THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: September 2022 (Page 4 of 11)

ROYAL HUNT – Paper Blood

September 17, 2022 /

This is Royal Hunt’s ninth studio album, released back in 2005. They have released seventeen studio albums overall: six live albums and various compilations and singles, but yet they remain virtually unknown out of mainland Europe. North America doesn’t seem to care and that to me is insanity. I would think their brand of prog/power metal would be lapped up, especially with the success of Trans Siberian Orchestra. The band was formed in ’89 by keyboardist and main man Andre Anderson, but is was three years later in ’92 that they released their debut album Land Of Broken Hearts.

Break Your Chains kicks things off with the sound of an orchestra tuning up before the epic keyboard intro bursts into a monster of an opening with pounding drums, searing vocals, and harmonies with maximum riffage on guitar. Phew!!! Not My Kind follows with a nod to Yes with the initial harmonies, then the heavy riff takes over with some epic soloing. Memory is instrumental number one with keyboards taking the main focus. Loving the Hammond at the intro to Never Give Up then the double kicks take over. Superb vocals and harmonies! A very different groove to Seven Days. Slowing the pace down somewhat, a very welcome change in pace. SK 983 is instrumental number two, and the pedal is fast down for this one. Kiss Of Faith is a hands-in-the-air anthemic beast. Paper Blood is next, and it has THAT riff. At least it’s in what context they use it that matters, and the main hook and melody are really cool. Seasons Change is the big power ballad on the album and the solo from Marcus Jidell is huge. Saving the best till last with close out track Twice Around The World. Huge fat riff, big keys, lots highs and lows, awesome solo, and incredible vocals. Superb ending to a great record. Half a point lost for that riff though.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

ALICE COOPER – Schools Out

September 17, 2022 /

It’s hard to describe what an impact the single Schools Out had on a young boy who was just about to turn thirteen. “Schools Out Forever,” “Schools Been Blown To Pieces”. To me, who hated school at the time, this was music to my ears. Yes please, I’ll have some of that! That simple riff with Cooper’s sinister imagery – I was all in.

Unfortunately, the rest of the album does not have the impact of that track. The only other song other that grabs me is Gutter Cat Vs The Jets, with its obvious reference to a certain film. There is still a lot of the LA scene art rock vibes about on the rest of the album that I am not a fan of. Check out Blue Turk, they so are desperately trying to be The Doors. To me Billion Dollar Babies is a far superior record but that one track did all the business and put Alice Cooper firmly on the rock map.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

STEVE VAI – Inviolate

September 16, 2022 /

This is the first Steve Vai album I have heard in a while. I sort of just put him to one side as I thought he was getting a bit out there. I first heard of Steve when he was in Zappa’s band, then when he joined Dave Lee Roth’s band that’s when he really exploded and everyone paid attention. This is Steve’s tenth studio album out of 38, which doesn’t seem a lot but he has done a ton of collaborations. If you’re expecting a full shred fest metal monster then look elsewhere. This is not that type of album, although there are a couple of tunes that groove hard. This is a fantastic record full of great vibes and grooves with Steve really showing how deep his sonic pallet is.

Teeth Of The Hydra is a huge opening number with a very atmospheric vibe, and at times a feeling of fusion with so much killer playing. Zeus In Chains has a more familiar groove with some superb quirky moments and you definitely know it’s Steve as no one plays like that. Little Pretty has a killer funky groove. Man this is such a good track! Candlepower is the one track that I would say is out there!!! Incredible playing!!! Apollo In Color is just nuts as it doesn’t have a recognizable groove for you to grab on to, it changes constantly. Avalancha is my favourite track on the album. The riff is deep and mean with a killer beat and groove, and it’s so many notes from Steve. Greenish Blues gives away the vibe of this track but it’s done in a way that only Steve could do. Knappsack starts with a real burst of energy with drum beats flailing but settles back to some outrageous guitar. The album closes out with Sandman Cloud Mist and it’s just all guitar. I mean what a player!!!

9/10 from The Grooveman.

TED NUGENT – Intensities In Ten Cities

September 16, 2022 /

After this album I sort of checked out of Ted Nugent, as the craziness and comments were getting too much, plus the music started to go downhill when he changed his style and moved away from the raw rock n’ roll. This was sort of album number eight for Uncle Ted, as technically it’s a live album but full of all new songs that were recorded on various nights on his 1980 tour. It was really hard to capture what Ted did live on record, as his studio albums never quite captured that raw live sound. This album comes close to doing that. This is number three in my fave Ted records.

Put Up Or Shut Up kicks things off and this is classic Ted, an over the top rock n’ roll song. Spontaneous Combustion is the the first song that doesn’t do it for me on the record, it’s just ok. My Love Is Like A Tire Iron is a great tongue-in-cheek kick ass tune, and I love the Motown-style harmony vocals. Jailbait follows and despite the dodgy subject matter, this is the closest this album gets to a single. The second poor song on the album is I Am A Predator. It just sounds as though it was knocked up in soundcheck. Heads Will Roll is a killer Ted tune, very upbeat and loads of guitar – just raw rock n’ roll. The Flying Lip Lock is just a high octane boogie woombie turned up to eleven. Not a bad cover of Wilson Picketts’ Land Of A Thousand Dances just to get the crowd involved. There is even an instrumental called TNT Overture, which seems strange to do when introducing new songs to an audience. Take No Prisoners closes out the album and it’s where we came in with an old school Nugent romp.  

8/10 from The Grooveman.

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