Falconer - Grime vs. Grandeur. Had this album been released by any band other than Falconer, this would have been a year's highlight and attracted massive attention. But it was Falconer -- and the Blad-less Falconer at that -- so people gave it all kinds of shit. I think it's a great album. It would be great if the band rerecorded both Gobel albums with Blad.

I certainly remember people giving it a lot of shit at the time. But I got the CD, played it, and enjoyed it quite a bit. "Purgatory Time", "Humanity Overdose", "The Assailant"... great songs. I obviously understood that it was much less folky, and had no Blad. But that was not my sole criteria for the band... if they wrote good songs, then I was still good with them, and they did that here.

Midnight - Sakada. One of those weird-ass things that I just *get* but nobody else seems to. Sure, it turns to shit closer to the end ("The Cat Song" is likely the worst thing that Midnight ever sang on, that includes a start-to-finish turd known as Strange and Beautiful) but six of the first seven tracks are all music to my ears, and it ends on a high-note with the rerecorded "Painted Skies," featuring Jon Oliva.

My thoughts about Midnight's solo work are, I think understandably, inextricably intertwined with a couple extremely bizarre live performances. As such, my memory of the actual Sakada album isn't actually that strong. I remember thinking it was weird, but I'd really have to listen again to comment more.

Overkill - ReliXIV. Yes, it sounds like ass, especially after the crystal, crispy KillBox13. But the songs are all excellent: starting from Track 3 and on. "Loaded Rack," "Bats In The Belfry," "Pound of Flesh," etc. And it's got the best Overkill closer ever: "The Old School" (the only track from this album they still play).

The Years Of Decay, From The Underground And Below, Bloodletting, and Ironbound will probably always be my favorites, but I consider ReliXIV a good album. It's been years since I last heard it, but I don't remember having any issue with the sound quality. But then, knowing me, I probably wouldn't, unless it was really, atrociously bad. But, yeah, "The Old School" is the only song from it that I remember in in detail.