Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
We hail the king, but it is to the everyman, the artist, the grass roots, and the masses that we owe allegiance to. The aristocracy of the humble and the public attention belong to those not with crowns but the kings and queens of delight and observation, those with true power, that exercise it with greater acclaim than those who garnish themselves in adoration because of an accident of birth.
Voodoo Circle exemplifies that belief that we are who become through dedication and resilience, and in their seventh studio album, Hail To The King, the sense of the classic rock root is further enabled with a conscious decision to add a modern touch to the overall effect, and as the album progresses that beat of pride in stretching the mind’s muscles directly taps into the drama exposed by the likes of Whitesnake, Deep Purple, and arguably the continuance of heavier groups such as Canada’s Annihilator, groups that sought out progression from their initial, humble beginnings, and took the mantle of kings with astonishing heart and music comfort.
Hail To The King is an inspiration, for the German rockers this may come as a surprise, but they may have unconsciously pushed at the listener’s core with a set of songs that let loose the dogs of self-assurance and the ability to feel a different kind of heart string being pulled at, one that grows with each tug on the memory of Progressive cool.
Across tracks such as Let It Rock, Sweet Little Sister, Stand Your Ground, the fantastic pleasure of recognition that comes in the form of Black Country, the detail in Strangers In The Night, and The Sound of The Eagles, what Voodoo Circle have produced is a combination of poise, buoyant optimism that discards any kind of defeatism in the structure of rock, and which proudly states the spirit of flexibility within the group; operating as a coherent force as always but with rigid application to the throne upon which they humbly perch.
A terrifically balanced album, Hail To The King is regal and it is earthy.
Voodoo Circle’s Hail To The King is out now and available on AFM Records.
Ian D. Hall