Ray than he'd shown before through Fates and Engine. It was mostly a great, if a little uneven album.

This new one I couldn't latch onto any particular song. It seemed to have a lot less energy or feeling. Feels like the songs weren't fully fleshed out. These sound like throwaway ideas from the first album cobbled together. Ray still sounds good, but tired. Maybe this was released too soon after the first? Needed to let the ideas marinate before finalizing them?

I've gone through the full album once. I've not gone back to try again. That's maybe a tactical error on my part. Maybe after the new year I reconsider revisiting it.

[LarryD]

I'd already made my feelings clear about the Kamelot album elsewhere so I won't summon that up again.

My other one I was going to post about but waited till a proper thread or time is Ray Alder.

Outside of DeYoung, he's my all-time favorite vocalist. His voice literally speaks to me on several levels. The first solo was a nice, cathartic and emotional album filled with some more experimental ideas from Ray than he'd shown before through Fates and Engine. It was mostly a great, if a little uneven album.

This new one I couldn't latch onto any particular song. It seemed to have a lot less energy or feeling. Feels like the songs weren't fully fleshed out. These sound like throwaway ideas from the first album cobbled together. Ray still sounds good, but tired. Maybe this was released too soon after the first? Needed to let the ideas marinate before finalizing them?

I've gone through the full album once. I've not gone back to try again. That's maybe a tactical error on my part. Maybe after the new year I reconsider revisiting it.

***My feelings exactly - I've been through it twice all the way, then shelved it. I don't like doing that to a Ray Alder disc, but there it is. Like you, I could not latch onto one song .... I hope you do find the magic buried underneath it as I know how much you like him .....

[Sir Exar Kun]

Ah, the grumpy old bastard thread....

I have to check my notes at home, as I don't recall any albums being overly "disappointing" this year, although I am sure I will find a few when I start looking. It's another year where there have been a lot of very good to great albums, but don't recall any individual album just OWNING me this year.

WITHIN TEMPTATION / Bleed Out -
I've been backing off of WT for the past few discs now .... when bands start to change sound, style, or members, I start to head south. That has always been my way, and WT is no different. The days of saying that Sharon's voice is worth the price of the disc are long gone, and I didn't buy this one. I'd heard enough of it to know that they have gone into a much more poppy direction than previous, and some of the vocal processing and electronica elements don't sit well with me anymore. I've got all the WT I need - especially the live DVD / Bluray shows ...... I did get to see them during The Unforgiving tour, so I'm happy with my history of the band......

I guess I'm not surprised at your reaction as you've been building to this with WT.... Personally, I listened with modest expectations and was pleasantly surprised. This sounds more like a natural followup to "The Unforgiving" rather than the last two albums..... If I have any complaint, it's that the songs sound a bit too samey..... Same song construction, similar chorus, etc. Initial reaction is that I like it better than the last couple, but of course nowhere NEAR their heydey

MYRATH / Karma -
Another one of my favorite bands trying to do the poppier thing. This disc isn't even out yet, and from what I've heard from people, and hearing some of the songs on the disc ( it was leaked and then pulled for some reason ), I knew that I wasn't going to dig the direction. I know the last two discs have had some poppy injections here and there, but I chalked it up to melodies because they still held onto that heavy guitar and metal sound they I loved from the beginning. Of course I'm jumping the gun, but I know enough ahead of time to say that I probably won't buy this one when it comes out .....my new motto with these bands is going to be > STOP THE POP.

Haven't listened to anything off this yet, but I hear your concerns. Keeping my expectations moderate for this.

ARENA / LIfian Tour - Live
Another one I didn't buy - and won't. I have loved Arena from the start. Even with all of their singer changes over the years, something I hate when bands do, I've stuck it out and adjusted. One of my favorite singers, Damian Wilson, is back in the band, and fronting this disc. We all remember the previous disc and all of the back and forth CLaus and I went with the production values, or lack of in my case, but again having not heard a note of this disc - how the hell can a band in 2024 charge $24 for a CD and have a sub-par production ? How can a band like Arena charge $24 for a disc - period ? Regardless of the sound. Again, I'm at a point where the singer is NOT worth the price of that disc, and I'm just absolutely refusing to do it. Nope - not doing it.

Definitely agree in principle on the cost, but with cost increases across the entire supply chain and more bands (ala Within Temptation also) trying to do it on their own and keep a little bit more of the profits I don't object to paying higher prices for select bands. Arena is definitely one of them. I did NOT shell out for the Pendragon EP as $16 for 24 minutes of music was a bit much, plus I figure those songs make it onto a bonus disc at some point anyway

RAY ALDER / II -
Here is where the fun begins for posts like this one. I absolutely loved the previous Ray Alder disc, and jumped on this without putting on a swimsuit and hitting the pool naked. This disc just doesn't capture the raw emotion and melodies that the first one did. This one seems a bit more grittier if you will, more cold and unfeeling......really threw me for a loop.

I think I actually enjoy this one more than the first solo album but it's been many months since I played it so I can't tell you WHY offhand. That being said, solid as both are, they pale to his work with Redemption and Fates. Sometimes the magic is in the sum of the parts.

ORPHANED LAND / A Heaven you May Create - (CD/DVD)
Not much more to be said here that wasn't said in the original post recently. For a 30th anniversary show, they absolutely blew the DVD portion of this. Not good - and a complete disappointment.

Agreed here, very lacking for such a milestone event. Wasted potential.

On the last Kamelot, I for one liked it a lot.... For what it is, which is to say more of the same. Put all the Tommy albums in a stack, and this is the one I would reach for first. That being said, everything since Ghost Opera is largely interchangeable, and if they were putting out new albums every 18-24 months like back in the day I'd be 100% burned out, but coming at 3-5 year intervals I'm happy to digest the new material when it drops.

[introclaus]

WITHIN TEMPTATION / Bleed Out -
I've been backing off of WT for the past few discs now .... when bands start to change sound, style, or members, I start to head south. That has always been my way, and WT is no different. The days of saying that Sharon's voice is worth the price of the disc are long gone, and I didn't buy this one. I'd heard enough of it to know that they have gone into a much more poppy direction than previous, and some of the vocal processing and electronica elements don't sit well with me anymore. I've got all the WT I need - especially the live DVD / Bluray shows ...... I did get to see them during The Unforgiving tour, so I'm happy with my history of the band......

You know I love (!!!) this album - and I think you're wrong, so there's that!

MYRATH / Karma -
Another one of my favorite bands trying to do the poppier thing. This disc isn't even out yet, and from what I've heard from people, and hearing some of the songs on the disc ( it was leaked and then pulled for some reason ), I knew that I wasn't going to dig the direction. I know the last two discs have had some poppy injections here and there, but I chalked it up to melodies because they still held onto that heavy guitar and metal sound they I loved from the beginning. Of course I'm jumping the gun, but I know enough ahead of time to say that I probably won't buy this one when it comes out .....my new motto with these bands is going to be > STOP THE POP.

Yes, horrible disappointment. I've listened to it 15 times or more (because I wanted to like it) and I find a bit more to "enjoy" with each spin, but it'll never be a great album, and the thought of how amazing these guys were destined to become is just the biggest letdown of it all ...

ARENA / LIfian Tour - Live
Another one I didn't buy - and won't. I have loved Arena from the start. Even with all of their singer changes over the years, something I hate when bands do, I've stuck it out and adjusted. One of my favorite singers, Damian Wilson, is back in the band, and fronting this disc. We all remember the previous disc and all of the back and forth CLaus and I went with the production values, or lack of in my case, but again having not heard a note of this disc - how the hell can a band in 2024 charge $24 for a CD and have a sub-par production ? How can a band like Arena charge $24 for a disc - period ? Regardless of the sound. Again, I'm at a point where the singer is NOT worth the price of that disc, and I'm just absolutely refusing to do it. Nope - not doing it.

This album is so good - incredible set list. The disappointment here is that you're cheating yourself out of an amazing experience.

RAY ALDER / II -
Here is where the fun begins for posts like this one. I absolutely loved the previous Ray Alder disc, and jumped on this without putting on a swimsuit and hitting the pool naked. This disc just doesn't capture the raw emotion and melodies that the first one did. This one seems a bit more grittier if you will, more cold and unfeeling......really threw me for a loop.

I liked the debut but think this one is much better. Really enjoying this one.

ORPHANED LAND / A Heaven you May Create - (CD/DVD)
Not much more to be said here that wasn't said in the original post recently. For a 30th anniversary show, they absolutely blew the DVD portion of this. Not good - and a complete disappointment.

I didn't watch the DVD so I have no comments on that. The audio section is just great to me though, and the fact it's so "Mabool"-heavy makes me happy.

[Mardoch]

MYRATH / Karma -
Another one of my favorite bands trying to do the poppier thing. This disc isn't even out yet, and from what I've heard from people, and hearing some of the songs on the disc ( it was leaked and then pulled for some reason ), I knew that I wasn't going to dig the direction. I know the last two discs have had some poppy injections here and there, but I chalked it up to melodies because they still held onto that heavy guitar and metal sound they I loved from the beginning. Of course I'm jumping the gun, but I know enough ahead of time to say that I probably won't buy this one when it comes out .....my new motto with these bands is going to be > STOP THE POP.

That one video was all generative AI bullshit (the fucking lyric typos, lmfao, have a goddamned shred of pride in your output) and the album cover art appears to be the same. Why the fuck should I bother paying a BAND of ostensible ARTISTS who can't be fucked to pay the visual artists to back up their work? I'm passing on this album for this reason. Fuck the generative AI leeches, man.