THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: record collector (Page 6 of 493)

ROXX – Violent Breed

June 25, 2025 /

These guys, along with Silverwing, represented a somewhat bargain basement UK glam scene at the time. Although, if you look at the cover you’d be forgiven for thinking they were more like Judas Priest with the studs and leather. Musically, it’s NWOBHM all the way, with a little hint of glam.

I Wanna Be Your Hero is the track you would hang your hat on and say glam for sure. Vocalist Mark Savage is the weakest link in the band for sure as he does not do the songs any favours with that raspy spoken word style. In fact, it becomes annoying over the length of the album except on Say Goodbye To Love, which has to be someone else singing. They have some nice riffs and the guitarist Red seems to be the one with the gift, and the rhythm section seems solid.

Unless you are a NWOBHM completeist, that’s the only reason you should part with money for this album.

5.5/10 from The Grooveman.

OVERKILL – W.F.O.

June 23, 2025 /

I think I’m right in saying that every Overkill studio album has now been released, remixed, or remastered on vinyl on one label or another. Which when you are 20 albums in, is no mean feat.

This album came out in ´94 and chartered at #10 on Billboard and when you consider that this was prime time grunge, the decision to drop them by Atlantic was a weird one. As with most Overkill albums, they have stuck true to the formula whereas others have faded and changed. Blitz and the boys have thrashed their way through the 20 albums giving the fans what they want. The only one that veered slightly was I Hear Black, which didn’t go down to well with fans and critics.

This is Overkill at their best. Thrash a plenty, with hints of punk and hardcore sprinkled in, its no compromise here my friends just heads down no nonsense mindless metal, as it should be. Does anyone remember the video for Fast Junkie? If not, I’m not surprised as MTV hardly played it, but what a killer tune. I always loved the fact that Overkill played with plenty of groove and this album is prime time groove central, giving the dandruff plenty of opportunity to fly free.

If you’re a lover of all things thrash then you may already own this gem, but if not… away to the store with you.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

VAN HALEN – Fair Warning MoFi Original Master Recording

June 22, 2025 /

Well, I thought I would do this review straight after Women And Children First because it arrived the same day. Maybe I should just cut and paste the first VH MoFi review for all of them as I’m just in awe of these releases. I have loved them all from the first day of each of their relative release dates, and I think I know them pretty well, but the listening experience of these releases is stunning and I have the full goosebumps treatment.

This is a lot of people’s favourite VH album (mine too) and it’s also seen as the darkest lyrically and vibe wise. Mean Street reinforces the fact even more that’s it’s my favourite VH tune because the full menacing undertones assault my ears. Hear About It Later just sounds freaking amazing and the clarity is astounding. Again, I could pick anything as a favourite tune but today I’m going for the quirky outro duo of Sunday Afternoon In The Park and One Foot Out The Door, purely for the fact that Ed’s playing is just amazing and how we miss him so much.

You know the drill by now, everyone needs this in their life.

1,000/10 from The Grooveman.

VAN HALEN – Women And Children First MoFi Original Master Recording

June 19, 2025 /

So, here we are with the third Van Halen and the third MoFi Ultardisc One Step master recording. I convinced myself that after buying the first album that my curiosity was filled and I didn’t need to get the others, but here we are.

I have always thought that of the first six records, this one was the rawest and most similar to their live sound. I was very keen to hear how this sounded with the full treatment. Well, consider me mind blown again because it’s like listening to it for the first time. So crisp and clear, and the separation is just perfect. You don’t miss anything that was slightly buried in the mix as it’s all just perfect – especially the guitar tracks where both the rhythm and lead are very clear. Today, Romeo’s Delight is my favourite track, but I love it all.

Again, if you want splash to the cash and you’re a DLR era Van Halen fan, then this is must have.

1,000/10 from The Grooveman.

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