The press release that came along with this album says, “Maax can only be described as pure, old school, alcoholic heavy metal hellfire scathing the night with buzzsaw riffage of fist-banging, slutfucking black thrash n' roll to haunting passages of Luciferian menace.” So I guess if that’s the only way it can be described, my work here is done. Adios!
Just kidding. Although there is a lot of truth in that press release, I can elaborate a little. This is definitely an album with an old school feel. The production values feel a lot more like a black metal release, especially the vocals. And there is also that Motorhead-like, take no prisoners, vibe. The first track smacks you right in the mouth and the hits just keep coming. For an American band they sure have nailed the European metal style, and I certainly mean that in a good way. From reading their bio it appears that they have an issue with revolving door band members and if they could stabilize their lineup I think this band could make some serious noise in the metal world.
I guess if you are going to use the phrase “slut fucking” in the description of your music, it goes without saying that you refer to women as sluts in your lyrics, and have lots of songs about fucking and drinking. And fighting. And Satan. And lyrics like “Rot and roll, we are the new breed, Fuck you, this is our new creed”. Good thing these guys came along now instead of the days of the PMRC.
There is actually an impressive variety of music on this album. The first 6 tracks are along the lines of what you could call black n’ roll, mostly with an emphasis on just some solid rocking. “Do What Thou Wilt” has that kind of punky, Motley Crue feel, like something from their first 2 albums, before they went all hair metal. “Purge of Depravity” and “Overthrone” veer off into black metal territory. “Black Thrash Em All” has a nice, thrashy feel, hence the name. I tell ya, you don’t have to be a genius to write these things.
MAAX has 2 previous releases and based on what I heard here I will seek them out and see what they sounded like. This is definitely a band that you want to file away in your memory and keep an eye on. They are not a carbon copy of anything else that I am familiar with and take several elements of metal and combine them in their own way. Metal is a genre that needs some originality and these guys have it. Next time I go out on a Saturday night for some drinking, fighting and slut fucking, this is my soundtrack.
-- ODIN