THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: music review (Page 291 of 480)

FRANK MARINO – Juggernaut

April 27, 2022 /

I have been a fan of Frank Marino since I heard a track on the radio in the UK, from his Live album released in ’78. My jaw instantly hit the floor and I went out and bought a copy ASAP. He is an amazing guitar player of (what I would say) the old school.

The album before this, The Power Of Rock n Roll, is one of my favourites, but I could never understand how all the critics never raved about – he was amazing. It’s a bit like saying today that on their records, Vai and Satriani play too much guitar. HELLO…he’s a guitar player! So, imagine my surprise when reading the early reviews of this album that the critics loved it. What could be so different I thought? They were raving about two tracks in particular, namely Strange Dreams and Story Of A Hero. Both tracks are a lot more commercial sounding and would appeal to a wider audience they said. Well, Frank has always written tracks like this, it’s just now they seemed to be paying attention.

You would be forgiven for thinking that the guitar would not be featuring as much maybe…nope! This is still a killer guitar record. It’s slightly more restrained in places like on Story Of A Hero, but it packs one hell of a punch. Maybe It’s Time, Ditch Queen, and Juggernaut are all seriously impressive as Frank rips the fretboard within an inch if it’s life. Definitely one of rocks most underrated players, and it’s a big shame that due to his health he can no longer play.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

KILLING JOKE – Pylon

April 26, 2022 /

This the band’s 15th studio album released back in 2015 and was recorded with their original line up. They have always flirted with heavy metal, and fused their post-punk vibe with metal quite successfully, creating their own position in music’s sonic landscape. They have that knack of interjecting a groove and pulse in their music that makes you want to bounce. I’m not sure these are the right words to use, but the album feels quite polished as the production is huge.

I’m a big fan of the band and I think this album sits high in the band’s catalogue. Jazz is his normal angry and controversial self, Geordie is the usual riff and groove driver of the band, and Youth and Big Paul lay down that pulse we all love. Autonomous Zone, Dawn Of The Hive (with a monster riff), and New Cold War occupy the first side and they are all killer tracks – right up there with the band’s best for me. New Jerusalem has a very simple evil guitar sound that any metal band would have been proud of. Carrying on that sound with Delete, this time with a very simple riff and driving groove this is Killing Joke of old.

Glad to see them still churning out the angst with all the groove. Long may they do so!

9/10 from The Grooveman.

SHINEDOWN – The Sound Of Madness

April 26, 2022 /

This is the band’s third album, and for me it’s their best. They seem to get the same hate coming their way as do Nickelback, and I think this is mostly from older rock fans who think the music is created for the purpose of making money and not for the art. Anyway, I love this record. The songs are short and to the point, and the music seriously rocks. The songs are huge with great hooks and melodies, and the production is freaking awesome.

Band leader, Brent Smith, has a great voice with so much power in the delivery, and even though it feels as though the band is just a vehicle for his songs (no members of the band get any writing credits), this is a superb recording. The opening two tracks of Devour and the title track are a killer one-two opening. If it’s possible, we are shifting  gears in the melody and feels department with the stunning Second Chance.

This album is chock full of moments like these, and modern rock it most definitely is, but there is something for everyone here and I would definitely recommend this to anyone.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

MACALPINE ALDRIDGE ROCK SARZO – Project Driver

April 25, 2022 /

This is a very interesting project put together by Shrapnel’s Mike Varney back in ’86. Mike Varney has always been a huge supporter of all things metal, and his US Metal compilations were fantastic for metal hungry fans such as myself. The original name for this project was Mars (after the initials for each of the members), but in the end they decided to go with their names instead. Tony MacAlpine on guitar, Tommy Aldridge on drums, Rob Rock on vocals, and Rudy Sarzo on bass. Other than Rob Rock, they were very familiar to metal fans as they were all in big bands or had successful solo careers.

This is an awesome representation of killer melodic 80’s metal with some superb playing from MacAlpine. Rob Rocks vocals are huge and every song is an anthem with big sing-a-long style chorus’ and massive hooks. Nations On Fire blows the cobwebs off straight away at a seriously fast pace. Nostradamus is a monster epic piece with a very grandiose keyboard intro by MacAlpine, and a guitar riff very reminiscent of early Ozzy. Unknown Survivor is probably my favourite on the album as it rips along at a killer pace with an epic riff and vocal – a speed metal monster. Fantasy and Slave To My Touch are more melodic rock than metal, and reflect more of what was popular in the hair rock zone of the time.

It would have been interesting if this had become a full time band to see where they would have gone, but I guess when you are well paid hired hands it’s hard to give up that pay cheque. A great album, and if you’re a fan of eighties rock and metal it’s a must have.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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