  
SPV/Playground
In the late eighties I first heard a young German band called MAD MAX. The album “Night of Passion” soon became a favorite with me and the guys I hung out with, not least since of the others had a girlfriend who was seventeen… Max Norman had produced and sales must have been healthy. But the 80´s were soon over, and so was the band. Vocalist Michael Voss has kept a healthy profile in the music business, and so has drummer Axel Kruse. Bass player Jurgen Breforth and Michael reunited in the late nineties, resulting in the full-length “Never Say Never”. But it was around the mid 2000´s that the return was stable. From 2006 onwards the band has released six outings of various lengths. This is their latest opus, I say opus since the revival seems to be a fact. Is it that good?
After the first three tracks I think they are better than ever! Opener “Rocklahoma” is a stunner, the same goes for “40 Rock” and the nearly as brilliant “Metal Edge”. The song themes might be adapted to their ages, but so was “Wild and Seventeen” 25 years ago. They are not able to keep the pace, but that would have been miraculous. Instead the next eight tracks range from the somewhat depressed “Welcome to Rock Bottom” to the excellent and quite straightforward “Black Swan” and groovy “Back and Alive”. They are blessed with a slick production signed Michael himself, of cause since he is a seasoned choice. Two to three songs has the “depressed 80´s star syndrome” that often plagues returning luminaries who wonder what happened to the money in the business etc. But the return is still a healthy and promising one. I personally wouldn´t mind a “Third Night of Passion” is 2013!
Track List
Rocklahoma
40 Rock
Metal Edge
You Decide
Welcome to Rock Bottom
Fallen from Grace
Black Swan
Back and Alive
The Chant
Fever of Love
True Blue
www.spv.de www.madmaxofficial.de
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