Since the ’80s Renaud Hantson is the frontman of respected rockers Satan Jokers, and a decade later the vocalist formed his side own band FURIOUS ZOO, a more traditional hard rock oriented group. Over the years FURIOUS ZOO became much more than a side project, but an established act now releasing their tenth album “Fishnet”.
Each album is subtitled ‘Furioso’, and obviously “Fishnet” is ‘Furioso X‘ (10 in Roman number). Here we find 12 tracks of pure rock n’ roll with ’80s / 90s style and sound, and a few surprises in between such as covers of Leslie West, Jack Bruce & Corky Laing 1972’s ‘Why Dontcha’ or Grand Funk Railroad 1971’s ‘People Let’s Stop the War’, all done with an ’80s hard rock feeling.
There’s a biting guitar work all over this record, Hantson’s raspy yet perfect-pitch voice and a steady rhythm section, served with a crisp, bright sound production.
For “Fishnet” FURIOUS ZOO features some line up changes including two former members of SATAN JOKERS, Pascal Mulot on bass and Aurélien Ouzoulias on drums, joined on guitar by Xavier Paladian (ex- SNAKE EYE), all seasoned cats bringing professionalism and skilled performances.
Songs like punchy melodic hard rocker ‘No Way Out’, the drivin’ ‘Going Down’, the sexy ‘Fishnet’, the sleazy hard rocker ‘Evil Has Won’ (which sounds like recorded 1987) or the very good Def Leppard-esque / AORish power ballad ‘The Day of Reckoning’ takes you back to the glory days of the genre.
Aside the aforementioned strong covers, FURIOUS ZOO also does their own take on the Alvin Lee penned song for Ten Years After ”I’m Coming On”, done with a vintage sound and some killer interplay. As you see, despite their ’80s sound production, FURIOUS ZOO and Hantson have ’70s influences as well.
But FURIOUS ZOO isn’t one trick pony, and they deliver too a surprising cover of Lisa Stanfield (!) song ‘Didn’t I’, done in a ballad / acoustic mix resulting into a very good number you need to hear.
If you know FURIOUS ZOO previous efforts or you are new to ’em, we encourage you to give “Fishnet” a listen. This is timeless classic rock / hard rock + melody with something for everyone, from strong fun originals to wonderfully done cover songs, all cohesive and very well rounded out.
Highly Recommended
01 - Going Down
02 - Why Dontcha
03 - Fishnet
04 - What Is Life
05 - The Day of Reckoning
06 - In a Love Supreme
07 - People Let's Stop the War
08 - No Way out
09 - Evil Has Won
10 - Didn't I
11 - Today
12 - I'm Coming on
Renaud Hantson’s Furious Zoo – Fishnet / Furioso X 2023
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