Raised On Rock (Digipack)

Limited red vinyl LP pressing housed in a gatefold jacket. 2018 release. If you consider the songs on Voodoo Circle's album Raised On Rock to be an indicator of the current emotional condition their most important protagonists find themselves in, there seems to be no reason to worry about band founder, guitarist and main composer Alex Beyrodt in particular. Thanks to Beyrodt's excellent songwriting - as usual inspired by renowned sources such as Whitesnake, Rainbow, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix - and his outstanding guitar performance which brings to mind icons from Ritchie Blackmore through Jimmy Page to John Sykes, this recording oozes pure, unadulterated fervour. This exuberant energy, however, isn't the merit of Beyrodt alone but, without doubt, also that of his colleagues Mat Sinner (bass), Francesco Jovino (drums) and - last but not least - new vocalist Herbie Langhans (Avantasia). With Langhans as the group's new frontman, the stylistic direction of the Voodoo Circle compositions hasn't significantly changed - unlike the general flair of the material: "I feel that the band sounds even more autonomous, a little less bluesy and much meatier with Herbie at the mic," Beyrodt enthuses. "This allowed me to work on ideas which would probably not really have suited his predecessor David Readman but are absolutely perfect for Herbie's powerful voice." Talking of the sound: Raised On Rock was mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, U.D.O.), whose unerring instinct for dynamics and frequencies lends the recording it's modern touch. And another musician contributed significantly to the tight overall impression of Raised On Rock: the keyboards were manned by Corvin Bahn (Saxon, Uli Jon Roth). So all in all, we can say that the new Voodoo Circle album truly lives up to it's programmatic title.