It was probably a good thing for Tony Newton, that rather than inheriting his dad s banjo skills, he instead got his hands on a bass guitar after one of his father s betting shop clients offered Newton Snr the instrument when he couldn t afford to settle his bill in cash. The resolution of the wager set young Tony on the path that would eventually lead him to find Rock N Roll redemption as the bassist and head honcho of one of the UK s most exciting hard rock bands - Voodoo Six. The band s first album - First Hit For Free - was released on Universal Music in Japan in 2007 and in the UK/Europe on White Knuckle/Locomotive Records in March 2008 with a new song Faith added and a brand new re-mix by uber studio engineer Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Aerosmith, Metallica, Yngwie Malmsteen, etc). Following the album s release, the band toured extensively in the UK in support of their first album, gaining new friends and fans everywhere they played. Summer slots at the Download Festival and Bloodstock Festival followed these dates. Then a full 6-week headline tour of the UK in September 2009 ensued before the band travelled on to Europe where they were the opening act for re-formed Boston rockers Extreme in October/November 2008. 2009 saw the band playing at the HammerFest Festival in March and followed soon after by a sold out performance at the Scala in London for their homecoming end of tour gig after a hectic twelve months of almost non-stop touring. In April 2009 vocalist Luke Purdie replaced Henry Rundell. Hailing from a blues/rock background, Luke had been playing guitar and singing since he was 10 years old and toured the world in his parents band when he was 15. His distinct vocals and remarkable voice fit perfectly with the Voodoo Six sound bringing rockier and raunchier vocals to the lyrics. Very soon the new line-up were writing and recording a follow up second album. Fluke? was written and recorded over the summer of 2009 and mixed once again by Mike Fraser taking time out between sessions with AC/DC. All the tracks were produced and engineered by Tony Newton. A digital EP was released in March 2010 A Little Something For You . To tie in with this Voodoo Six played their first live shows with the new line up, in London and Southampton both sold out. On the strength of this - and with the support of Planet Rock radio - Voodoo Six were asked to be special guests on The Union (Luke Morley) UK tour and UFO on their UK & European tour in March/April. After this the band put in a storming performance at the Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth Park to critical acclaim and recently appeared at Download 2012.
J**L
Top notch modern yet traditional rock
There is definitely a resurgence in Britain of "traditional" rock, you know, guitar, bass, drums and a damn fine singer and this unsung band are probably as good as it gets. Much more relaxed, with better songs than the over-hyped Black Country communion, I particularly like the way that the bass especially is up front in the mix, giving them a meaty, dirty sound. I can only hope that the extensive touring these boys do gets them the acclaim they deserve, although Planet rock radio and Classic Rock Magazine seem to rate them. If they manage to get a couple of good slots on next year's festival circuit they could break through into the big time.
M**S
Fantastic Album, for that more traditional gritty hard rock feel!
Love this album, immediately upon hearing it on Spotify I had to buy it. With heavy addictive riffs and superb vocals, this is an overall sound that takes me back to when all rock was at its best.This will have you jumping and singing/shouting out the lyrics while punching the air with your fist. And if it doesn't, well then you have no soul for rock, nuff said!
A**.
Great CD
Wonderful CD - great guitar playing. Can't wait to see their tour, especially with Iron Maiden. At last the world can see this wonderful band.
D**D
spot on
saw Voodoo Six AT 02, Was very impressed i've also bought the new album. They are a band that i would buy future CDs and go and see again.
D**C
Five Stars
excellent
M**N
Fluke-tastic
This cd title has many conotations attributed to it , but as to the musical content, this cd is indeed no Fluke it is in my opinion the rock cd everyone should have a copy of.A long while in the making due to changes in the record company and line up, it delivers on all counts, ticking every box . It features tracks from the promo 5 track ep that was released earlier this year on download, different arrangements of some of the tracks, it also features tracks heard live on tour with UFO and their own headline Borderline gig last March , plus 2 tracks that I cannot wait to hear live in all their glory. The songs have the trademark catchy lyric hooks and melodies,but also huge riffs that take you back to the classic rock feel I love.Opening with the familiar Luke growl of 'Create your world my Mother said when I was young' , the band launch into 'Take The Blame', which when first heard set the tone for the new Voodoo Six sound post First Hit For Free. Then follows the title track from the ep 'Something For You' keeping up the pace and quality, another terrific live song. 'Take Aim' is a work-around of the track that appeared also on the ep called 'Where You Want Me' which will give the crowds at gigs a good singalong, to my ears it carries a bigger sound on it. 'Like The Others Did' is a brilliant rocker , a fantastic guitar riff that hooks you from the start, Luke's vocal layered wonderfully in the track, a great band sound on this that will be a live favourite for years.The most interesting track on here for me is 'Killer' a sole Tony Newton composition that initally when I heard it a couple of years ago was to say the least not a song I cared for, but it has been reworked and polished up with accompanying movie vocal clips at start and end to give it more gravitas. It is now the ugly duckling thats turned into a swan and I eat copious amounts of humble pie for it.The centre piece and production number of the cd is the glorious 'Underneath My Skin' starting off slow with piano in the background, the song builds up like Mistaken/Saints & Sinners style, the Chris Jones - Deans and Matt Pearce - Gibson guitars play this track out wonderfully with Luke singing very soulfully, this song is extremely well produced with the bass and drums simmering underneath , a touch of orchestration at the end reallty give the track an epic feel to it. 'Body And Soul' has another great riff to it and it rocks along with a great groove, 'Live Again' bites into you with its choppy guitar intro, great lyrics as well' You smash down all these walls now you can barely crawl, whereas upon my friend you're gonna live again'.'Mountain' is another new track to me and is fastly becoming my cd favourite and sounds very radio friendly to these ears. Starting with Tony's bass line it soon settles into a great groove with the twin guitars exchanging the riff, before Grav lays down the backbeat for Lukes gentle vocals, halfway through the song launches into another gear with the guitar break before settling back down into the aforementioned groove.'Long Way From Home' sends off the cd in grand style , this is a serious rocking track that is already a live favourite and shows everything that is good about Voodoo Six, thundering bass, skin-blistering drums, great vocals and superb twin lead guitars, and a chorus that mere mortals dream off writing.The songwriting credits are shared between Luke, Tony and Matt and I think the whole band can be proud of making a cd of outstanding quality in difficult circumstances, high quality musicianship from Luke Purdie, Dave 'Grav' Cavill, Matt Pearce, Chris Jones and Tony Newton. The engineering , production and mixing of this cd are also top notch.This cd is a must for any self respecting fan of classic rock music, 11 tracks of quailty that will be hard to find on another cd this year.
I**N
A great second album
After gaining a new vocalist, Voodoo 6 seem to be rejuvenated. The first album was very good, but this is far better. One of the best I've heard this year and ranks alongside AB3, Black Country Communion, Slash and Chickenfoot in my top 5 albums of 2010. It's even more impressive considering the amount of experience those other artists have. An excellent all-round performance with no obvious weaknesses - great songwriting, as much riffing and guitar solos as you could want, first class vocals and a powerful rhythm section. No rock fan should be without it and the chance to see them live in the next few weeks should be grabbed with both hands.These boys are going to be big news very soon.
L**Y
rock album
Heard good things about this album, had previously bought first hit for free which was excellent in itself. Knew that there had been change of personnell Luke Purdie coming in, ordered the cd from Amazon as soon as it came out whacked it on and wow wall of sound transcending to the ears, absolutely fantastic vibrant and vital fresh and loud all tracks well produced, fantastic album all round brit rock at its best sound a little bit like a british version of blackstone cherry which is not a bad thing overall i urge you to buy this album .
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