REVIEWS
“Ein Meisterwerk im Geiste von Rainbow, Malmsteen & Co.” | (Andreas Schöwe, Metal Hammer)
“a perfect release” | (The Metal Madman)
“Killerscheibe – muss man haben!” | (Rock It!, Jochen Bauer) 9/10
“Voodoo Circle schaffen es mit einem Blick in den Rückspiegel an der heutigen Konkurrenz vorbeizubrettern…” | (HEAVY, Martin Römpp) 10/12
“… ein äußerst gitarrenlastiges und hart rockendes Werk, das nicht selten an Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow in dessen stärksten Zeiten erinnert. Zugreifen!”| (Break Out, Peter Hollecker)
“Voodoo Circle ist wirklich ein unglaubliches Album!” | (Radio Melodic)
★ BURRN! (Japan) 85/100
★ Melodic Rock Fanzine 93/100
★ Metal Hammer Italy 8/10
★ Rock Hard Italy 8/10
★ Rockerilla (Italy) 8/10
★ Obskure.com (France) 92/100
★ Programa Mundo Rock (Chile) 9/10
★ Powerplay – 10/10
Not a million miles from the statesman like sound of latter day Silent Force, what really distinguishes Voodoo Circle is the wonderfully Rainbowesque neo-classical vibe which courses through its veins. As an old school (read Dio) era Rainbow fan of many years standing, I can appreciate the efforts of anyone attempting to emulate that particularly illustrious era; and I can tell you now, few have done it with such style as Voodoo Circle. (…) Here’s hoping that this is just the beginning of something very special indeed… in a word, brilliant! (Dave Cockett)
 Powerplay Issue 106 – February 2009 – Page 35 |
★ The Metal Madman – 10/10
No this isnt some unreleased Jimi Hendrix album! This is the new International band from guitarist Alex Beyrodt (Silent Force)! Alex brings with him an all star cast of singers, and musicians that lay out the foundation of this Hard Rock / Melodic Metal release. David Readman (Pink Cream 69, Ex Adagio), Matt Sinner (Primal Fear, Sinner), Mel Gaynor (Gary Moore, Brian May), Jimmy Kresic (one of Germanys most booked keyboardists), and special guest appearances from Doogie White (Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen, Cornerstone), Rudi Sarzo (Ozzy Osbourne, Dio, Whitesnake), Norifumi Shima (Concerto Moon), and Richard Andersson (Majestic, Space Odyssey)! Wow are you kidding me!? So does a band with this impressive line up live up to its expectations? Oh boy does it! On this release you will hear all the best that can be found in 70s bands like Rainbow, and Deep Purple to hard rock bands such as Dokken, Readmans own band Pink Cream 69, and even some traces of melodic metal that fans of the heavier Malmsteen tracks will love!
This album starts off with the song “Spewing Lies” with an in your face riff that immediately drags the listener on a ride that will take you on a journey into musical bliss! Followed by two hard rock heavy hitters “Desperate Heart”, and “Kingdom Of The Blind” that are just oozing with fantastic melodies, and bombastic choruses that are easily to be stuck in your head afterwards. All this supplied with the very solid drumming of Mel Gaynor who doesnt get overly fancy, and lets the beats pave the way for the listener, and of course Matt Sinner providing some nice bottom end into the mix. This album has a nice wide variety of tunes. “Man And Machine” is a nice uptempo rocker with some 70s style overtones, “Heaven Can Wait” which is a nice heavy bluesy filled track, and then we have songs like “We’ll Never Learn” which fans of songs like Malmsteens “You Dont Remember I’ll Never Forget” will absolutely love! The great thing about this release is that it never gets stuck in just one formula, and there is not a single filler to be found on the album. The keyboards are never the dominate factor, and provide a nice touch of added element making the songs sound much more fuller, and atmopsheric. I really cannot say enough good things about it, and David Readman is so damn impressive that one has to wonder why he isn’t talked about more. He is one of the best vocalists in Hard Rock, and his voice is the perfect fitting for this kind of band.
Alex Beyrodt has always shown what a talent he is in Silent Force, but he has now shown just how much of a top musician and songwriter he really is. I truly hope this isnt the last we have heard from this amazing band. Did I mention that all of this is topped off by one of the best producers in the business today? Thats right handled by none other then “Dennis Ward”, and with that tops off what I would call a perfect release. Good job to all involved! (The Metal Madman)
★ RockReport.be – 6/6
Alex Beyrodt re-thought his vision towards melodic rock/metal and came to the conclusion that he had to write material in the tradition of classic hard rock acts like Deep Purple, Rainbow and Yngwie Malmsteen. Motivated as he was, he came up with no less than 25 songs, of which the best 13 were chosen to be recorded. With the song material being that good, it was not that difficult to gather an impressive line-up of seasoned musicians to record the material. The result is now out on AFM Records and hasn’t left my CD player since I got a review copy about a week ago. What Alex Beyrodt came up with, is classic melodic hard rock, as if it was written and performed in the glorious 70s and 80s. Although the album counts 13 tracks with a total playing time of almost 70 minutes (!), you won’t get bored a single sec, thanks to the quality of the songs, the excellent performances of all musicians involved and the crystal-clear sound (production: Alex Beyrodt, mixing: Dennis Ward). Listening tips: “Desperate Heart”, “Kingdom Of The Blind”, “Dream Of Eden (Doogie White / David Readman version) and “Wings Of Sorrow”. Presented as an attractive digipak, including a 16-page colour booklet with the lyrics and lots of pix, this must be the ultimate present for one of your beloved friends or just for yourself. What a way to end the year!!! (CL)
★ Hardrock Haven – 9.3/10
VOODOO CIRCLE is a debut most musicians can only dream about. Massive sounding classic rock songs… ehm.. anthems which bear the signs of greatness all over. Gripping back to the classic elements and bands with inspiring perfection, this is one of the finest releases of the new year already. True, Rising Force comes to mind occasionally, but that´s more a compliment than complaint. It simply breathes to much magic and class. (Edwin van Hoof)
★ Mario’s Metal Mania – 93/100
If you’re into passion and intensity in your music with a great 70’s atmosphere, flooded with virtuosity and musical creativity, you will love Voodoo Circle. They could have well been one of the greatest of the 70’s between Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Rainbow and Led Zeppelin, if this wasn’t their debut album from 2008, from an entirely new band!! (Kees Schijven)
★ Rock It! – 9/10
Wow! Das nenne ich mal eine geile Band! Gitarrist Alex Beyrodt hat jede Menge illustrer Namen um seine neue Band VOODOO CIRCLE geschart. Mit Classic Hardrock versuchen Sänger David Readman (PINK CREAM 69), Mat Sinner (SINNER, PRIMAL FEAR) am Bass, Mel Gaynor (GARY MOORE, BRIAN MAY) an der Schießbude und Keyboarder Jimmy Kresic die Musikfans zu überzeugen und treffen voll ins Schwarze. Jeder, der auch nur ein wenig auf Bands wie RAINBOW oder DEEP PURPLE steht, wird von dieser Scheibe begeistert sein. Alex Beyrodt jagt ein geiles Soli nach dem anderen heraus; MALMSTEEN ich höre dir trapsen. Sollte das Line-Up auf den Einen oder Anderen zu unspektakulär wirken, was ich nicht glaube, dem sei gesagt, dass auch noch Doogie White (CORNERSTONE), Rudy Sarzo (OZZY, WHITESNAKE), Norifumi Shima (CONCERTO MOON) und Richard Andersson (MAJESTIC) als Gäste auf dem Album mitwirken und zu hören sind. Bewusst nenne ich diesmal keinen meiner Favoriten; ich müsste alle elf Songs auf „VOODOO CICLE“ auswählen. Bleibt zu erwähnen, dass es die CD auch im limitierten Digipack mit zwei Bonustracks geben wird. Resümee: Killerscheibe – muss man haben! (Jochen Bauer)
★ Rock United – 9/10
I am really looking forward to hearing Voodoo Circle in the flesh as this is a real live band, jam on!! A truly remarkable debut and a must for lovers of classic guitar hard rock; Yngwie eat your heart out!! (Martien Koolen)
★ Gitarre & Bass
Man muss den Ausnahmegitarristen ALEXANDER BEYRODT nicht mehr gesondert vorstellen. Der ehemalige Sinner-/Silent Force-Axeman ist einer der Besten seiner Zunft, handwerklich wie kompositorisch. Beyrodts neue Band heißt VOODOO CIRCLE, das gleichnamige Debüt (soulfood/afm) gehört zu den stärksten Melodic Metal-Scheiben der vergangenene drei Jahre. Das liegt zum einen an der exquisiten Gitarrenarbeit, zum anderen aber natürlich an Sänger David Readman (Pink Cream 69). Dem Engländer Readman zuzuhören ist purer Genuss, vor allem wenn man ihm ein solch solides Fundament ausbreitet wie Voodoo Circle es hier tun. Ergo: Wartet nicht lange auf eine Rainbow-Reunion, holt euch lieber das deutsche Pendant Voodoo Circle! (mm)
★ Stormbringer.at – 4.5/5.0
VOODOO CIRCLE rocken von vorne bis hinten. David Readman, seines Zeichens PINK CREAM 69-Fronter, leiht dem Ganzen seine Stimme und daraus entwickelt sich ein wahres Metal-Spektakel. Ein Album, wie man es von HELLOWEEN oder GAMMA RAY erwarten würde und nicht von einem zusammengewürfelten All-Star-Haufen. Doch so kann man sich irren, dieses Projekt kann total überzeugen! (Mat)
★ FFM Rock
Na endlich! Nach einigen Jahren in verschiedenen Bands traut sich Silent Force Mastermind Alex Beyrodt (g.) in Zusammenarbeit mit Pink Cream 69-Ausnahmesänger David Readman an sein erstes Soloalbum – und was ist das für ein Pfund! Ohne Übertreibung schlägt Alex Beyrodt’s Voodoo Circle nicht nur die letzte, und bei Weitem nicht schlechte, Silent Force Veröffentlichung, es übertrifft auch das letzte Pink Cream 69 Werk mit Leichtigkeit und überflügelt auch die letzten Scheiben des Mannes, der ganz offenkundig mehr als nur einmal Pate stand: Yngwie Malmsteen. Alex Beyrodt huldigt schamlos, aber immer respektvoll dem großen Schweden mit den wechselnden Gewichtsanteilen und setzt dabei die Messlatte für Produktionen dieser Art auf ein neues Level. (…) Kaufempfehlung! (Mike Langer)
★ Virtuosityone.com – 94%
The debut album from Voodoo Circle shows a lot of promise, sure the influences at times are easy to spot, and Alex makes no secret of his admiration for Malmsteen and Blackmore, but whilst these influences can be heard there is always Beyrodt’s own interpretation of these classic sounds on full view. As stated at the intro, if you are somewhat disillusioned with the Malmsteen sound of late, then this album is sure to find a welcome home in your collection. As it stands it’s a very good album, that sits nicely alongside the Silent Force albums and is another example of Beyrodt being the best of the talent to have come out of Germany since Michael Schenker. Strong vocals, a good (but not great) production, first class musicianship, Voodoo Circle is a late entry in 2008 but may also be one of the years best.
★ Metal To Infinity – 94/100
It’s obvious, this album has a Classic feel on board that pushes me back in time to greats like Rising Force, Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Rainbow, etc inspired by an era that is actually timeless named Classic Hard Rock and Metal music I really dig this album with all my heart. Clean and awesome vocals, virtuosity all over, nice atmospheres – above all, played with so much perfection that I will praise Voodoo Circle straight to heaven. (Stefan)
★ Schweres-Metall.de – 9/10
Das erste Solo-Album von Beyrodt ist also wahrlich ein echter Hammer geworden, obwohl die Musiker natürlich ein gewisses ‘All Star Flair’ umgibt und bei solchen Konstellationen nur selten etwas sehr gutes oder gar überragendes herauskommt. Aber laut Aussage von Alex mir gegenüber handelt es sich um eine echte Band die während einer Session Tour – die er zusammen mit Readman und Geynor absolvierte – auf der Bühne geboren wurde. Bei diesem Album hat man sich auch auf echte Songs ohne ausschweifende Solo- bzw. Instrumentaleskapaden besonnen. Und so bin ich dann auch direkt ab Song #1 “Spewing Lies” mit dem überragendem Gesang von Readman sowie dem bekannt exzellenten Gitarrenspiel vom Meister selbst geplättet. Ganz zu schweigen von der superben Melodieführung bzw. den tollen Hooklines und dem knackigen Sound von Dennis Ward (u.a. Pink Cream 69, Krokus, Allan/Lande). Diese Qualitätsmerkmale ziehen sich durch das gesamte Album, das vor Highlights nur so strotzt, wo aber auch einige Improvisationen und vor allem eine satte Spielfreude welche Vorbilder wie die bereits zu Anfang genannten Bands auszeichnen, begeistern.
Wer hier nicht zugreift verpasst absolut geilen, handgemachten Hard Rock der Güteklasse 1a! (Pit Schneider)
★ MyRevelations.de – 13/15
Als ich im Oktober die neueste Ausgabe eines bekannten Mailorderkataloges durchblätterte, fiel mir ein Cover auf von einer Band namens Alex Beyrodt’s VOODOO CIRCLE, von der ich vorher noch nie gehört hatte. Eine hellblaue Stratocaster auf Flammen mit mystischem Hintergrund. Ein sehr schönes Motiv, das mich neugierig machte. (…) VOODOO CIRCLE schaffen es, die warme, mystische Atmosphäre und das magische Zusammenspiel des melodischen Hardrocks, den die genannten Bands spielen, wiederzugeben, ohne dabei bloße Kopien zu sein. Irgendwie glaubt man, dass diese Platte direkt aus den für diese Musik glorreichen 70er/80er Jahren kommt. Und über allem thront die Gitarre von Alex Beyrodt, dessen musikalisches Können mittlerweile dem eines Yngwie Malmsteen oder Ritchie Blackmore sehr nahe kommt. Sein Spiel bleibt stets songdienlich, was die einzelnen Stücke jederzeit nachvollziehbar hält. (…) Insgesamt ein Album, das man Freunden derartiger Musik nur empfehlen kann und das für mich eines der besten Alben dieses Jahres ist. Hoffentlich bleibt es nicht nur bei diesem Studioalbum. Diese Songs gehören auf die Bühne. Ich wäre dabei… (Thorsten Schwalbach)
★ Metal Factory – 8.8/10
Musikalisch orientiert sich die Truppe an der 70er-Ikone Rainbow. Dies betrifft Sänger D. Readman, der einem Ronnie James Dio in nichts nachsteht. Aber auch Alex’ satte Gitarrenriffs und feinen Soli weisen Parallelen zu Richie Blackmore oder auch Yngwie Malmsteen auf. A. Beyrodt’s Songs besitzen trotzdem die zu erwartende Eigenständigkeit. Man macht keinen Hehl aus der Inspirationsquelle, ist aber weit von einer Kopie entfernt. Das gesamte Songmaterial überzeugt durch Eingängigkeit und der perfekten Mischung aus Melodie und Härte. Es werden Erinnerungen wach an den Weg (und auch die Musik) von Masterplan. Ursprünglich ein Projekt mit unsicheren Erfolgsaussichten. Durch ein harmonisierendes Bandgefüge und vor allem den richtigen Songs, folgte der Ritt auf der Erfolgswelle. Voodoo Circle erfüllen die Voraussetzungen, um es Masterplan gleichzutun. (Chris C.)
★ Lords of Metal – 85/100
The eleven songs on offer (if you decide to buy the digipack version you’ll get two extra bonus tracks) are therefore very worthwhile listening to and especially ‘Desperate Heart’, ‘Master Of Illusion’ and ‘Enter My World Of Darkness’ can count on my personal appreciation. Guitar player and song writer Alex Beyrodt can really showcase his talent in the Voodoo Circle song material, but he’s certainly not the only one who makes a very good impression. (…) I must say that I was and still am very pleasantly surprised by what Voodoo Circle has done on this debut album. People who are into Rainbow and Dio and can appreciate great guitar work should try this one for sure. (Sjak)
★ Greekrebels.gr – 8.5/10
What could be in common between Silent Force, Primal Fear & Pink Cream 69? The answer is Voodoo Circle, a project by Alex Beyrodt (Silent Force), Mar Sinner (Primal Fear), David Readman (Pink Cream 69), Mel Gaynor (Gary Moore, Brian May) & Jimmi Kresic. Maybe this five-piece band has released one of the best, if not the best by far, hard rock albums of the year. If you’re wondering how’s this album sounds, I will just tell you that it brings me in mind Joe Lynn Turner, old Rainbow and old Yngwie Malmsteen. I am very convinced that those who like these bands, are going to love it because it’s a true hard
rock diamond album. The excellent – impressive production has been done by Alex Beyrodt while from the songs that are futured in the album, I think that “Kingdom Of The Blind” is the number one hit. Far from that, “Man & Machine” sounds like a small tribute to JLT, the sabbatheque “Dream Of Eden” with the duet by Doogie White making the world to rock together with David Readman or from the other hand the brainstorming track “Angels Will Cry” with the Malmsteen-like solos by Beyrodt? Also it has to be mentioned that in the album apart from Doogie White, they are part as guest the following artistis: Rudy
Sarzo (Ozzy Osbourne, Dio), Norifumi Shima (Concerto Moon) & Richard Andersson (solo, Space Odyssey). It’s really an album that you will characterize as a diamond and you won’t even think the money that you’ll spend in order to buy it because after listening to it, you will understand that you’ve made the best choice ever by buying it! Let’s hope that this album won’t be the only one from this excellent band. It will be such a pity to end something that begun so wonderful! (Nikos Siglidis)
★ Gothtronic – 8.2/10
Voodoo Circle opens their debut album very powerful. You get surrounded by great guitar solo’s and amazing drums. (…) If you wonder what a league of heroes like this may sound, I can only give you one answer. It’s like Royal Hunt is jamming with Yngwie Malmsteen and Rainbow. Just amazing Hard-Rock of a high quality. With loads of melody and powerful guitar work. I know for sure, fans of the just mentioned bands will love this album. The drummer of The Simple Minds also knows how to play some good Hard-Rock rhythms. His double bass work is just great. It really shows Alex has many friends in the music business. His name of featuring artists is stunning. (…) (Gaby)
★ Metal Revolution – 82/100
Never in my life while working for MR have I heard a band that sounds too much like Whitesnake. Truly I thought that it was the wrong CD I put in my stereo. But no, it’s the band who calls themselves Voodoo Circle, and they have the outstanding result to introduce you with their debut album Voodoo Circle.
David Readman is the front man of this band, and he and his fellows are making a very solid album which reminds me so much of my idols Whitesnake and Deep Purple.
The albums consist of fourteen well-written tracks which are both slow with a lot of emotional stuff like tracks “Master of Illusion” and “Heaven Can Wait”. The rest are more or less with some clear and strong vocals combined with intense guitar riffs that blow your mind away. The best way to describe Voodoo Circle is the combination of the classic rock and powerful elements.
Some of the tracks also personify the passion and the intensity. It sure gives the album this extra ingredient that makes this album so good.
(…) (Simona)
★ Metal-Temple.com – 4/5
I don’t know and actually I do not care to find any flaw on this album; I really enjoyed listening to it with all these influences that took my mind several years back. Alex proved that he can think out of the box and create music that I have to admit I have missed. These days we have plenty of ‘nu’ stuff that most of them lack of feeling that was the driving force back in those days. So, if you like the old Hard Rock sound and the up-to-date finishing touches then join the ride with VOODOO CIRCLE and you won’t regret it! (Dimitris K.)
Link to Review Page
★ Melodic.net – 4/5
In the very last breaths of 2008, a very nice surprise turned up for fans of neo-classical hard rock: Alex Beyrodt’s VOODOO CIRCLE. Ah, this is first class stuff that is a must for any fan of YNGWIE MALMSTEEN’s “Odyssey” album, RED DAWN or prime time RAINBOW songs. Yes, it is that good. This recording is made by a five-piece band , with Beyrodt on guitars, David Readman (PINK CREAM 69) on lead vocals, Mel Gaynor (SIMPLE MINDS!) on drums, Matt Sinner (SINNER, PRIMAL SCREAM) on bass and Jimmy Kresic on keyboards. Whether they are to be regarded as a band or a project is not known to me.
Anyway, this is easily the most positive thing that has happened to neo-classical melodic hard rock in quite some time. It kick-starts with “Spewing lies” that is stylewise very close to what YNGWIE MALMSTEEN did on the awesome “Odyssey” album, and “Desperate heart” is actually as good as the very best that you can dig up on the RAINBOW “Bent out of shape” album! I promise you. And the RAINBOW or RED DAWN tendencies are clear in “We’ll never learn”, added by a spice of TALISMAN. Doogie White is guesting in “Dream of Eden” and here it sounds more like BLACK SABBATH á la “Headless Cross” or so. The production from Dennis Ward (also PINK CREAM 69) is really good, and these guys don’t do rip-offs but manage very well to do good old neoclassically coloured melodic hard rock in their own way. I’m not saying they deliver anything unique; it’s just very very good. (Ola Gränshagen)
★ Metal Inside – No Rating
„Voodoo Circle“ sprüht nur so über vor geilen Riffs, genialen Soli und Hammermelodien, welche dieses Album aus der Masse der artverwandten Langrillen herausstechen lassen. Und als wenn dies alles noch nicht genug wäre, so glänzt auch Readman mit einer bravourösen Gesangsleistung. (Meinte Freundin meinte beim Autofahren als bekennender Readman Fan sogar es sei seine beste ever…ich bin geneigt ihr zuzustimmen). Zusammenfassend sei gesagt, dass Freunde von MALMSTEEN, RAINBOW, DIO oder auch RIOT mit diesem Werk aber auch gar nix falsch machen können. (fz)
★ The Power of Metal Webzine – 75/100
It is pretty easy to circle in on which fans this will appeal to because this is basically a cool mixture between Yngwie Malmsteen and classic hard rock bands like Deep Purple, Whitesnake and Rainbow. But this is more than a hard rock album spiced up with plenty of neo-classical passages and a guitarist showcasing his skill wrapped in a vintage 70’s style sound.
Sure this is about guitar wizardry, and there is a lot string bending going on on the album, but this still sounds like a team effort with focus on guitar leads and harmonies. And with the exception of the last song on the album, all songs have a strong melody line and showcase the strong voices of the vocalists as well as Alex Beyrodt’s amazing skills.
Nuff said – if you are looking for a hard rock album with all the classic virtues and a clear shredder edge to it, then look no further. (Kenn Jensen)
★ Friday 13th Zine – No Rating
This is the new and exciting band put together by Pink Cream 69’s front man David Readman, and Alex Beyrodt (guitar) from Silent Force, and Matt Sinner (bass) from Primal Fear who are also joined by Jimmy Kresie (keyboards), and Mel Gaynor (drums). All of the 3 bands already mentioned are superb bands with high class musician’s, not to forget that Alex has also played with David Readman’s solo project and also with Sinner, another band of Matt Sinner. This is the bands debut album for AFM and it certainly has that Yngwie Malmsteen guitar approach as Alex is a massive fan of his work. You can certainly hear it in Alex’s guitar work. There are also guest musician’s such as: Doogie White (Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen), Rudi Sarzo (Ozzy, Dio, Whitesnake), Norifumi Shima (Concerto Moon), Richard Andersson (Majestic, Space Odyssey). So as you can see there’s quiet a few well known names on this album. The whole musicianship is well jelled together and the music certainly shows just how classy this album is. It does remind me of Silent Force, Yngwie a lot but with Dave’s vocals there are elements of Pink Cream 69 in there too. I can only presume that Dennis Ward had something to do with the production or mixing, which comes with 11 trax of melodic Scandinavian style metal music and has some catchy tunes and some great arrangements. David is the perfect voice for the vocals for this album. Some fine songs here and I am sure Yngwie would be proud of this band. Songs I like are: Spewing Lies, Desperate Heart, Kingdom Of The Mind, Master Of Illusion, We’ll Never Learn, Dream Of Eden, Heaven Can Wait, Enter My World Of Darkness. A powerful and impressive debut album , well worth checking out. I await more from this outfit in the near future. (Jase)
★ Sleaze Roxx – No Rating
Seriously, this is one of the best albums in this style I’ve heard in the last decade! Just listen to the fantastic “Kingdom Of The Blind” or the perfectly crafted out “We’ll Never Learn” and you’ll look past the only average track “Enter My World Of Darkness”.
Produced by Dennis Ward, and with Beyrodt’s former Sinner co-hort Mat Sinner on bass, you can’t go wrong with Voodoo Circle if you like any of the aforementioned bands – this is much superior to Yngwie Malmsteen’s latest effort Perpetual Flame! (Vige)
