Label: SPV/Steamhammer
Release date: 8/21/2020
Production: Michael Voss
Album length: 46.47 min
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 8.0/10
Mad Max are something of German hard rock legends, hailing from the city of Münster and active since 1981. “Stormchild Rising” is already the band’s 14th studio album, and they’ve been seriously busy again in recent years. In 2015, Mad Max put out the double-CD compilation “Thunder, Storm & Passion” with re-recorded tracks from three classic albums – “Rollin’ Thunder” (1984), “Stormchild” (1985) and “Night of Passion” (1987), followed in 2018 by a new studio album called “35”. Since the reactivation in 2006 the band has once again been working as a quartet. Next to the only original, founding member, guitarist Jürgen Breforth, there’s the legendary Michael Voss (Casanova, Demon Drive), who jumped aboard Mad Max already on the second album, and Axel Cruse (Jaded Heart), who joined the band on “Stormchild”. The only lineup change since 2006 happened not too long ago on bass, where Roland Bergmann was replaced in 2015 by Thomas “Hutch” Bauer, who also spent some time in Evidence One.
Mad Max don’t stray from the recipe that won them a firmly saddled spot at the front of German hard rock back in the eighties. The production keeps the typical German approach to hard rock, meaning the guitar lines are pushed decisively up front and take sonic priority over every other (possible) arrangement extra, keyboards above all. So: a hungry, piercing guitar riff, musical choruses that grab you from the first listen, and a rhythm section tight as a Swiss watch. Loyalty to the grave. You can feel on the album that the current lineup recently played through the classic-era material from the compilation mentioned above, and that the creative juices inside this seasoned quartet are flowing at an enviable level – “Stormchild Rising” came out less than two years after its predecessor “35”, which for a band with almost 40 years behind it, even in its “mature era”, shows serious potency. For the new album the band restored the “thunder child” character from their cult 1985 release, a symbol of the unyielding fighter for the rights of the oppressed, and gave him a sensible update. The lyrics of the new album make no secret of their socially critical engagement.
Michael Voss – the guy who, as producer, has largely defined the sound of German-school hard rock on many albums – hasn’t been developing his vocal power like he used to for years now, and his voice often sounds tired and nasal. But the band masks this very well with the mostly convincing punch of the new batch of guitar lines that build the compositions, as well as the production itself. The most striking and demolishing track of the lot is placed right at the start of the album, embodied by the opener Hurricaned. The band counts it as a kind of tribute to Rainbow’s current singer Ronnie Romero, stemming from Mad Max and CoreLeoni hanging out on a shared concert tour. On this track Romero himself guest-stars on a vocal duet with Voss, and it noticeably shows in the quality of the vocal execution. Voss on his own just can’t recreate that even once on the rest of “Stormchild Rising”. Except? In another duet, where Paul Shortino of Rough Cutt joins him on vocals for the band’s take on the Rough Cutt original “Take Her”. A third guest spot turns up on the track “The Blues Ain‘t No Stranger”, where Stryper guitarist Oz Fox plays the guitar solo in the mid-eight section. The album also has one of its bigger curiosities: the song Ladies And Gentleman. Excellent chorus. Grabs you from the first listen. The band even dared to record this one in German, aiming to get noticed especially on home turf. For that they invited children’s vocal star Detlev Jöcker and students of a German music school, who back up Michael Voss’s lead vocal. Luckily, this version of the song is tacked onto the tail end of the album, since it delivers a rather unique energy that very likely only German-speaking Europeans get.
“Stormchild Rising” doesn’t surprise (anymore). Neither did “35”. What you see is what you get. First time and every time. The band doesn’t stray from its sacred musical vision of hard rock and follows it faithfully and with stubborn defiance on the new album too. It’s a mix of the band’s traditional eighties days with up-to-date refreshes of the sound production. The album delivers no “shake-ups”, no surprises and no shocks. Put simply, it’s another quality Mad Max album, one that will win over fans not just of this band but of old-continent European hard rock, as long as they go easy on Voss’s worn-out vocals.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
1. Hurricaned
2. Talk To The Moon
3. Eyes Of Love
4. Ladies And Gentlemen
5. Mindhunter
6. Rain Rain
7. Gemini
8. Kingdom Fall
9. The Blues Ain’t No Stranger
10. Take Her
11. Busted
12. Ladies And Gentlemen” (Single Edit, Bonus Track) (Feat. Detlev Jöcker And The Rock And Roll Children)
Lineup:
Michael Voss – vocals, guitar
Jürgen Breforth – guitar
Thomas “Hutch” Bauer – bass guitar
Axel Kruse – drums
Guest musicians:
Ronnie Romero – vocals on track no. 1
Paul Shortino – vocals on track no. 10
Oz Fox – guitar solo on track no. 9
