When it comes to bluesy melodic hard rock with epic atmosphere and stunning hooks/melodies, Alex Beyrodt’s Voodoo Circle deserves accolades for keeping this style alive in the current scene. It’s never easy to take tried and true influences from the 70s and 80s to develop new, creative songwriting that can stand next to the classics – but on their latest outing Hail to the King, visions of Rainbow, Deep Purple, Whitesnake and the mighty Led Zeppelin will appear in spades. We got the chance to talk to guitarist Alex Beyrodt about the modern feel to the new record, some insight to his guitar choices and best times to develop material, memories around ex-Rainbow keyboardist Tony Carey that involved old songs re-recorded for this effort, thoughts on Spotify, his bucket list items he still wants to achieve, the importance of travel, and future plans including a new outfit with some of his ex-Primal Fear bandmates.
Dead Rhetoric: Hail to the King is the latest studio record for Voodoo Circle – the seventh in the band’s career. You mention in the bio background information that your aim is to bring your classic influences regarding Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Led Zeppelin and Rainbow to translate the material into a modern context. How do you feel this record achieves this in terms of the songwriting, tones, production, and performances?
Alex Beyrodt: Thanks for the question! I think it’s our most modern album so far. It has different influences, production-wise. Song-wise it’s still the same formula – Whitesnake, Deep Purple, and Rainbow having a baby, with a little bit of Led Zeppelin. This time I tried to have a different approach on the production and make it sound a little bit more modern, if that is possible.
Dead Rhetoric: Is that the biggest challenge – because of the tools that are available to you, to try to balance a classic sound with the modern, digital tools at your disposal?
Beyrodt: Yes. Here is my studio, nowadays you have so many possibilities. I have the rooms in my studio – the recording room that is similar to Sound City Studio in Los Angeles. I have this room in my computer, and I can play guitar through that room. For example. I have so many plug-ins, software programs, amplifiers, it’s amazing what you can do. I always try to find, when I write the song and record it for myself, I try to come up with a vintage drum sound, a vintage guitar sound, and then during the real production a process starts, a dynamic where the song goes production-wise in a different direction. I try different amplifiers, less gain, more gain. And then at the end, it is what it is (laughs). That’s the most fun part – the dynamic process. The songs have eight layers of guitars – you probably wouldn’t hear it, but they are there. Even if you don’t hear them directly, they are there.
Dead Rhetoric: Is it an easy or difficult process to pick which guitars you are going to use for each song?
Beyrodt: Let the song choose the guitar. In the past, I always tried to play the guitar I like, but that changed. I’m now older and more mature. I give the song the guitar it deserves, and it is asking for. There also needs to be a little bit of trying things out. Not every Les Paul sounds the same. There are some that are big and fat, there are other models that sound a little bit thinner. Sometimes with the Strats and different plug-ins and amplifiers – sometimes I spend just one week on a five second piece of music, just to find the right feel. But that’s the most fun part, actually.
Dead Rhetoric: You were able to work with former Rainbow keyboardist Tony Carey as well in a songwriting and performance capacity for two songs on the record. What was it like working with this legend for this material, any special stories come to mind during your time spent with him?
Beyrodt: That’s thirty years ago, I think. It was in the beginning of the 90s – maybe 1994. Holy crap – I was a very young man. I was at Tony’s home, in his studio in his basement in Bavaria, Germany. I couldn’t believe it – Rainbow – Live on Stage is my go-to an island album. If I had to pick one album, it would be that one. He played on that one. Somehow, I ended up in his studio, ending up writing songs for a Sinner record. I remember sitting behind the mixing desk and Tony is in the recording room, I looked through the window and he’s shaking the organ, doing it right like it’s supposed to be with the Hammonds. I’m in heaven. We recorded the songs – they had been released in Japan as bonus tracks.
I always thought those two songs didn’t fit the band Sinner so much. Sinner was more about the Thin Lizzy influence, those two songs “Billy’s Song” and “All For One” have the Rainbow influence. I said to myself, one day I’m going to re-record them. Two years ago, when coronavirus was over and the world started getting real again, I was standing in line boarding for an airplane and Tony is right in front of me, by chance. This is unbelievable. He turned around, looked at me, and said, Alex? (laughs). He remembers my name. I told him that I was thinking about re-recording the songs in the future, we had a chat, and everything was cool. Good memories. Somehow it closed a circle by releasing these two songs.
Dead Rhetoric: What songs do you believe came easiest to you for this record – and was there a specific song or two that maybe took on the greatest transformation from the initial ideas/ demo stage to what we hear on the final representation for this album?
Beyrodt: I think the easiest song was writing-wise “Let It Rock”. That one came easy. “Black Country” on the other side took me awhile. I experimented with so many different sounds on the guitar. Another one that came out easy was “On the Edge”. “The Sound of the Eagles” – I’m looking in my computer here. That also came out easily. The most difficult one was “Strangers in the Night”. That’s a real heavy and fast song, but I had problems putting the parts together so that they would make sense. I remember the song was cut even after the first mix; I decided to cut more parts out. That was a pain in the ass.
Dead Rhetoric: In regard to “Black Country”, were you aware of David’s background as a miner’s son that he talks about in the lyrics for this effort?
Beyrodt: Absolutely, yes. And this is also… his father died in a horrible car accident when David was 14 or 15. I grew up in an area where coal mining is what I grew up with. All my friends started working in the coal mines when they were 16 or 17. I was lucky – I went to another school. They all went down in the ground, digging coal. So, there was already a connection between David’s history and my history. It was the perfect topic for this song, and the vibe of this song that had a Led Zeppelin feel. I think it’s a great mixture and a great tribute to that area and time.
Dead Rhetoric: When it comes to your creative process and execution on guitar, do you find there needs to be a specific atmosphere, mood, or circumstances around you to deliver the best efforts and parts from you? In other words, do you know when the well of inspiration strikes best for you – or does it vary depending on the day?
Beyrodt: I’m a morning guy when it comes to writing songs. I’m the best at 10 o’clock in the morning, I go to my studio, and you release me at 7 in the evening. But not always – there are also days when I go to the studio and I start trying to find something, and then sometimes just nothing happens. I feel like I’m a beginner, when I can’t even play guitar. This happens to all of us – to so many guitar players. When the mood is right, I’m really fast. I’m a morning guy. If I had to write a song right now at 9:15 in the evening here in Germany, it’s not my cup of tea. I want to watch Netflix, have a glass of wine, and go to bed (laughs).
Dead Rhetoric: How did the process go to pick out the singles for this record?
Beyrodt: I pick the singles, but it’s always a pain in the ass. Because you like every song. Every song, but this part is so great, but this beginning is so great, this chorus. In the end, it’s all twelve songs. This time I tried to come up with a mix in groove and tempo, to give an overview of the album.
Dead Rhetoric: Where do you see the state of the music industry, especially in the fields of hard rock and heavy metal currently? What excites you about the scene, and what changes (if any) would you like to make or implement for the greater good of all parties involved?
Beyrodt: Have Spotify pay their artists an amount of money which is fair. That’s the biggest problem in the whole business and music scene. Not only with Spotify, but they are the leaders. It’s just robbery, nothing else. It’s very sad, and there’s nothing that I can do about it. It takes away so much, the enthusiasm and willingness to continue working in this business. Once you are at a certain age – and I’m going to turn 60 this year. Actually, next month – holy hell! I’m doing this all my life, and I’ve seen things going down. In my early days, you were selling singles and albums. Then the CD, the MP3, and Spotify, and it’s disappeared. In Germany, if you sell 2,000 albums now, you are number one. Can you imagine? In the past you had to sell 250,000 in one week to be number one. And 500,000 to get platinum, and it was even more in the United States.
If you are in the music scene or business, you shouldn’t be here for the money – because there is no money to be made anymore. It’s all about if you like being on stage, and if you like doing this for the music. Not for the money – I never did this for the money. Money was always an issue as a musician. I always did this for the music and for myself, and for the fans. I still love doing this, I still love being on stage, and I still love touring, the whole lifestyle. God gave me a talent, and if he wants me to give people something of myself, that’s what I’m trying to do.
Dead Rhetoric: As you close in on your 60th birthday, what sort of bucket list items or goals do you set forth and want to achieve in this part of your musical career?
Beyrodt: There’s only one thing which has never happened that I’ve always wanted to do. Play on stage with David Coverdale. I was on stage with Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, those two are already great. David would be another one. I’ve played with Alice Cooper, Paul Rodgers, I know you know my history. What I would like to do is go to a studio with my dream musicians, a dream band. For example – Tony Franklin on bass, Jason Bonham on drums, those kinds of guys. Go to a studio for six weeks, it doesn’t matter how much it costs and see what happens. That’s on my bucket list, but probably won’t happen (laughs).
Dead Rhetoric: What are your thoughts on the younger guitarists of the past decade or so compared to the generation of guitar players you were a part of growing up? Where do you see the major differences as far as technique, styles, or business abilities?
Beyrodt: They are so good. Their technique is so good, it’s unbelievable. It’s amazing how good those kids can play. They are doing things I could never imagine. I would never be able to do what they can do. What I’m sometimes missing is an aura onstage – charisma. They are so focused on their technique; they are not playing a show. They are playing a guitar clinic – which is very, very good – but not entertaining. I always say, the eyes are listening too. Not only the ears. If you are on a stage, you should entertain people, make a show. That’s something I sometimes miss. This year, during the festival season when I played so many festivals, I saw a lot of great young guitar players.
Dead Rhetoric: You were able to play the festival season this year – did it feel like the live concert/festival market is back on track after the down years due to the pandemic?
Beyrodt: No, it’s not. Especially not for smaller bands. For bigger bands, everything is cool. At the festivals, everything is working fine. For smaller bands, for instance Voodoo Circle, it’s a problem. There are so many bands on tour, so many big bands. You have Iron Maiden, The Scorpions, then a middle tier of bands, and you have all these smaller bands. If you are in the underground, there are thousands of bands. You could go see a show every day in every major city. That’s a problem. The people have other forms of entertainment, Netflix at home, people can be lazy. It’s not back on track, maybe it’s getting there.
Dead Rhetoric: How do you view the state of the world currently? What do you think the average person needs to spend more time, energy, and resources on to make things safer and healthier for humanity?
Beyrodt: Traveling. I think the state of the world right now is really bad. Everybody thinks that. If everyone would travel the world, like I did, all my life they would experience different cultures, meet different people. Get the experience so you understand each other. Traveling made me another man, a different man, different thinking. Listening to Journey as well. That’s my concept to hear the world. My favorite Journey album is Frontiers.
Dead Rhetoric: What’s on your schedule over the next twelve months for activities related to Voodoo Circle or any of your other bands, projects, etc.?
Beyrodt: I’m going to tour with Voodoo Circle in November. I will be on tour with Rock Meets Classic next April. We are working on a new album with the new band from the former Primal Fear guys. We are writing amazing songs. There are other things in the pipeline I can’t talk about right now, but that will be at the end of next year. I have enough to do, it’s not a boring time. The new band – we are trying to be a little bit more modern. We are trying to come up with a good mix between Five Finger Death Punch and Primal Fear (laughs), for an example. Let’s see what’s going to happen.