PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Us rock journalists are supposed to be reasonably savvy types, keeping our fingers on the pulses and knowing exactly what’s happening on this planet we call mosh, so we can impart our knowledge onto you, our millions of devoted and much lover readers.
So, imagine my surprise when, completely unannounced and out of the blue, a new Whitesnake album popped into my inbox! And, not only that, a ‘Snake album that went right back to the band’s late 70s/early 80s roots. I mean, wtf did that one come from? Then I looked at the name of the band….
And then I looked at the name of the band… this third album from German supergroup Voodoo Circle is straight out of Coverdale’s golden era songbook, with its roots very firmly implanted in the period between the vastly under-rated ‘Trouble’ and the sell-out commercialism of ‘1987’.
‘Heart Of Babylon’, for example, sounds like a quality out-take from the ‘Saints And Sinners’ sessions, while ‘Ghost In Your Heart’, ‘Bane Of My Existence’ or ‘The Killer In You’ would not have sounded out of place on ‘Slide It In’ and ‘Tears In The Rain’ and the title track easily stand alongside any of DC’s bluesier, epic ballads, such as ‘Ain’t No Love…’.
None of this is meant as a criticism. I’m a huge fan of the Whitesnake of the era which VC are evoking, and they do it extremely well: all of the songs are very well written and the performances are superb – well, what else would you expect from a line-up that includes Matt Sinner (from one of the most under-rated German hard rock bands ever), Primal Fear guitarist Alex Beyrodt and vocalist David Readman (and, ironically, this album is far superior to Pink Cream 69’s disappointing newbie, ‘Ceremonial’)? And the result is a high-class traditional hard rock album.
[8/10]
Track list:
1. Graveyard City
2. Tears In The Rain
3. Heart Of Babylon
4. Cry For Love
5. Alissa
6. The Ghost In Your Heart
7. Bane Of My Existence
8. More Than One Way Home
9. The Killer In You
10. The Saint And The Sinner
11. Victim Of Love
12. Open Your Eyes
‘More Than One Way Home’ is released on AFM Records on February 22nd.
