THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: January 2023 (Page 11 of 11)

KISS – Creatures Of The Night

January 3, 2023 /

I’m not the biggest Kiss fan if I’m honest, and I don’t have many of their early albums. I only own Destroyer and the live album, as I always thought they were all flash and very little substance. Take the pyro and make up away and what have you got?

After the failure of The Elder, the band were at a crossroads and struggling. Enter one Vincent Cusano, aka. Vinnie Vincent the man who saved Kiss. I know that is a very unpopular opinion, but that’s the truth as I see it. He gave them a serious kick in the ass, which is what they needed and this album put them on the right path to being even bigger than they were before, and their next album Lick It Up was a classic. Vinnie isn’t even credited as playing guitar on this album, and only gets three song writing credits.

I’m going for one of the Vinnie tunes as my favourite, which is Killer, even though War Machine is a close second. This copy is the half speed master audiophile release, and it sounds very crisp and clear. There is not a lot of tracks taken up from the original recording so this should and does sound great.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

LILLIAN AXE – Waters Rising

January 3, 2023 /

I guess you can say this is a comeback album as it was released eight years after their 1999 album Fields Of Yesterday, which was released on the small UK independent label Z Records.

A very heavy opening with the title track, it has a dark sounding riff and groove. Antarctica sounds even heavier with a nice low end groove and riff that sounds evil. Nice to hear the melody and harmonies are still there with the vocals. Become A Monster carries on that evil vibe with another d-tuned riff. Quarantine is my favourite track. A superb psych-style riff and melody, I just love the whole groove of the thing. It’s ballad time with I Have To Die Goodbye, although I do like that little folk vibe they have going on, I’m glad that the heavy does kick in towards the end. Fear Of Time has a weird heavy Queen vibe going on, in a good way. The more melodic side of Steve Blaze comes out on Until The End Of The World, a tune to get all the melodic fans drooling.

Fields Of Yesterday is next and that melodic/aor vibe continues with a mainly acoustic driven tune. Thirst has a very odd sounding riff and sees the band channeling their inner King Crimson. The 2nd Of May has almost a progressive vibe going, and Lillian Axe sound like no one else on tunes like this. Deep In The Black has a killer intro, with both with guitar and vocals possessing a very dark vibe. A very epic piece! The album close out with 5, an instrumental with a killer evil groove and some serious over the top guitar. Great album closer.

Lillian Axe are a metal band, but that term doesn’t do them justice as there so many different vibes going on in their music.

9/10  from The Grooveman.

KICK AXE – Rock The World

January 2, 2023 /

I’m not sure how many other rock bands came out of Regina, Saskatchewan but I’m pretty sure Kick Axe have to be the best. After the relative success of their debut album Vice, the follow-up Welcome To The Club was a bit of a let down, so Rock The World was a bit of a do or die album. Of course we all know now that they disappeared after this, but would resurface agin in 2004.

The album gets off to a blistering start with the full on beast that is Rock The World. It’s definitely one of their best tunes. Killer tune. Next up is a cover of one of the most iconic tracks in rock and that is The Chain by Fleetwood Mac. They actually do a really good job and I like the slightly faster groove, and the solo is killer. Red Line is a straight up four to the floor rocker that hits the spot. Devachan follows and is my favourite on the album. Think of a more melodic version of Manowar crossed with Dio, and you may be somewhere near. I have to say, Larry Gillstrom on guitar just rips. Great player! Side 1 closes out with Warrior, a heavy boogie with a great groove and the vocals and harmonies are awesome.

We Still Remember kicks off Side 2 with a groove similar to The Strokes, and the middle section is superb. A ripping intro to Great Escape, pounding double kicks and wailing guitars. Just what we like! A change of pace with Medusa, a quirky tune that has some amazing vocal harmonies and great guitar. Back to the pound with The Dark Crusade a no nonsense rocker, and again the harmonies are killer. Then, into the final tune with Magic Man. I guess it’s as close to a ballad as this band get. George Criston’s vocals are amazing on this one.

I’m not to sure why this band weren’t bigger, maybe they were just too different. Who knows? Great album.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

JUDAS PRIEST – priest…live

January 2, 2023 /

This was recorded on the Turbo tour where Priest were at the height of their powers, a full on arena band. Turbo wasn’t that well received, in Europe at least, as most reviews gave it the thumbs down and they were accused of selling out and going soft. The band obviously believed in it as there are four songs represented here. If you have seen Priest live you know they put on one hell of a show, and they still do today.

This is a great live album, you get all the hits and more. Not a lot of old Priest, but the song choices are spot on and work together really well as a set. I’m going to pick Turbo Lover as my favourite as it works so well in a live setting, and the crowd always goes nuts for it. Priest are all about the riffs and the groove, and they give the crowd exactly what they want. It’s sad to see Glenn Tipton struggling with his illness today and his performance on this album shows what a great player he is.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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