Contrarian

I guess the great bands don't need this type of publicity as much as all these minor developing bands... Too bad the first was was an utter bore... I don't know about CONTRARIAN but to answer the question, I guess the big names won't come here any time soon...  

To be honest, I will not complain as long as I do not have to see T***** M*** any more..

And, who knows, maybe there will someday be a promising band.. as long as not, do not listen more than once to the samples..

I like retro cheese. Keep up the good work.

hahhaha

not passing judgment on the group... but will say.. in case they are watching and listening...


fire the singer....  whatever concept you had is lost on these ears ...  the vocals are wretched...  my first thought is LaBrie kind of bad. 

and get yourself a damned Hammond Organ and dttch that cheesy keyboard sound

everything I hate about modern prog... sterile sounding. no grit... no FIRE...  but other than that... sounds good hhahhahha keep it up..  Sounding like everyone else out there today is a sure path to nowhere.

edit... did give them another listen.. a definite step up from last month...  but they need to really get an identity and a sound their own... 

as some wise soul said one time... there is nothing.. NOTHING worse than Bad prog...

this isn't bad... but it only rises to the next level..

there is nothing ... NOTHING less inspiring than generic run of the milll prog.

Prog...  is the root of PROGRESSIVE.. progress.. move forward. do something.


Edited by micky - June 05 2008 at 18:09

Just a couple of notes here ... first, it's nice to see that there isn't a moratorium in place against bad reviews on this advertised album; second, it's not a bad place to TRY to expose your music if you ( I mean the band) believe that your music can be identified as within that narrowest of narrow genres () - prog ; Thirds - to make this ad spot attractive in the future, could we maybe make our criticism more helpful ? Would it hurt to make the attempt to identify, if at all possible, the positives ? Then, as Torman Maxt and this group seem to indicate, if the "product" isn't quite there, could we not just offer suggestions on what they could build on, improve or work on to hopefully come out with a better release the next time around ?
This may seem small potatoes now, and yeah, we shouldn't expect the big prog names to be booking ad space at PA anytime soon; but is there anyone here who can't see the possibilities ?
Support the scene. There's no need for mollycoddling, but a little helping hand from those here at PA who can share some of their expansive knowledge, and a tiny shard of enthusiasm from the rest of us who are fans of the genre isn't much to ask, is it ?
So Torman Maxt's album does not hold a candle to 2112 as they thought it might. Can we offer insight on what they could have refined further, or encourage them to expand on the parts that offered some potential ?

Just a thought ... from one who knows all too well how easy it can be to go negative in a big way (unecessarily so at times).

Ghost Rider wrote: It's not a question of wanting to be negative at all costs. As far as I am concerned, I am always willing to give ANYONE a chance - and believe me, in the two years I've been a SC, I've screened a lot of bands and artists for addition, finding quite a few of them worthy of further investigation. However, those guys (I can't say anything about T.M., not having listened to their material) have what in my eyes is the biggest flaw in music... They are boring and unoriginal - which doesn't mean they can't play or anything of the sort. Therefore, I wholeheartedly endorse what Micky and Uwe said in their previous posts.

well said Raff... we do screen a LOT of new groups that come in through AR...  and these guys are not bad... they are just lacking originality...  I think it is constructive criticism to point that out.  Unless you ARE original.. or have something to put you above or set you apart from all the others out there.. this group is not going to go anywhere. 

listen to this group.. then something like Gaylord... then tell me who has a better chance to still be playing music and not selling copy machines in five years hahahha

Henry Plainview wrote: micky wrote:  Gaylord I had never heard of these guys before, thanks for mentioning them, they're really good, although I don't think that name is good for their marketing, hahaha.

you don't think so? hahhaha.  it grabs your attention hahhaa.

Glad you liked it ...  it grabbed me from first listen... anyway...  some may like it or not like it... but no one can not call it  creative, foward thinking.. and progressive. Those are the groups that keep pushing the boundaries.. and will find an audience... and some measure of success. Their own little place  in the prog world.  That was a great find by Phil and one that stands out in the scores of groups that .. I at least.. have listened to in process of screening new groups here. Contrarian can take a lesson from that... as I said before .. to find a sound that is unmistakeable their own...  they'll never be driving Rolls and flying private jets to shows.. but they will find an audience all their own.  Anyway... that is my feedback for them if they are listening.

schizoid_man77 wrote: I'm all up for putting some attention on an artist, but I think we should aim for the ones with less of a 70's sound, and go for the ones who are a bit off the grind, and original, or at least portray some form of originality...

Yeah, but most Avant bands are broke

Well, i just listetened to their samples and while I agree it's not too original (and the voice is kind of weak) it's way better than our previous feautured artist. (I had some pleasure reviewing it though...)...No, really, at least these CONTRARIAn represent the spirit of prog.. maybe retro prog but PROG.... one day we will probably have an "avant garde" band as featured artist.. but remember: "avant garde" artists usually hate being labeled as anything, including as "prog", so I don't think that many of them will come asking for the deal with M@x...... Expect that slot to be occupied mostly by bands that sound like typical prog...

Edited by The T - June 07 2008 at 18:37