German based MAD MAX is celebrating their 25th anniversary with a new release “Here We Are”. Being in the industry since 1982 and more than a half dozen releases going from Roadrunner Records to A Minor Records MAD MAX have gathered a huge fan base hitting all shore points from Japan to the US.

Michael Voss lead vocalist has been a mainstay of the band as has guitarist Juergen Breforth along with Roland Bergmann and Mark Shulman. MAD MAX looks to concur once again with a driving CD filled with hooked choruses, sweet melodic sounds and classic guitar. Just hearing the title track “Here We Are” we hooked up with Juergen and had to congratulate these boys for such a promising career in music and still being a vibrant entity.

Before going any further you have to check out some of the friends who helped out; Joe Lynn Turner on “Caravan”, Don Airey on “Where The Winds Blow”, Jon Loechel on “Here We Are”, Michael Schenker on “High And Higher”, Jeff Scott Soto on “Down To Babylon”, Oz Fox on “Love Walks Lonely”, Ken Tamplin on “Stop One Minute”, Bernie Torme on “How Deep”, Axel Rudi Pell on “Don’t Talk It All Over”, Wolf Hoffman on “All Of My Heart”, David Readman on “Mad Gone Blind”, Sascha Gerstner on “Keep You Alive” and Mark Storace on “High On Wheels”. Whew that’s a mouthful!

Starting things off is a classic rocker called “Caravan” with hard crunching power chords and strong vocals and a slashing guitar solo, great opening tune to pump the blood.

“Where The Winds Blow” is a tasty tune in the genre of early FOREIGNER, tapping keyboards, echoing guitar and Voss’s magical vocal touch sets fire to this one.

Just listening to the entire CD these boys need no help with writing ability or musical direction they have it all going on from hard core rockers to kick ass ballads, simply put this is what it’s all about and other bands should follow suit. Check out the title track “Here We Are” it’s busting with great rhythm and expertise and should be heard globally. If you like BONFIRE with a taste of BEATLES-ish style you will be drooling for the new release by MAD MAX.

To be picking a favorite tune on “Here We Are” I would be fooling myself because after listening over and over again they all sound good to me. I am just going to pick the stronger tunes that I haven’t mentioned yet.

“Stop One Minute” has duel vocals, which is a nice touch as Voss hooks up with female pop princess Pearl who is also on A-Minor records.

After a few traditional, straight ahead rock tunes check out “All Of My Heart” if you want to get down and sentimental with a smooth ballad; perfection written all over this one.

The next track “Mad Gone Blind” talks about an eighteen year old in Helsinki, Finland as he guns down eight people on a school campus after he had left a warning posted on Youtube. Great song that you have to check out; talk about a system gone bad and the nightmare of a generation. It’s a very deep track.

After ripping through some more killer tunes including hard rockers and ballads, we come to the last track, which is a phenomenal ending. If it wasn’t for the great title track “Here We Are” this would be the climax. “Say Goodbye To Hollywood” if you want to hear a great vocalist and a great arrangement by MAD MAX listen to this one. Michael Voss is a premier singer in hard rock music.