THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: vinyl records (Page 12 of 491)

REVEREND – S/T

May 14, 2025 /

Reverend had something of a cult following in the late eighties and early nineties. They were touted to be metal’s next best thing but other than this EP, they put out two full length records and then they were done.

The band were formed by original Metal Church vocalist David Wayne and this was the first EP that they put out in ´89. You only get four songs but each one is a thrashtastic banger. If you put all of the original thrash bands’ sound and groove in a blender, Reverend would be the end product. Rammed full of chugga riffs and grooves to get that head bangin’. Wretched Excess is my favourite track of the tunes on offer here, it would have given any of the “big 4” a run for their money.

Cool EP!

8/10 from The Grooveman.

ROXX GANG – Mojo Guru’s

May 12, 2025 /

Released nine years after their classic album Things You’ve Never Done Before, this one is a bit strange as it was released under The Mojo Guru’s name.

This project has one foot in the blues and one in the bottom of a whiskey bottle. For most of the time Kevin Steele’s vocals sound as though they were recorded through a 1930’s telephone in a swamp in the Deep South. Now, I get they are going for a vibe but most of the time it’s sounds as though they are dicking around. The only song that plugs me in is the title track and even then the guitar sound bugs me.

Not the band’s best effort.

6/10 from Grooveman.

Y&T – Down For The Count

May 12, 2025 /

This record was released in ‘85 right when hair bands were ruling all before them and Y&T were one of the best exponents of the rock anthem. Yet, they never quite made it into the top half of the premier league.

The trio of Earthshaker, Black Tiger, and Mean Streak are Y&T at their best, but the band’s biggest charting single Summertime Girls is on this album and that should tell you a lot about this record. It’s definitely the most commercial record the band made and they had both eyes firmly on FM radio with this one. Whether that’s pressure from the record company or just the way they were going at this point I’m not sure.

I find the keyboards quite off putting on some of the songs. Y&T are about the crunch and the worst offender to my ears is Anytime At All where the keys are front and centre. Thankfully, they still remember how to rock and Anything For Money is a prime time Y&T belter.

This is where the band went full AOR, and if you entered the Y&T universe with Earthshaker then this record is a tad disappointing.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

BLACK SABBATH – The Eternal Idol

May 9, 2025 /

I’m pleased they finally got around to remastering and re-releasing the Tony Martin albums because there are some great tunes hidden away here and they have been overlooked for way too long.

This was album unlucky 13 for Iommi and co and it appeared back in ‘87, it was the first of the TM albums. This a very cool groovin’ hard rock album with a great swing to the songs and gone are those evil sounding riffs (well almost) from days of old. There was a lot of derision and hate towards this line up at the time as the die hards questioned whether it should be called Black Sabbath. I’m on the fence, but you can’t deny that this is a great album with an awesome set of songs.

There is no doubt Iommi is having a blast playing a more wide ranging groove and vibe. I love Ancient Warrior and Hard Life To Love but it’s Nightmare with its changing tempo and groove that I love the most. Tony Martin is as good as Dio to my ears and this is well worth picking up.

9/10 from The Grooveman,

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