Madhouse roar through like a liquored up biker on the last crusade, keeping the massive machine rolling with the grace and power of the apocalypse. Everyone in this band is a frontman (no shit, check the credits), blasting out classic Detroit Rock City hard rock like indeed there is no tomorrow. Vocalist Jamie Devoll has a growl that shows time in the trenches, he cuts through the thick wall of metallic bombast like the devil coming to preach the final sermon. What makes Madhouse stand out from the huge pack of riffsters making the scene is their reliance on keeping it simple, good melodies kept raw and mean, there's no pretty ballads or down tempo numbers. When they hit it big, like on set closer "Goin To Hell", or mid-album's "Everything Kills", you remember what it was about big beat driving rock n roll that made you love it in the first place, and you crank it a little louder.


myspace.com/madhousedetroit

MADHOUSE

Thanks For Nothing

Usually the fantasy metal genre and it's symbolism stay lost on me from overexposure during those years of days lore which have passed mostly into memory. It was a pleasant surprise after seeing that symbolism invoked again, Lady Of Fire, King Arthur's Knights, Spell Of The Witch, to put the disc on and hear solid rock n roll, no screeching demons or prog noodling. Wicked Influence play what is now called old school melodic metal with those shifting riffs, lead guitars and charging rhythm that are it's hallmarks. I am sure this album will become one of those underground collectibles down the road; of 8 songs 6 are great, the other 2 aren't bad. Of course, this COULD be a band from the mid-80's, they sometimes sound like Tesla or Dokken did back in those days, which a dose of reinvigorates those memory cells from those great days! Through different members, the band is 20 years old for real, and their smooth execution is surely a result. If you're into classic hard rock and metal, this is your band.


www.myspace.com/wickedinfluencemusic

WICKED
INFLUENCE

Wicked Influence

Seven Signs sound alot like garage metal always had, a little bit of everything, vocals mixed where it's not so easy to hear, and a tendency to sound like they want to be original yet sound like something you've heard before. At times the mix on this EP is somehting to be left desired, but in a way that adds to the indie presence of it all. Good stuff for modern day space truckin' and mind manipulation, for those in the know. Seven Sigsn almost beg to be analog, for that warm and fuzzy feeling; yet in the afterglow you realize, it's the friggin' house burnin' down, while the devil tap dances through the ash. There are moments when art seems to become the answer - "Walk The Line" - but it's not easy to know the question, and no it has nothing to do with Johnny Cash. It doesn't help that the riffs roar, but the lyrics? Can't tell what's going on during most songs. Overall the music jams though, and points must be given there. A few times it nears something like early Judas Priest, without the dandies.


www.myspace.com/viisigns

SEVEN

The End Is Near