THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: blog music (Page 22 of 40)

KILLER DWARFS – Big Deal

April 19, 2022 /

Hailing from Oshawa (a burb around the metropolis of Toronto), the band had moderate success in Canada in the eighties – although not much anywhere else.

This is the band’s third album which came out in ’88, and although the band were known as a metal band, this album is much more of a melodic rock album (even I would say power pop), especially on tracks like We Stand Alone which is very Cheap Trick sounding. Startin’ To Shine is one of the best tracks on the album, as it has a great groove and hook and some really nice guitar. To keep their metal credentials intact, the deliciously heavy and fast Burn It Down is my favourite on the album. This album does sound a bit flat, as when they these songs Live they are a lot more alive and popping.

I think Killer Dwarfs sit alongside the Tragically Hip in that they are peculiarly Canadian, in that they don’t mean a whole bunch anywhere else.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

MADAM X – We Reserve The Right

April 18, 2022 /

One of the fun things about the 80’s rock scene was that all sorts of weird and wonderful bands appeared on the scene, attempting to cash in and have their 15 minutes in the spotlight. Madam X are exactly that – 1 album (full of throwaway football style chants) and they were gone.

I would have put money on Gene Simmons having something to do with this, but no, it was Rick Derringer playing the cheese card. The band revolved around sisters Maxine and Roxy Petrucci. Roxy would of course jump ship to join all female rockers, Vixen.

I would be lying if I said I didn’t find this a fun record as it puts a big smile on my face. High In High School was the big hit from the album and did quite well. It’s this type of sing-a-long that they were quite good at, and We Want Rock and Stand Up And Fight are the other standout tracks. Sometimes albums just exist for fun, and this is definitely on of those.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

HITTEN – Triumph & Tragedy

April 18, 2022 /

I had heard nothing of this band until I came across them in one of my late night bandcamp rabbit hole searches. I liked what I heard, and boom…the trigger was pulled. They are from Spain, and this is their fourth album. What grabbed me on first listen was the guitar sound and great vocals. The band have a dual guitar attack courtesy of Johnny Lorca and Dani Meseguer, power house vocals supplied by Alex Panza, and apparently Satan is on bass. No drummer in the bio, so it seems a session drummer played on the album.

Right from the get go this albums rocks hard with the killer riff and groove to first track, Built To Rock – a superb opening! Eyes Never Lie is heavy on the melody with a great vocal. Meant To Be Mean has a slow brooding heavy groove a great riff and some killer guitar. Hard Intentions has a very eighties style riff and vibe and has a Europe/MSG feel to it – a great track! The pace picks up with Hard Intentions, with a fast choppy riff – a great up tempo rocker. Side 1 closes out with Core Of The Flame, and it’s a big anthem song with a slow build and power chorus.

Flipping over to Side 2 and Ride Out The Storm should be the opening track according to the cover, but it’s actually Under Hour Spell – another slow build power melody rocker. Panza’s vocals are a highlight of this song with a great hook and chorus. Next up is Light Beyond The Darkness with a great mood change mid song where the groove really changes pace. Power ballad alert! Something To Hide is the token ballad on the album and it’s not even mentioned on the cover. As we all know by now, I’m not a fan of ballads but at least the solo is tasty. The title track closes out the album and we start with a big Maiden style instrumental piece, before an epic 3 part monster begins. A very ambitious and well constructed melodic metal beast to close out the album in fine style. Not sure what happened with the track listing on the cover as Side 2 is all wrong – Ride Out The Storm is not even on the album. Musically it’s on the money and I’ll recommend.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

ANGEL – Helluva Band

April 5, 2022 /

This is the band’s second album released in ’76, and is a pomp rock fans wet dream. Whether Casablanca records saw them as the exact opposite to Kiss with their dark image, it made perfect sense to market Angel in all white (I remember thinking it was a cool gimmick if it were true). Other than the Tower, I thought the first album was lacking somewhat in decent tunes, but this album is a lot stronger – and with all the keyboards it almost feels like a Prog album.

The Fortune is grandiose and overblown with a killer intro – Genesis would have been proud. Songs like Pressure Point have a more traditional rock approach, with the stock riff-by-numbers sound. They were a quirky little band that sort of existed in their own universe, until the record company put pressure on them and they slowly changed their sound and became just another rock band. This is probably my favourite Angel album other than the Live one.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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