Over time I have quite grown to love guitarist Dario Mollo and his various projects. The first "The
Cage" release was a tasty slice of bluesy hard rock that bordered on Whitesnake-y goodness, and the next release under the "
Voodoo Hill" banner was a continuation on this theme but a little rougher around the edges and deploying classic rock crooner
Glenn Hughes as vocalist, whereas The
Cage housed ex-Black Sabbath vocalist
Tony Martin. But the follow-up to The
Cage, titled "The
Cage 2" was my pick for best disc from its year of release. Rougher, edgier and exposing more emotion than anything heard in ages, it was a ride into a tear stained, bleeding heart. And it seems this recent fascination flirtation with the darker side has yielded another bountiful fruit from the "Wild Seed of Mother Earth" back with the
Voodoo Hill banner.
While the first
Voodoo Hill album was wild and rocking, it was kept in check and blended more of those bluesy tones with rock plucked straight out of the fertile ground of the 1970s, dirty and simple, the basics of the genre. "Wild Seed" in comparison is a complex and twisted growth, its base sprouting from the humble beginnings of its predecessor, but as it grows and stretches, turns and changes for the heavier side, brooding, intense and blossoming its forked flowers forth with fury.
Glenn Hughes sounds positively biting, an extreme variation on his usual performance, that has its own roots in the near start of his career with Deep Purple. He's been the go-to crooner for anything requiring a bluesy singer since, and here he sounds positively like another person entirely sometimes, the easy going crooning replaced with a gruff, fierce take that is not like him at all. It is refreshing to hear him ripped completely out of his usual context and plopped right into another musical world all together.
"Make Believe" is as poppy here as they come, a rather cool hard rock roller with some nice vocal harmonies to push it along. On the opposite side of the coin is
"Still Evergreen" that is full on heavy metal, no questions needed to be asked, that sees Hughes screeching up a storm. The title track dives into bluesier territory, coming off smooth with a rich aftertaste and lots of added spices to mix it up, Hughes hitting a few annoying notes but comfortably swinging into that R&B influenced groove for the majority of the track.
"My Eyes Don't See It" whips back into more conventional territory, being a straight up rockin' piece with more great vocal melodies like the opener,
"Make Believe".
"Can't Stop Falling" is the perfect example of the grittiness that can be found within this album, but even it twists with time changes and bristles with spikes as hard as nails.
"Nothing Stays the Same" is reminiscent of a The
Cage song and Mollo and Hughes make a great team here, Glenn just belting it from the gut, screams being ripped right out of his throat and Dario's guitar squealing along in shared agony steeped with the tinge of regret.
There are also axe slinging spotlights that are worth noting, such as the icy chill of
"Atmosphere", that is a fine display of technique and song blending ability.
"She Cast No Shadow" offers a guitar extravaganza that is essentially bliss, from an emotional downer extreme to a catchy squeal bit riff that takes you into another territory altogether.
"16 Guns" works perfectly as a closer, since it brings things down to a calmer level and lets you finally catch your breath after all the intense riffs have grinded one to a pulp.
Everything is not all peachy and rosy however.
Glenn Hughes, while doing a nice job with most of the songs hits some extremely annoying notes upon occasion. The kind that make the paint flake off the wall, shivers run up the spine and causes creatures with sensitive hearing, to screech in pain. It's like fingernails on a blackboard, even if usuallly very briefly and actually distracts one from the music coursing around in the background. Almost like being taken away from being immersed in a really good movie. When he's good, he's good, when he's being annoying, its another thing all together.
Also of special note again is Dario Mollo's guitar skills. His riffs and solos are fresh and unique, but retain a classic rock aura all around them. Mollo's songwriting is also top notch, and even when Hughes is flaunting his irritating side like its something to be proud of, Dario usually makes sure there's something there going on simultaneously to keep the listening interest in focus, while those that revel in Glenn's howling excesses can continue to be enraptured in their seventh heaven.
Judging by the content and deviations from the first disc, its not entirely set in stone that fans of that initial
Voodoo Hill outing will come to this in droves with love dancing in their eyes. It's more of the same, yet different enough to drive others away. Truthfully
Glenn Hughes has never been my cup of tea for favorite vocalists, although others surely disagree. I think
Tony Martin would have been a better voice for this material but Hughes does a wonderful job, his musical persona considered. After multiple listens, he begins to grow on the listener, just as the music does itself. This isn't a one shot quick glance over and you instantly are just absolutely adoring it, kind of disc. No, it's the kind that takes a little extra work and patience to catch all the nuances to truly appreciate the effort that went into it. But the additional time invested warming to it is well spent. A definite must-have for fans of Hughes, Mollo, conventional yet unconventional hard rock bordering on heavy metal, and of course, fans of The
Cage "2".
Written by
Alanna Wednesday, August 11, 2004
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