Supersonic Blues Machine are the sound of modern blues in the ascendant

Littered with special guests, Voodoo Nation by Supersonic Blues Machine sets the modern blues bar ever higher

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Supersonic Blues Machine: Voodoo Nation cover art
(Image: © Provogue/Mascot)

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Now settled around the core trio of Fabrizio Grossi (producer/ bass), Kenny Aronoff (drums) and Kris Barras (guitars/vocals), Supersonic Blues Machine continue with the winning formula of inviting top-flight blues practitioners to put their own inimitable stamp on the band’s formidably hard-rocking and atmospheric compositions. 

Eight special guests lend their musical prowess to the 12 songs on Voodoo Nation, among them such luminaries as Josh Smith, Sonny Landreth, Ana Popovic and Kirk Fletcher, although their presence always complements and never overwhelms.

Joe Louis Walker’s silky vocals give Is It All a soulful lift; Eric Gales features on Devil At The Doorstep, the dark and weighty eight-minute album centrepiece; Blackberry Smoke’s Charlie Starr brings some extra guitar firepower to All Our Love. 

Featuring some great songwriting and truly stellar playing, Voodoo Nation is the sound of modern blues in the ascendant.

Essi Berelian
Essi Berelian

Whether it’s magazines, books or online, Essi has been writing about rock ’n’ metal for around thirty years. He has been reviews editor for Classic Rock and Metal Hammer, rock reviews editor for lads mag Front and worked for Kerrang!. He has also written the Rough Guide to Heavy Metal and contributed to the Rough Guide to Rock and Rough Guide Book of Playlists, and the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles (13th edition). Most fun interview? Tenacious D – Jack Black and Kyle Gass – for The Pick of Destiny movie book. An avid record/CD/tape collector, he’s amassed more music than he could ever possibly listen to, which annoys his wife no end.