SHAKRA-Snakes & Ladders

AFM Records

Almost two years ago singer Mark Fox returned to Swiss outfit Shakra recording their tenth album ‘High Noon’ which as usual did quite well in their own environment charting high in the Swiss rock charts. The raw voice of Mark Fox just fits like a glove with the uncomplicated melodic rock style this band seem to be hooked on. Shakra has created this typical sound and style in an early stage of their career and is sticking close to that, in such a way that ‘Snakes & Ladders’ does not really have any new musical avenues to offer. I never have any problems with that as long as sound, songs and performance are okay, which as always is the case with these guys. ,,Cassandras Curse’’, ,,Friday Nightmare’’, ,,The Seeds’’ and the bluesy track ,,Rollin’’’’ are all carried by strong riffs, inventive solos, semi-rough vocals and a upbeat rhythm section, making it all sound heavy but at the same time a bit polished as well. A bit middle of the road and maybe even a bit played on safe as well. Nothing wrong with that I guess but the fact remains that most Shakra albums are starting to sound like each other. So maybe this band in the near future should have a long hard look at their current style before they really start repeating themselves. For this CD they’ll get away with it.