THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: December 2024 (Page 4 of 8)

VIGILANTS – Run For Cover

December 22, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Here we have a 6 track EP from Brantford Ontario’s Vigilants. You may not have heard of them, I think this was the only thing they ever did. There is a very suspect video on YouTube for the title track with a guest appearance from none other than Lee Aaron.

They all look very rock ‘n roll with their ripped vests and bouffant hairdo’s but of the six tracks, only three of them are actually in that category. The already mentioned Run For Cover, Friday Night Crazies, and my personal favourite Coming Back On You with its Def Leppard vibes. The other tracks are more laid back ballads.

Who knows, if they had a hot shot producer like the Leps maybe they could have scored big, but I doubt it.

6/10 from The Grooveman.

VICE – Made For Pleasure

December 22, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Apparently there are quite a few bands called Vice, and until I bought this record I hadn’t heard of any of them.

The band formed in Germany in ’88, this album was released the same year. Although they are playing the same sounds as Bon Jovi and any other hair band of that era, they have that unique European sound to their music. Now, whether that’s down to the phrasing of vocalist Jan Ghiantine, I’ll let you decide.

The song that I heard first was Red Light Night, that crunchy riff and uptempo groove sounded great to my ears and I was curious to hear more. My favourite tune is Side 2 opener, Made For Pleasure. A heavier sounding track verging on metal with a Priest-style riff and groove, and guitarist Chris Limburg is showing off his chops.

I’m sure someone will correct me, but it seems that Mr. Limburg is the only member of this line up to keep going after Vice split up, because he joined Bonfire amongst others.

So overall, it’s not a bad album at all and quite entertaining.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

AXEL RUDI PELL – Lost XX111

December 19, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Alex Rudi Pell, is a very prolific artist who has released 22 studio albums, of which this is number 21. He was previously in Steeler (not the Yngwie and Ron Keel outfit) who released 4 albums, so he is no slouch when coming up with material.

He seems to model his sound on Ronnie Dio era Rainbow and he bows at the temple of Mr Blackmore. This album however, doesn’t get going until we get to Side 3 and the crunching track, Follow The Beast. Nice pounding double kicks, heavy crunching riff, and Johnny Gioeli screaming out those lyrics. The Rise Of Ankhoor is the other song that also stands out, with a folky Celtic vibe. The rest of the album seems to get lost in a mid-paced, very similar vibe.

It’s not bad per se, it just feels like going through the motions. My favourite period of Mr. Pell is with Jeff Scott Soto on vocals and this falls way short of that.

6.5/10 from The Grooveman.

MEGADETH – The Sick The Dying And The Dead

December 19, 2024 / / 0 Comments

I love the first three Megadeth albums. Dave was angry, mean, and nasty, plus he had a big point to prove. He helped create something huge that oversees all modern metal today.

Then, I sort of lost interest. It all became a bit clean and shiny. There are also Megadeth albums that I have not heard anything from. So, let’s fast forward to the imminent release of the Deth’s latest opus.

The tracks Life In Hell and Night Stalkers, which were the first two songs I heard, are the ones that grabbed my attention. Killer tunes on this record with lots of aspects from old school Megadeth that I love, namely the fast choppy riffing, speed a plenty, and Dave spitting out those lyrics with plenty of venom. Add to that, some ripping guitar courtesy of new boy Kiko Loureiro.

The quality drips through every pore of this album and is a worthy recipient of your hard earned coinage.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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