Hail to the King is the seventh studio album from German power metal/hard rock act Voodoo Circle, led by the talents of guitarist Alex Beyrodt, formerly of Primal Fear and Silent Force, who now seems to be concentrating all his efforts on this band going forward. This latest AFM Records release doesn't deviate from the Voodoo Circle formula, that being a full-on homage to Whitesnake's 1987 self-titled album, with a dash of Deep Purple, Rainbow, and Yngwie Malmsteen thrown in for good measure. Bassist vocalist Mat Sinner was another longtime member of the band, but he seems to have stepped away now, leaving Beyrodt, vocalist David Readman, and drummer Markus Kullman to man the ship. Fear not though, the Voodoo Circle train steamrolls on, as Hail to the King doesn't deviate from what we expect from the band, which you can hear right from the get-go with "Lay Down Your Lovin' " and "Let It Rock", two rip-snortin' rockers to kick off the album, with Beyrodt's John Sykes-influenced guitar riffs and solos front and center and Readman's David Coverdale on steroids pipes soaring over the top. Even the atmospheric "On the Edge" sounds like a leftover from that 1987 Whitesnake album, right on down to the guitar solos. "Sweet Little Sister" is a fun, groovy heavy rock track, but then you have two lengthy, almost Zeppeliny tracks like "Black Country" and "Stand Your Ground", which add some new twists to the Voodoo Circle sound. "The Sound of the Eagles" and "Strangers in the Night" rock hard, and even though "Castles Made of Glas", "Billy's Song", and "All For One" don't quite move me like the rest, they are by no means bad songs.
In truth, the back end of the album suffers from being a tad too atmospheric and moody, but the title track closes things out with a bang, and all told, it's another really solid album from this always intriguing band.
Track Listing
1 Lay Down Your Lovin' 3:42
2 Let It Rock 4:46
3 On The Edge 6:09
5 Sweet Little Sister 5:40
5 Castles Made Of Glas 5:37
6 Stand Your Ground
6:56
7 Black Country 7:11
8 Billy's Song
5:57
9 Strangers In The Night 5:02
10 All For One 5:23
11 The Sound Of The Eagles 5:35
12 Hail To The King 5:27
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