THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: April 2023 (Page 2 of 7)

THE CULT – Sonic Temple

April 27, 2023 /

This is where The Cult went into the big leagues. Everything came together perfectly for this album, great songs that were made to sound superb by a killer production from Bob Rock. I know he has his haters in the rock world, but for a band like The Cult he was tailor made for them. I also think the album cover is really cool as well, with guitarist Billy Duffy giving it the big guitar hero pose.

This was The Cult’s fourth album, released in late April ’89. Four singles were released from the record: Fire Woman, Edie (Ciao Baby), Sun King, and Sweet Soul Sister. Of which, Fire Woman does it most for me. Every song feels as though it’s a big anthem, but the biggest sounding of them all is Souls Asylum driven by that big Zeppelin style drum sound – it’s my favourite on the album.

Glad to see they are still out there making good records, but this album is their career high point and is a worthy addition to anyone’s collection.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

SKAGARACK – s/t

April 25, 2023 /

There is a train of thought in rock circles that no matter what type of modern popular music you name, Sweden and Swedish bands do it better. You have to admit, they are pretty good at the old rock n’ roll thing. This is Skagaracks first album, released in ’86 and it is an AOR fans wet dream. Great songs, well written and played, with a killer production.

Opening track Move It In The Night is my favourite right from the get go. Killer song with superb harmonies and a hook and chorus to die for. I’m Alone would have been huge if say, Brian Adams did it. Saying is just superb, why this band weren’t huge I do not know. Great hook and chorus, and the solo is awesome. If they were American, things may have been a whole lot different. Damned Woman ends Side 1 and after the initial guitar riff that I am sure i’ve heard before, the song feels all ethereal and a bit like a hymn.

Side 2 kicks off with Don’t Turn Me Upside Down. A huge keys intro before the main guitar riff drives the song along. The hook and chorus are huge and Journey would have been proud of this one. Great guitar at the intro to Lies with a huge Foreigner vibe to the song. Victim Of The System has the same groove and vibe as Holy Diver at the intro. It’s ballad time with City Child and the album closes out with Double Crossed, and we go out with a bang. A Rainbow style riff and a gallop groove, it’s the heaviest sounding track on the album.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

VOI VOD – Angel Rat

April 25, 2023 /

There is no doubt that Voi Vod has had a huge influence on some of today’s biggest Prog metal bands. They are known for bringing lots of strange outside elements and mixing it with more traditional metal values. Possibly Quebec’s greatest export to the world of rock for sure, this is the bands sixth album, released back in ’91.

After the brief and weird intro we burst into the quite straightforward Panorama with its killer riff and groove. Clouds In My House is a wonderful amalgamation of styles. Punk, New Wave, Metal, and hints of Rush all spring to mind while listening to this awesome song. That new wave vibe seeps on into The Prow, until we get to the middle eight where the groove and vibe changes into something more sinister and cool. Best Regards is driven along by a great sounding bass groove, and I love the way the main riff just chops away and again the middle section and instrumental pieces are just superb. Twin Dummy has a split psych, punk, metal crossover groove going down and this is what Voi Vod do so well. Side 1 closes out with the title track and you have to wonder if grunge was having an effect on the band as the vibe is very Seattle.

Side 2 kicks off with Golem and that huge clear bass sound and musicality that King Crimson would be proud of. The Outcast has (for Voi Vod) a quite straight forward heavy riff and groove. Nuage Fractal has a huge post punk feel, very reminiscent of some of Magazines output with added Prog weirdness. Freedom has a laid back vibe and is like nothing else on the album, that is until they turn on the amps. The album closes out with None Of The Above, and those Rush vibes are creeping in again.

There is no one like Voi Vod, and long may it be so.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

RICK GODDESS – Hell Hath No Fury

April 24, 2023 /

It was tough being a female rock band in the early eighties, especially if you were British. The whole NWOBHM movement was an all masculine, chest thumping bravado and the one thing that was levelled at female artists was “they can’t be good because they’re women” – nonsense. A couple of British bands did cut through however, one was Girlschool and the other was Rock Goddess.

This was the band’s second release that came out the same year as their first in ’83. The production values were very high on this album and the only band that were doing something similar at the time were Def Leppard.

The title track opens up the album and the first thing you notice is it sounds HUGE! A hands in the air anthem and the vocal harmonies are superb. Back in ’83 Gary Glitter wasn’t known as a full on sleazebag pervert, so I will forgive them for their cover of I Didn’t Know I Loved You. Next up is Kiss-style rocker Gotta Let Your Hair Down. The vocals and harmonies are superb, it’s the basic 12 bar blues riff that lets it down somewhat. In The Night opens up with huge vocal harmonies over a somewhat basic chord pattern. Hold Me Down closes out Side 1 and this is my favourite track. There is a harder edge to this one with a Thin Lizzy vibe to the harmony guitar, and as with the rest of the tracks it’s the vocals that drives the song.

An impressive dramatic keyboard intro opens up Side 2 with The Visitors Are Here, a track that has a mid-seventies Sweet vibe. You’ve Got Fire follows and is a typical NWOBHM riff and vibe. It Will Never Change is the big production number on the album and I like the dramatics in the quieter sections, but there is something missing and it doesn’t quite work. Quite an uptempo intro to Don’t Want Your Love and the basic song structure is not bad. The album closes out with God Be With You and it’s the heaviest track in the album.

I’m afraid time hasn’t been to kind to this album and it does sound somewhat dated.

6.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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