Rollin' Thunder

Much like their cinematic namesake, the Munster-born quintet of early 80s metal rockers dubbed Mad Max hit the vibrant scene with a sound about as rustic and primitive as they come. Though by no means was their 1982 eponymous debut a poor offering, but compared to the elites of the NWOBHM and the immediate predecessors that were its influence, it ended up wanting in some respects, most notably the limited and occasional rough vocal abilities of original front man Andreas Baesler. However, despite some noteworthy flaws, this Teutonic fold of upstarts would catch the attention of Roadrunner Records, which when combined with a couple of significant lineup changes would see a revamped and ultimately superior sound emerge by the time 1984 rolled in. The resulting sophomore studio resurgence, aptly titled Rollin' Thunder, would see a brilliant blend of kinetic speed metal elements and melodic rock swagger take centerstage, spearheaded by the entrance of glorious high-ranged wailer and guitarist Michael Voss.

The shift in stylistic demeanor that has taken hold here is almost jarring, to the point that this scarcely sounds like the same band. From the opening chugs of the mid-paced anthem and opener "Fly, Fly Away" it becomes clear that the sonic flavor of this band has become far more metallic, with a busy assortment of riffs that scream Iron Maiden influence about as blatantly as Bruce Dickinson's signature air raid screams, with a correspondingly infectious dueling lead guitar assault. In a manner similar to Stormwitch's concurrent offerings, several of these songs predict the upcoming merger that the German speed metal sound would make with power metal, most notably faster-paced melodic cruisers such as "Evil Message" and the high octane cruiser "Shout And Cry", the former featuring a triumphant chorus section that likely influenced Chroming Rose, while the latter could almost have been an addition to Riot's Thundersteel. Even when things are kept at a more moderate pace on rocking groove machines like "Losing You" and "Stranger", the blend of virtuosic guitar showmanship and crunchy riff work provides a needed metallic, Judas Priest-like edge to what would otherwise be pure AOR fodder with a saccharine-steeped vocal performance out of Voss.

In essence, the first two-thirds of this album are an exercise in brilliantly blended metallic thunder with a softer, listener-friendly rocking gloss, but even when things start to tapper off as high-flying fun gives way to more reserved and predictable material the vibe of 80s enthusiasm endures. The first hint of things dying down comes in with the more down-tempo march of the title song "Rollin' Thunder", which has a bit more of a mid-80s arena rock shtick going, though interestingly it proves to be one of Voss' more gritty performances and newly recruited Jürgen Sander gets a bit of time in the sun. Probably the greatest flaw of this album is that the bass rides a bit lower in the mix than it should, but when it manages to punch though, it shows some occasional flourishes beyond the Ian Hill approach. In similar fashion, the mid-paced coaster "Riding Through The Night" plays it pretty safe, though the principle/verse riff has a nice galloping edge to it and the shred breaks put forth by Wilfried Schneider and Jürgen Breforth stand out nicely. That's sort of the odd charm of this album, the guitar work is so outlandishly fancy that it actually surpasses the most flamboyant displays out of Tipton and Downing prior to 1988, to the point where even the extremely downplayed ballad and closer "Thoughts Of A Dying Man" finds itself morphing into an extended jam session.

Fully nailing down whether this album is a raucous metallic forerunner to Helloween or a heavier version of the ascendant AOR-craze of the mid-80s is a tough call, as it finds itself vacillating between the two even during its softer moments. As such, it will probably hold the greatest appeal to those who enjoyed the more anthem-crazed mid-80s material put out by the likes of Leatherwolf, Pretty Maids and Luv Hunter, though it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to see fans of Stormwitch and 1985-86 Accept liking much of what happens on here. In many respects, the addition of Michael Voss into the fold is what makes this album work, but ultimately it's a team effort and all of the instrumentalists laying the groundwork for him prove competent enough to trade blows with every heavy-hitter of the 80s. Further lineup changes would continue to dog this dark horse of the Teutonic metal scene throughout the 80s and would see them sitting out nearly all of the following decade, but in this particular case the instability has led to the first in a series of superior ventures, and those new to Mad Max would do well to begin with this energy-infused mid-80s diamond.

Two years, and some lineup changes after their debut offering, Münster’s Mad Max churned out their sophomore record: 1984’s ‘Rollin’ Thunder. Though a rotating, constantly changing roster was one of the reasons for the (albeit timely, and after considerable output) ultimate demise of the band, here lineup changes are put to good use, and the band comes out with a positive result. Replacing the relatively poor vocalist Andreas Baesler, whose unenthused, boring, and talentless vocal efforts held the band back somewhat on their first album, was a good choice. Enter Michael Voss, whose smoother voice, higher range, and generally well-suited to melodic power voice is one of the reasons this album is a step up from the debut. Bass duties were also handed over, this time to Jürgen Sander – not that this matters, because due to the mix, you can barely hear the bass guitar at all on this one. So here we have it, a new and improved Mad Max, this time with a competent vocalist, and a shift in direction; leaving behind the lame, flat Trust-like heavy metal in favour of a US style melodic heavy metal/hard rock approach.

This album is probably a recommended starting point for the band; it’s just all-round better than the first – melodic AORish rock, done fairly well, with a sound that draws comparisons to Alien, Luv Hunter, and especially Leatherwolf. There are some real cool songs, usually the more metallic moments, such as ‘Stranger’. This track comes complete with a very Iron Maiden/Gravestone-ish guitar harmony intro; very melodic, and very metal. Guitar tone in this one has that nice, polished crunch – typical of the melodic heavy metal subgenre (see bands like Ruffkut. The solo sections are awesome, with a lot of spaced out, dreamy effects on the guitar, and an impassioned performance by the capable Wilfred Schneider. There are excellent guitar squeals and the overall song has this Witchfynde-ish NWOBHM feel. Half arena anthem, half Iron Maiden-ish crunch. ‘Yours Sincerely’ is effective in it’s mix of drums an guitar s which gives a half 70’s rock, half metallic NWOBHM feel. Overall it feels almost like metallic, yet bluesy rock in the vein of E.F. Band but with a lot more Iron Maiden in the guitar. A skillful, and well worked out little instrumental. This album has plenty of awesome guitar solos, nice showoff-ish vocal deliveries by Voss, and plenty of all round strong numbers.

This is definitely a cool album, and it’s where Mad Max really started to define themselves. They lost the predominantly goofy, straightforward, Trust-sounding vibe of the first effort, ousted some personnel, and changed direction for the better. Though they became predominantly a melodic heavy metal outfit, complete with the love-song subject matter, they still retained a lot of balls – particularly in the awesome, Iron Maiden-like guitars which feature typical German galloping crunch (with the melodic metal style guitar tone) and the very showy soaring scaley riffs typical of said British titans. Tracks like ‘Shout and Cry’ retain plenty of metal in them. Fast paced, racing guitars and anthemic, yelled, fists in the air hooks – they remind me heavily of Gravestone here. 'Riding Through the Night' is an awesome, metallic slow paced fist-banger. This album's probably a little bit harder than stuff like ‘Night of Passion’ hence more recommendable for your average metal fan. Great starting point to an awesome, once successful, but now forgotten German act; this album is a great blending of melodic elements with pure metal elements that works really well.

-DeathRiderDoom