Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Well VR were ment to bring back rock n roll etc. But like, i see some of the new british bands (Roadstar, The answer) And they are more what VR should be doing really.


I mean dont get me wrong, i like contraband, but its such a weak debut considering its ment to be a super group and....slash, i know everyones said this a million times how he rarely solos, but it is true, they wanna bring back rock n roll, i want some good guitar work. I dunno, i listen to the new british bands, they have so much more than VR, more complex and talented music. VR are a wasted opportunity, hopefully the new album will take them to new levels, but as for the band who were to bring rock n roll back, they didnt succeed, id say The Darkness did more of that, even with the lame vocals.

Thoughts? This is not a VR hating rant though, great live act.

Brit pop like the Sterosonics(sp?) have been popular for a few years now, but there is room for VR, and GN'R.

Meh, whatever to the "bringing back rock n'roll" thing... Every 5 months there's a new band that's supposed to do that. ?Rock fans don't even know what they want anymore.

I enjoy Contraband and can't wait for the next album (which I expected to be out by now). ?I don't understand how VR "should" be doing anything with regards to their music, except making whatever comes naturally. ?I think they are capable of material that is stronger than Contraband... but I don't want them to change their sound to try and force this shift in mainstream music that people seem to be expecting.

Good post Easy E..the guys in VR have always been about making music spontaneous without forcing anything and my god they can be spontenouswith songs like Jungle, Estranged which are completely fresh sounding. Thats all they have to do, they are talented and have enough chemistry to create timeless songs. It comes down to how they mesh with Scott. Contraband was rushed. This album should be amazing because they're taking their time and more importantly they know each other and each other's strengths better

Hmmm... you say VR sound outdated, yet you say they aren't bringing back classic rock n roll?
So which one is it? ::)


I think on Contraband they were trying to show that they could make more than just GN'R style rock. I think this new album will be more of a mix of old and new styles.

meh but contraband is bland compared to some of these new groups.

How could they "bring rock back" and play shitty music? I'd rather have them play good rock than play shitty music and be the mainstream successor.

This topic, outdated?

By two years.

These british bands are'nt on the same level as VR in any way. Contraband is so much stronger than anything these bands put out.

What is this about no Slash solos on Contraband. Have you listened to the album more than briefly in the background? They're all there, SuckerTrain, DLT, Illegal I all have great solo's not to mention all the others, in fact only Big machine and superhuman dont have "solo's" per se.

I liked it a lot and still do.. I think the term supergroup doesn't mean it will change music or make the best album ever.. I think it's harder to bring people together from groups that did well and have that same chemistry as the band's they were in prior..

Anyways how many 40 year olds come back and change music with a new band.. ? How good you do means nothing, zakk wylde makes good music but the mainstream isn't buying 500,000 copies it's opening week..

No band with members this advanced in the careers will "bring back" or  "change the face of the rock landscape", it just doesn't work that way.  History shows us that's a task best left to the youngsters.

What VR did do was remind us that rock can be done at a high level, especially in a live setting.

im not saying VR are rubbish, they ARE a great live act i agree, ive seen them myself.

but whoever said contraband is a better album than some of the new bands like roadstar is mad. Have you listened to the album? its great.

These things are opinions. You can't say someone is "mad" 'cause he doesn't like the same music you do.

What a great point Falcon. : ok:

The only bands that have the power to change the landscape of rock music are the young hungry bands with nothing to loose and alot to prove.  VR hold a stake in resurrecting rock, and that is by having the young bands look up to them.

But the young, unproven bands are the ones that are going to change things.  It'll happen, sooner rather than later.

well if they like rock music i cant see how they wont like the album if they give it a listen.

i do totally agree there.

very well *appluads*

2 of the band changed the landscape of rock music forever 19 years ago.

Lightning doesn't always strike twice.

Bands like Towers of London and Roadstar are good rock bands, maybe they'll make a record in the future that is on the same level as VR, but at the moment they're simply not there. :peace:

I don't think they're outdated.  I do think Contraband was a little too safe and conservative for its own good though, and that may have hurt its overall impact and I personally think it hurt the replay value.  I think the main problem with Contraband is that there are a lot of good to really good rock songs but not many standout songs, and most of the songs kind of lost their luster after a bunch of listens.  I went around a year without listening to it before listening to it last week and about half the songs just seem a little bland, they don't make me want to keep listening over and over

Hopefully the next album will take more risks and be a little more brash and distinct.  But I don't think being outdated is the problem for VR

VR's second album will show if this argument has any merit. No one was really floored by Contraband, but Scott came in so late I'm not sure it was the best they could have done. Now they can write music with a band to write for, and a public that has reacted to they're first output. Personally, I think "Come On, Come In" was better than most of Contraband, and that trend of improvement will hopefully continue with Libertad.

Right. Great live act. Even better than great, superb. Could not disagree more on the comment:
a. a weak debut
b. a wasted opportunity

explain why you disagree?

I agree with those that say 'Come on, Come in' is better than most if not all on Contraband - that should bode well for the new album if the Pharrell nonsense doesnt overpower it. Is there really room for another great band to to ruin their sound with pointless hip hop beats and shite samples?

i doubt they'd do that.

if they did they wouldnt get very far as there fans like them for doing rock music. not crap.

Im intrigued by the whole Pharrell Williams equation. Most people here seem to hate him, but I think the dude knows how to put together some ace songs. Got a good ear and music sense. Itll be interesting to see what happens when he works in a different genre and with musicians who are actually creative.

This thread is all about VR being outdated - I think he will really add some fresh direction to the band.

Slash and Matt addressed the whole producer issue and said nothing was set in stone. In fact they only worked with him for a short peroid and I thought they said they haven't decided on a producer yet.

As for Slash's solos he said he plays what he feels and more importantly what suits teh song.It's not about insert solo here.

All of this was talked about on Camp Freddy radio a few weeks back.

As for VR sounding outdated well to each his own I guess. I find when I listen to Contraband it sound fresh, a little too polished at times but fresh.  Loving the Alien and You Got No Right are gems, too bad they were never released as singles.

VR had a solid debut with Contraband and I expect the next one to surpass it.  I really don't think VR is outdated.  The music is great and  the shows are awesome.  It's nice to see veteran rockers show the little bands how it's done.

Thank You... I get so tired of hearing that when the album is full of solos... 

VR don't sound outdated to me... I don't listen to Contraband much anymore because it has been out 2 years and I have 1,000 other Cd's.. When I do put it on, it still kicks ass.. I usually forget how much it does.. These guys will never be in a band as great as Gn'R were but they are doing pretty damn good and rock pretty f'n hard for a bunch of middle aged dudes...

Problem #1 no Axl Rose!

Problem #2 Weiland sucks!


VR sucks! How were they meant to bring back rock n roll? cause of a couple xGNR guys. Sorry had to hop in the VR section and talk shit to all you.  :yes:

the same can be asked about new gnr, how are they going to save rock because it's axl and some people no one knows ;) Only advantage they have is axl uses the name for his solo act..

Weiland has had tons of success, while axl was in hiding he was making multi platinum albums

Solution #1. Its not fucking Guns N Roses.

UK rock bands are nice, but they only have success in the UK. None of the bands you mentioned have been heard of here in North America. VR was bigger than any of those. Hell, The Darkness didn't even make a dent on the charts aside from that one single...
VR will be fine. No amount of Scott bashing will change that.

Persoanlly I thought Big Machine coulda used a huge solo....not that i don't like the song cause it's one of my favorites

Wanna know why they dont get much success out of there (other than in japan)? Cause the companies, radios, mainstream mags dont push them., the darkness became huge in 2004 because the mags pushed them, they were on tv often, then they took too long to release a follow up, and when they did it was pretty shitty so they declined rapidly, i think they did alot for rock though, opened more people up to it.

So your saying that because they don't sound dated or follow trends  they are outdated?

One album doesn't do in a band. It's a new band who were finding common ground with contraband. The only wasted opportunties are ones not taken.

not exactly. out dated in there cause more than anything, over shadowed?

You gotta remember Slash plays to fit the songs feel, and you gotta have faith in him to play whats best, he might of tried a big solo but it just didnt flow? I find it hard to believe that a lot of people say theres no solo's, when the album is full of great lead's. Maybe its because the feel of the album isnt the same as other Slash stuff. The songs themselves generally arent based in the blues in the classic rock sense even though the solo's themselves still are, after all thats Slash's way of playing

A great solo is not only knowing when to play, but also knowing when not to play.