THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: vinyl records (Page 325 of 491)

ICON – Night Of The Crime

February 23, 2022 /

For some reason this band are always classed as heavy metal, and that tag couldn’t be more wrong. Taking big influences from Journey and other melodic rock bands of the time, this is where they belong. The band revolve around the vocals of Stephen Clifford and guitarist Dan Wexler, and the emphasis is on the songs with big hooks, melodies, and sing-a-long choruses.

There was obviously some big money behind these guys as they had song writer extraordinaire, Bob Halligan Jr., as a co-writer on the majority of the album. Ironically, other than the excellent Raise The Hammer (which is my favourite on the album), it is the tracks that the band composed themselves that I like the best. Shot At My Heart, the killer sing-a-long anthem of Out For Blood, and the superb Rock My Radio (which has a writing credit for Mike Varney) are the standout tracks.

They made it until the end of the eighties, then they were gone. This album and the first self titled albums are the best. This is a nice addition to your collection if you are a melodic rock fan.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

DAVID LEE ROTH – Diamond Dave

February 22, 2022 /

Other than the album that Dave recorded with John 5 that has never been released, this is the forgotten album in the DLR catalogue. Only previously available on CD, and released in 2003, this album creeped out as a vinyl release towards the end of 2021. I think everyone was expecting an old school Dave album, but Dave being Dave, released a blues/RnB album with the majority of the tracks being covers.

Ironically, the best track on the album is the only slight nod to his past, the self penned Thug Pop. The highlights of the covers are Hendrix’s If 6 Was 9 which is a really cool version, his take on Soul Kitchen by The Doors which is a really cool rendition, and Shoo Bop which I think was a Steve Miller tune. Not his best for sure, but it’s quite an interesting insight into the tunes that do it for Dave.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

JOE SATRIANI – Flying In A Blue Dream

February 22, 2022 /

I think all rock fans were surprised when Joe had huge success with Surfing With The Alien, as rock instrumental albums weren’t supposed to be that popular. So there was a bit of pressure on the follow up to see if it was a fluke. Also, the first album was mostly electronic drums so it’s nice to hear a real drummer on this album. If anything, this album is better than Alien.

The opening title track is superb and I love the the melody of the guitar and that driving groove. In fact, the driving factor throughout the record is how well Joe creates guitar melody’s and hooks from what usually would be vocal lines. There are some super creative pieces on here with the use of peddles, sounds, and tones like on the track Headless where it sounds like a harmonica is being used.

Of course the big thing on this album is having tracks with vocals, and the best of those for me is Strange with that off time funky groove. Big Bad Moon has the riff to On The Road Again, only with some serious guitar overload. The best of the instrumental tracks is The Bells of Lal Part Two. The guitar playing is just insane and if you want to know why everyone raves about Joe, then go no further than here. I’m a big fan of Joe and he continues to make great records.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

PERIPHERY – Hail Stan

February 21, 2022 /

I still haven’t managed to work out if the album title is a reference to the passing of Stan Lee, or if it’s some sort of Satan play on words. Whichever it is, it does point to the band’s collective sense of humour.

Side 1 is given over to the epically heavy, Reptile. Spence’s vocals are split between the clean and scream, plus there is so much going on within the track musically, from straight up djentyness, to ambient interludes – awesome stuff! Blood Eagle is off the charts heavy right from the get go, with Matt Halpern’s blast athletics on the kit and some serious low end groove. If you thought that was heavy, Chvrch Bvrner takes everything to the next level. This the heaviest the band have ever been. As a complete contrast, Garden In The Bones, is a chilled out track in comparison with some very cool grooves. It’s Only Smiles is the band at their most commercial sounding, with a nice choppy riff and a really cool melody and hook. Follow Your Ghost is a slow low-end behemoth monster of a tune with some awesome clean interludes. I love the electronic grooves to Crush – quite a different vibe for the band. Sentient Glow is freakin’ epic and is my favourite track on the album – the guitar parts are insane, plus how is Matt Halpern still alive?! Satellites closes out the album and starts off quite chill and builds with some killer vocals from Spence, and ends with that repetitive chuggas.

This band just keeps getting better and they keep pushing themselves to keep the creativity flowing.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

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