Snakecharmer

British hard rock supergroup Snakecharmer was formed in 2013 by former members of <a href="spotify:artist:3UbyYnvNIT5DFXU4WgiGpP">Whitesnake</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:77zwstbi3x1IxnbDFg6uns">Wishbone Ash</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:3SfrwwVPGtjYTI3vwQ4hEU">Thunder</a>, among others. Guitar wiz <a href="spotify:artist:5H4uHlmeA3ANLmjpvUbFuF">Micky Moody</a> had enjoyed a long and storied career in blues-rock dating all the way back to his work with <a href="spotify:artist:0to10kb9vqS1OsO2c1QVdg">Tramline</a> in the '60s. After his acrimonious departure from <a href="spotify:artist:3UbyYnvNIT5DFXU4WgiGpP">Whitesnake</a> in 1983, he formed the Snakes and <a href="spotify:artist:61n5R1TGxgHZ5RhrGcmzzL">the Company of Snakes</a> in a bid to re-create the original blues-rock sound of <a href="spotify:artist:3UbyYnvNIT5DFXU4WgiGpP">Whitesnake</a> before they became a hair metal band. After a chance meeting with his old <a href="spotify:artist:3UbyYnvNIT5DFXU4WgiGpP">Whitesnake</a> bandmate, bassist <a href="spotify:artist:0n9GlXRDsFC1OQutjpiw81">Neil Murray</a>, the pair decided to make some music for old times' sake and set about putting a band together. The resulting lineup was a veritable who's-who of classic hard rock: vocalist Chris Ousey (<a href="spotify:artist:6B10yUcmUVw4RPKe6j58E9">Heartland</a>), guitarist Laurie Wisefield (<a href="spotify:artist:77zwstbi3x1IxnbDFg6uns">Wishbone Ash</a>), drummer Harry James (<a href="spotify:artist:3SfrwwVPGtjYTI3vwQ4hEU">Thunder</a>), and keyboardist <a href="spotify:artist:7KOt1Tbe2piq9ZRcyz8SOG">Adam Wakeman</a> (<a href="spotify:artist:6ZLTlhejhndI4Rh53vYhrY">Ozzy Osbourne</a>). Given the band's pedigree, it was inevitable that the music would sound like good-time, classic melodic hard rock with a blues edge, earnest, heartfelt, and big on tunes. Reminiscent of all the members' earlier work, it nevertheless was not a slavish copy and stood on its own. Friends encouraged them to record an album, and their eponymous debut was released in 2013 by Italian label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Frontiers%22">Frontiers</a>. The response from fans and critics alike was rapturous, and the band toured to wide acclaim. In 2015, <a href="spotify:artist:5H4uHlmeA3ANLmjpvUbFuF">Moody</a> left the band, replaced by young Irish-born virtuoso <a href="spotify:artist:4S2kddUZy77NYpLH50f3qC">Simon McBride</a>. Snakecharmer's sophomore album, Second Skin, arrived in 2017. ~ John D. Buchanan, Rovi