THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: vinyl records (Page 265 of 491)

CHROME MOLLY – Angst

August 16, 2022 /

After the initial burst of NWOBHM, there were bands coming out of the woodwork that wanted to attach themselves to (what was then) a successful movement. These bands were second and third wave NWOBHM, and Chrome Molly were part of the third wave. By the time this (their 3rd album) came out, they had a very commercial sound to their heavy grooves.

Opening track, Thanx For The Angst, is a kick ass melodic beast of a tune with a great riff and groove. I’m very confused by the next track, Take Me I’m Yours, which is a cover of the classic Squeeze tune. The Squeeze original is pure genius, and unless you are doing something amazing, it should be left well alone. This version just confuses, as the vibe is all new wave and the sound is far removed from the opening track. Don’t Let Go is a very American sounding pop rock tune with hints of new wave and is lifted somewhat by a great solo. Come Back has a killer opening riff and this is what this band do well – ROCK! I Want To Find Out closes out Side 1 and it’s as though a different band is coming out of the speakers – you would be forgiven for thinking this was a new romantic band playing.

Side 2 opens up with Take It Or Leave It and sees the band doing their best Def Leppard impression. Living A Lie is up next and is not a bad attempt at doing something a tad different. The production, although clear, is very sparse at times which leaves it sounding a bit empty. My favourite track is Thanx For The Angst, which is head and shoulders above any of the other tunes. This is a very confusing record, at times its killer, but I think the overall impression is did the band know what they wanted to be?

6.5/10 from The Grooveman.

MESHUGGAH – Immutable

August 15, 2022 /

This is the rhythmic machine that is Meshuggah’s 9th studio album, and it is as unrelenting as all of its predecessors. Their ability to use all instruments as percussion to create rhythmic  patterns and grooves (that other bands can only dream about) is breathtaking at times. The whole djent movement stole from Meshuggah (unashamedly) to pay homage to their heroes, while creating a whole new sub genre.

I defy any of you to try and count along to keep time, it’s just impossible as you can have four different time signatures in four bars that follow each other. Drummer, Tomas Haake, is just incredible as he holds all this together with the most physically demanding drum patterns you will hear. Guitarist, Fredrick Thordendal, returned for this album but he just plays leads, so Martin Hagstrom is alone in supplying the relentless chugga D-tuned riffs.

My favourite track is Light The Shortening Fuse, which highlights the rhythmic elements of this band to the max. My favourite album of Meshuggah is Obzen which is just brutal – this doesn’t quite reach the heights of that, but its still jaw dropping at times. I urge every metal fan to own at least one Meshuggah album as their technically and ability is off the charts – it sets them apart from other bands.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

RAINBOW – On Stage

August 15, 2022 /

What was it with the seventies producing so many great live albums? There are a ton of them, and all (for the most part) are killer recordings. Mr Blackmore himself appeared on possibly the greatest of them all – Made In Japan. This album came out in ’77 and draws from the band’s first two albums – plus a cover of Purples Mistreated.

I’m not the biggest Dio fan as I never really connected with the whole swords and sorcery thing, but he does sing his ass off in this recording. It’s great to hear Cozy Powell pounding the crap out of his kit here – you forget how good he was.

Here’s one for the trivia fans. It is rumoured that Phil Taylor from Motorhead drew inspiration for the track “Overkill” from Cozy’s performance on Kill The King from this album.

You don’t get the chance to hear Ritchie rip it up on the guitar much these days, but back in the day he never missed an opportunity as nearly every track gets the treatment – especially on the Blues showcase. They were not afraid to flesh out the tunes in a live setting, as Catch The Rainbow is at 15.40, and Mistreated is at 13.04. They are the real highlights of the album, but my favourite is Kill The King as this song rips along and is better than the album version.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

METALLICA – Master Of Puppets

August 13, 2022 /

We all know the Black album sold in its squillions (still does to this day), and it is a great album. It is the one Metallica album that everyone knows, but is it their best? The albums after the Black album contain some memorable songs, but they never reached the heights.

St Anger is a bit of a stinker if I’m being honest. And Justice is a good album, but lacks in the production department and that just leaves the first three. All are classics of the genre, and I’ll never forget hearing Kill Em All for the first time – it was a total game changer, and Ride The Lightning is its twin, but Master Of Puppets is an outright masterpiece and possibly the best thrash album, period. It would also be the last appearance of Cliff Burton before his tragic death.

You can tell they stopped to think about this album and made it as crushing and as awesome as they possibly could. What an opening with Battery – such a killer tune that just melts your face with the riff and speed of the thing. How heavy is The Thing That Should Not Be? Sabbath would have wet themselves if they had come up with that! It’s quite fitting that Orion is on this album – it’s a great tribute to a one off character as Cliff was.

This is the best Metallica album and also is the best thrash album to boot.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

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