THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: vinyl records (Page 484 of 491)

DREAM THEATER – Black Clouds & Silver Linings

January 9, 2021 /

So here we have Dream Theater’s 10th studio album, and unbeknownst to everyone at the time, this would be Mike Portnoy’s last with the band. The band that he started at college, the band his father named, the band he near enough single handedly controlled he would no longer be part of. In my opinion DT have definitely missed his presence in the band as none of the albums they have released after have been up to their high standards.

So we kick things off with the absolutely epic (which DT song isn’t epic😜?) A Nightmare to Remember. Up there with the very bast DT songs. Great riffs, massive hooks, unreal solo sections and a fantastic melody – plus some unreal drumming from MP. Let me get my breath!!!!!

Next up the more straight (for DT) ahead Rites of Passage, quite Metallica-ish in places. Then we have another absolute monster, the final part of the 12 steps suite, The Shattered Fortress, which has documented MP’s battle with alcoholism. So that’s the 1st record done and only 3 songs in.

Record 2 starts with the obligatory ballad Wither and then into The Best Of Times, which MP had written about his father who was battling cancer at the time and ultimately would be taken by the disease. Final track, The Count Of Tuscany, takes up the whole of Side 4, and again in true DT style, is an absolute monster of a tune.

Hindsight being a wonderful thing, I can see why MP wanted the band to take a break after the touring cycle of this album as there was obviously a lot of personal turmoil in his life at the time. I’m sure you all know what Dream Theater are all about by now, and if you don’t own this album, the last great DT album, then you probably should.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

BRUCE DICKINSON – Skunkworks

January 9, 2021 /

Looking back, it was a really brave decision leaving Iron Maiden to go solo when he did. Grunge was in full flow and Metal was not flavour of the month.

Trivia time folks!!! Bruce was actually going to have this as the debut album by the band Skunkworks, but the label refused to release it under anything else other than his own name.

Skunkworks actually reflects the time it was recorded very well as it is very alternative sounding in a rocky way if that makes sense. This version is a 2017 remaster on double 180g vinyl and it sounds great, clear, and loud. The band that played on this release are mainly unknowns apart from ex Gun guitarist Alex Dickson.

Things start off nicely with the Space Race and into the single Back From the Edge, which sees Dickinson showing great variation in his vocal. Faith is a more straight ahead rocker. Solar Confinement is a really cool song with a cool chorus guitar, and then into the Nirvana-esque Dreamstate which is a very weak song. Then I Will Not Accept The Truth, also Nirvana-ish but with more balls. Inside The Machine which starts Side 3, is also giving a nod in Seattle’s direction but with more melody. Next track is Headswitch which is one of album’s best tracks with more than a hint of Soundgarden about it. Meltdown follows and then into Side 4 with slow paced Octavia. Then we have the rockier Innerspace, and finally Strange Death in Paradise which builds quite well and is a strong album closer.

Unfortunately Bruce has such a strong presence as a metal vocalist it’s very difficult for that voice to be used in anything else without sounding out of place. Not a bad album but…6/10 from The Grooveman.

QUEEN – Sheer Heart Attack

January 8, 2021 /

Back in the mists of time of 1974, I was a huge Queen fan as were most of my school. They were a different beast back then pre-Bohemian Rhapsody. Less about Freddie and more about the band, in fact, they were more about Brian’s guitar and the rock. Opener Brighton Rock emphasizes this to the max as this is one of the more heavy tracks the band had released showcasing Brian’s guitar – with his trademark use of the call and reply echo effect. This would be a live staple for years.

There are also two top 10 singles off this album namely Killer Queen and Now I’m Here. Even Roger Taylor got to sing lead vocal on Tenement Funster – a track he wrote . There are two nods to the Queen of the future namely Lily Of The Valley and Bring Back Leroy Brown as these two tracks are pure Freddie.

Side 2 kicks off with the strange In The Lap Of The Gods with manipulated vocals before it became fashionable. Then for the metalheads we come to Stone Cold Crazy, which according to some, was the first thrash/speed metal song recorded Again featuring Brian to the max. (Metallica performed it at the Freddie Mercury tribute show at Wembley). John Deacon gets in on the songwriting front as his song Misfire is the 4th track in on Side 2.

I sometimes wish that Queen had stuck with this style instead of treading the path that they did as I think they are a much better rock band than a pop outfit. In my opinion this is the best Queen album, but what do I know?

8/10 from The Grooveman.

TEXTURES – Dualism

January 8, 2021 /

Killer 2012 release from these Dutch Prog groove metallers. The super sad news is that they are no longer together. They split up after the release of the follow up album to this due to apathy and knocking on the door for far too long and getting nowhere.

I managed to catch them live once in support of this album with Periphery and The Contortionist. I know killer line up or what? If I were to describe Textures to anyone I would say listen to the first track Arms of The Sea as this has everything that you would associate with the band. Namely awesome clean and growl vocal, off time drum rhythm grooves, drop D and beyond guitars, and a crushing ending.

Things carry on nicely through Black Horse Stampede and beautiful Reaching Home until we reach the epic Sanguine Draws the Oath. Another great off time groove and riff from Jochem Jacobs and Bart Hennephofs dual guitars, some killer drumming courtesy of Stef Brooks and epic vocal from Daniel De Jong. Absolute killer stuff. The riffs go really low in full djentorama!! Buy this album for this track alone!! Side 1 closes out with the epic Consonant Hemispheres.

Over to Side 2 and the instrumental Burning the Midnight Oil gets things going nicely, and then into the mighty Singularity again with weird off time groves and killer drums. Minor Earth Major Skies, Stoic Resignation, and Foreclosure fly by and we get all too quickly to the close out track Sketches From A Motionless Statue, almost Dream Theateresque in its beginning.

It’s sad to say that the music business is littered with bands like Textures who burn brightly for a short period and then they are gone. I know it wasn’t for a lack of trying as they funded almost everything themselves. If I were to recommend one Textures album to purchase for your collection then it would be this monster.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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