REVIEWS
SINBAD PRODUCTIONS
presents......
Ball One Strike Two
(Various Artists)Sinbad Discs
35 songs can be found
on this compilation CD. That is over 140 minutes of music for a nice price.
If you are a faithful Hammerhead reader, then you'll know the main man behind
Sinbad Productions is David LaDuke. You have seen reviews of his solo works
and also releases from artists he's been helping out over the years. A lot of
time in the making and now Strike Two is released. We have pushed it in the
news page at the site plenty of times. I fully stand behind the way they
support the metal and rock underground. On this Comp we see Dave rounding up
even more known bands and mixing it with lesser knowns. Mystic Force and
Gooseflesh are bands we have covered. Last Chapter hits as does the latest
Halford shredder Metal Mike Chlasciak and Catch 22. They round up Blasdead
& Hydra from Japan, Brutal Orgasm from Portgal, Dorian Grey from
Germany and a handful of bands from Canada. It was also cool to hear a
band Prototype that we are on a Top 100 list with. You get punk to
death metal to Goth and good old power metal. So if you like your metal
more home grown and want to discover some new sounds, then again you'll
also find out that some of these bands have members that came from cool
bands like Dio, Accept, Heathen, Talas and many more...then look to
BallBuster to serve your metal needs.
Hammerhead, Spr/Sum 2001, USA
Various Artists - Ball One Strike Two 2xCD This double CD set is literally
crammed full of bands hellbent on recapturing the 80s glory days of
hard rock and hair metal. 35 bands doing 35 songs that run the gambit
of hard rock and metal. In spite of the fact many of these bands are
obviously pining away in dreams of days past more still are high quality
and high impact enough to make a drive for the future. With the slow
return of headbanging to the masses the timing for a CD of this magnitude
is excellent. Especially considering the diversity of styles here...
you get everything from falsetto wimp metal to down and dirty growl
metal. It is also worth noting that many of these bands contain former
members of acts you and your Motley Crue wristband remember from the
good ole' days. (www.ballbusterhardmusic.com) -Brad - The Crass Menagerie
#95
"Ball One Strike 2" various artists, Sinbad Recordings - This is only
the second edition in this series from Sinbad Discs but it seems like
there should have been more. Perhaps it is because there is just so much
music crammed into the two discs, thirty-seven tracks in all. The most
appealing thing about these "Ball One" discs is that there is such a range
of heavy music from both the known and unknown and then from every degree
of notability in between. Of the 140 minutes on these two discs you will
hear contributions from former/current members of DIO, HALFORD, Accept,
Annihilator, Talas, The Four Horsemen, B 52"s, Dangerous Toys and a nearly
endless list of others. Though the list of "stars" runs similar to a great
deal of these "tribute" records currently available these are all original
compositions. There are thirty-five tacks here with so much top quality
stuff it is hard to pick a few to describe in further detail but I shall
try. The first supremely notable track is the one provided by "Metal"
Mike Chlasciak, currently one of two brilliant guitarists in the band
HALFORD. The track is called "13 Minutes After Death" and it is a complete
mind-grinder of guitar that actually makes the listener feel as though
they are traveling to the time suggested by the title. The second track
eminently worthy of special note is "Last of a Dying Breed" by AMERICN
DOG. Apt sentiment for a collective of musicians that found their greatest
fame better than a decade ago is poured into a solid American Rock and
Roll mold and roughed up with sandpaper vocals to produce a classic track.
There is so much more here but at the budget price I will leave you to
dig for your own gold. Oh yes, if you be a connoisseur of album artwork
this cover features an original painting by MOTORHEAD artist Joe Petagno.
For more info or to order, BallBusterHard@webtv.net. -Rock and a Hard
Place, May 2001- http://www.rockhardplace.com/mainpage.htm
Ball One Strike Two Doubleplay - A Hard Salute (Sinbad Recordings)
Various Artists This CD is like the BallBuster Magazine brought to us
by David LaDuke - it is overflowing, with over 140 minutes of hard music.
The CD features former members of Dio, Accept, Talas, the Four Horsemen,
Mortification and more. There is a mix of different sounds of heaviness
- everything from death to progressive metal. It's all covered here!
There is a lot of ground to cover on this disk, but the ones that really
stand out are `Trinity" by Prototype - it has the feel of Fates Warning,
with a cool mix of acoustic and electric guitar, good vocals; I especially
like "Ego" from Hard Boiled -this tune is goth / death / techno and
industrial all rolled into one. Hard Boiled sounds like The Cure, Type
O Negative and Morbid Angel thrown in a bowl and stirred together to
make a very eccentric sound. I´m diggin´ this tune! If you want a variety
of metal - pick up Ball One Strike Two. -Laura Spalding / Louisville
Music News April 2001
Ball One Strike Two(U.S.) 2000 SB Prod.
Compilations come and go in the underground and only a few actally lay
a scar for awhile that keeps remiding you of how good they are. This
is a 2-cd set from Kentucky's Ballbuster Hard Music Journal and gives
you 35 bands and well over 2 hours of listening pleasure.Different genres
of music and some well-noted artists fall into your hands on this release:
musicians from many bands including Rob Halford,Accept,Annihilator,
Wargasm,Solitude Aeturnus,Talas,Sass Jordan, Heathen,Dangerous Toys,etc.--a
worthy investment guaranteed. Cover art done by the well known Motorhead
artist,Joe Petagno. Some bands to mention on here also: Catch 22, Mayadome,Prototype,Mystic
Force,Fiarro,Madd Hunter,Inbreed and Psychotic Waltz---awesome!
QUINTESSENCE Magazine, Mt Carmel, Pa- USA (Feb 2001)
VARIOUS ARTISTS - Ball One: The International Hard Music Ball and Ball One: Strike Two - Double Play: A Hard Salute (Sinbad)
David La Duke has amassed a legion of hard rock and metal acts from
around the world in order to give us a pre-dinner sampler of what might
be worthy of sinking our teeth into and what might not be. The first
volume, released in 1997 starts off with the eccentric hard rock of
David La Duke himself with "Psychedelic Sandwich". Things twist
frightfully in the direction of doomful Isolation Chamber and then
detour into the Heep-ish Red Baron. Who says there isn't diversity in
heavy rock!? If that ain't enough, we get a totally red "Too Damn Sober"
from the now defunct Hilljack. Naro provides a middle of the road, hooky
hard piece of mid-tempo rock in "Jokes on You." Hey, even Roxx Gang
makes an appearance with their bottom heavy party rock. Compression adds
some visceral thrust to the affair even if they are pretty much a
redundant punk-metal pummeling. Mystic Force offers up some raw
oldschool metal and well, there's tons more of the same diverse spread
and surprisingly, it works quite well. The majority of the material is
top notch and the feel indeed comes off as a party, which I believe was
the intent.
The second volume sports 2 discs, enough to carry the party into the wee
hours of the morning. Here we have more modern sounding Mystic Force
cracking open the champagne. The band takes on more sophisticated
approach, very much like late 80s Queensryche but with techy elements
and effects scattered about. But make no mistakes, the new edition is
mostly made up of acts that did not appear on the first. Highlights
include the stoner rock meets power metal inventiveness of Prototype,
the unruly crunch of David La Duke's "Give It All To Rock 'n' Roll" and
the elegant metal rumblings of Dorian Gray. Blood Red has a bit of
anarchic rage underneath the pumping rhythm, but the melodic vocals and
subtle metal funk make this an interesting piece. Blasdead takes an
oldschool Megadeth intro and blasts it into stratospheric thrash. Hot!
Disc one might have more quality per track, but the 2 CD follow up set
is equally worth the price, simply because it has twice as much music
and most of it too is quite good. The second set is slightly more lower
end Sab/stoner heavy than the first, but the overall presentation is
roughly the same. If you dig hard music and want to hear how refreshing
the underground can be, you can't go wrong here. Of note, both are based
on the coverage of Ballbuster - The Official International Hard Music
Report. -Rev. Dude Rock-
Both 4 1/2 out of 5 Bolts.
electricbasement.com
VARIOUS ARTISTS-BALL ONE STRIKE TWO (SINBAD)
Disc 1, opens with the
Queensryche influenced, especially vocally, Mystic-Force, with
"IDENTICAL STRANGERS". Gooseflesh give us "CONTROLLER", which is too
repetitious, for my liking. A toned-down White Zombie, with a touch of
Alice Cooper, American Dog give us the best track thus far, with "LAST
OF A DYING BREED". The acoustics of Prototype, sets the mood, for the
well-varied "TRINITY", with some excellent, lead guitar. Chunky, Power
Metal, with their only downfall being a repetitive chorus, on "BITE THE
HAND THAT FEED", by Machinery. "ONE THIN DIME", by Profane, is intense,
especially vocally, and sounds like Disturbed. The intricate, Power
Metal of Mayadome, has them incorporate many, different, styles, and
sounds, into the context of their ballad offering "SCENT OF LILAC". Last
Chapter are heavily influenced by Black Sabbath (musically), on "THE
BELATED". "13 MINUTES AFTER DEATH" is weird, poorly produced, muddy,
Industrial music, by Mike Chlasciak. I hope they don't play this at my
funeral? Chunky, with a steady, powerful, rhythm, "GIVE IT ALL TO ROCK &
ROLL" is Power Metal/Rock. I prefer David LA Duke's strong music sense,
rather than the vocals, with his guitar playing highlight, near it's
finale. The haunting intro, and pummelling beats, of "PROCEEDING THE
HERETIC", sounds like old school, Thrash Metal. The voice of Hydra
sounds familiar, but I can't quite place it? Welcome to the circus
sideshow, "AMDUCIAST/THE SCREAM" is an excellent Rocker, well-written,
produced, and executed, by the skilled musicians of X-Factor-X. Catch 22
are an intense act, combining both piercing guitars and vocals. "EMPTY"
is a bit repetitious, but an excellent tune, apart from that. Dorian
Gray are an old school band, with European flair. "LIKE A DOG" shows
evident talent, especially the guitarist(s), and rocks with the best of
them. The title does seem a bit strange, though. A gritty production,
makes "BREAK" sound heavier than it really is. I prefer their music, to
the "spoken" vocals. Although energetic, there's nothing special that
stands out on this track, that ends rather abruptly. Blending some
really, weird, yet "cool", guitar effects, making "E.B.E." stand out as
an original. Rusty Cooley knows his scales, and makes good use of them,
at lightning speed. "VINGANCA OBSCURA" is thrashing, banging, Death
Metal, slurge, with inaudible, vocal, grunts. This is nothing that I
haven't heard before, but with a name like Brutal Orgasmo, what did you
expect? Disc 2, begins with the upbeat, uptempo, "OPEN INVITATION", with
it's positive vibe and outlook. Blood Red Flower play some excellent,
Alex Lifeson (Rush) influenced, guitar. I prefer their music, over the
vocals, though. Annihilator's first vocalist, John Bates, from their
"WELCOME TO YOUR DEATH" demos, returns with his Gothic Metal, styled,
solo effort, under the monicker of Bates Motel. "KILLING ME" sounds like
Bauhaus. Blending elements of both Rap and Hard-core. Pain Museum is a
cool band name, but "TRUST" needs work, as it's too repetitious, and
reminds me of the same style as some of Megadeth's, recent, material.
Shouldn't that be "Eggs"? Influenced by Type O Negative, Hard Boiled
blend Death Metal, with Industrial, on "EGO". Some major keyboards set
the mood for the average pace, of this average track, "THE UNTAMED
LEGEND", by a Black/Death Metal act, with Johnny Hedlund (Unleashed)
style vocals, known as Uranus. Eightball Cholos' vocalist sounds just
like Billy Milano. Their moody and atmospheric "IN MY BLACKEST HOUR"
sounds like a release, especially verbally, as it builds in intensity,
tick, tock, tick, tock...BOOM! Blasdead sound almost identical to old
Anthrax, from their music, right down to their voice, but now, with
Anthrax not doing much, they've come in at an opportune moment, with the
slightly faster, and vulgar language, of "NIGHTMARE". Madd Hunter are a
well-executed, effective, Power Metal, act, with a steady rhythm,
influenced by Judas Priest. "ON THE ROAD & IN THE WIND" is a biker song,
so grab yer hog, and let er rip! Strong music, especially the guitars,
combined with a Rock style, poet/vocalist, Psychotic Waltz are not
complex, but have alot of feeling on their playing/singing, on "NORTHERN
LIGHTS". The chunky, steady, rhythms and pace, of Bralalalala, on their
Funky Metal "CLOWN RIGHTS", sounds familiar, but I can't quite place it?
An excellent sense of timing, makes the Death Metal of Erase's track
"ALONE" catchy, albeit repetitious, yet still effective, although I
prefer the music, to the vocals. Sacred Child sound like Whitesnake, on
"BLACK WIDOW". The fast-paced, lead, guitar, style of Pete Wadeson,
sounds like his influences range from that of Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden)
to Matthias Jabs (Scorpions), on the unfortunately rather short "SCHIZO
PHRENIAC". Powerful and penetrating, "THE WALLS" sounds like it was
taken directly from a Sludge demo. Their name suits their sound, so
satisfy your craving. The top notch, classy, and talented, musicianship,
of Fiarro, makes "REDEMPTION" standout as a highlight. Powerfreak's
"MIND RIOT" is about illegal aliens, and the government conspiracy to
cover it up. Suitable for the times. "SWEET SCARY DREAMS" starts off
slow, but pours out emotion. Inbreed are influenced by early Mercyful
Fate, on this instrumental. Count Viglione is sleazy, running the gannet
between Iggy Pop, and Lou Reed, as he proudly states "I WANT YOU
SEXUALLY". Yet another standout, and a suitable closure. Overall, about
50% of this double CD package has potential, and since most of the
artists have already been involved with bigger acts, you never know how
many will stand the test of time? Sinbad Recordings/P.O. Box
58368/Louiville, KY 40268-0368. E-mails: SBcomm@webtv.net and
BallBusterHard@webtv.net. Website: www.BALLBUSTERHARDMUSIC.com.
Chris Horton, SpAsTiK dEaTh - March, 2001
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