THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: November 2021 (Page 1 of 13)

DIANNO – s/t

November 30, 2021 /

We are all aware of Dianno’s past with Maiden and his numerous solo outings. which are most definitely on the heavy side of town, but I’m not sure everyone is aware of this attempt at doing a melodic rock album in a very American Journey style. Well, this is it, and straight from the off, with the keyboard intro to opening track, Flaming Heart, you know this is no heavy metal album.

It’s not a bad album, but his voice does not suit this type of music. To hear him sing on a very Styx style track like Here To Stay is very odd indeed, especially when he puts in the whoah woahs in true Maiden style. Tales Of The Unexpected is the big number on the album but it falls short, as do most of the song really. That is the main problem here, the material is just average – not bad – just average.

I’ve never heard of any of the band as I guess they were just hired in for this project. The only people who would be interested in this are Maiden completists.

6/10 from The Grooveman.

FEAR FACTORY – Demanufacture

November 30, 2021 /

As far as extreme/industrial metal goes, this album is classed as royalty in that genre. Their second album in, and it’s an absolute classic of the genre. It’s tough to follow that, and they have had a very turbulent time with line ups to emphasize that point. Fear Factory are all about the groove and riff, no guitar solos or any of that nonsense here. The recipe is machine gun double bass mixed with fat chugga riffs. At times brutal in its execution, but very effective, as the head most definitely wants to bang.

Self Bias Resistor is what this band are all about, supremely heavy and unrelenting, yet very groovy at the same time. This is a great reissue and sounds killer with the extra bonus disc live at Ozzfest in ’96. Side 2 of this set is my favourite side. The awesome chugga of Replica kicks things off with a rather melodic but heavy chord pattern, and Burton C Bell sings his best Tommy Victor impression. Quickly followed by the joint best track on the album with New Breed. This is just freaking awesome with the unreal pounding grooves and the most fattest and evil of guitar tones. Dog Day Sunrise on the other hand is the most melodic that this band gets, mixing indie tones with metal grooves and Burt singing clean vocals. Quite possibly the bands finest hour.

If you are into this genre then you should already own this beast, but if not, get on down to your local music emporium and acquire a copy.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

OVERKILL – The Grinding Wheel

November 29, 2021 /

How can you not love a metal band that is named after a Motorhead album? Overkill are the one thrash band that have stuck to their guns and consistently put out great records without compromising. Along with Anthrax, Overkill were the East Coast’s answer to what was happening over in the bay area.

This is the band’s 19th studio album and it is an absolute monster of a record. Mean Green Killing Machine gets things going at a pace and has multiple changes and grooves to keep the most picky of thrash fans happy. Blitz’s vocal on Goddamn Trouble is just epic with the fast delivery to match the groove of the song. The pace and intensity continues with Our Finest Hour, and old school thrash is alive and well and living in NYC. Dudes and dudettes…this album is killer all the way through, and puts one huge smile on your face from beginning to end. You even get the bonus track which is a cover of Thin Lizzy’s Emerald. I really like this band and this is definitely one of the best thrash albums I have heard in eons.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

RUSH – Moving Pictures

November 29, 2021 /

I’ll admit to being an early Rush fan, especially 2112, but over time I have come to think that this album was the pinnacle of Rush. I know people will disagree with that as there was a lot of music that came after this release. It’s amazing how many times I have walked in front of that building and thought how immortal it has become in Rush folklore. You will see people trying to capture that exact shot any day you visit.

I think it’s fair to say that there is not one second that I do not like about this record. It has definitely been an inspiration for tons of bands – just listen to Dream Theater for example. Opening with Tom Sawyer, which surprisingly was a huge hit everywhere, the album just explodes. Red Barchetta is a killer track and the instrumental sections are just superb. YYZ, which is the reporting tag for Pearson Airport, follows and how much more Toronto does this have to be. One of the best instrumental tracks ever put to wax. All of the band have their spots and it’s not just a guitar sausage fest. Limelight closes out Side 1 and was the second single released. It’s the little things to me that make this song like the picking of chords with the chorus peddle – I just love. A pretty awesome side 1!

The Camera Eye opens up Side 2 and is the one song on this album that points to the future for the band. Keyboards are quite prominent, but the groove and instrumental pieces in this track are just awesome. Witch Hunt, which I think is the most forgotten track on the album, is next and I think it’s one of the heaviest sounding pieces that the band ever did. The album closes out with Vital Signs where keyboards meet reggae.

They were never afraid to experiment mixing all styles, which is what I loved about Rush. If you were to only own one Rush album, this would be it.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

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