REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: August 5, 2024 (Page 2 of 2)

VYPER – Afraid Of The Dark

As far as I’m aware, Vyper only recorded this EP and the album Prepared To Strike (which I have reviewed earlier), which the track Diamonds is from.

The title track opens up the EP in fine form with a kick ass LA style glam anthem and is definitely my favourite here. Diamonds takes references from NWOBHM as THAT riff rears its head again at the intro. Time Flies has the double kick beat of Motorhead’s Overkill but with way more over the top guitar noodling and a sleazy metal vibe. Great fun tune! All too soon the four tracks are over as Daddy’s Girl closes out the record with a Ratt-style rocker.

I remember that conversations with the record companies took place about replacing LP’s with EPs as the main format because it would be easier to keep the quality of the songs higher. I sort of get that point for bands like Vyper, but I do like the album format. Anyhoo, these are a fun four tracks that I haven’t heard in a long while.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

CRAZY LIXX – Two Shots At Glory

Here we have album number 10 for these Swedish glam rockers, although technically it’s not new at all. Nine of the songs here are remixes of older tracks and only three are new tunes.

Of the new tunes, Two Shots At Glory opens up the album with a sleazy up tempo rocker with a Def Leppard-style chorus. Invincible closes out the first side and the hook and chorus are superb. The best of the newbies is Sword And Stone with a Bon Jovi-style melody and huge sounding chorus.

My favourite of the redone tunes is Ain’t No Rest In Rock N’ Roll. It is an absolute blast of a tune with a kick ass groove and uptempo beat. Now, Crazy Lixx are a celebration of all that was awesome about the mid to late 80’s hair band scene, except with a beefed up sound for a modern age.

Now, my big problem with this record is not the music but with the pressing or the production. The treble is way too high resulting in distortion in places. With it being a Frontiers release, I’m going with the pressing as they don’t have a good track record with past releases. So be warned, you may want to get your hands on the CD instead.

8/10 from The Grooveman. 

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