THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: February 2023 (Page 8 of 9)

ANVIL – Forged In Fire

February 4, 2023 /

This is Anvil’s third album, released back in ’83.  Now, Metal On Metal was a huge leap from Hard And Heavy, both in songwriting and sound, and gave the band huge popularity. I just think Forged In Fire is just a greater leap forward from Metal On Metal. The whole metal scene was changing rapidly at the time and let’s not forget Anvil were right at the forefront. Metal was getting faster and darker with the burgeoning thrash movement.

The title track opens up the album and it’s quite a dark sounding track announcing the arrival of a new sounding band. Shadow Zone is a full on burst of thrash goodness with a killer over the top solo (I promise not to mention Ted Nugent..oops). I love the intro to Free As The Wind. The song itself has a hint of NWOBHM about it with its the riff and groove. Great slow down for the instrumental. Never Deceive Me sees Dave Allison handle the vocals, and this is the weakest song on the album. Side 1 closes out with Butter Bust Jerky. Now musically this a killer slice of early eighties metal with an awesome riff and groove, and I guess the lyrics are aimed at the 14-year-old metal fan rubbing one out to his latest “art pamphlet”.

Side 1 explodes into life with Future Wars. A full on double kick blastorama. Killer tune!!! Hard Times Fast Ladies has a sped up old school metal riff, and I love the sound of Lips’ solo. Make It All Up To You follows, and was this an attempt at writing a single? The hook and chorus have a great sing-a-long vibe to them. I love the instrumental section, killer guitar and groove. Motormount follows and boy does this track speed along. One of the fastest songs of the time! Save the best till last they say, and Winged Assassins is my favourite track. Killer drumming from Rob Reiner and Lips is giving it plenty on the guitar.

It would be four years before they released their next album, and unless you’re Def Leppard that’s a long time, especially in the 80’s. Anyhoo, a great record and I think this was a very influential album for what came after.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

BLUES PILLS – Lady Of Gold

February 4, 2023 /

This is Blues Pills’ second studio album, released back in 2016. The band revolve around the amazing vocal talents of Elon Larssonm and bass guitarist and founder member Zack Anderson. Whereas the first album was a full on retro blues rock tour de force, this album is a more late sixties-early seventies psych-rock beast.

I can see why guitar prodigy Dorian Sorriaux left after this album, as he gets zero credits on any of the songs. In fact, some of the songs border on R’n’B like I Felt A Change where Ellin reminds me of Tina Turner. You Gotta Try is the band’s stand out track on the album, and also my favourite. There is a great cover of Tony Joe White’s Elements And Things, with the vibe and feel of the summer of love.

Blues Pills are very Chameleon-like, as they have changed musically with every album.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

MANOWAR – Hail To England

February 3, 2023 /

It’s everyone’s favourite metal band to hate. Death to false metal! Did they ever mention what false metal was?

This is my favourite Manowar album. I definitely remember seeing them on this tour and thoroughly enjoying the show. I started to loose interest after this as it all got a bit silly. I mean, if Conan The Barbarian was put to music then this album would be the soundtrack.

They are at their best and worst on this album. The best would be the opening track, and my favourite, Blood Of My Enemies. It’s a great track that sets the mood perfectly for the whole album. The worst would be Bridge Of Death, which despite the great title and subject matter is just amateur hour. Notable mention goes to Hail To England where the band pay tribute to their fans there. Basically, at the time no one else cared that much and how can one forget all the crowd singing Hail To England. Black wind indeed!

This is the one album where that whole medieval vibe actually worked. As you can probably tell I blow hot and cold with this album, but it’s still entertaining.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

LONERIDER – Sundown

February 3, 2023 /

This is Lonerider’s second release, and again it appears on UK label Escape Music. For those who don’t know, the band are Steve Overland from FM on vocals, Bad Company and Free drummer Simon Kirke, Chris Childs from Thunder on bass, and Steve Morris from Heartland on guitar and keys. They do come across as a lighter version of Bad Co but with a killer production, this is a very classy melodic rock album. I’ve always been a fan of Steve Overland’s voice and this band is a perfect vehicle to show how good he is.

The album starts with Fantasyland and the riff and groove of the whole song is classic rock 101. Cross The Border has a very west coast feel to it and the Eagles do come to mind here and on next track, Undefeatable. Harder Love is the first ballad we get to and there are Paul Rodgers’ tones to Steve’s voice on this one. When You Got Nothing has a riff that Mick Ralph’s would have been proud. The Side 1 closer Any Way The Wind Blows is ballad number two, and this time country vibes are added to the smooth west coast sound.

Side 2 opens up with Yesterday’s News and I’m going with this as my favourite track. A really cool hook and chorus, and there is an harder edge to the guitars on this one. Great track! Badlands follows, it’s basically a boogie with a killer hook and chorus. Wild River has a big southern rock groove with just a hint of country, and the melody and chorus are superb. Next up is Criminal Mind and aor fans will be dribbling at this one. A great riff but it’s the melody and harmonies that are the big stand out here. Love To Love could have been on any Bad Co album and you would not know it wasn’t them. It’s that close! A really nice swing to the groove and as usual with these guys, the melody is huge. So we get to the last track Long Time Gone, and it’s a return to that super smooth west coast sound.

I love this album a lot as the sound is crystal clear and crisp, plus the songs are really well written and performed. If you want a modern classic rock record then you could give these guys a try.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

« Older posts Newer posts »

Archives

© 2025 THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑