FURIOUS ZOO – Wock N’ Woll Furioso VI (2012)
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FURIOUS ZOO is the side project of singer Renaud Hantson, founder member of legendary French hard rockers Satan Jokers.
Furious Zoo has been releasing several albums since the last decade, each with a slightly different Rock orientation and subsequently surnamed with numbers. In example, the previous Furious Zoo’s CD was entitled ‘A.O.R. (A.nal O.riented R.ock) – Furioso V’ (gotta listen this one!)
So “Wock N’ Woll – Furioso VI” is their sixth album recently released.
Despite the funny name of their preceding album and some tongue-in-cheek lyrics present in “Wock N’ Woll – Furioso VI”, let me tell you that Furious Zoo is a serious Melodic Hard Rock band with a superb sound and musical skills that will surprise you.
Renaud Hantson’s original idea was to put end to end various titles of big successes which stood out in this musical genre. According to him, this new album reveals some of the group’s traditional influences, such as Mr. Big, Autograph, Steelheart, Gotthard or the Americanized Whitesnake.
And they have done so with success and style.
“Wock N’ Woll – Furioso VI” is plenty of impressive Melodic Hard Rock songs full of bite and catchiness.
Renaud Hantson’s voice is powerful and articulated – with no accent at all – a cross between Black ‘n Blue’s Jamie St. James and Autograph’s Steve Plunkett, perfectly adapted to the style of each song.
But the star is guitar-slinger Mike Zurita displaying a great technique and sound with the six strings delivering hot riffs and killer solos, much in the vein of Paul Gilbert.
We have very good Melodic Hard Rockers such as “Eighteen (Sex Queen)”, “I Don’t Want To Lose You” or “Fool”, and some moments of pure American Hard Rock with “21st Century Style”, “Higher” and title track “Wock N’ Woll”.
They go melodious hard ala Mr. Big in “Simple Fact Of Life” and “Angel Of Dope”, while “Do You Miss Me” is a nice ballad acoustically constructed.
The guys also do a bunch of cover songs not related to the genre; a surprisingly good rockin’ Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing” (in a very Gotthard style), a fine take on Golden Earring’s “Going To The Run” and an acoustic relaxed version of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
Something is goin’ on in the French hard rock scene, as lately there have emerged great bands in the genre. Furious Zoo is one of them, and a very good one.
“Wock N’ Woll Furioso VI” will surprise many skeptics with the punch of these well written and played tunes, mostly penned by Renaud Hantson and Zurita, the latter probably the best new electric guitar player in the present Gallic rock scene.
Joe Steinmann stays firmly at the drummer stool with solid beats, complemented by the fine work of bassist Julien Loison who also contributes good harmony vocals.
Recommended.
01 – 21st Century Style
02 – Eighteen (Sex Queen)
03 – Fool
04 – Wock N’ Woll
05 – Do You Miss Me
06 – Higher
07 – I Don’t Wanna Lose You
08 – Going to the Run (Golden Earring Cover)
09 – Simple Fact of Life
10 – Jailbreak City
11 – I Have Nothing (Whitney Houston Cover)
12 – Sounding Through the Walls
13 – Angel of Dope
14 – Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana Cover)
Renaud Hantson: Vocals, Percussion
Michael Zurita: Guitars, Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Julien Loison: Bass, Vocals
Joe Steinmann: Drums
BUY IT !
www.amazon.com/Wock-N-Woll-Furioso-VI/dp/B007UFQIXQ
