REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: May 19, 2022

THE END MACHINE – s/t

This is my 800th review!

This is the first album from The End Machine, which is basically Dokken without Don. We have Robert Mason on vocals, Mick Brown on drums, Jeff Pilson on bass, and George Lynch on guitar. This is a very cool melodic hard rock record, that for anyone doubting are still being made today.

Leap Of Faith opens up with a killer little guitar intro before the songs settles into a superb slow brooding groover. Hold Me Down as a sweet picked riff from George, with a four to the floor groove, some killer guitar from George, and I’m really loving Robert’s voice on this one. Bulletproof starts with an old blues sat on the porch style groove. The hook and melody are awesome on this track. Superb tune! Ride It is an uptempo Dokken style groover that rolls along at a fair pace. I love Jeff Pilson’s harmony vocals! Alive Today has a huge hook and chorus with a superb melody, the riff and groove are a little left-field on this one. My favourite track is the close out track Life Is Love Is Music. It has a very old school sounding riff with a killer chord pattern, and with nearly every song on the album, the chorus and hook is superb. Hopefully there will be a third instalment as these guys make great music together.

10/10 from the Grooveman.

ORION THE HUNTER – s/t

Orion The Hunter are an offshoot from the band Boston. Featuring Fran Cosmo on vocals, Barry Goudreau on guitar, and Brad Delp wrote four tracks on the album. I know there were a few problems around Tom Scholz’s controlling nature around Boston. He never gave as much credit to other members of the band as maybe he should have done, as they all contributed to the band’s sound.

This album is a lot more laid back and is more of an AOR sounding record than the Boston records, but it’s still a very classy record with a superb production. You Ran has those beautiful harmonies and melody that you associate with Boston – I’m assuming they are making a point here. Dreamin’ is a monster tune that reminds me of a heavier Styx and is a very dynamic rockin’ track with an awesome hook and chorus. Fast Talk is the most straight up rockin’ track on the record with a very simple riff and driving beat. I know they toured with Aerosmith and then they seemed to just disappear, which is a shame as they were a great band in their own right.

8.5/10 from the Grooveman.