THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: music (Page 15 of 439)

DORO – Force Majeure

February 11, 2025 /

Is this the first Doro solo album or the last Warlock album? I think the record company were hedging their bets just in case, because they added a “+ Warlock” sticker to the front cover.

One things for sure, the sound is aimed at the American market. It is a more polished hard rock sound than the Euro metal sound she is now famous for. Other than the terrible cover of Whiter Shade Of Pale (which unbelievably opens the album), this is not a bad record. It has some good songs that rock in all the right places.

World Gone Wild would stand up against any hair band anthem of the time. It has a great hook and chorus, and riffs hard. Angels With Dirty Faces is another song perfect for the American market. Hard Times opens up Side 2 and this gets my vote as favourite song. A very catchy hook and chorus, with a killer guitar sound that gets the toe a tappin’ and the head a bobbin’. The only full on metal track here is I Am What I Am, double kicks all the way that blasts away the entire 2:36 of its existence.

I like this record more than her more metal efforts, they don’t interest me too much but this is definitely worth buying.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

REPTILE SMILE – Who Makes The Rules

February 9, 2025 /

Album number two from Sweden’s answer to the Faces. Well, not really, but you get a rough idea what their inspirations are.

That barroom, whiskey-soaked, sleazy rock n’ roll sound is where Reptile Smile ply their trade. Of course, with the band being Swedish, it’s done very well indeed and this is a really enjoyable rock n’ roll romp. We are not reinventing the wheel here, just adding a little sparkle to an already dyed in the wool format.

You will need your singing shoes on when playing this one as there are some killer sing along anthems. Hey Mama, Wild Life, In My Face (where Pete Shapiro does his best Steven Tyler impression), and my favourite Get Down are all banging tunes and would make great singles. Get Down has that Aerosmith swagger with a hint of AC /DC that just swings in all the right places.

A highly enjoyable record and having not played it in a long while, I forgot how much fun it was.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

OVERKILL – Under The Influence

February 9, 2025 /

Another day, and another Overkill reissue to ponder over. This one is the band’s third album that originally saw the light of day in ’88, and it’s half speed mastered.

Do Overkill make bad records? No, is the answer if you were struggling. They just make slightly less great ones.

This album is chock full of your usual Overkill fare; fast tracks, even faster tracks, and some punk/metal crossover which they do so well. There was a point in time where Metallica, Anthrax, and Overkill seemed to be joined at the hip musically until Metallica and the Thrax went off on a tangent, but Overkill stayed true to the cause.

My favourite tune off of this beast is Hello From The Gutter. A slightly more commercial sounding tune, but it works so well. Great hook and chorus and that punk/ metal crossover riff is so cool.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

THE AWFUL TRUTH – S/T

February 7, 2025 /

Any KingsX fans here?

So, when KingsX had just launched the mega awesome Out Of The Silent Planet on the world, the band’s producer and mentor Sam Taylor had another band in a studio recording this record. This, my friends, is The Awful Truth.  

Now, before this album was even released, two of the members Monty Colvin and Alan Doss would be back in the studio recording The Galactic Cowboys debut album. So, The Awful Truth were done before they even started.

Most of these songs weren’t written by them however, as 6 of the 8 tracks were compositions by guitarist and vocalist David Von Ohlerkings. Strangely enough my two favourite tracks are both collaborations including Higher, which is just a superb song, and Drowning man. You can hear little things in the music that would become Galactic Cowboys trademarks such as the weird heavy riffing and the vocal melodies. Also, the lead guitar sound is very KingsX, and I guess Sam Taylor was trying to create this whole universe of sound.

This is a new Ltd edition reissue and I would highly recommend getting hold of a copy if you are remotely interested in the whole Adam Taylor sound.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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