Zodiac Mindwarp's latest throwback to 70's styled riff rock comes in the form of We Are Volsung. The vocalist and the rest of The Love Reaction (guitarist Cobalt Stargazer, bassist Jack Shitt, and drummer The Cat) prove that biker rock is still viable, as they take their Alice Cooper/Blue Oyster Cult/Stooges inspired heavy rock to new levels of leather clad indulgences.
Opening cuts "Stark Von Oben" and "We Are Volsung" are decent hard rockers with catchy chorusus and some evil riffs from Stargazer. Zodiac's vocals have that trademark sneer (if you like Alice Cooper and BOC's Eric Bloom, you've come to the right place), and he almost goes for a sleazy, punkish edge on MC5/Stooges influenced "We Ride". In fact, the influence of Iggy Pop looms large on a few other tracks here, such as "Tree Rider", "White Trash", "Don't Touch My Guitar", and the molten "Die Pretty". While that might have been OK for a few songs, too much of the second half of We Are Volsung seems mired in that Stooges bag. Despite some solid riffs and scorching solos from Stargazer, many of these songs in question tend to sound too much alike and lack identity. Thankfully, the final piece "Kill Me A Mockingbird" features some sizzling distorted blues licks and Zodiac's demented Jim Morrison-meets-Alice Cooper vibe, which is a nice change from the overabundance of generic punk fare that came before it.
We Are Volsung is not a bad CD by any means. Bookended by some solid and enjoyable songs, there are a few weak tunes in the middle, but if you are in the mood for some raucous 70's styled hard rock that seems to pay homage to the artists mentioned above, you might have a good time with this.
Track Listing
01. Stark Von Oben
02. We Are Volsung
03. We Ride
04. Tree Rider
05. White Trash
06. Don't Touch My Guitar
07. Lucille
08. Die Pretty
09. Key To Your Heart
10. Kill Me A Mockingbird
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