Fans and the band alike have always revered Iron Maiden’s iconic mascot, Eddie. In fact -- as exposed by a magazine interview a year or two ago -- Maiden’s guitarists confirmed Eddie’s homosexuality, so he is most certainly a developing character. On the other hand, Slash, formerly of Guns N’ Roses, now spearheading Velvet Revolver, is known for his adorning of his famous top hat. Enter Voodoo Johnson, with their mascot, who I can only assume is Voodoo Johnson. By the way, he wears a top hat similar to Slash’s and has a demonic glint in his eye as his frothing mouth drips a viscous crimson liquid.
Again, Voodoo Johnson oozes professionalism, albeit a sleazy classic rock professionalism. Kev Bayliss, vocalist and principle lyricist of the band has a voice to rival any on the present-day rock scene, while the twin-engine guitar attack of the Gethins seeps class with every riff and lick. Naturally, Voodoo Johnson lives up to the sleazy image of classic rockers, with their tongues firmly in their cheeks; just look at song titles such as Blow Me (Away), for instance. Down the years, we have all witnessed the many weird and wonderful carnations of Eddie, and Iron Maiden has grown with said Mascot. A looming question is whether or not Voodoo Johnson can achieve similar parallels. Rest assured, the band wouldn’t be featured here if it didn’t at least have the potential. Make sure to listen to The Art Of Losing in your discovery of Voodoo Johnson, who, by the way, played at Kerrang’s live MCN competition on the 19th of April. Despite being situated in the UK, Voodoo Johnson is targeting the USA, and shall be playing in Michigan at the Mount Rock Fest towards the end of July this year. It’s going to be a busy year.
A classic rock EP that does the genre justice whilst still able to sound fresh and original, Birmingham five-piece Voodoo Johnson have pieced together a small but perfectly formed four-track release of consistent quality and instantly satisfying rock tracks. Confident and seductively abrasive vocals are matched by equally proficient instrumental efforts, resulting in a set of songs that stand out individually thanks to strong identifiable riffs and contagious lyrics, whilst still maintaining a distinct sound that binds the EP together. A great recording that shows Voodoo Johnson to be a cooly confident and talented band with the potential to make a significant stamp on the UK music scene. 4/5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR MORE REVIEWS CHECK OUT OUR BLOG!
Led Zeppelin
Monster Magnet
Audioslave
Maylene & The Sons of Disaster
Velvet Revolver
Tesla
Aerosmith
Guns 'n' Roses
Metallica
Black Label Society
Pearl Jam
The Black Crows
Mr. BIG
Muse
Alice in Chains
Matthew Good Band
Soundgarden
Skin
My Chemical Romance
Queens of the stone age
Down
Etc... Etc...
Sounds Like
Pure ROCKAGE!!
A ringing in your ears...
A Train Wreck!
If God bought a CD, this would be it...
Sex.
The noise you hear in your head just before you shoot your load!
VOODOO JOHNSON are proud to make extra special space for:
I'm peachy with a side of keen thanks! You'll have to let me know when you're close to the Midlands/Yorkshire/Lancashire(god forbid, I hate it and I live here!) and provided I can manipulate my colleagues I can utilise the motorway network to see you all! Don't work too hard! Lynsey xx
Damn, for a second there I thought you had 'New South Wales this saturday' I was all excited til I realised the 'South Wales' is not the Australian state...*sigh*
