THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: music (Page 341 of 454)

TEXTURES – Phenotype

September 24, 2021 /

Hailing from the flatlands of The Netherlands, this was the band’s fifth and final release and was the follow up to the successful and super awesome, Duality. I am a huge fan of this band and was lucky enough to see them Live once. They are the purveyors of the finest technical metal with huge amounts of D-tuned riffage that hits the perfect spot for me. Since Daniel de Jong joined the band in 2010, they evolved in huge strides and I was super disappointed that they called it a day.

If first track, Oceans Collide, doesn’t shake your tree then their brand of awesome is not for you. After the brutal onslaught of the first track, the beauty of the New Horizons intro is just sublime, before we hit warp 10 and the main riff and groove kicks in. Brutally heavy and epic! A huge sounding choppy riff and groove announce the arrival of Shaping A Single Grain Of Sand. The ending of this song is just freaking insane!!! I love the dark and shade of the vocals that change in a blink of an eye. Don’t be fooled by the aggression, as there is so much melody on this record. Side 1 closes out with Illuminate The Trail, and the intensity continues – this is the band at their heaviest.

Some epic drumming is the intro to Side 2 instrumental opener, Meander. The supremely heavy returns with Erosion, and I love the middle section that leads into maximum riffage to the outro. The Fourth Prime has an evil riff and groove with an odd time signature that screws with your brain at the beginning. There is a whole albums worth of material and riffs in this one song alone. Absolute monster track! The second instrumental piece, Zman, follows and is a keyboard atmospheric chill, before album closer, Timeless, assaults your senses again with a choppy riff and beat that ends in epic style.

It took me a while to fully appreciate this album as I thought previous effort Duality was the beans. Upon reflection I think Duality was more immediately accessible, whereas Phenotype is a lot more complex and it took time to sink in. Now I love it wholeheartedly, and I am totally bummed out that they have called it a day.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

VANDENBERG – s/t

September 24, 2021 /

This is the fantastic first album by this very British sounding hard rock combo from Holland. That’s obviously what Coverdale heard as well before recruiting old Adrian into the Whitesnake camp. The single, Burning Heart, did really well in the US as it reached number 39 – surprisingly better than the UK. Named after mainman and guitar whizz, Adrian Vandenberg, the band play superb hard rock with great melodies, hooks, and some superb playing.

The opening track, Your Love Is In Vain, sums the band up in one song really: fantastic melody and hook, coupled with a killer riff and superb playing with that very British blues approach. Adrian does show his EVH style chops on the intro to Wait with the acoustic solo intro. The aforementioned, Burning Heart, has that Whitesnake vibe and I can see how it did well in the US. A slight homage to Hendrix at the intro, to the uptempo rocker Ready For You is really cool. The blues is alive and well in the track, Too Late, with its fast shuffle groove and nice riff as the speed increases as the track develops. Nothing To Lose reminds me of Down To Earth-era Rainbow with the melody and chord progression. A great riff to Lost In The City is up next, before we get to album closer, Out In The Streets, which is the fastest track on the record with a killer drum intro and riff.

Well that’s the lot campers, and they would release another 2 studio albums and that was it. Shame really, as they were a great band.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

SHINEDOWN – Amaryllis

September 23, 2021 /

First time on vinyl for this classic of modern rock. It’s amazing how many people hate this band and I can’t work out why?! Maybe it’s the same reason that everyone hates Nickelback and that the music is created in a laboratory! All I know is that this album rocks hard and is a mega groove fest.

This is the band’s fourth album and follows the huge success of The Sound If Madness. Opening and killer track, Adrenaline, is a monster of a tune to open the record. A great riff and groove and the production is really loud. The drum and bass sound is killer, and add to the that the drop D riffage, it makes for one meaty record. The band hail from Jacksonville, and Brent Smiths voice has that country rock feel to it on certain tracks. It gives the songs a great feel mixed with the modern production. I am struggling for a favourite as I really like the whole album, but if I’m pushed I would go for Enemies and Through The Ghost.

Don’t believe the haters, this is a great album.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

COLOSSEUM 2 – Electric Savage

September 23, 2021 /

This is the second album from a relatively short lived jazz fusion combo, who were built around the talents of drummer John Hiseman and the incredible guitar of Gary Moore. For Moore, this was sandwiched in between his stints in Thin Lizzy. Moore has always been chameleon like in following trends in rock music, and this music was made for him to show his talents. Every song is a bit of a widdle fest, and a drummer’s showcase, as chops are flying in all directions.

Opening track, Put It This Way, is an out and out jam fest with some serious playing. All Skin And Bone is more of a groovy track with a nice funk rock vibe where Hiseman shows how many different things he can hit in the shortest space of time. Rivers is a slow blues/jazz piece with a vocal by Moore, and lots of really tasty guitar. Last track on Side 1 is The Scorch, and it most certainly does. A very spacey synth intros the tune, and we go into an all most classical piece before drum and guitar savagery take over.

Lament opens up Side 2 and it has a very Celtic vibe to the piece, which Moore would revisit later in his solo career. Desperado follows and is quite a wild fusion piece with lots of mirroring from all players. Am I is a slower jazz vibe with some really nice guitar from Gary, before we get to album closer Intergalactic Strut – and it most certainly does strut. A great riff and groove and some monster playing.

There is probably more of Gary’s solos on these three albums than on most of his solo albums. If you are a Moore fan then this is for you.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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