Krokus - Hoodoo

People who talk in these days about swiss rock music, they talk about Gotthard or still about the old veterans Krokus. The meanwhile greyhaired guys publish after four years and the good last album Hellraiser their newest output with the mystical title Hoodoo. Are this older swiss people still kick ass? The new classical but rounded up line up with Marc Storace, Chris von Rohr, Fernando von Arb, Frank Steady and Mark Kohler is promising that a lot.

We start directly into the album with „Drive it in“. Good guitar lead in the beginning and Marc Storace, who sounds once more very near to Bon Scott. Straight rock'n roller, but it it seems that Krokus want to get a piece of the again successful AC DC cake, obviously in their oldest version. Good song without breaks....pure old school rock'n roll.
A little jungle feeling at the start of „Hoodoo woman“. Kind of bluesy with sliding guitars. Partly mystical sound interruptions bring this slower track a touch of voodoo magic surrounden by the rocking main theme. This is an exciting song that I hever never heard from Krokus in that style. Awesome. Really not necessary on the other side is the next track, the cover version of Steppenwolf's „Born to be wild“. Who really needs the next of 1000 versions of this song? It is well played, for sure, a bit harder and rougher as the original, but definetely not spectacular enough to bring it in a regular album. „Rock'n Roll Handshake“ again shows parallels to old AC DC.
Marc Storace lost a lot of his originality, that he ever owned although the parallels to Bon Scott or Udo Dierkschneider. Anyway...a rockin' roller, ear catching and screaming for a cigarette in one hand and a whiskey in the other. Balladesque start into „Ride into the sun“. A whispering part leads to a great chorus. Easy guitar work that doesn't miss its purpose and that gives that song a wonderful rhythm. This is the well known Krokus style wiht some new facettes. The instrumentation is good-quality and song orientated. „Too hot“ is once again in the line of AC DC. A hairmetal touched refrain brings some change into this all in all rockin' midtempo song. I could find in this track even some parallels to Def Leppard but of course with a different voice. Good groover, but not a song that will be remembered. The album takes some speed with „In my blood“. A party hit to sing with and therefore this song could be one of the better live songs of this album. And....we can find here the first little guitar solo of Hoodoo, that I was missing in the songs before. Groovy again continues the next song „Dirty street“. The name is program. Tyical street rock'n roll in oldest design. Slide guitars as far as you can hear...and again with a kind of guitar solo part. The refrain is, no wonder, very ear catching...the sound should be dirty, but it is pure easy listening. Unspectacular. Again more speed in „Keep me rolling“. AC DC riffing and some smooth arrangements in refrain and vocals let the song seem to be in one line and so this becomes one the better songs of the album. But we are again miles away from innovation and originality. „Shot of love“ brings the liked movement between guitars and vocals and I am near to call this song a Highway to hell clone. Too obviously are the parallels to the australians, that should and has to be said here. Well done guitar hooklines offers the last song „Firestar“. Yes, this is Krokus in their own old style. More metal, more arrangements, more originality. And a Marc Storace who sounds like Marc Storace. In best Headhunter tradition this song is the best of the whole album with a huge distance to the rest.

I am sorry to say, that I am disappointed of this album in many things. The missing originality, songwriting in too save waters and with too much parallels to AC DC, and only a few kicking songs. The famous musicians do not show much of what they are able to perform.

Friends of straight rock'n roll can risk their ears anyway, but not more and not less.

For me, who knows about the bands class in the past, definetely not enough.

Points:   6/10

review by Kerb