FANZEYEVIEW
Voodoo Six
Hard Working Rockers Voodoo Six, who have toured the world with such legends as Iron Maiden, Dio and Extreme-and who can cite Iron Maiden's Steve Harris as a fan, are putting the finishing touches to their new album-the follow up to 2008's excellent ''First Hit For Free''. The Album has been mixed by the legendary Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Metallica and Aerosmith), and Introduces new vocalist Luke Purdie.
A tour in support of the album will be announced shorty.
I caught up with bassist and founder member Tony Newton for a Q & A.
1. The band seemed to be on the crest of something special with the release of 'First Hit For Free', a support slot with Iron Maiden, and numerous successful tours and festival appearances-including Download. So what led to Henry Rundell's departure from the band?
We achieved a lot with Henry and there was no falling out when he departed. The fact is that the band felt that Henry didn't have his heart in it any longer, and every member has to give 100% or it's not fair on the others. These things happen and I wish him all the best. Truth is that our style wasn't ever his bag, he is more 80's influenced. When it came to writing new songs we weren't on the same page and we needed a change.
2. You have released a free download single 'Take The Blame' as a precursor to your new album, how is Luke Purdie settling in to the band? (Purdie joined in May 2009).
Luke has settled in great. As soon as he joined both of us worked on ideas and he was really easy to work with. He is a quality song writer and his voice is like nothing I've heard before, it fits perfectly with the V6 sound. The new album will surprise a lot of people, it's up another level.
3. Luke Purdie has a different vocal Style than Henry Rundell-will this affect how the band performs some of the older tracks, 'Saints and Sinners', 'Step Inside', 'Walking on Nails' etc?, do you plan to re-work any tracks?
Well most of the songs on 'first hit for free' were actually written for the style Luke sings. Before Henry joined we had a guy 'Cornell like' so that was always our intended direction. We won't be playing the whole of the last album live, we will be mainly promoting the new stuff so will be a really strong set.
4. Voodoo Six have been compared to Guns N Roses and Audioslave-due to your hard rock direction,soaring melodies and vocal and guitar harmonies-do you feel 'hard rock' is once again in a good place, especially after the Grunge invasion of the 90s making many bands change their direction just to survive?.
I personally have never followed trends. If you do as soon as you have a band/songs ready then the trend is over. I believe that quality music will always win through no matter what pigeon hole it's in. Rock seems to be on the rise again and that can only be good for live music.
5. Thunder, a fellow London based band have recently decided to call it a day after 20 years. Do you worry that, however great a band may be, a lack of mainstream radio support will always be a problem for hard rock and heavy metal bands in Britain?
Touring has always been the key to successful rock bands. Rock has never been mainstream and probably never will be. To be considered for radio you have to conform to certain rules, well rock is about rebelling so we will not write songs with radio in mind. Having said that Planet Rock have been playing 'Take The Blame' for 6 weeks and the response has been incredible.
6. There seemed to be a wealth of hard rock bands a few years ago, Glyder,Heavens Basement,Tokyo Dragons, Jaded Sun and so on, but none seemed to match the heights of The Answer for example, yet in essence the direction was very similar?, is it simply down to luck?.
I guess luck is a part, but you make your own luck too. Bands can now take control as they don't need major labels. Of course it is difficult for bands to become the next AC/DC or Iron Maiden without backing, but the fact is that albums don't sell like they used to. Touring is the only way to keep a band going, steadily growing the fan base.
7. ''The Best Debut Album ive heard in Many Years''-Steve Harris (Iron Maiden)
''Classic Brit Hard Rock Power Balancing on a Volcanoe of Melodies''-Classic Rock Magazine
''Hard Rock with Heavy Tattoos, a Cocky Swagger and a Bad Attitude''-Kerrang Magazine.
You have certainly impressed rock musics big hitters-do you feel now is YOUR time?.
It could very well be our time, we know the new album is amazing and we are all very proud of it. All we can do is continue to do what we do best, writing songs as good as we can and enjoying playing them live. I started this band with a guitar and a computer and look how far we have come, so I look forward to what the future holds in store for us.
You can find out more about Voodoo Six, and download the FREE track ''Take The Blame'' by visiting their website www.voodoosix.com
A tour in support of the album will be announced shorty.
I caught up with bassist and founder member Tony Newton for a Q & A.
1. The band seemed to be on the crest of something special with the release of 'First Hit For Free', a support slot with Iron Maiden, and numerous successful tours and festival appearances-including Download. So what led to Henry Rundell's departure from the band?
We achieved a lot with Henry and there was no falling out when he departed. The fact is that the band felt that Henry didn't have his heart in it any longer, and every member has to give 100% or it's not fair on the others. These things happen and I wish him all the best. Truth is that our style wasn't ever his bag, he is more 80's influenced. When it came to writing new songs we weren't on the same page and we needed a change.
2. You have released a free download single 'Take The Blame' as a precursor to your new album, how is Luke Purdie settling in to the band? (Purdie joined in May 2009).
Luke has settled in great. As soon as he joined both of us worked on ideas and he was really easy to work with. He is a quality song writer and his voice is like nothing I've heard before, it fits perfectly with the V6 sound. The new album will surprise a lot of people, it's up another level.
3. Luke Purdie has a different vocal Style than Henry Rundell-will this affect how the band performs some of the older tracks, 'Saints and Sinners', 'Step Inside', 'Walking on Nails' etc?, do you plan to re-work any tracks?
Well most of the songs on 'first hit for free' were actually written for the style Luke sings. Before Henry joined we had a guy 'Cornell like' so that was always our intended direction. We won't be playing the whole of the last album live, we will be mainly promoting the new stuff so will be a really strong set.
4. Voodoo Six have been compared to Guns N Roses and Audioslave-due to your hard rock direction,soaring melodies and vocal and guitar harmonies-do you feel 'hard rock' is once again in a good place, especially after the Grunge invasion of the 90s making many bands change their direction just to survive?.
I personally have never followed trends. If you do as soon as you have a band/songs ready then the trend is over. I believe that quality music will always win through no matter what pigeon hole it's in. Rock seems to be on the rise again and that can only be good for live music.
5. Thunder, a fellow London based band have recently decided to call it a day after 20 years. Do you worry that, however great a band may be, a lack of mainstream radio support will always be a problem for hard rock and heavy metal bands in Britain?
Touring has always been the key to successful rock bands. Rock has never been mainstream and probably never will be. To be considered for radio you have to conform to certain rules, well rock is about rebelling so we will not write songs with radio in mind. Having said that Planet Rock have been playing 'Take The Blame' for 6 weeks and the response has been incredible.
6. There seemed to be a wealth of hard rock bands a few years ago, Glyder,Heavens Basement,Tokyo Dragons, Jaded Sun and so on, but none seemed to match the heights of The Answer for example, yet in essence the direction was very similar?, is it simply down to luck?.
I guess luck is a part, but you make your own luck too. Bands can now take control as they don't need major labels. Of course it is difficult for bands to become the next AC/DC or Iron Maiden without backing, but the fact is that albums don't sell like they used to. Touring is the only way to keep a band going, steadily growing the fan base.
7. ''The Best Debut Album ive heard in Many Years''-Steve Harris (Iron Maiden)
''Classic Brit Hard Rock Power Balancing on a Volcanoe of Melodies''-Classic Rock Magazine
''Hard Rock with Heavy Tattoos, a Cocky Swagger and a Bad Attitude''-Kerrang Magazine.
You have certainly impressed rock musics big hitters-do you feel now is YOUR time?.
It could very well be our time, we know the new album is amazing and we are all very proud of it. All we can do is continue to do what we do best, writing songs as good as we can and enjoying playing them live. I started this band with a guitar and a computer and look how far we have come, so I look forward to what the future holds in store for us.
You can find out more about Voodoo Six, and download the FREE track ''Take The Blame'' by visiting their website www.voodoosix.com
roger@fanzeyeview.com
