THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Category: Vinyl Reviews (Page 195 of 492)

AVENGED SEVENFOLD – Nightmare

March 18, 2023 /

Now, I’ve always passed Avenged Sevenfold off as a manufactured put together kiddie metal band and have avoided them like the plague. So, why the change of heart I hear you cry? Well, I was intrigued when Mike Portnoy was asked to join them for this recording, and the following tour after the death of The Rev. So I bought the CD and was pleasantly surprised. This version is a recent reissue if anyone was wondering, and it is not a bad album at all.

The title track opens up the album and Portnoy is all over this tune. The riff and groove are simple and kicks ass. Welcome To The Family is a full on Portnoy intro. The heavy kicks are what make this tune, and the pop hook and chorus is what I was expecting from these guys. Danger Line starts with a military drum and guitar and then goes into euro speed metal territory. A lot of parts to this one make it more of a Prog metal vibe. Great track! Buried Alive has a nice quiet guitar intro (very reminiscent of a certain Metallica tune) and then the song changes completely with some killer riffage. Natural Born Killer is probably the fastest Portnoy has drummed in his life with blast beats a plenty, and those kicks! This is my favourite track as it has a killer groove with a huge riff, and I love the vocal melody.

So Far Away is ballad time and where I usually switch off, the only thing stopping me from doing that is the tasteful guitar solo and the killer ending. God Hates Us really explodes after the quiet intro. This baby pounds along with an old school riff to die for. There are parts of this song that remind me of Dream Theater in their heavier moments. Victim is a slower tune with a great vocal from MShadows (real name Arthur Spanner… not really, but you get where I’m coming from). For some reason I get a a Queen vibe from this one.

Great intro to Tonight The World Dies; very dramatic and eerie. It’s quite noticeable how the vibe of the album gets more solemn as it goes along, it’s almost an obituary to their brother, and Fiction carry’s on in this vein. The album closes out with Save Me, a quite joyful and uplifting intro before the evil staccato riff kicks in and that demonic vocal.

It’s not a bad album, and I still enjoy listening to it.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

PRETTY MAIDS – Future World

March 18, 2023 /

This is Danish rock band Pretty Maids’ killer second release, which came out all the way back in ’87. I’m a big fan of Ronnie Atkins’ voice as he can go from the cleans to a full on metal assault in the blink of an eye.

After the weird Disney Princess keyboard intro, the title track comes blasting in with double kicks a pounding alongside a killer riff. This tune fair screams along. Great opening! Next up is We Came To Rock, a hands in the air stomper with a huge sing-a-long chorus. Love Games is a change in vibe, as it is more of an AOR melodic rocker. Side 1 ends with Yellow Rain and it starts like a power ballad and just when all hope is lost the crunch kicks in and blows the cobwebs right away.

Loud N’ Proud opens up Side 2 with a blast. A chest thumping metal stomper to get the head bobbing. Rodeo is up next and the riff and groove remind me of the Scorpions’, as does the main vocal line, but the chorus is pure west coast AOR. It’s favourite track time next with Needles In The Dark. A full on kick ass melodic metal monster. Eye Of The Storm is a slow build power ballad, taking a while to get to the power bit. The album closes out with Long Way To Go, a big hair metal anthem with the big sing-a-long chorus.

I like this album, it’s just a fun listen.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

PET HATE – The Bride Wore Red

March 17, 2023 /

Born out of the ashes of bargain basement glam band Silverwing, this is Pet Hate’s second album, released in ’84 and they were finished by ’85. Were they ahead of their time, as the sleaze thing never took hold for a couple more years in LA? To be honest, this has more in common with the punk vibe than NWOBHM, which was well under way by this point.

A very raw sounding record with a very lo-fi production. It’s hard to pick a favourite track, but I’m going for the 1234 Ramones vibe of Caught Red Handed.

Perhaps they should have stayed with Silverwing they were a tad more tolerable.

4/10 from The Grooveman.

METAL CHURCH – Damned If You Do

March 17, 2023 /

Right up to date with studio releases anyway, as this was Metal Church’s last studio recording, released in 2018. It was also vocalist Mike Howe’s last recording before he sadly committed suicide.

The album opens with the title track, and man what a killer riff and groove to blast your ears open. Even though the riff and groove smoke, the hook and chorus are superb with just the right amount of melody. The Black Things is next up and boom, another killer opening which reminds me of early Annihilator. That picked guitar riff is killer and gives the song that touch of the epic. By The Number starts as though it’s life depended on it with some old school Bay Area thrash vibes. It’s great to see a metal band still thinking that a great hook and chorus is not just for pop bands.

That’s Side 1 done and Revolution Underway kicks off Side 2. The underlying groove is a gallop and it’s the most commercial song so far, I love the middle section. Guillotine follows and the intro brings the drama big time. It’s back to 86′ with a riff and groove worthy of that period. Next up is  Rot Away. Killer old school riffage with chuggas a plenty. Old school metal rules! Great guitar sound to the intro of Into The Fold, double kicks pounding with monster riffage. Monkey Finger has that Judas Priest groove thing going down. Out Of Balance rips in at a fair old pace with a super cool descending riff, I love the hook and chorus, and it’s my favourite track. The album closes out with The War Electric, another chunk of old school thrash. Epic stuff!

It’s great to see a band over forty years into their career come out with an album like this. Great album!

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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