I spoke to Michael Voss of Mad Max last week, a great guy from a band that over the years have put out some great Hard Rock and probably non more so that their latest album ’35’ an album that as you’ll find out if you read the interview marks 36 years in the business.
Germany has some great new bands flying out of the traps at the minute, like Kissin’ Dynamite and The New Roses to name but a couple, but back in the day for every Scorpions or Bonfire there were also a lot of bands that got overlooked outside of the domestic market. Mad Max sadly were one of those bands. ’35’ is an album which just like it’s predecessors underlines why that shouldn’t have been the case.
Opening with ‘The Hutch’ – a 1.07 intro piece written by bassist Thomas “Hutch” Bauer you’re immediately thrust into the world of Mad Max and a song that shows just why they should have and could have been so much bigger in ‘Running To Paradise’ the standout track here. It’s a song that makes you think of the late eighties glory days of the genre, driven by a huge riff and the melodies of a band that know how to construct a memorable melody.
Whilst that may be the stand-out track there’s plenty more to recommend this release, from the Dokken-like guitar and construction of ‘Beat of the Heart’; through the hard rocking melodic masterclass that is ‘D.A.M.N.’ (Devil’s After Me Now); the roll and grind of the pacy ‘Snowdance’ which is carried along by a soaring chorus and the lighter, searching title track ’35.’
The quality is maintained right to the end though with the aggressive ‘False Freedom’ and the sublime guitar of ‘Goodbye to You’ both really hitting the mark.
At just 9 real tracks along with a bonus of a beautifully executed cover of Dokken’s ‘Paris is Burning’ there’s a feeling of wanting more, but mainly because this may just be Mad Max’s best and most complete work so far.
