Bruised Voodoo: The Next Step Forward?
By Adam Thornton
Twenty-Five years of Britain’s
biggest Rock act, but what is to come?
Since opening the notorious
Leeds StageFright Festival an unbelievable twenty five years ago, Bruised
Voodoo have gone from strength to strength. A discography of nine full albums,
three different line-ups and countless Golden Gibson awards haven’t shaken the
band’s totally original image, and their impact on today’s rock scene is as big
as ever. But Bruised Voodoo have even more to show us, says lead singer Bryan
DeLarge.
Speaking to the dreadlocked,
gruff rock god – frontman for Voodoo since 1989 – it’s impossible to believe
that the man himself has been hailed as the biggest icon of the next
generation. ‘It comes as part of the job’ he says. But no other group in recent
years springs to mind when it comes to Classic Rock, a reputation which has
been built up over a quarter of a century; ‘we always wanted to stay fresh and
true to our roots, and create the music we loved while growing up. It’s all
about taking the stuff of Rock’s past and making it new’.
Bruised Voodoo might not be
called the most popular act of the millennium, and as we learnt even DeLarge
himself admits that that title belongs to Valhalla. ‘Those guys are the greatest;
I mean they truly deserve respect. We met them at Glastonbury a couple of years
ago and they’re amazing performers.’ True, the punk-rooted Norse three-piece
have global recognition. But only Bruised Voodoo have spawned a new style of
music, taking in equal parts the fiery power of Metal along with heavenly
Hendrix riffs and the Latin flair of Santana – in parts due to the ancestry of
Rhythm Guitarist Tony Garavito. ‘Tom
gave us the music of his heritage, and it gave us just another layer to the style
that Bruised Voodoo has. We take the stuff we love from all the legendary acts
and make it our own, that’s what we are.’ From Sixties to Nineties, Blues to
Grunge, Voodoo are simply timeless.
After earning massive critical
acclaim for their poetic third album ‘Kabbalah’, Voodoo focused on reaching
their adoring disciples and toured for two full years, culminating in their now
famous appearance at Wembley. Since then, the group have dealt with disputes
between record labels and gone totally independent. Replacing their Lead
Guitarist and taking a melodic approach to writing songs, DeLarge has now
become the main focus of attention for the band, providing much of their album
content. Four releases and a brutally good film soundtrack later, Bruised
Voodoo are ready to head in the next musical direction, says DeLarge. ‘I think
styles come and go. We’re always going to be Bruised Voodoo. It’s in our blood.
I just think the time has come to take our next step forward and go to another
level. There’ so much more you haven’t seen of us yet.’
The group have even coped with
the trauma of losing their original drummer Rickie ‘Blades’ Hammstein in
2007, but nothing will stop them in
their quest to create the perfect hybrid of Classic Rock. Cancelling a batch of
sell-out concerts immediately afterwards, Voodoo vowed to return – and return
they did. In fact, the aftermath of Blades’ tragic death led to some of their
most powerful tunes, plus a tribute to their band mate through their
performance at StageFright twenty years after their first appearance there.
But where is the future going
to send Bruised Voodoo? We certainly have our fingers crossed for another few
singles. ‘We are just going to head back to the studio and see what we can
shred out of our guitars. It’s still about the music. We aren’t going anywhere.’
We definitely hope not.
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