Artist: Mad Max
Label: AOR Heaven Records
Release: 2007
Germany’s white-clad hard rockers Mad Max belong to that merry German gang of bands like Frontline, Fair Warning, Pink Cram 69 of course, and even the Swiss acts Gotthard or Krokus. All of that comes into play when you dig into Mad Max, if you’re a fan of melodic hard rock that grew up on European soil, minus the British Isles.
The album picks up the story where “Night Of A White Rock” (2006) left off. Another carved-out record, as alike as two peas in a pod. It’s still fun to see how shamelessly the band tips its hat to songs that were chart hits more than 15 years ago. Take the dreamy Heaven Is…, which directly recalls the pre-chorus of Hysteria (Def Leppard), but in Mad Max’s hands it’s “Mad Max-ish” enough that it doesn’t bother you. The tracks are built like classic melodic hard rock that hits you right between the eyes. The guys sweat it out properly on the assault-style Family Of Rock, Little Princess, Someone Like You, We Fight In White and the closing War. There’s not much beating around the bush. The songs creep venomously under your skin on the very first listen, through highly melodic choruses that the band, in true veteran style, embellishes with carefully built multi-part vocal harmonies. The typical German approach of cranked, rawer-sounding guitars pushed to the front carries the bulk of the melody, but here it’s Voss’s excellent vocal that does the heavy lifting, wrapped, of course, in those aforementioned multi-part vocal harmonies in the choruses. Halfway through the album, Lluvia! comes as a surprise. It’s a short atmospheric instrumental with a devilish melody that paints dunes, the mysticism of the Templars… A wisely chosen overture that flips the mood of the album before the next fit of fury with We Fight In White (judging by the title alone, the two tracks clearly work as a pair). Voss’s contribution is strong. The new Mad Max album should also interest anyone who knows and likes the bands where Michael Voss has lent his ideas over the years, such as Bliss, Casanova or Demons Drive.
The album has the necessary dynamic ebb and flow thanks to its variety of core motifs, mostly up-tempo to mid-tempo compact songs with a clear head and tail, with room for two ballad-ish numbers (Glorious Night and Heaven Is…) that stay grounded enough that the album steers clear of pathos or sugary mawkishness. Production as mentioned! If you know, say, the work of Dennis Ward, Michael Voss’s production touches will feel familiar. The Germans know how to sound real. A solid, lively grip on the guitars, a dominant melodic vocal, a Teutonic rhythm section. A convincing blend of melodic dynamics and rock punch. A proper march that hides neither passion nor a hint of drama in its melodies! Mad Max! When hard rock effectively turns Christian white. With “White Sands,” Mad Max prove once again that their songs carry their own “oomph,” and so they give every rock fan a good reason to get to know them up close.
Lineup
Michael Voss – vocals, guitar
Jürgen Breforth – vocals
Roland Bergmann – bass guitar
Axel Kruse – drums
Production
Michael Voss
Track list
1. Family Of Rock
2. Little Princess
3. Heaven Is …
4. Someone Like You
5. Lluvia
6. We Fight In White
7. Change It
8. Glorious Night
9. Too Wrong
10. War
Trajanje albuma: 37.41
