THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: December 2022 (Page 4 of 11)

BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME – Alaska

December 17, 2022 /

This is the band’s third full release, that came out back in 2005. I’m not a fan of screamo music in general, as it just leaves me cold and that incessant scream just grinds all my gears. However, there is one band who have outgrown that movement who weren’t necessarily part of it in the first place, and that is BTBAM. Admittedly, this is an early release, but musically these guys are insane. They put so much into one tune that would keep your average band in ideas for their entire career.

The opening to All Bodies is just so intense and heavy and within thirty seconds it’s changed. That is the band in a nutshell. The title track has a touch of the Iron Maiden’s at the intro, then the blast beats kick in and it’s all over the map from there on in. My favourite track is Selkies: The Endless Obsession. It starts just like Dream Theater, lots of noodling and odd time changes then boom, the insanity just rules. Roboturner is just flat out insane. They say speed kills, and it does here.

BTBAM are an incredible band and have gone from this hardcore metal insanity project, into an amazing prog metal band. I know this album won’t be for everyone, but if you are anyway intrigued by technical metal, then give this a spin.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

TORA TORA – Bastards Of Beale

December 17, 2022 /

This is the band’s fourth release which comes 25 years after their last, although I don’t think that album ever originally saw the light of day. I did see a label called FNA records advertising a copy once though. This is another Frontiers back from the dead release that came out in 2019, of all original material. It’s not a bad hard rock album, with some tracks that stand out from the rest.

Silence The Sirens has a killer riff and a rockin’ groove. Son Of A Prodigal Son has a very hard, rootsy, Americana vibe that is huge right now, and they have that heavy Zeppelin vibe down to a T. Let Us Be The One is a real sleazy groover that has that LA late eighties strip feel. Silence The Sirens though, is my favourite and is head and shoulders above the rest. Unusually Side 2 is way better than Side 1 as it’s loaded with the good stuff.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

OSI – Office Of Strategic Influence

December 16, 2022 /

I think I’m right in saying that this album was intended to be a Jim Matheos solo album, but with Mike Portnoy. However, with the recruitment of Portnoy’s ex-Dream Theater band mate Kevin Moore, the project took on a whole different vibe. If you have heard Moore’s Chroma Key project, he has a very cool vocal style where he layers his own voice. This style is also used here.

This is a kick-ass record with a very familiar groove and vibe in places, and then there are abrupt left turns that make this a wonderful musical experience. Yup, it’s Prog metal with Matheos providing very heavy riffs and Portnoy doing what he does the best with exceptional grooves and beats. It’s Moore that makes this album superb, as his vocals and melodies are left field. OSI, the track, is quite a heavy beast with a killer riff and groove. When You’re Ready is the complete opposite as Moore’s vocals and keys create a very sinister vibe. Horseshoes And B52’s has this heavy repeating groove that gives way to just a bass pattern and atmospheric keys before it builds back with the addition of drums. Great tune!

Head follows, and again we have this heavy repeating riff and groove with some superb sampled beats and weirdness from Moore. It’s these delicate groovy sections that I really get off on. Hello Helicopter starts with acoustic guitar and a huge Floyd vibe that the song floats along on. Shutdown is over ten minutes of Prog excellence. This track is huge in every way. It builds a very dramatic soundscape with Moore’s vocals having an eerie vibe, with added inclusion of Steven Wilson on bv’s. Dirt From A Holy Place feels like a track that Yes or Genesis would come up with but with a very modern approach and added heavy guitars.

Memory Daydream Lapses is a total electronic fan’s dream. Standby closes out the album and it’s a return to those Floyd vibes. There are three bonus tracks with a crushing cover of Pink Floyd’s Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun, Neil Young’s New Mama, and The Thing That Never Was which is over seventeen minutes of prog joy. This is a a wonderful record and is a must have.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

FASTWAY – s/t

December 16, 2022 /

It seemed to be a marriage made in the pub when Fast Eddie and Pete Way got together to form a band. By the time they went into the studio to record their first album, Pete Way had jumped ship the day he was supposed to be in the studio and the bass is played uncredited to a studio guy who was there on the day. Or so the story goes…

The album itself is a straight up no nonsense rock n’ roll record with an unknown Dave King on vocals, and ex-Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley joining Fast Eddie. Easy Lovin’ opens up the album and this was also released as a single; a cool rock n’ roll romp with a very catchy hook and chorus. Feel Me Touch Me is my favourite track. A great riff and solo, and Dave King’s vocals remind me of Blackie Lawless. Heft, which is a killer name for a tune, is a slow brooding groover. There is a slight Zeppelin groove to a lot of the album and We Become One is the most noticeable.

Say That You Will was the lead off track from the album, and it did well in the UK at least. A nice boogie groove and killer riff. I think a lot of people were expecting something a lot heavier from Eddie after Motörhead, but if you listen closely you can hear Eddie’s influence and tones in all of Motörhead’s work, they are just a lot louder. I have a soft spot for this record as it took a lot of balls for Eddie to leave the behemoth that was Motörhead at that time.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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