PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
I discovered Voodoo Six only just earlier this year. Being a latecomer to their music I was asked to review one of their recent UK headline gigs. There, I was hugely impressed and richly rewarded with some great sounds and a little preview of what was coming from this new album “Songs To Invade Countries To”. Now I get the chance to review what I was eagerly waiting for and anticipating. With the album set to be released through Spinefarm Records on May 27th, the band are also about to embark on an impressive European tour supporting Iron Maiden.
Some of the songs from “Songs To Invade Countries To” had already been released on an EP or video format and these were mighty impressive. The album opens up with the now familiar “Fallen Knives”. This is a great hard rocking stomper and opens with a real catchy groove and distinctive bass line. In fact the first couple of songs are good solid rockers, as are the last couple of tracks. What really impresses me about this album is the middle section, sandwiched in between the solid rocking opening and ending tunes surrounding them.
There seems to be a lot of depth and thought involved within the song structures in this album, and you can hear traces of different styles and influences that change and gives you pleasant surprises throughout. Third track “Lead Me On” is very much a classic hard rock ballad complete with strings subtly meandering away in the background. Lots of sweet guitar sounds coming from both guitarists with a simple, catchy chorus and nice words coming from vocalist Luke Purdie. The song ends with nice violin haunting the finish of the song. “You Don’t Know” has more of a heavy funky groove and again some strings come in during the chorus, which is very catchy. I can imagine some crowd participation for this one live! I thought this one did give a slight nod in the direction of Faith No More, which is not a bad thing in my opinion. The intro of “Your Way” starts off like country/blues rock but then changes into a different kind of animal soon in. This one has a lot of angry gravely Luke Purdie vocals, nice flowing heavy riffs, with heavy thunderous drumming from Joe Lazarus and a beautiful guitar solo to boot!
One of the highlights of the album for me is “Stop”. This starts with a lot of heavy bass and funky groove mixed with classic rocking riffs which almost seem a bit jazzy in places. The bridge had gentle backing “ooooh” vocals which to me was a nice little element to throw in. There were bits and pieces mixed into this album that just put a smile on my face and threw me off guard and “Stop” was one of them little gems. The song immediately after “Brick Wall” was another diamond off of this album, and THE highlight for me. This song is basically a classic blues rocker. It did have old classic roots that would not have sounded out of place back in the seventies. This is one where all the musicians could get carried away with playing this live, extending instrumentals and solos, with the guitars producing sweet sounds. The album finishes with another heavy rocker “Higher Ground”, which just astounds again with heavy riff work and an amazing solo. Luke mesmerises with his vocals and yet he does make it seem effortless, but throughout, a lot of effort was made in creating this album and it does show.
To sum up, “Songs To Invade Countries To” is completely solid throughout. There’s plenty of hard and heavy rocking numbers to thrill and satisfy. Yet it’s full of creativity, structure and wonderful melodies. It has songs which divert you elsewhere and throw you off guard that really makes you smile, and for me this has to be an early contender for one of the albums of the year.
Tracklist:
1. Fallen Knives
2. All That Glitters
3. Lead Me On
4. Sink Or Swim
5. You Don’t Know
6. Your Way
7. Sharp Sand
8. Stop
9. Brick wall
10. Waiting In Line
11. Higher Ground
Band:
Luke Purdie – Lead Vocals
Tony Newton – Bass
Matt Pearce – Guitars
Chris Jones – Guitars
Joe Lazarus – Drums
Voodoo Six album “Songs To Invade Countries To” is available from 27th May through Spinefarm Records
www.voodoosix.com
www.facebook.com/voodoosixband
www.spinefarmrecords.com/gb/
