THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: January 2024 (Page 1 of 7)

YNGWIE MALMSTEEN’S RISING FORCE – Marching Out

January 29, 2024 /

This was solo album number two for Yngwie, when he still believed in having a vocalist in the band. The vocalist in question here is Jeff Scott Soto, who after his dismissal from Yngwie’s tribe would set up Talisman with his band mate here, the amazing bassist Marcel Jacob and go on to have a great career.

There is no doubt that Yngwie is an incredible player with jaw dropping technique, but sometimes he seems to just be playing for himself and not the song. Case in point is Disciples Of Hell, which is a great song don’t get me wrong, but the solo is so fast it’s ahead of the groove of the song. The influence of early Rainbow is all over this record whether it be the groove of the music or Jeff’s vocals, you can’t escape it. I Am Viking is my favourite track it has all the Rainbowisms you could hope for with Yngwie playing his best solo.

I am a guitar nut so I love all the over the top widdlly dee histrionics, but I do admit it does affect the songs sometime. This actually came out in ‘85 which makes me feel old as I remember buying it the week of release.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

FATES WARNING – FWX

January 27, 2024 /

This is the Prog metal pioneers’ tenth album and was released back in 2004. Never happy with creating the same album twice, this album sees the band going with a more simple straightforward style. All the usual FWisms are there, they have just been dialled back somewhat.

I love Ray Adler’s voice and the way he interprets the lyrics, he is the highlight of this album. There are virtually no guitar solos on the album and that’s not a bad thing as you concentrate more on the moody vibe of the record. Having said that the fat huge guitar-driven riffs of Simple Human make it my favourite tune. Along with a that huge guitar, Mark Zonder is laying down the beats with just little pulse’s of the industrial vibes from previous efforts.

I read a few reviews of this album and it seems the FW faithful did not rate this too highly upon its release, but I don’t see why as it’s a great record and a further step in the progression in one of Prog Metal’s finest bands.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

OZRIC TENTACLES – At The Pongmasters Ball

January 27, 2024 /

This is a reissue of the 2002 live performance at Shepherds Bush Empire in London on Marillion’s Madfish label. This does seem odd, as you would expect to see them perform in some tent or outside at some hippy fest. It’s one thing to hear the Ozrics in the tranquility of your own home, but live is a whole different thing.

I guess they are the UK’s original Jam band, as they do go off in these psychedelic moments and come back seemingly on cue. I’m a huge fan of Ed Wynne’s guitar playing and there is lots of it to enjoy here. He does use a lot of effects to create these wonderful soundscapes and a beautiful wall of sound.

There are lots of cool things to delight your ears, one of which is how much they remind me of The Police. Yeah, I know that sounds a bit nuts but listen to Erpland with the groove and guitar sound and tell me that’s not the Police on exotic substances. The Ozrics’ whole vibe is all about the trippy keyboards and the groove as much as Ed’s guitar, which is featured to the extreme on The Throbbe, the close out piece which is my favourite.

It’s cool to see they are still making great music and I hope to catch them live again.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

ROUGH CUTT – Wants You

January 27, 2024 /

This was the second and last album from LA’s nearly guys. They seemed to play swap the member with Ratt in the early days. Ironically, Ratt would achieve success whereas Rough Cutt didn’t. I think that’s down to the fact that their songs were not that commercial.

That doesn’t make them bad, on the contrary, they did what they did very well. Bad Reputation for instance is a ripping tune and coincidentally my favourite. Any band would have given their right nut for that song, it’s just not mid eighties top 40 material. I think the closest they got to commerciality on this record is Don’t Settle For Less. It’s got a great in your face production with a massive guitar sound, coupled with a very infectious hook and chorus – this should have been released as a single.

The other song that really does it for me is Let ‘Em Talk. It has a pounding groove but with a really cool vocal melody in the main verse that no other band were doing at the time, this made Rough Cutt quite unique in how they approached their songs.

I really like this album and remember being blown away with guitarist Amir Derakh at the time as he had that little something that set him apart from the crowd. Cool record.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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