THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: music (Page 319 of 454)

BIOHAZARD – State Of The World Address

November 16, 2021 /

This is Biohazard’s third release, and the one that really broke the band, with their fusing of hardcore, punk, and metal. They were tagged as a white supremacist band early because of their subject matter and lyrics, but the band denied that accusation saying they were highlighting problems within society.

The songs here are short and to the point, with the emphasis being on groove and speed with fat riffs and chugga chord patterns. They were kind of pioneers of this sound and numerous hardcore bands have tried this formula since. There are some killer tracks on this album, namely the title track with its heavy metal punk crossover sound, Tales From The Hard Side with the very groovy funk/rap metal vibe, and Five Blocks To The Subway with its Warriors vibe and punk rap lyrics. My favourite track is Human Animal as I love the vibe and groove. It reminds me of fellow New Yorkers Anthrax as they turned to hardcore for inspiration.

The album sold over a million copies and I think is the most successful record they released. This is the only hardcore album I own, and to my ears is the best of the bunch.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

RADIOHEAD – A Moon Shaped Pool

November 15, 2021 /

Rightly (or wrongly) described by critics as the most depressing band in the world, I guess that’s up to the listener to decide instead of some dozen journo trying to make a name for themselves.

Their albums vary a lot and they are a bit hit and miss for me, but this one I really like as they do play around with ambient sounds for moods – I do like that. Burn The Witch is quite a joyful uplifting piece, whereas Daydreaming is quite a fragile piece with lots of nice ambient touches. Decks Dark has an underlying orchestral vibe to it, but I would say it’s a typical Radiohead tune with lots of experimenting with sounds. Desert Island Disks is a beautiful acoustic piece. Full Stop has a very trip hop feel to it, with Portishead’s Clive Deamer on drums. Glass Eyes sounds very melancholic, as are a lot of their tunes, and again, very orchestral sounding. Identikit has a really cool drum pattern and beat – it sounds so great. The production is fantastic on the whole album. The Numbers is a cool song based around a basic acoustic chord pattern. Present Tense is my favourite track, I just love the simplicity of it and it sounds amazing. Tinker Tailor is the weirdest sounding track on the album with lots of experimental sounds. The album closes out with True Love Waits, and it’s all about Thom Yorke’s superb vocal.

This band have recording down to an art form as it’s just an incredible sounding record. I would say this is my favourite Radiohead record, and this is a Prog album in the true sense of the word.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

CINDERELLA – Long Cold Winter

November 15, 2021 /

For a band that had such a following at the time, they only made 4 albums and only two of which are worth owning: their first album, Night Songs, and this beauty. This was a bit of a left turn for them at the time as Night Songs was a glam rock masterpiece, but this album has a much more bluesy roots feel to it. Sure, it still rocks hard, but there is a huge tip of the hat to bands like The Faces and traditional blues.

Don’t Know What You’ve Got (Till It’s Gone) was a huge single from the album and made them stars due to heavy MTV rotation. It’s the rockier tracks that are my favourites, namely Bad Seamstress Blues, Gypsy Road, and the superb Second Wind which is the big up-tempo track on the album. It was the title track that got every critics attention, as it’s a big nod to traditional blues and a flagship for the whole album.

Two slightly dodgy follow up records, health issues, and grunge unfortunately put an end to the band, as it did a lot of a others, but still they left behind two kick ass records.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

THE ENID – In The Region Of The Summer Stars

November 13, 2021 /

I remember buying this when it first came out in ’76, and there was a big buzz around the band and about them being Prog saviours. This was at the end of ’76 and punk was about to ravage the Prog and rock scene, ousting all that was grand and overblown. This album is definitely that and draws from classical influences – mostly from the delightfully twisted brain of Robert John Godfrey, who up until a couple of years ago was still performing with the band until ill health sidelined him.

Instrumental albums can be hard for a lot of people to grasp, but I love them – the longer pieces especially. The Last Judgement and the title track which closes out the record are just fantastic, with amazing arrangements and superbly played. I haven’t listened to this album in such a long time, and playing it now brought back memories from when I first heard it with a friend of mine and we raved about it. Take it from me, no one sounds like The Enid, they became Prog gods one second, and then threw quirky little pieces like The Devil at you which are such a joy. I know this is not for everyone, but it’s such an enjoyable record.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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