Formed in 2011 KING LEGBA AND THE LOAS hails from Switzerland. This is their self-titled debut album and the promo sheet says they are a mix of riff Rock, Blues and Punk, or is it vintage Rock? In their own words they say they are, Voodoo injected, Rawk N' Roarl. Well that all sounds pretty cool to me, so what we got? Well, it's raw and Rock N' Roll is the best description. Now I know it's all Rock N' Roll really...lol...''We are Motorhead and we play Rock N' Roll'' right? This is more traditional, and has a real Blues vibe.

"Mojo" is loose and has as much a live and happening now feel you could get from the band being in your living room. It's not polished but real. "Zombielike Lurch" has a  cool groove and a catchy riff more towards that vintage Rock sound and style they claim in their brief. I kind a dig the chorus too...''A zombie Likelike Lurch''.....and why not if you are going to lurch do it like a zombie. There are elements of the production I am not too keen on. Well that's to say I would have 'improved' but that is what has happened to our ears in the 21^st century, too much production, yeah at time they seem like they are in a rehearsal room and for sure that's where the drums sound like they were recorded, but you know, that's what works for the KING and his LOAS, it's raw and honest music.

"Hail the King" has a very retro blues vibe, I mean retro, they are even by the train track with a lamp playing the guitar, all alone...lol. ''Hail Hail, Rock and Roll''. It is traditional in all the right places. Now I know it seems to be every reviewers desperate need to compare bands to bands to give you some idea of who they sound like so you can make the pre judged prep before you sit down to indulge, but I can get really bored with that stuff sometimes, you'd need to go way back to find something similar and it's not Thrash, Death, Folk, Horse, Dog, Cat, kitchen Sink or whatever Metal. It is simple and pure, loose like THE SWING RAYES and touches of the JOHNNY BURNETTE TRIO (you know? 'The Train Kept a Rollin', yeah you do! That's tight it wasn't AEROSMITH or MOTORHEAD's song). At times as awful as it is supposed to be and at other times pure fun but without a doubt, it has a huge heart and you feel it. My only real crit on say "Hail To The King", (which is a tip of the hat  to Elvis I conclude) that the Blues is not something you can mimic, it has to be based on experience and if you have never sat alone with only a guitar to your name on a dusty rail road track, or grown up with those stories as real, then you can lose a sense of reality about the words and while this song has all the details there I didn't get a sense of experience from the delivery..

"Get off My Back", now the Punkabilly fun comes slightly angry, ''shove it where the sun don't shine', lol. With better production there is something cool here. I mean all the elements on this CD are here but it just gets lets down a little by the production here and there, some of it works this loose but when they try more complex stuff it falls down a little because of the nature of the recording. But a fun track all the same. The next track, simply titles, "Blues" and yes it is with that upbeat Rock N' Roll tempo. I like the riff and the groove is catchy for sure. So we come to our Rock N' Roll, Rockabilly, Vintage Rawk 'n' Roal end...in the shape of, 'Haunted' A more contemporary feel as it bounces along, there is a song that comes to mind when you hear this main riff, but I just can't remember its name right now or even who did it, a Pop song or as they say here in the UK, 'Indie' but this is pretty close to that song and when you hear it you will know.

It's a cool, upbeat song, the performances are tighter and it has that, 'more produced' feel to it. Now looking back I would wonder if KING LEGBA AND THE LOAS began this with the idea of capturing the band as a live experience because it is like those old recording from the 50's in so much as it is loose and live in feel but it doesn't go all the way for me, it kind of sits in a no man's land almost being there but don't get me wrong this is a fun album and a very cool debut and I would suggest it you get to see these guys live then do it, but take along your nodding head and your foot to tap coz that's what they are going to make you do...without a doubt. Decent work guys...on and up!!!