Voodoo Highway
Italy doesn’t tend to be known for hard rock, yet we were recently put onto Voodoo Highway, a band coming out of Italy and producing their own take on Hard Rock. Having formed in 2010, Voodoo Highway are described as ‘one of the most exciting bands of the Italian rock, hard rock and metal scene’, which sounds pretty cool to me. We were sent through a copy of their album Broken Uncle’s Inn, so we figured we’d better see what was going on!
Opening with Intro (from 1972) not a lot is given away, the sound simply leading the way into the album beginning properly with Till It Bleeds. It’s this point though when the true colours of the album are revealed as we’re launched into a galloping melee of guitar lines, pounding drum lines and hard hitting powerful vocals, the mix sounding retro yet up to date at the same time. This is the sort of music that you dance to and from the off it’s clear that this is going to be a band to see on the live scene, their mix forming something which you know is going to be awesome fun when you see it live! The Fire Will Burn Away continues this idea, once again leading us into a funky and groove orientated mixture of drums and keys, the mix immediately changing your mood for the positive and showing that there’s still good fun, real music out there. Once again suggesting that this is going to be a track which finds its full force on the live scene, the catchy riffs of this track lead you through it, encouraging you to sing along and keeping you involved in what’s going on throughout.
J.C. Superfuck keeps the pace of the album going, once again throwing us into a solid rock track, no frills or unnecessary elements which aren’t needed in the mix. Some may say this is clichéd at times but personally, I like the mix on offer here as simply, it shows that rock n roll isn’t dead, and that Voodoo Highway are still out there doing it damned well. Window, Running Around, title track Uncle’s Broken Inn and Heaven With No Stairs all continue this idea throughout the album, the latter presenting us with a more emotional take on their music and showing that we’re not dealing with a one trick pony by any means. It’s when Gasoline Woman comes around though that another high point on the album is reached, the rock roots of the band coming out in full force and a track of classic magnitude being formed. As a stand alone track this is one of the best from the album, taking all of the key ideas of rock n roll and combining them into their own unique hard rock style, finishing with a sound that’s going to get people moving, people singing, and people wanting more from the band!
Closing with In Fact It’s The Worst the album finishes on a cliff hanger, not really going full circle but instead, hinting at what is to follow from this one. As a final track this does what it needs to do and hammers out a fine rock n roll track, full to the brim with catchy hooks, funky moments and lines which will get people shifting where ever it’s played. It’s a good close to a great album, leaving me questioning what’s going to come next!
I wasn’t sure about Voodoo Highway at first as I was concerned they might have fallen into that stereotypical hard rock approach, but they’ve avoided it well., The result is an album which is going to appeal to old and new fans alike, hooking new fans onto the genre and showing the older ones that they can still keep the faith as it’s all good – there’s still real rock music out there!
To find out more about Voodoo Hill, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
Opening with Intro (from 1972) not a lot is given away, the sound simply leading the way into the album beginning properly with Till It Bleeds. It’s this point though when the true colours of the album are revealed as we’re launched into a galloping melee of guitar lines, pounding drum lines and hard hitting powerful vocals, the mix sounding retro yet up to date at the same time. This is the sort of music that you dance to and from the off it’s clear that this is going to be a band to see on the live scene, their mix forming something which you know is going to be awesome fun when you see it live! The Fire Will Burn Away continues this idea, once again leading us into a funky and groove orientated mixture of drums and keys, the mix immediately changing your mood for the positive and showing that there’s still good fun, real music out there. Once again suggesting that this is going to be a track which finds its full force on the live scene, the catchy riffs of this track lead you through it, encouraging you to sing along and keeping you involved in what’s going on throughout.
J.C. Superfuck keeps the pace of the album going, once again throwing us into a solid rock track, no frills or unnecessary elements which aren’t needed in the mix. Some may say this is clichéd at times but personally, I like the mix on offer here as simply, it shows that rock n roll isn’t dead, and that Voodoo Highway are still out there doing it damned well. Window, Running Around, title track Uncle’s Broken Inn and Heaven With No Stairs all continue this idea throughout the album, the latter presenting us with a more emotional take on their music and showing that we’re not dealing with a one trick pony by any means. It’s when Gasoline Woman comes around though that another high point on the album is reached, the rock roots of the band coming out in full force and a track of classic magnitude being formed. As a stand alone track this is one of the best from the album, taking all of the key ideas of rock n roll and combining them into their own unique hard rock style, finishing with a sound that’s going to get people moving, people singing, and people wanting more from the band!
Closing with In Fact It’s The Worst the album finishes on a cliff hanger, not really going full circle but instead, hinting at what is to follow from this one. As a final track this does what it needs to do and hammers out a fine rock n roll track, full to the brim with catchy hooks, funky moments and lines which will get people shifting where ever it’s played. It’s a good close to a great album, leaving me questioning what’s going to come next!
I wasn’t sure about Voodoo Highway at first as I was concerned they might have fallen into that stereotypical hard rock approach, but they’ve avoided it well., The result is an album which is going to appeal to old and new fans alike, hooking new fans onto the genre and showing the older ones that they can still keep the faith as it’s all good – there’s still real rock music out there!
To find out more about Voodoo Hill, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls