Even the title gives it away. “Stormchild Rising” is a nod to the past. A revival of a character that Mad Max first used in 1985.
And, as if to underline it, these words from rhythm guitarist Jürgen Breforth: “On our last tour we talked to fans from lots of different countries every night and found out that they don’t want us to experiment, they want to hear exactly the kind of songs that Mad Max have been known for since 1981,” seem to frame the collection.
From the opening riff of “Hurricaned” – the album’s first and probably best song – this is a record that doesn’t care less what is going on in modern metal. It only cares what is going on in Mad Max’s world.
They’ve always been this way too, have Breforth and lead guitarist and singer Michael Voss. Content to be true to themselves and their fans. One of the world’s few openly Christian outfit (this one hasn’t got any overt messages, unlike some of their releases) it’s as if Mad Max only work in their own orbit.
They are good at it too. 2018’s “35” was a celebration of the past and a look forward to the future. Now, on “…..Rising” it feels like they’ve decided that future would involve them looking for the “classic” sound.
By and large they find it too. From the Saxon-esque opening (special mention must go here to the thunderous drumming of Axel Kruse, which manages to outshine even Ronny Romero’s vocals, no mean feat ) to the crunchy melodies of “Busted”, which come in with a dirty blues feel and which end the record, this is an album that you imagine achieved all the goals that they set for it.
It almost comes naturally to them, at this point. Certainly there is an effortless feel to likes of “Talk To The Moon”. AOR with an 80s taste, it is expertly done, that’s for sure.
Scanning the tracklist before I actually listened to the album, I’d presumed “Eyes Of Love” was going to be a ballad. Happily there isn’t one – it just wouldn’t suit the album – and this one is most assuredly a fists in the air rocker.
“Ladies And Gentleman” is the one, you guess, that the band want to build this around. A plea for unity, there are two versions of it here (a German children’s TV presenter has a go at the bonus track) with arena filling intent, it is followed by “Mindhunter” with a sort of Deep Purple-ish flavour.
“Rain Rain” is a little faster, and perhaps the heaviest. “Gemini” is the catchiest, I suppose, but it does sound just a little too much like a Slaughter outtake in about 1991. My German is non-existent (being a product of a Thatcher-era school system, I am lucky I can speak English) so I hate to be critical, but the lyrics here are just a little on the nose.
“Kingdom Fall” redeems things. An epic, Maiden (ish) thing, it is right from the top draw. As, to be fair, is “Blues Ain’t No Stranger” on which Stryper’s Oz Fox, belies his illness to play some incredible guitar.
“Take Her”, the record’s one cover, sounds like the most fun too, oddly. For this version of Rough Cutt’s track, they enlist Paul Shortino, RT’s original singer, and you can almost literally hear the smiles. Listen a little more closely you might just hear a bit of Slayer in the guitar line at the very end – and I’ll bet you never thought you’d hear that lot and Mad Max in the same sentence.
This is not the world’s most exciting, or 2020’s most blockbusting hard rock release (let’s not kid each other, here) nonetheless, “Stormchild Rising” will keep the band and their legions of fans happy. That always seemed to be the main point here anyway.
Rating 7/10
