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Madison > Diamond Mistress > Reviews > Superreallycool
Madison - Diamond Mistress

The best glam album ever? - 92%

Superreallycool, October 9th, 2014
Written based on this version: 1984, 12" vinyl, Rixi Records

Madison is a glam metal band out of Sweden formed in the year 1983. They were forced to break up after just two albums. This was due to the fact that despite catchy songs, they never seemed to appeal to the mainstream audiences and because they were a glam metal band, a cult following wasn't really possible.

No one will ever take you seriously when you name your band after a girl's NAME. I'm not sure what the thinking behind the name was, I doubt that much was done. Their name probably contributed to the overall failure of this band commercially. However, band same aside, this was a band that deserved success, as this is arguably the best glam metal album ever recorded (not that it had all that much competition).

When I picked up this album I was expecting Ratt clones (who the hell clones RATT of all bands?!). Just some simple metal about sex that had a slightly more metallic sound than the bands they were in competition with. I was half right about both things. First off, there are songs about sex here, but the lyrical palate of this band goes beyond that. They have songs about war and politics too, and this is of course a welcome difference from most bands playing glam. Secondly, this is more metallic than other glam bands, but it's a LOT more metallic. Don't get me wrong, this is still glam metal and never really gets heavy, but this blows the doors off bands like Poison and Cinderella. Songs like "Sneaker" and "Don't Look Around" are metal enough that I forget they are glam until I realize how darn catchy they are.

They are very much a riff oriented band, but the band also used the bass to help propel the songs. The bass is often heard playing counter melodies or adding needed texture to long notes from the guitar. There aren't many sing out loud choruses, but the songs are catchy none the less because of the riffs. This, once again, is one of the things that help them stand out against the wall of bands like Poison.

This is a varied album musically. There is of course the mandatory ballad in the form of "Pictures Return". However, this is the most honest ballad I've ever heard from a glam metal band. It is darker than most of the bands other material, and it doesn't feel forced, this is real emotion. The band is used for good effect, and help provide one of the catchiest ballad choruses ever. This is a ballad that rocks, and is arguably the highlight of the album.

Glam is a sub-genre that no matter what is going to be loathed by "real" metalheads, but this album shows that glam doesn't have to suck. The album is heavy and talks about more than just sex. The pure, REAL, emotion on many of these tracks makes the whole album feel not like an attempt to sell records. It's too bad that this band was so terrible named and had such a generic cover art. If those had been even slightly better this band would have been very popular I believe.