New Van Halen - Blood and Fire (Preview)

[Gainzilla]

well, I don't mean every song on it...

"Mean Street" – 5:00
"Dirty Movies" – 4:08
"Sinner's Swing!" – 3:09
"Hear About It Later" – 4:35
"Unchained" – 3:29
"Push Comes To Shove" – 3:49
"So This Is Love?" – 3:06
"Sunday Afternoon in the Park" (Instrumental) – 1:59
"One Foot Out the Door" – 1:58

except for sinner's swing and so this is love, they're all pretty dark imo. even dirty movies at least musically

I see what you are saying but this is what I call dark album.

LOL, yeah theres dark and then theres dark...

 

[Rogue]

yea, fair warning, overall was a pretty dark album. my favorite from them for sure

I see my definition of dark album other people's definition are very different.

"Change, nothing stays the same"

Probably frightening lyrics for the stuck in the 80s crowd.

 

[kiff]

well, I don't mean every song on it...

"Mean Street" – 5:00
"Dirty Movies" – 4:08
"Sinner's Swing!" – 3:09
"Hear About It Later" – 4:35
"Unchained" – 3:29
"Push Comes To Shove" – 3:49
"So This Is Love?" – 3:06
"Sunday Afternoon in the Park" (Instrumental) – 1:59
"One Foot Out the Door" – 1:58

except for sinner's swing and so this is love, they're all pretty dark imo. even dirty movies at least musically

I see what you are saying but this is what I call dark album.

LOL, yeah theres dark and then theres dark...

haha yea. and I know most ppl will think I'm crazy, but I see "Push Comes To Shove" as darker than most slayer songs... obviously not angrier or heavier. maybe a better word would be melancholy.

While I'm confessing my insanity; I also see the beatles version of helter skelter as heavier than motley crue's. not gain-wise, but balls out wise.... but that's another thread

 

[Rogue]

yeah, that tune has some serious snarl too it... I think that he was talking about that signature DLR attitude whether it be party rock or balls to the wall. More or less, I think Dave brings a bunch of that back in the new stuff...

There is definitely some attitude missing, but that's cool. DLR started toning down shortly after he left VH, and that is where I feel he's at. I'm not sure he can pull any of that off anymore. Anytime I've ever watched DLR live, his vocals never really had that thing going on on albums.

It's fine to me. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the new record. Better than I anticipated to be honest. A few places where I'm like, "ugh", but I can live with it. It's clearly DLR even if tamer.

The more I hear, it sounds like they are having fun, which I didn't think at first with Tattoo. The other stuff seems a bit more fun and perhaps even exploratory for them. It appears there is a pretty diverse range of types of songs.

I'm into it.

 

[Rogue]

haha yea. and I know most ppl will think I'm crazy, but I see "Push Comes To Shove" as darker than most slayer songs... obviously not angrier or heavier. maybe a better word would be melancholy.

While I'm confessing my insanity; I also see the beatles version of helter skelter as heavier than motley crue's. not gain-wise, but balls out wise.... but that's another thread

Yeah, the chick that DLR didn't get to bang is probably considered dark.

I really don't find any of VH's lyrics dark or deep. Some might be darker than others, but only to the degree of getting laid or not getting laid...which isn't really dark. That's like saying 99% of country music is dark.

That said, I'd love to hear some deeper, darker VH.

 

[kiff]

haha yea. and I know most ppl will think I'm crazy, but I see "Push Comes To Shove" as darker than most slayer songs... obviously not angrier or heavier. maybe a better word would be melancholy.

While I'm confessing my insanity; I also see the beatles version of helter skelter as heavier than motley crue's. not gain-wise, but balls out wise.... but that's another thread

Yeah, the chick that DLR didn't get to bang is probably considered dark.

hey, them california girls are really tanned.

yea, that's why I said (few posts back) that it was more of a music thing, not so much lyrically. but then again, push comes to shove is about breaking up, not just about not getting laid... admittedly though, that could be synonymous to DLR

 

[SkyhighRocks]

You can listen to The Trouble With Never at this link...just wait for the page to fully load and click play in the big box. I tried downloading it but the user is out of bandwidth. I've already pre-ordered the CD so I don't need a copy.

http://www.box.com/s/80czjen6cfy48eacle5d

 

[zewango]

You can listen to The Trouble With Never at this link...just wait for the page to fully load and click play in the big box. I tried downloading it but the user is out of bandwidth. I've already pre-ordered the CD so I don't need a copy.

http://www.box.com/s/80czjen6cfy48eacle5d

I'm digging this tune. Long Live VH. I'll take this over Love Comes walking in any day.

 

[cibyl]

I don't think it's bad -- but none of the new stuff I've heard so far make me want to buy the record.

 

[riffy]

The production values on the two clips I have now heard, sound like they could be DLR Band Skyscraper tracks without Steve Vai.

Gary

 

[bigdaddyd]

I love Roth era VH, and was even pretty happy with the 2 tunes on the greatest hits. This new album is shaping up to be a joke without a punchline for me.

I would have to agree with this, except that I LOVED the 2 tunes they did with Roth on the greatest hits record.

 

[AndyK]

I like the Trouble With Never (A fun VH tune with a good chorus), and what I heard of Stay Frosty and even She's The Woman. My problem is the guitar volume. In Ice Cream Man, the guitar comes in an hits you like a hammer. In Frosty, it sounds like it's in the background. I want it LOUDER in the mix!! Kinda reminds me of Sykes' guitars on the '87 Whitesnake album - killer stuff, buried in the mix.

That said, I'm STILL going to buy the CD when it comes out. It's been WAY too long between the two Best Of songs and this new VH-DLR collaboration! And I want a physical CD with album art and a jewel case!

 

[reverymike]

I don't know guys, from the 2:00 minute mark in Blood & Fire thru the solo it's awesome! Have you heard the full song??

Pete Thorn was saying yesterday that the stuff that has gotten out isn't the heaviest, or most rockin' stuff either. . .he said "Chinatown" is going pretty much satisfy the naysayers.

 

[reverymike]

A preview of "Chinatown" is up now at www.vhnd.com. It's too hard to tell from just a clip of a song whether it stands up or not (I learned that with Blood & Fire. . .hated the clip, but the full song rocks).

It's definitely heavy and pumpin'.

 

[Gainiac]

I heard the Chinatown clip on the radio the other day, made me remember this post. So I re-listend again to all the clips on the site...
The guitar works' fine, I s'pose, idk, I guess I feel like maybe Dave's 'delivery' has lost something since 'Eat em'. Like the album w/ Jason Becker, where I felt it's like, demo quality and not polished enuff vocally...
UGH. I really dont like slinging mud at my heroes. I love these guys and stoked their still out doin it live.
Maybe it's cool as their first foray back into the mix... Maybe they need time to gel again as songwriters...?
Maybe I need a drink....

 

[mixohoytian]

This was leaked at TGP earlier. Didn't see it here yet

Is anyone else having trouble with Roth's pitch on the second line he sings "saints and the sinners"? I mean, to my ear, the first time I heard it I was having that dissonant annoyance thing happening in my ears. However, the fact that this has gone on to the second page with no one else mentioning it, makes me wonder if my ear just isn't processing it right. To me it sounds off pitch, but how would that make it through all the engineers, band members and producers?

I don't know, maybe my ears aren't working right...

And that intro riff... that second guitar note being just a muted percussive "thunk" makes it sound like a mistake. He repeats it, but it just sounds strange to me.

that part does sound wrong, but dave sounds in Key
sounds mor elike the guitar chord is outside and no one infromed dave of what outside note to sing
and even if he sang an appropriate note, it would still sound weird

having said that
Stay Frosty Rules!

 

[Shark Diver]

As someone who lists Eddie as a huge influence.... I think history will say that Van Halen should have stopped making records after the Balance album. There are simply too many other great bands now to justify spending money on this album based off of the songs I have heard. Some of the older bands, like Rush still crank out a quality album with every new release. This new VH album is just very uninspiring from the clips I've heard. Just my two cents. YMMV...

I quit listen to Rush after "Spirit in the Radio". Nothing since then has grabbed me. "All the World's a Stage" one of the all time great live albums still.