REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: March 2021 (Page 1 of 14)

ANTHRAX – For All Kings

Unbelievably, this album is now five years old. Now, I’m not dissing John Bush, as the albums he sang on were good – it’s just that they didn’t sound like Anthrax albums, and I guess the fans thought the same as sales (both product and live) were dwindling. So call me a sceptic, but it was more than coincidence that we saw the return of Joey Belladonna as the front man. It feels as though this album, and Worship Music, were a continuation after the Persistence Of Time album. This is a really good record!

Opener, You Gotta Believe, is classic Anthrax and a fine return to form. Monster At The End would have been a great single if it had been released as one. They also have recruited one hell of a guitar player in Jon Donnais. It’s taken them a while to get a true replacement for Dan Spitz. Charlie Benante is one of metal’s great drummers and seems to dive under the radar constantly, but he plays his ass off here. Breathing Lightning has a great intro before blending into a classic Anthrax riff and groove. Special mention to Joey B for a great vocal and injecting some melody into proceedings. Suzerain is the heaviest track on the album and is another killer track. Evil Twin was a lead off track for the album and you can see why – it’s classic Anthrax. The slow brooding intro of Blood Eagle Wings follows and sees the band trying a slightly different approach, but still retaining that Anthrax DNA. The best track on the album Defend/Avenge is next. A great intro, a huge descending riff, and killer vocal – epic stuff!! All Of Them Thieves is also a contender for best track, another killer groove and riff plus epic drumming from Charlie. This Battle Chose Us is the penultimate track, and a fine head banger it is with another descending riff. The close out track Zero Tolerance is a fast thrash race for the finish line.

This is a double album, and yet again, the final track is etched. What a waste. If you have no studio tracks then fill it with Live tracks. Charging $40 for 3 Sides is a rip. Anyway, besides that it’s a great album and a worthy addition to the Anthrax catalogue.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

JOE BONAMASSA – Royal Tea

It seems as though Joe Bonamassa has single handedly been keeping the blues alive in the mainstream for a very long time. I’m aware that there is a thriving blues scene that bubbles just below the surface, away from the glare of the spotlight, and only Gary Clark has broken through to join him as of late. Joe constantly tours and records new material, whether it be by himself or with collaborators, he basically has worked his ass off to get where he is today.

Royal Tea is his latest release of all new songs. Opening track, When One Door Opens, is a blues rock tour de force – a classic Bonamassa blues rocker. The line between blues and rock is a fine one, and with the title track, Royal Tea, the line is blurred constantly. Why Does It Take So Long To Say Goodbye complete with a big solo centrepiece, is a blues ballad in the style of Gary Moore. Lookout Man is quite a heavy track, and sees Bonamassa changing things up a little. High Class Girl gives more than a nod to Green Onions, as it has the same groove and a very close riff. A Conversation With Alice seems to steal a bit of the opening riff from Paperback Writer, well he is in Abbey Road so I guess the vibes are rubbing off? I Didn’t Think She Would Do It has a huge Hendrix vibe about it, but done Bonamassa style. A great tune. A slow almost Wild West vibe is the intro to Beyond The Silence, which is a blues/country crossover. The almost swing boogie woogie of Lonely Boy follows, and takes us to the final track, Savannah, which has that southern country feel.

Joe consistently makes good records and this one is no different.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

AVERAGE WHITE BAND – AWB

If, like me, you have an appreciation and love for early seventies funk, then you will love this album. The big surprise here is the band are actually six white guys from Scotland (even though they were formed in London). One of their most famous tunes is their instrumental track, Pick Up The Pieces, which has been sampled by everybody from Public Enemy to A Tribe Called Quest.

This is their second album released on Atlantic, and they were already firing on all cylinders. When you have the Brecker Brothers rollin’ up to play on your album – you know your doing something right. This album was number 1 in the billboard charts, as was their single Pick Up The Pieces. The songs are all self penned – apart from a cover of the Isley Brothers’ Work To Do, which is a great rendition with some serious horn playing and is funked up. This is an album of two sides. Side 1 has the best funky music around, and Side 2 (apart from the slow funk of last track There’s Always Someone Waiting) is very Motown.

I really love this album and so should you.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

PANTERA – A Vulgar Display Of Power

This is another game changer album. Even though the sounds and tones were hinted at on the previous release, Cowboys From Hell, it was this album that changed everything. The sheer brutality and power of this album is immense. The production and mixing by Terry Date is epic, the drum sound (especially the kick drum) of Vinnie Paul was, and still is, copied by every metal drummer around, and then there was Dime. The best guitarist of his generation! All of this was achieved in a style that would not alienate old school rockers from modern day metal heads.

This is Pantera’s sixth studio album. The first four were glam metal, and the fourth, Power Metal, was the beginning of a change as Phil Anselmo replaced original vocalist Terry Glaze. There is not one second of this record that is not awesome. From the first notes of Mouth For War, till the last breath of Hollow, this album deserves your attention. This is all not flat out death metal speed, hell no, this album has groove and swing. Listen to Walk! It grooves and swings as well as being metal as hell. Fucking Hostile is a seriously groovy track that makes you want to bounce off the walls. This Love starts real slow but builds into an epic tune – possibly my favourite on the album. There is even a clue to events on the next album with By Demons Be Driven, which Anslemo said was the most extreme on the album and was where they were headed musically.

Known for their hard drinking and fast living, it would take a drastic and tragic turn, as Dime would be shot on stage by a crazed fan, Vinnie would die with his heart basically exploding, Rex would have a liver transplant, and Anslemo would become a mental wreck and his voice destroyed from screaming his way through everything he does. It’s a shame the band ended the way it did as they were one of the best metal bands ever. You don’t need me to tell you that you should own this as you should already have it.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

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