MAD MAX: Wings Of Time (HARD ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

The news of Michael Voss's departure from Mad Max came as a thunderclap in the German metal world. The guitarist and singer had been with the band since 1983, with the opus “Rollin' Thunder”. Thirteen albums and 38 years later, he decided to concentrate on other projects. Between his other combo, Wolfpakk, his solo career and that of producer, the man who has already been part of Bonfire, Casanova and Demon Drive is a busy man. Faced with the resignation of bassist Thomas Baueur, it was time for Jürgen Breforth to take back the reins of his band, which he had largely delegated to his accomplice.

“Wings Of Time” was released with a much-revamped line-up, with the unknown Julian Rolinger taking up the mike, Dethy Borchardt backing up the now lone frontman on guitar, and Fabian Ranft on bass. Breforth also takes charge of songwriting, with a few of his comrades joining in. And despite all these changes, the Mad Max identity remains intact. The new quintet continues to cover a broad spectrum of german hard metal, offering both AOR / Hard Melodic with a US flavour (which is normal, since 'Best Part Of Me' is a composition by the late Jimi Jamison) and heavy-speed à la Helloween ('Stormchild Rising'), without losing any of its coherence.

The whole is classicism at its best, but the quality is flawless. Julian Rolinger delivers without overdoing it, while Jürgen Bretforth seems to have rediscovered his second youth with a string of gleaming solos. There are several nods to the band's discography: the melodic and catchy 'Days Of Passion' refers to the 1987 album 'Night Of Passion', the powerful and effective 'The Stage Is For You' evokes the title track 'Burning The Stages', taken from the same opus, and finally, 'Stormchild Rising' refers to the homonymous 2020 album. All with catchy choruses and effective riffs, and served by perfectly balanced production.

Without revolutionizing Mad Max's identity, “Wings Of Time” confirms that the German band has managed to survive the departure of its singer and guitarist by offering a classic and endearing album. Jürgen Bretforth's band may not have reached the pinnacle of the genre, but they are still a solid force to be reckoned with, and a credit to a career that now spans more than four decades. For this reason alone, Mad Max deserves respect, all the more so as it offers us some very good musical moments, for want of showing much originality. - Official website

MAD MAX

WINGS OF TIME

ROCK OF ANGELS RECORDS (ROAR)

HARD ROCK