THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Category: Vinyl Reviews (Page 149 of 492)

TWELVE FOOT NINJA – Vengeance

September 15, 2023 /

It feels as though Australia is the flavour of the month in the basement of doom because the randomizer has yet again thrown up another antipodean delight in the form of the awesome Twelve Foot Ninja and their latest album. Tinged with a bit of sadness it has to be said that they are on indefinite hiatus. To call them a metal band does not remotely do them justice, as every genre known to man is put in the mixing bowl of delights and the most amazing combinations are dished up.

This album is a concept album. It is a companion piece to fantasy novel The Wyvern And The Wolf. If one track on this album sums them up, it’s IDK. You go from crushing metal riffs and grooves to Hip Hop, reggae, funk, and pop all wrapped up in one little parcel. One of the reasons this works so well is the vocalist, Kim Etik. He has a unique tone to his voice where he can basically sing the phone book and it would sound amazing, and that suits this band so well.

The track Gone starts like a smooth jazz pop tune and explodes into a killer track that would sit well in any top ten pop charts. I’m really struggling to pick a favourite tune from this stunning piece of wax but for today (and maybe just today) I’m going with opening tune Start The Fire. Lots of low end chunk and groove mixed with electronic pop beauty. You’d think that wouldn’t work but it’s so good and an epic way to open the album.

I love the album and I love the band. And yes, everyone should own one.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

INTERVALS – The Shape Of Colours

September 14, 2023 /

After the release of their first album (A Voice Within in 2014), everyone apart from main man and killer guitarist Aaron Marshall, left the band. This is the follow up record, The Shapes Of Colour.

If you’re a fan of instrumental prog metal with emphasis on the geeeetar then you will love this. He is joined on drums by the amazing Travis Orbin who was in Periphery early on. I love everything about this album, especially the way Aaron does not lose the sense of melody in his playing and doesn’t just throw notes to impress.

Fable is just a superb piece of music with so much groove to the playing, and adding the sax is just genius. It’s one of my favourite Intervals pieces. Black Box is just insane. Super fast playing with the eye always on the melody, and the added heavy riffage is just great to the ears.

If you’re a prog metal fan who loves well crafted instrumentals, or your are a guitar nut, you will love this.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

KING CRIMSON – Three Of A Perfect Pair

September 13, 2023 /

As the title suggests, this is the third in a trilogy of albums that launched King Crimson back into the spotlight after a period of inactivity. Discipline was a game changer of an album that made everyone in Progland sit up and take note. Beat was a tad more on the melodic side, with more commercial material. This album is the weakest of the three however, and Fripp closed the project after this.

Even so, this album does have its moments. The title track is a mix of commercial and the wild and wonderful. The single Sleepless with Tony Levins’ amazing Chapman stick playing was what this version of Crim was all about: weird and wonderful rhythms and beats with crazy Frippertronics wailing away. My favourite piece is Larks Tongues In Aspic 3. If you’re into Crim, then this is what you love. It’s seemingly wild and anarchic pieces of music, repeating guitar segments over and over, with beats and grooves to match. T

his is not my favourite KC album by any stretch, but it does have its moments.

6.5/10 from The Grooveman.

THE STRANGER – Kaleidoscope

September 13, 2023 /

There is definitely something in the water in the land down under at the moment. There is such a great modern Prog community releasing some killer records right now. This album from The Stranger came out in 2020, and they have been together since 2013. The obvious comparison would be Dream Theater as there are definitely element of the band’s sound that compare. But take Dream Theater and add more modern djent vibes, those low end grooves, killer keyboard sounds, great vocal melodies and you get the picture.

Opener Eleventh Hour is more traditional Prog metal with the DTisms high in the list, but second track in The Gemini has way more modern grooves and sounds, I love the vocal on this one. Next up is my favourite, Jungles. This one has some awesome djent-style riffage, and I love the effortless transition into the more melodic middle section with a great short solo. Killer tune! What a superb bass groove at the start of Jester with a more laid back vibe, I love the harmonies and that choppy guitar riff is so cool. We close out Side 1 with the beautiful guitar instrumental Coming Home.

Side 2 kicks off with Siren. A killer choppy riff and groove, and a close call for favourite track. Superb tune with a wonderful middle section that even brings the funk. Creatures In The Canopy is next up and that bass groove opens into a very harmonic piece before the huge crunch of guitars dives in. The Devil You Don’t opens with a very eerie guitar before the modern metal riffage rips in, with added growling vocal that gives way to some serious progtastic harmony delights. The album closes out with the title track. The most old school sounding of them all, well until the power is turned anyway. I think it’s the vocal delivery and the slight folk vibe of the vocals that conjure up images of Peter Gabriel.

Well, I’m more than happy for Australia to keep knocking out bands as good as The Stranger, and I can’t wait for their next instalment.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

« Older posts Newer posts »

Archives

© 2026 THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑