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In 1984, Maxine Petrucci and her sister Roxy released an album
on JET/CBS Records under the name of Madam X (who you can now
see on Metal Mania on VH1 Classic). We Reserve The Right
included the anthems High In High School and Come One Come All.
Over the next several years the band would undergo changes that
included hiring Canadian vocalist Sebastian Bach. Maxine
then seemingly disappeared from the music scene while sister
Roxy went on to form Vixen. Maxine Petrucci returns to the
hard rock / metal seen after a long absence with Titania.
Maxine has recruited Billy Sheehan and Roxy to play on Titania.
From the opening title track, I was immediately impressed with
the heaviness and melodic qualities of all the songs.
Maxine possesses an impressive voice and her guitar playing is
still very heavy and aggressive. Lyrically, Maxine injects
a good deal of a venom into her words and her singing style works
well with the material. The songs have enough of a modern
bite (in a good way) that they do not sound like badly dated
tracks.
Lead track Titania is very heavy, dark and erotic all at the
same time with sleaze metal lyrics. Squeeked opens with
total shred and a relentless drum line that calls to mind the
likes of early Accept and early Van Halen. Love Test has a
bit of a slower grinding groove to it that it becomes instantly
infectious. Kiss On This is full of attitude and furious
guitars galore as is Passion. Pathetic snarls both vocally
and lyrically.
Songs like Hard For You remind me how good sleaze metal can be
when written and recorded properly. Maxine has a certain
knack for the sexy sleazy songs. Perhaps it is hearing
songs as such from the from the female perspective makes them
even more intriguing. This is not fluff like say Naughty
Naughty or Cherry Pie.
Closing track
Max
Attacks in pure instrumental excess that is well-deserved after
delivering such a stellar overall album.
Had Titania been released in say 1988, it would have done huge
business or would have been too hot for the labels to touch.
There are very, very few female fronted metal bands who have
come
close to Maxine it terms of heaviness and guitar heroics.
A surprising sleeper release from out of nowhere in 2005 that
will definitely rank in our top 10 for the year. Hopefully
there are some more licks still left up Maxine's sleeves.
Track Listing:
1. Titania
2. Squeeked
3. Love Test
4. Kiss On This
5. Passion
6. Pathetic
7. Space Hog
8. Hard For You
9. Dirty Thang
10. Max Attacks
Homepage:
http://www.maxattacks.com |
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