THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: vinyl community (Page 201 of 493)

DIAMOND HEAD – Borrowed Time

March 1, 2023 /

Diamond Head have always baffled me somewhat. Having some initial success with their own self-financed album and EP’s, they had a raw metallic sound but decided to polish themselves up a bit with the release of this: their first album on a major label.

There are two tracks on here that appeared on the first album: Lightning To The Nations, and the iconic Am I Evil. Now, we all know how much the first album influenced early thrash bands like Metallica, who have done covers of nearly all the tracks off of it, so why would Diamond Head change that raw sound? Well, for one thing they didn’t know what an influence that album would become, and it’s obvious if you listen to this and Canterbury that would come after, that they were heading in a  more experimental direction. Anyhoo enough of my ramblings, I really like this album as it’s now become a bit of a classic.

The album opens up with two monster tunes: In The Heat Of The Night and To Heaven From Hell, both are NWOBHM standards and To Heaven From Hell is my favourite. Call Me sounds as though they were trying to write a single, as the hook and chorus are very commercial. Lightning To The Nations closes out Side 1 and if you listen closely you can hear where Metallica got those ideas from.

The title track opens up Side 2 and this one has always lost me, it doesn’t fit with the rest of the record and would have been more at home on Canterbury. Sean Harris’s Robert Plant moment is next with Don’t You Ever Leave Me, and there are a few Zeppelin steals on this track. The album closes out with Am I Evil and I guess if you’re remembered for only one thing in your life then Diamond can hang their hats on this one.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

THE BLACK KEYS – Thickfreakness

February 28, 2023 /

The Black Keys are the kings of the low-fi garage rock boom. This is their second album, released in 2003. Their brand of dirty blues has given birth to a squillion copycats. Blues bands have this fuzzed up guitar sound wherever you go now. I prefer the band’s later releases as they have honed their sound more and are much more accessible.

It’s quite unique to see bands like this as there are not many electric duo’s out there with just guitar and drums. The one thing they have clued in on is you have to have a groove and swing to the music when it’s stripped back like this, and I think that’s why they appeal to me so much. The one track that that stands out above the rest is Set You Free, their raw blues groove really shines through.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

GHOST – Meliora

February 27, 2023 /

Ghost’s image and stage set up is really quite striking. They have had quite a meteoric rise up the fame ladder and are now playing stadium-sized venues. Let’s take away the image, does the music stand up?  Yes, it does in ways that take you by surprise. All the hype surrounding them says they are the saviour of metal, but they are way more than a mere metal band. There are elements of Prog and AORin there as well.

This album was released in 2015 and is the only album I own by them. Spirit opens up the album and that metal/Prog crossover is very apparent with very melodic melodies. From The Pinnancle To The Pit is my favourite track. I love the main riff and the bass line is killer. The main hook and melody sound medieval. A very Metallica-style intro to Cirice, but the vocal melody sounds as though they belong on a Yes album – a very strange pairing that oddly works. He Is is as faraway from metal as you get. A seriously melodic tune with acoustic guitars, and was that a mellotron I heard?

Mummy Dust opens up Side 2 and its full on metallic chuggas with bursts of Rick Wakeman-style keys. Devil Church kicks in with a big classic rock guitar riff and the Hammond in the background. Absolution is about as heavy as this band get, on this album anyway. Dues In Absentia closes out the album and it’s the grandest sounding Prog epic, as the title suggests.

It’s a decent album to listen to and something different from the norm.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

MOTLEY CRÜE – s/t

February 25, 2023 /

I’m not a big fan of counterfeit albums because they take money away from bands and they usually are rips from CD’s. I bit the bullet on this one as there isn’t a hope in hell that this will officially be released, as Motley Crüe would like you all to forget that this version of the band ever existed.

As usual, I go against the grain here. I think this is the best album the band did. Yup, I know there is no big dumb sing-a-long single and it’s not that commercial sounding, but musically this is a banger of an album. The album was released in ’94 and the musical landscape had changed somewhat. This is the only album to feature John Corabi, and his voice really suits the harder edged sound of this record.

Opening track Power To The Music is a beast of a tune with a killer riff and groove, and Corabi just kills it. Uncle Jack is a very heavy sounding dark tune and the melody is still there (not in the obvious places), and that slowed down groove at the end is freakin’ awesome. Hooligans Holiday is up there with one of the best tracks the band ever did. This was what the NEW Crüe was all about; dirty, mean, and almost southern in places mainly due to the slide, the groove is killer. Misunderstood is the band’s Beatles moment where they dig into their inner Sgt Pepper, that is until the beast of a riff kicks in then the whole tune takes on a different vibe.

The southern vibe returns with Loveshine where the main acoustic feels like something from Zeppelin 4. Poison Apples is pure LA strut played much lower and heavier, and the sleaze just shines though. Tommy’s drum sound is killer on this track. Hammered is up next and I really love the heavy blues groove, it’s as far from Motley Crüe as possible. It’s favourite track time with Til Death Do Us Part, which at one point was the title of the album. A monster track with an epic feel and it sounds like nothing they had done before. Quite a slow groove with basic chords, but the arrangement is killer.

The sleaze returns with Welcome To The Numb, and this could have been on any Aerosmith album. Great tune! A huge monster riff opens up Smoke In The Sky, a full on pedal to the metal rocker. Droppin’ Like Flies is a killer mid-tempo groover with a great feel, that Aerosmith vibe is there again and the ending is so cool. The album closes out with Driftaway and its power ballad time. I can forgive the one ballad when the album is this good.

As you know, this album never sold as well as expected. Crüe are all about the money, so it was goodbye John and welcome back Vince. Shame, as I really like the way they sound with this line up.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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