Artist: Mad Max
Label: AOR Heaven Records
Release: 2006
Rating: 2.5/5
Another band that’s far from new (their story started back in 1984) is releasing a new album after a long absence. Michael Voss (Casanova, Demon Drive) and Axel Kruse (Jaded Heart) joined forces again last summer and brought Mad Max back to life. And the result?
An album that touches on the stuff that shook up the rock map at the turn of the ’80s into the ’90s! Glam metal. Definitely out of step and uninteresting for the modern market, but a nice proof that the guys simply write what they want and know how to write. Germany’s Mad Max serve up a great production, one with just the right depth, and the instruments breathe freely in it. The album’s liveliness is preserved, since the guitar riffs carry a pinch of that recognizable sharp rawness you actually know the Germans by (whether in traditional or modern power metal). The vocals are melodic, polished and powerful, just right for the melodic hard rock Mad Max cultivate.
The album does suffer from inconsistency, and some songs are way too formulaic and predictable, with overchewed, well-known rock forms (Hope To See You, the balladesque Unbelievable, the Queen cliché “We Will Rock You” retitled Raise Your Head, or the overly softened Bad Day In Heaven). Okay, okay! It’s no longer “breaking news” that everything has already been invented in hard rock, but some tracks on “Night Of White Rock simply don’t sound “real”. On the other hand, a few songs save this album from a total wreck. They’re the exact opposite of the above, and they unmistakably surprise with a freshness, fluidity and punch that gratefully and effectively get under your skin. Adrenaline-charged guitar riffs pushed forward in the mix come alive with Michael Voss’s resolute vocals, and that’s exactly what happens with the wound-up opener To Hell And Back Again. The foundation of these songs’ excellence is undoubtedly their convincing, polished choruses, which sound dramatic enough to bring in just the right level of high spirits. Add the rock punch and melodicism that Mad Max know how to serve up so effectively, and they boldly grab the listener’s ears. Besides To Hell And Back Again, these highlights of the album include especially the title track Night Of White Rock, which is the atmospheric peak of the record, then Losing It Again, the anthemic Homeless and the “Accept-style” Upon My Soul.
Mad Max lean in their lyrics toward (whoa!) Roman Catholicism. What can you say, other than that these are now typical representatives of “white hard rock”. Some count them as the German version of Stryper, but stylistically they remind you more of the “sister” bands Jaded Heart or Casanova. In short, “Night Of White Rock” is an average album that fans of the German school of hard rock and lovers of old-school makeup-and-hairspray glam metal won’t be ashamed of. But like I said, it lacks consistency and decisiveness across its whole running time. Anyway, these are excellent musicians with absolute potential to deliver a killer hard rock album from head to toe in the future.
Lineup
Michael Voss – vocals
Jürgen Breforth – guitar
Roland Bergmann – bass
Axel Kruse – drums
Production
Michael Voss
Track list
1. To Hell And Back Again
2. Losin’ It
3. Hope To See You
4. Unbelievable
5. Sun
6. Homeless
7. Raise Your Head
8. Upon My Soul
9. Bad Day In Heaven
10. Night Of White Rock
11. (Just A) Melody
Trajanje albuma: 43:53
