Voodoo Circle

Alex Beyrodt (Silent Force, ex-Sinner) has put together quite an impressive ensemble for this, his debut album: David Readman (Vocals, PC69), Matt Sinner (Bass, Primal Fear and Sinner), Mel Gaynor (Drums, Simple Minds) and Jimmy Kresic (Keyboards) with guest appearances by Doogie White (Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen), Rudi Sarzo (Ozzy, Dio, Whitesnake), Norifumi Shima (Concerto Moon) and Richard Andersson (Majestic, Space Odyssey).

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.