THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: album review (Page 3 of 481)

BUDGIE – Bandolier

April 26, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Budgie are a grossly underrated band who influenced a ton of bands, especially a lot of the NWOBHM bands, with their heavy groove sound. This was album number five from the band that came out in ´75, and of course being the 70’s, there was a lot experimenting with sounds and vibes especially for “album” bands like Budgie.

As well as the heavy grooves that everyone remembers them for, we get a hint of Prog/funk and even AOR before it was a thing. Who Do You Want For Your Love/ Never Turn Your Back On A Friend is just so cool with a that funky riff and groove that no heavy rock band of today would dare put on an album. They were also famed for their sense of humour with song titles and this album’s contribution is Napoleon Bona- Part 1 and 2.

Cool band that are greatly missed.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

MEGADETH – Rust In Piece

April 26, 2025 / / 0 Comments

This album is when I sorta checked out of Megadeth because they became too shiny and clean. I preferred the angry, nasty, and snarling Dave and the heavy groovefest he conjured up. I understand why he moved in the direction he did. I guess he wanted to move away from the basic Metallica groove and establish his own sound.

By Megadeth standards, this album contains the most commercial song (up until this point) that they had done: Hangar 18. Great song with a great groove and some killer playing from Marti Friedman, but it’s the more basic approach of Poison Was The Cure that flicks my switch the most and is my favourite tune on the album. Definite early Megadeth vibes from this one, and I wonder I how long Dave had this one in his pocket.

For me, the first three albums are what made Megadeth and they will not be beaten. The older I get, the more I have grown to appreciate this one though.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

JADED HEART – Heart Attack

April 20, 2025 / / 0 Comments

I didn’t realize Jaded Heart had released so many albums. As of the release of this record in 2022, they have put out 17 albums. One of which is a compilation and another is a live album. To make it worse, this is the only one I have on vinyl. Which is surprising because they are one big riff fest which is at the top of my list of favourite things.

Right from the get go with Blood Red Skies, this album riffs and grooves hard. Great track with an added bonus of a great hook and chorus. Sweet Sensation and Heart Attack follow and both equally deliver the goods with killer riffs. It’s favourite tune time with the deliciously simple but very effective heavy chug of Harvester Unknown. Side 1 closes out with the double kick onslaught of Lady Spider. That’s one hell of a side of tunage.

Descent kicks off Side 2 in an equally impressive manor with another fat chugga riff and great hook and chorus. Remnants Of Desire thinks it’s a power ballad until the heaviness takes over. It’s About Time is a pretty straight forward hard rock tune with some killer playing. The whole thing comes to a close with Midnight Stalker, another slab of fat chugga riffage.

Great album and a worthy addition to the collection.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

EUROPE – S/T

April 20, 2025 / / 0 Comments

This is Europe’s first album, released back in ‘83. If you only know Europe from The Final Countdown, then they are almost unrecognizable here. They sort of sound like a cross between Thin Lizzy and UFO with a very late 70’s vibe. Joey Tempest wrote all the songs on the album apart from the instrumental track Boyazont.

It’s not a bad effort but the production is a bit sparse and could do with a big dose of oomph! However, John Norum is the star of the show here because his playing is fantastic, and I think he was only 19 at the time of the album’s release. If you’re looking for an AOR/Melodic Rock big chorus sing a long then you will be disappointed. There are nine hard rock tracks on the album, with the standout being Paradize Bay. It has a different and cool groove with a choppy riff compared to the rest of songs with Mr. Norum ripping all over it.

It’s cool to see how bands develop and Europe have changed a lot. Cool to hear how they started.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

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