REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: April 2, 2022

PRIMAL FEAR – Unbreakable

Do Primal Fear make bad albums? The easy answer is NO! You get exactly what you think is coming: a full on power metal experience with huge fat riffs and searing vocals.

This is a rare commodity in modern metal. Every metal band wants a logo that you can’t even read (never mind pronounce), with tunes that are just a wall of noise with no dynamics.

This is the ninth studio album by the band, and the first with guitar whizz Alex Beyrodt. It sounds huge, with an epic production by the band’s own Matt Sinner. After the classical opening intro, Strike kicks in with a fat monster riff and double kicks a pounding. Give Em Hell has a killer chorus – boy, do these guys know how to write a metal tune. Bad Guys Wear Black is an anthem for all metal heads everywhere – Judas Priest have forgotten how to write tracks like this and Beyrodt’s solo is really nice. And There Was Silence really rips along at a killer pace, and even when the song is this fast, the hook and the melody are front and centre. Metal Nation is a hands in the air anthem that you just know will be killer live. Where Angels Die is a big production number with acoustic into and a huge epic classical vibe.

You get the picture right? This is a great album, and if you are lover of anthemic power metal then you may already own this – if not, then what are you waiting for?

10/10 from The Grooveman.

TEN YEARS AFTER – Watt

It’s hard to describe how big Ten Years After were. They had six big albums between ’67 and ’74, of which this and Cricklewood Green (both released in ’70) were top ten albums all over the world.

Alvin Lee’s performance at Woodstock made him a household name – he was just as good as Hendrix at that show. Whereas Jimi was a whole new approach to blues and rock, Alvin and Ten Years After trod a much more familiar path with their take on a more standard heavy blues sound. Although I’m sure Zeppelin were having a big influence on the band at this point.

It’s cool to hear Alvin play jazz on the track Gonna Run, and also the band’s take on Ennio Morricone’s western soundtracks with the instrumental The Band With No Name. However, it’s the heavier tracks that I like best, namely I’m Coming On and Think About The Times which reminds me of Procol Harem.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.