THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: vinyl records (Page 158 of 491)

ALIEN – Cosmic Fantasy

July 21, 2023 /

This is not the Swedish AOR band of the same name, this Alien are from the east coast of the US and are a much more interesting proposition. They only released this EP however and would disappear into the ether not long after.

They obviously have a huge KISS fetish and they get maximum points for their names especially Damien The Beast Bardot. I think this was released in ’83 and the sound is raw, kick ass, and fit perfectly with the sound of NWOBHM. I know I shouldn’t, but I do love this EP. This is FUN with a capital F! All these years later and it still puts a smile on my face. It’s all here, the big gang sing a long choruses, the wild guitars, crazy names, crazy outfits and make up. As I said, I love it all but I’m going for Headbangin’ as my favourite track.

Totally over the top and just perfect!

9/10 from The Grooveman.

PINK CREAM 69 – One Size Fits All

July 20, 2023 /

Another band that were quite big in mainland Europe but didn’t do so well in the US. Pink Cream 69 have been around since ’87 but this album was released in ’91. Unlike their melodic counterparts in the US who all but disappeared after the great grunge unpleasantness, PC69 consistently released albums and toured them. At this point vocalist, Andi Deris was still a part of the band before joining Helloween and its his best record with the band. I love this album as it has that perfect blend between metal and hard rock. Plenty of crunch but the melody is never far away.

Killer start with Livin’ My Life For You, a great uptempo rocker with a great riff and groove. Talk To The Moon is even better. A slower groove but it sounds a lot heavier, and the guitar sound is awesome. Hell’s Gone Crazy keeps the band’s metal credentials in tact as the double kicks are pounding all the way. Superb hook and chorus, great guitar sound and it’s my favourite track. Do You Like It Like That was released as a single in Europe and rightly so as it’s probably one of the more commercial songs here. Ballerina closes out Side 1 and was also released as a single, but this one’s a ballad.

Maximum riffage to the intro of Side 2 opener Signs Of Danger. They do these songs so well. A great dirty riff and groove to Walkin’ Out To Heaven, plus superb leads from Alfi Koffler. Stray Kid follows and I really love the riff and vibe at the intro. The main verse and song is pure LA. Piggy Back Bitch has a cool quirky riff and groove, great middle eight. The album closes out with Where The Eagle Learns To Fly and it’s another power ballad. I never get why bands close out albums with a ballad. I’m a “go out with a bang” kind of guy.

Still a great album, though.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

TATTOO RODEO – Rode Hard Put Away Wet

July 20, 2023 /

Hands up for who remembers White Sister? They released two albums, the first of which was killer and then they imploded. Three quarters of the band came back to try again however in ’91 with Tattoo Rodeo. If I played you a track by each band back to back you would never know they were the same band.

The template for Tattoo Rodeo is a huge dose of southern rock, with a hint of country, and a teenie bit of old school Aerosmith. Somebody must have loved them as this was released on Atlantic. They had friends in high places, although they would desert them after this one as they would be dropped when the album didn’t sell that well. If this was released five years earlier then things could have been different.

High points for me are the opener (also my favourite) Strung Out as there is a huge dose of AC/DC in the mix which makes the song groove along nicely; Everybody Wants What She’s Got which if the whole album sounded like this then it would have been a classic; and Shotgun Johnny which is a slower paced dirty groove beast as I’m always a sucker for this type of song.

Who knows why they changed direction, maybe they wanted to latch onto what Cinderella were doing as the album does have that vibe. Not a bad album, but not a great one either.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

SCAR SYMMETRY – Holographic Universe

July 19, 2023 /

It’s great to see Nuclear Blast reissuing these early Scar Symmetry albums on vinyl. It’s also odd to see them listed as melodic death metal. I always thought they were Dream Theater on steroids, and the growl vocals does not make them death metal. Also, to be fair this is their most melodic record and the vocal melodies and harmonies are superb. I think bands like Tesserract took some huge inspiration from these guys.

This record is superb and I will just give thoughts on some of the tracks that really shake my tree. Timewave Zero is soooo good. The riffs are fat, and huge, the drumming is insane in places and the vocals are awesome. Artificial Sun Projection starts in a more traditional way with a fairly normal riff pattern, then the groove in the verses is super cool and again, the vocals are killer. The Missing Coordinates is just some freaking awesome groove metal that Slipknot would be proud.If you like your double kicks faster than a fast thing on fast train to fast town, then Prism And Gate will right up your strasse.

Love this album and the band are so awesome.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

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