THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: September 2022 (Page 8 of 11)

METAL CHURCH – Blessing In Disguise

September 8, 2022 /

Ironically, I always associate Metal Church with Kurdt Vanderhoof, but he left after the first two albums and doesn’t appear on this – the band’s third release which came out in ’88. This is the MOV reissue and it sounds superb – it’s a great pressing.

Opening track, Fake Healer, sounds as though the band had been channeling their inner Judas Priest. A killer drum fill opens the following track, Rest In Pieces. It has a choppy riff and a groove that feels all of their own. It’s a great old school thrash track and my favourite on the album! Of Unsound Mind is textbook thrash – a fast chugga riff and double kicks are go. Side 1 closes out with the epic, Anthem To The Estranged. Weighing in at over 9 minutes, there are lots of time and mood changes to keep you happy.

Badlands opens up Side 2 and I think this was released as a single – in the US anyway. It reminds me a bit of Queensryche – especially the intro. The Spell Can’t Be Broken has a very hectic riff and groove. It’s A Secret is an instrumental and I get metal Stormbringer vibes from it – at least until the speed increases somewhat then it’s killer thrash-o-rama. Cannot Tell A Lie starts as though it’s trying to break the sound barrier, and carries on like that all the way through the song. The album closes out with The Powers That Be, and it’s that riff that you have heard variations of on every metal album ever.

I always thought Metal Church would be one of the big thrash bands, but I guess fate would have it differently.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

APRIL WINE – Animal Grace

September 8, 2022 /

To the rest of the world, Harder Faster is April Wine’s most popular album. Hey, it got them on the original Monsters Of Rock festival at Castle Donnington, so they must have been doing something right. Canada, however, knew them from way back, and were known for more poppier tunes like Bad Side Of The Moon and You Could Have Been A Lady. So, was Harder Faster a one off?

This album came out in ’84 and was three albums after Harder Faster. I would say, yes, they had reverted back to a more poppy sound with only a couple of hard rockin’ references. Hard Rock Kid is one of them but it could have been so much more, and Rock Tonite, which is head and shoulders above anything else on the album and is my favourite.

I find this album a bit if a mish-mash, and it feels like they are trying to please everyone instead of concentrating on what they were good at.

6/10 from The Grooveman.

HAREM SCAREM – Weight Of The World

September 7, 2022 /

This is album number seven from Canada’s best kept secret, Harem Scarem. They have released 13 studio albums as themselves, two albums under the name of Rubber, plus numerous live and compilation albums – and there are still rock fans who don’t know who they are! Their first two albums are melodic rock classics that everyone should own.

This album first saw the light of day in 2002, and this is a 2019 Frontiers reissue. The title track kicks things off – the first thing that grabs you are the harmonies and the hook. Killing Me out does its predecessor as the vocals and harmonies are just superb. Outside Your Window has a very different groove – I love the guitar on this one. All I Want Is Everything has another killer solo from Pete Lesperance – who has to be one of the most underrated guitarists out there. He always plays what the song needs in such a beautiful way. They are kings at writing the syrupy ballad, and This Ain’t Over is definitely one of them. There is a short instrumental piece that closes out Side 1. It sort of frustrates me a bit as they could have done so much more with it.

The overall vibe of this album is somewhat poppy, and they were criticized for this at the time – hence the Rubber side project. You Ruined Everything feels like a tribute to Cheap Trick who are the kings of power pop. Charmed Life has a super cool groove and riff in the verse, and the chorus is super catchy – it’s my favourite on the album. More power pop vibes with If You, and I can see why they made the two Rubber albums – they seemed to have tapped into something. See Saw is a really interesting instrumental that shows what a great player Pete is. This is no shred fest though – its pure melody – even when the pace picks up. Voice Inside has a great uptempo beat and groove, and the key changes and middle eight are killer. The album closes out with End Of Time and it’s ballad city – they do them so well though that it’s hard not to get drawn in.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

Q5 – Steal The Light

September 7, 2022 /

Other than making one of the finest hard rockin’ albums of the eighties, Q5 were mostly known for having the inventor of the locking tremolo system in their ranks, namely one Floyd Rose. There was one other album after this, When The Mirror Cracked, which didn’t reach the heights of this monster. Then due to fighting within the band, they were done, but they leave behind one of the finest albums of the period.

The album kicks off with the heavy, Missing In Action, with its fast paced groove and great riff and solo. Lonely Lady is a lot more melodic with the hook and chorus, but the riff and groove is very Maiden with it’s gallop. The title track is up next and starts with some spacey guitar, before we settle into that slow chugga riff. I love the hook and chorus on this one! The close out track on Side 1, Pull The Trigger, is my favourite on the album. It’s full of big riffs, and with the anthemic vocal, it’s a nailed on winner.

Side 2 kicks in with the very AC/DC style riff of Ain’t No Way To Treat A Lady. A great fun tune that should have you up and groovin’. In The Night feels a bit Sabbath with the start up riff and is quite a slow paced tune. Come And Gone is corny ballad city, and other than the solo, it’s meh. Rock On has a very dirty sleazy riff and groove. Then the album closes out with Teenage Runaway, and it’s another fun AC/DC style romp. It’s a shame they never made it of the starting gate, as they were a decent band.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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