Kino vs. It Bites (It was only a matter of time)

The similarities are obvious. By the time Maitland bowed out of Kino and Bob Dalton came on board, Kino essentially became the current incarnation of It Bites. However, even before that Kino was 50% of the current It Bites (with Marillion's Trewavas on bass).

I'm a sucker for melodic rock with a great hook. Kino's Picture was overflowing with them and it was my favorite album of that year. More of the same with the new It Bites, but there's a bit more of an edge and (what I feel) a more interesting album. I can't get enough of this one and has edged out Pendragon's Pure as my favorite disc of 2008 (although Moon Safari is going to factor in as well).

So, do you feel the new It Bites is better?

E

No idea about Kino (on the other hand, I listened to KiNo and wasn't impressed), so can't make the comparison. It Bites's new album is my favorite studio so far, but that's because the "classic" three are terrible  - it's good music and a fresh, interesting, appealing side of It Bites I appreciate more - 3/3.5 on the scale, a bit less essential in 2008 prog-rock.

Edited by Ricochet - December 06 2008 at 12:10

I saw It Bites at the Astoria in 1988, their performance of The Old Man and the Angel  at that gig was jaw-droppingly good !!

Not a bad post for being your first. 

I've enjoyed the projects that he's been a part of. He's really stepped out of the background of Arena and proven to be a very powerful creative force. One massive guitarist, too.

If Arena do anything in the future, I wonder if it'll involve Mitchell? He's got a lot of irons in the fire.

E

Gotta go with It Bites. I think it is a maturity of Kino. John Mitchell is a force! Need proof? Listen to Frost's Milliontown then list to Frost's second release Experiments in Mass Appeal. Frost goes from stellar to stinker when John's tallents are under utilized. He is still there but you would never know it.

Edited by oldproglover - September 02 2009 at 19:03

AlanD wrote: I saw It Bites at the Astoria in 1988, their performance of The Old Man and the Angel  at that gig was jaw-droppingly good !!   I've always liked their music, but still think most of their lyrics are pants!

I think I was at that gig. I remember going to 2 It Bites gigs in London that year, and one was filmed. Cant remember which one, but there's loads of clips of it on Youtube. Worth checking out!

I witnessed the first ever live performance of 'Old man and the Angel' at a small club in Reading. It was actually the 'Big lad in the Windmill' tour, but they announced it as their next single, so I guess 'Once around the world' was due out anytime. It was indeed 'jaw-droppingly' good!

Tall Ships is nowhere near as good as old It BItes  Hard to seperate the two really. As I saw It Bites perform from the Tall Ships...and it does have SOME good tracksd...I'll go for that.