REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: August 13, 2022

METALLICA – Master Of Puppets

We all know the Black album sold in its squillions (still does to this day), and it is a great album. It is the one Metallica album that everyone knows, but is it their best? The albums after the Black album contain some memorable songs, but they never reached the heights.

St Anger is a bit of a stinker if I’m being honest. And Justice is a good album, but lacks in the production department and that just leaves the first three. All are classics of the genre, and I’ll never forget hearing Kill Em All for the first time – it was a total game changer, and Ride The Lightning is its twin, but Master Of Puppets is an outright masterpiece and possibly the best thrash album, period. It would also be the last appearance of Cliff Burton before his tragic death.

You can tell they stopped to think about this album and made it as crushing and as awesome as they possibly could. What an opening with Battery – such a killer tune that just melts your face with the riff and speed of the thing. How heavy is The Thing That Should Not Be? Sabbath would have wet themselves if they had come up with that! It’s quite fitting that Orion is on this album – it’s a great tribute to a one off character as Cliff was.

This is the best Metallica album and also is the best thrash album to boot.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

TREAT – The Endgame

Having achieved some moderate success in the mid-to-late eighties, the band disbanded in the early nineties, only for Frontiers to resurrect the band in about 2010. This is the fourth release of the comeback, and for me it’s one of their best.

As with all Swedish bands, they know how to write great melodies with riffs and grooves that matter. Freudian Slip opens things up and its classic Treat, with the big hook and riff driving along. Rabbit Hole is more of the same, with a killer middle eight that reminds me of classic Talisman. Sinbiosis is up next and starts with a nice keyboard guitar duel before a cool chugga riff drives the tune along, and just to rub it in, the hook and chorus are top drawer as if they do this in their sleep. Home Of The Brave is just one big anthem – hands and lighters in the air here peeps! Nice acoustic intro to Both Ends Burning – its the most commercial track on the album – until we get to the killer heavy instrumental section – an awesome tune! My Parade is next and it’s ballad time I’m afraid…

Wake Me When It’s Over has a superb guitar intro and the vocal melody is really infectious. Jesus From Hollywood starts with a very busy guitar riff with church choir vocals over the top, and then it’s normal service with the massive hook and chorus. It’s ballad number two with Magic, which does remind me of something else – but I guess it’s just one of those melodies. I guess somebody had a bad experience with a Carolina Reaper to name a song after one, but the song is far from down – it’s a very uplifting melody and hook. Dark To Light has the heaviest main riff of all the songs and is my favourite on the album. The album closes out with To The End Of Love, and this is the one song that reminds of Journey. It’s a big AOR monster of a tune. A great album that has great songs with melody and groove.

9/10 from The Grooveman.