Screaming Out of the Night

Talk about a blast from the past. I found a new Krokus album in my mailbox yesterday. That’s right – a new Krokus album.

Hoodoo, the band’s 21st release, is the first since 1983’s Headhunter to feature the classic Krokus line-up of Marc Storace, Chris von Rohr, Fernando von Arb, and Mark Kohler. On-and-off-since-1977 drummer Freddy Steady is also back in the fold for this metal rendezvous.

I’ll admit I put the disk into my player kind of warily; I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Swiss metal-meisters. I’d only been a casual fan back in the days when they were making their biggest hits. I wasn’t sure if I would hear a Def Leppard-ish style of pop metal or... or what, really. I didn’t know what to expect, especially after so many years.

What I got was a trip back to the early ‘80s. Krokus isn’t redesigning the wheel here and you’re going to hear riffs you’ve heard before, but they put it all together in a fun package. And that’s what rock ‘n’ roll should be about. These songs hearken back to their classic era without sounding any more dated than the last AC/DC album. Krokus have gone back to their roots, decided what they do best, and returned with an 11-song showcase.

The first single from the album, “Hoodoo Woman,” should give you a pretty good taste of what Hoodoo is about.

Hoodoo Woman.mp3

Hoodoo is scheduled for a May 25 release here in the U.S., but the album has already hit stores in Switzerland. For more information and for tour dates, check the Krokus Website.

Labels: metal, new stuff

posted by aikin @ 8:29 PM