THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: music review (Page 364 of 493)

HEAVENS GATE – Open The Gate And Watch!

November 3, 2021 /

This German power metal combo released this EP after the release of their first album. Bassist, Sascha Paeth, is known throughout European metal circles as a go to producer for all the big hitters in the genre, namely Avantasia, Edguy, Angra and Rhapsody Of Fire – to name a few. Unfortunately, as the rest of their German contemporaries flourished, they were all done by ’99. Nevertheless, they left behind a body of work including this EP (one of their best). It containing 6 tracks of quality metal, apart from the dodgy cover of David Essex’s Rock On, which somebody should have stopped them doing as they go from a decent metal outfit to Def Leppard wannabes.

Stand out tracks for me are the opening title track, which is a great tune with a killer riff and a nice vocal from Thomas Rettke, and Pictures In The Mirror which is the best track on the EP. They are heavily influenced by Helloween and Gamma Ray – their compatriots – which is not a bad thing. At least 5 of the 6 tracks are good.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

ENSLAVED – RIITIIR

November 2, 2021 /

I’m not a lover of the extreme death metal bands as I don’t see the point, other than to say look at us and how fast we can play – it does nothing for me. These guys on the other hand fascinate me. They mix the deathly growls with melodic clean tones, and the music is listenable and the lyrics are deep in Norse mythology, which has always interested me.

This album is from 2012 and the spelling of the album roughly translated is Ritual’s and the Norse take on the Rites Of Man. Opening track, Thoughts Like Hammers, is quite a slow doomy track but somehow sounds epic and huge. I am a big Opeth fan and the similarities are striking, especially on tracks like Veilburner which is one of the best tracks on the album. Roots Of The Mountain has the blast beats and machine gun kick drums pounding, and the mix of growl and clean is the most striking on this track. The title track just sneaks in for my favourite on the album as I love the simplicity of it.

Take away the drums, and this is quite a straightforward album musically. The chord patterns aren’t that difficult, it’s the delivery and the arrangements that make this album epic. Definitely not for everyone but I like it.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

KXM – Circle Of Dolls

November 2, 2021 /

I guess you can describe this as a supergroup; Dug Pinnick from KingsX, George Lynch from Dokken, Ray Luzier of Korn, and Dave Lee Roth. It sort of sounds like if you put all those bands in a mixer, this would be the end product. Definitely a very heavy deep sounding groove with a monster production, and George really lets it fly. It sounds like nobody but reminds you of somebody – if that makes sense. George has been around playing the same party circuit as Van Halen did around LA. It’s great to hear he still has that fire in his belly and he wants to push himself to new things. He is super prolific and has done a ton of projects and solo things – this is just one.

War If Words is the opening track and has that really heavy swing. Mind Swamp has a great riff – the guitar sound and tone is just evil. The title track has a slight funky groove with superb drumming from Luzier. I love the heavy echo on the guitar on Lightning, and Dug’s vocal on this track does remind me of KingsX. Time Flies is another track that goes against the norm as the guitar and rimshot beats on the drums have a very indie vibe. Love this track! My favourite track on the album is Shadow Lover with the pounding of the toms, and another dirty evil riff from George. They don’t actually sound like anybody else, but KingsX vibes abound, and that is purely due to Dug’s vocal. I like all three of their album and this is the third.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

JAMES LABRIE – Impermanent Resonance

November 1, 2021 /

I am always amazed that Labrie has virtually no input for the vocal content in Dream Theater, especially as he is such a prominent member in the band. So I guess that’s why he has so much material to do his solo projects. Ably assisted by his long time friend Matt Guillery who is on guitars and growl vocals, as well as producing the whole thing.

This album is a lot heavier and has a more European sound than DT for sure. His voice is so dominant that comparisons have to be made, but the album does have its own identity. The guitars are a lot heavier, and the keyboards are more of a background soundscape than DT. Some of the tracks like Slight Of Hand have a big djent influence with the palm muting. I would have liked to see more of this on the record as this a killer track. James’ voice does lend itself to quieter songs and passages. His voice sounds incredible on Back On The Ground, I Got You, and Lost In The Fire. There is lots of modern keyboard sounds that a lot of screamo bands use like on Letting Go, which has a killer riff and groove and is my favourite track on the album.

So I think if DT ended tomorrow, Labrie would be ok – as long as his voice holds up.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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