THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: March 2022 (Page 2 of 14)

E.Z.O – s/t

March 29, 2022 /

Whereas most of the bands coming out of Japan at the time were very metal in nature (like Loudness, Earthshaker and Bow Wow), E.Z.O on the other hand were much more hard rock and glam driven. This album was even produced by Gene Simmons and they brought them to LA to record the album.

If you thought the only Japanese guitar with any chops was Akira Takasaki then you will be blown away by Shoyo. He really has some chops and a killer tone.

Things get off to a great start with House Of A 1,000 Pleasures. A killer fat riff that rocks and grooves, until we get to the breakdown then things really boil over. Flashback Heart Attack is sleaze glam at its finest. Mr. Midnight reminds me of Vinnie-era Kiss with some awesome guitar grooves. Here It Comes ups the tempo, and the song reminds me of the Bulletboys – except they weren’t in existence at this point. I love the chorus and hook on this one. Walk Alone closes out Side 1 and the intro is really heavy sounding with a great riff and pounding drums.

Destroyer opens up Side 2 and has the groove of Dr. Feelgood by Motley Crüe. Big Changes starts real slow and builds into a typical LA glam track with a nice sing-a-long chorus. Kiss Of Fire has a great driving groove, superb solo, and along with House Of A 1,000 Pleasure, this is my favourite on the album. The album closes out with Desiree and it’s the fastest track on the album – a full on metal crunch.

Along with Thunder In The East, this my favourite album by a Japanese rock band.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

SLIPKNOT – We Are Not Your Kind

March 29, 2022 /

Love them or hate them, you can’t deny the impact Slipknot had on the metal scene. Their image of a “circus of the weird and wonderful of society” is really striking and they put on a killer Live show. They also have not forgotten that good metal music has to groove and make you want to move. A lot of metal bands today seemed to have lost the ability to do that – especially black and death metal ones – which mostly I find totally pointless.

This is a really good record, and after the intro, the opening track and lead off single, Unsainted, is a total slamming groove fest – it’s one of the best things the band have done. Birth Of The Cruel is a slower paced track but the groove is deep on this one. I love all these creepy little pieces they put between tracks as it adds to the atmos. The riff to Nero Forte is evil and huge and the beats are killer. I love the fast paced almost rap vocal delivery. Critical Delivery is a D-tuned chunk of awesome and I love the way this track swings – great harmonies as well. Red Flag just explodes out of the gate and this is all about the percussion – an insane rhythmic onslaught. Orphans is another rhythmic blast that slays. There are a couple of slower pieces on the album, the best of which is My Pain – a very eerie piece.

This is one of the better Slipknot albums and has a killer groove throughout.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

FRANKIE & THE KNOCKOUTS – Below The Belt

March 28, 2022 /

This is an obscure piece of melodic AOR from ’82. Hailing from New Jersey, and led by frontman Frankie Previte, they had a knack for writing some catchy pop/rock tunes. They only released three albums from ’81 to ’84, and they were gone. They had some chart success as they had a top ten hit with the song Sweetheart from the first album, and the ballad Without You from this album.

Opening track, Never Had It Better, is pure American radio rock and a great little tune, as is Keep On Fighting, which has a great chorus and superb harmonies. After the band broke up they released original versions of two songs, Hungry Eyes and I’ve Had The Time Of My Life – both featured in the movie Dirty Dancing and they won Frankie Previte an academy award.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

SCORPIONS – Virgin Killer

March 28, 2022 /

Ah…The Scorpions – kings of dodgy album covers, strange lyrics, and suspect album titles. Someone obviously thought this was a sure fire way to gain publicity.

This album came out in ’76 and this version is the Audio Fidelity remastered edition – I have to say it sounds pretty good. I’m a big Uli Roth fan and it was because of Uli that I got into the band – I think it was on this tour that I first saw the band. Other than Klaus’ vocals, you would be hard pushed to recognize the band from what they are today.

The songs are decent enough and they played a lot of them live (just listen to Tokyo Tapes), but it’s Uli that steals the show. His solos are sharp, concise, and to the point, and he plays with so much feel. The title track is the best on the album, it’s a great rocking tune with killer guitar. The intro to Hell Cat is superb – a very Hendrix inspired sound and groove – the only thing wrong is they let Uli sing. His voice isn’t the best that’s for sure, but I can let that slide with playing that good. They actually let him sing in two tracks as Polar Nights has his vocal, and he is in full on Hendrix mode. Superb playing!

I love this period of the band so I’m a bit biased.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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