The unique sound of Vöödöö comes from the bands wide span in musical background an approach. Guitarist Sveinung Bukve is a gear-freak with a vast selection of pedals, sometimes combined to create overwhelming huge effects more like an organ or a spacecraft than an actual guitar, sometimes more controlled to cut through the mix with in-your-face riffs. The rhythm section is all about hard beats and hard bass fingering, though dynamic, it is about making you feel the beat, not only in your eardrums but through the torso and into the home of your soul. Last, but definitely not least, Vöödöö will charm you all the way with the high-pitched mind-baffling vocals of the theatrical Gøran.
Thematically the title of the album reflects letting everything burn away until there is nothing but pure ash that you can be reborn from. Sometimes you need to let the pain and the hurt do its damage before you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Ashes is a Record that brings Rock back to basic with some boundaries pushed. The soundscape is reminiscent of SPAN, mixed together with the early Queens of the Stone Age, topped off with vocals that compares to Muse and Mars Volta.
The songs are raw, original, heavy, dark and soulful. They are easily distinguishable, but have an obvious coherence. From the slow and über-heavy to the fast paced and engine-like, from the beautifully melodic to the quirky and weird the songs are glued together with the dark underlying theme and the instrumentalists unique identities. Catchy melodies, entertaining guitar riffs, danceable bass grooves and punchy drumming, it hits your face and sticks with a sweet aftertaste.
1. Ashes
2. Lay Me To Rest
3. Secret
4. Dots
5. Shine On
6. Broken Cage
7. Let it Burn
8. King and Clown
9. The Rope