Krokus – Hoodoo

It’s the sixteenth album of Krokus’ long career: the new record of Europe’s mirror images of AC/DC which is predicted to meet the expectations, both of the rock community and the music industry. Switzerland’s favorites are back on track, four years since their last piece of work, “Hellraiser”, with the aim of enchanting their audience with heavy riffs, catchy lyrics and rock n’ roll mood.

Listening their brand new record, we can easily understand that Krokus take us back in time, some decades ago, with songs that are going to stay in our memory for a long time to come. Some of them are the starter “Drive It In”, “Rock n Roll Handshake”, “Keep Me Rollin’“ and “Shot Of Love”. “Hoodoo Woman” is already playing on the internet, a song carrying the all time classic sound of the Swish band but also sounding fresh and new. The sixth track of the album is not so hot as it says (“Too Hot”) as the band makes a mediocre mid tempo version of Ac/Dc’s “You Shook Me All Night Long”.

The surprise of the album is going to come by Krokus’s cover on legendary Steppenwolf’s “Born To Be Wild”, a song directly connected in our memory with leather jackets, choppers and rock n’ roll attitude. It definitely is a respectable effort by the Swish band that overcomes expectations as Krokus manage to make this epic song sounding as if it was one of their own.

Krokus seem to take the biggest risk in the fifth track of “Hoodoo”, “Ride Into The Sun” as its sound seems to have nothing to do with the rest of the album. “Ride Into The Sun” reminds everyone times when we all used to dance in parties with Whitesnake’s and Def Leppard’s ballads. My reference to Def Leppard has been made on purpose as they have written a song under the same title in the past.

The last song of the album, “Firestar” is surely last but not least as it seems to drag us from our seats to a continuous headbanging and seems like a guarantee promise as we now wait for the next album composed by this legendary band.

On the whole, we can say that bands like Krokus may not be the legends that Ac/Dc, Saxon or Scorpions managed to become. Yet, it’s a known fact that through their long career, they have been respectful and successful as hell composing songs and creating record that have, until today, stood the test of time. “Hoodoo” is another one, among many, reason that Krokus have a place in our hearts and minds.

Contributed by Rene Chriss.