THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: April 1, 2021

MIND FUNK – s/t

April 1, 2021 /

Mind Funk were considered something of a second division super group at the time, as members Louis Svitek and John Monte were in M.O.D, and Reed St Mark was in Celtic Frost. They came together at the time that the funk metal offshoot was in full swing. This was supposed to be a full time band, but they only released two albums, which is a shame as this is a killer record combining metal/funk and hardcore to make one beautiful noise. Svitek and Coppola make a great twin guitar duo as they trade riffs and leads all over. The album has plenty of groove and riffs to keep most bands going for their entire careers.

Sugar Ain’t So Sweet is a killer opening track with a great riff and vocal. Ride & Drive carries straight on in the same vein – another great tune. Bring It On has a slight grunge influence but is still a great tune. Big House Burning is the stand out track on Side 1, and has an awesome riff and funky bass line with a fast beat. Fire really brings the house down, if you pardon the pun, to end Side 1.

Over we go to Side 2 and Blood Runs Red is a monster tune, with its Van Halen harmonic tapped intro before the funky metal grooves take over – another monster tune stomps all over your brain. Sister Blue is next up and is the most chill track on the album and a really cool tune. Woke Up This Morning is another track with a hint of Seattle about it, well…it was released in ’91. Innocence is the penultimate track and has an absolute killer riff and groove – it is the best track on the album. I love how the the quiet chorus guitar leads into the main riff. Monster tune!!! The album close out Touch You is another huge tune and is as funky as a funky train going all the way to funky town.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

TOKYO BLADE – s/t

April 1, 2021 /

Although part of the NWOBHM, Tokyo Blade were after the initial burst of bands. This album was not released until ’83, by which time Saxon had released 5 albums. This is an original copy on Powerstation Records. This is not a bad album despite a very flat production, but the energy and enthusiasm is there in overload. I also remember seeing them at the time, and they were really good live. It helps in metal circles if you have a good guitar player to feed off, and Andy Boulton was not a bad player. The songs are very of the time, and looking back all these years later, a big smile does appear on my face – it was such a fun time to be around as new bands were appearing every second – some good, some not so.

Anyhoo on to the record. The opening track, Powergame, is a typical NWOBHM metal romp, as is second track Break The Chains. If Heaven Is Hell has a very Maiden feel to the song as I’m sure they were influencing a lot of bands of the time. Side 1 close out track, On Through The Night, is not that great of a tune if I’m honest, and is the weakest song so far.

Over to Side 2 and Killer City could almost be a Maiden outtake – the similarities are striking. Liar is my favorite on the album as it has a nice intro and cool riff – even though the main lyric line sounds like Charlotte The Harlot. Tonight has a very stock riff and sounds as though it was a last minute addition – not a lot of thought went into it that’s for sure. The final track, Sunrise In Tokyo, starts with the NWOBHM riff, a riff that all the bands of the time used, and some still try to get away with using it today (Tygers Of Pan Tang).

Unfortunately, they never had the tunes to match the enthusiasm. They have split up and reformed numerous times, but if you were not good enough the first time around, then things ain’t gonna change much.

6.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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