THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Category: Vinyl Reviews (Page 265 of 492)

METALLICA – Master Of Puppets

August 13, 2022 /

We all know the Black album sold in its squillions (still does to this day), and it is a great album. It is the one Metallica album that everyone knows, but is it their best? The albums after the Black album contain some memorable songs, but they never reached the heights.

St Anger is a bit of a stinker if I’m being honest. And Justice is a good album, but lacks in the production department and that just leaves the first three. All are classics of the genre, and I’ll never forget hearing Kill Em All for the first time – it was a total game changer, and Ride The Lightning is its twin, but Master Of Puppets is an outright masterpiece and possibly the best thrash album, period. It would also be the last appearance of Cliff Burton before his tragic death.

You can tell they stopped to think about this album and made it as crushing and as awesome as they possibly could. What an opening with Battery – such a killer tune that just melts your face with the riff and speed of the thing. How heavy is The Thing That Should Not Be? Sabbath would have wet themselves if they had come up with that! It’s quite fitting that Orion is on this album – it’s a great tribute to a one off character as Cliff was.

This is the best Metallica album and also is the best thrash album to boot.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

TREAT – The Endgame

August 13, 2022 /

Having achieved some moderate success in the mid-to-late eighties, the band disbanded in the early nineties, only for Frontiers to resurrect the band in about 2010. This is the fourth release of the comeback, and for me it’s one of their best.

As with all Swedish bands, they know how to write great melodies with riffs and grooves that matter. Freudian Slip opens things up and its classic Treat, with the big hook and riff driving along. Rabbit Hole is more of the same, with a killer middle eight that reminds me of classic Talisman. Sinbiosis is up next and starts with a nice keyboard guitar duel before a cool chugga riff drives the tune along, and just to rub it in, the hook and chorus are top drawer as if they do this in their sleep. Home Of The Brave is just one big anthem – hands and lighters in the air here peeps! Nice acoustic intro to Both Ends Burning – its the most commercial track on the album – until we get to the killer heavy instrumental section – an awesome tune! My Parade is next and it’s ballad time I’m afraid…

Wake Me When It’s Over has a superb guitar intro and the vocal melody is really infectious. Jesus From Hollywood starts with a very busy guitar riff with church choir vocals over the top, and then it’s normal service with the massive hook and chorus. It’s ballad number two with Magic, which does remind me of something else – but I guess it’s just one of those melodies. I guess somebody had a bad experience with a Carolina Reaper to name a song after one, but the song is far from down – it’s a very uplifting melody and hook. Dark To Light has the heaviest main riff of all the songs and is my favourite on the album. The album closes out with To The End Of Love, and this is the one song that reminds of Journey. It’s a big AOR monster of a tune. A great album that has great songs with melody and groove.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

SCALE THE SUMMIT – Carving Desert Canyons

August 12, 2022 /

Progressive Technical Metal is a weird little sub-genre that popped up after Dream Theater became popular – then the media wanted a table to put all these bands in. This was released in 2009, and is the band’s second album, which I think was the same year that they appeared on Dream Theater’s Progessive Nation tour. I first heard of them a bit before when they were on a three band bill with Fair To Midland and Periphery.

I love heavy instrumental music the more technical the better and this ticks all the boxes for me. Opener, Bloom, is a wonderful exercise in how many riffs and grooves can we put into one song and keep it very melodic. Sargasso Sea is a lot more of a laid back tune and feels almost like a soundtrack to a movie. The Great Plains follows and has these huge sounding picked arpeggios that repeat over and over that slowly change and evolve into a more laid back vibe. Giants closes out Side 1 and is the heaviest piece yet with some killer drums from Pat Skeffington.

Age Of Tides kicks off Side 2 and has a very busy opening with the riffs and picked chords dominating everything. Glacial Planet starts with the most serene peaceful opening, and quickly turns heavy with a complete contrast. City In The Sky has the most normal riff and beat on the whole album, until they get bored and make it very complex. The album closes with Dunes, and it’s a return to the ever repeating picked notes that underpin the whole song, while differing melodies play over the top. I appreciate this is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I do get off on albums like this as I find them challenging and very rewarding.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP – s/t

August 12, 2022 /

Metal Mickey was at somewhat of a crossroads in his career. He had just left a very successful gig with UFO, who were at the height of their popularity after the release of their amazing live opus Strangers In The Night. His brother Rudolph, who seeing an opportunity to improve his own band, asked Michael to perform on the Scorpions Lovedrive album, with the hope he would join them. Fortunately for Michael, he decided to do his own thing, and put together this group under his own name (although, at the time, he said in interviews it may only be a one-off project).

Other than the Assault Attack album, this is the finest recorded work that Michael ever put out. I think he knew everything was on the line, and he pushed himself to prove everyone wrong. Absolute bonafide classic all the way through. There’s not a bad note played, and Gary Barden was a revelation (at least on record anyway – his performances were a bit ropey at times).  

Whether it be an instrumental track like Into The Arena, or a vocal track like Victim Of Illusion, the end result is the same – all are extremely well written and performed with a great production by Roger Glover – who knows a thing about putting great rock albums together. My favourite track is the absolute epic, Lost Horizons. It’s such a dramatic piece where Michael really lets fly and shows what a great player he is. We are in every home should have one territory.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

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