Album review: VOODOO SIX – Songs To Invade Countries To

Spinefarm Records [Release date 27.05.13]

Back in 2008 I chatted to Tony Newton of Voodoo Six in the now defunct Limelight Club, Crewe. Five years on and it has taken perhaps a little longer than he or the band may have expected to break through the mass of heavy rock bands out there.

In many ways we always thought V6 had a lot more going for them. Newton’s honed songwriting skills (he previously played in a band called Chariot and has had some success with Dirty Deeds) and a link with Iron Maiden would come right this year as the band support them on their European tour.

But there have been a couple of stop-starts. The loss of a vocalist, and a little bit of momentum too. The band’s debut album in 2006, ‘Feed My Soul’, was re-recorded with an extra track and released as ‘First Hit For Free’ in 2008. The follow-up ‘Fluke’ started to gain the band wider attention whilst the interim, download-only ‘Falling Knives’ EP (November 2011) included three songs that now appear on the new album.

The first album seems to have been expunged completely from the latest label press releases with ‘Songs…’ described as their second studio album. But actually it was an excellent debut that we awarded five stars.

The latest album doesn’t really make many concessions to modern hard rock although closer to the likes of Black Stone Cherry than, say, Alter Bridge. A heavier version of Audioslave maybe. Old-school done with panache and a shed-load of humungous riffs.

The gut-churning riffs are all correct and present as they were on that erased debut in 2008: just listen to ‘All That Glitters’ and ‘Stop’. The former is a great vehicle for vocalist Luke Purdie and a great rock-out at the end showcases the guitars of Chris Jones and Matt Pearce.

In fact the whole album is a triumph for Purdie and he shines on songs like ‘Lead Me On’, ‘Sink Or Swim’ and ‘Brick Wall’ which has a whiff of Bad Company swagger about it, albeit with Mick Ralphs on steroids.

Throughout, there is a commercial sensibility to the writing, some welcome light and shade, and Tony Newton has always stuck to his original game plan. His bass-playing too is a highlight.

Even with the heightened profile of the Maiden tour I cannot see V6 taking over the world anytime soon, or even a moderately sized developing country. But whilst there is nothing startlingly original on this album you will struggle to find a better riff-laden heavy rock offering this year. ****

Review by David Randall

David Randall presents ‘Assume The Position’ on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio every Sunday at 22:00 GMT.

Archive: Gig review and interview (September 2008)
Archive: Album review and interview link (April 2008)

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

Next session: Sunday 19 January

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 1 December 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 3 December 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)