THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: January 5, 2021

OPETH – Watershed

January 5, 2021 /

Unlike a lot of Opeth fans, I really love this record. Most fans say this is the album that death metal Opeth ended and prog band Opeth started. I disagree, as I think the seeds were sown back on Blackwater Park. Personally I think because this was the first album to feature Mikael’s drumming partner from Bloodbath Martin Axenrot and ex Talisman guitarist Fredrick Akesson (who both replaced fan favourites Peter Lindgren and Martin Lopez), fans saw this as the change. I think both of them are upgrades for the music that Opeth are creating.

The opening of the very melodic sorrowful Coil into Heir Apparent is pure genius. If any fan was in any doubt that Axenrot could not fill Lopez’s shoes then the blast beats at the start of The Lotus Eaters should blow that away. The riff, the groove and the melody on this song are just fantastic all mixed with the death growls – we have all bases covered here. I want to call the next track Burden a power ballad but it’s way more than that. I really love Mikaels clean vocal and on Burden it’s just perfect, complete with a killer solo from Akesson. Still a live favourite today.

I’ll admit to owning this twice on vinyl as I bought the original when it came out with the bonus CD, and I bought the green splatter that came out for a RSD day release. The bonus CD is worth a mention for a great cover of Robin Trower’s Bridge of Sighs.

This being a double album, the second disc contains 4 Opeth classics: Porcelain Heart, Hessian Peel, Hex Omega and Derelict Herds – each an absolute metal fans wet dream. The beginning to Porcelain Heart feels as though the end is about to begin – epic stuff. My favourite on this album is Hex Omega, this is such an epic song. It starts out with an almost medieval feel and just builds and builds into the most incredible of songs and concludes with a monstrous ending.

I really don’t think there is another band out there like Opeth. They are very original in their approach. Mixing all elements together to create this wonderful sound.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

VAN HALEN – S/T

January 5, 2021 /

Let’s get this out of the way straight away!! VH1 (as its affectionately known), is the greatest album of all time, if not, then it’s surely the greatest debut album of all time.

Right that’s got that out of the way!!

Let’s travel back into the mists of time way before internet, social media, cell phones and all that nonsense. I was living in the UK and information about new bands and music was scarce to say the least. Hell, we only had 3 TV channels!! I know! Positively caveman. I used to get my fix of weekly music news by reading Sounds music paper, wherein there was a column written by someone called Laurel Canyon or Sylvia Simmons – can’t remember which but it was one of them. She kept mentioning in her column about this band from LA called Van Halen who was going to melt my face off. We used to read that about bands all the time from the US that they said that about, and 9 times out of 10 it wasn’t the case.

Cut to a Saturday afternoon album show on Radio 1 by Alan Freeman and he announced next a new track by Van Halen. Well my 17 year old brain was not ready from what came out of the radio that day. He played Eruption and You Really Got Me. The sound of the guitar alone had me thinking what the hell was that?! I had never heard anything like it before, and boy was I hooked. Immediately I went to the local record store and bought me some of that.

I’m sure most of you will have heard this album before but go on do your self a favour. Go down to your decks of doom and give this a spin very loud.

There is not one bad song on this album. From the opening distorted car horn at the intro to Runnin’ With The Devil through to the close out track On Fire, there is not one second that is not pure brilliance. Not only is this a great rock record but nearly every song could have been a single – the melody on each track is killer. Atomic Punk is just freaking insane the guitar sound alone is worth the price of admission.

Ladies and Germs, this is the album that launched the whole LA scene and 10,000 copy cat guitar players. I love every minute of this record and everyone should own one.

1,000/10 from The Grooveman. Did I go over the top there?! HELL NO!!

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