Released by:Independent
Release Date: Out Now!!!
Genre: Hard Rock
Links: http://madlifeofficial.com/
Line Up:
Angry Phill- Vocals
Isaiah Stuart- Guitar
Kyle Cunningham- Drums
Carlos Pagan-Bass
Tracklist:
01. Just One Gun
02. To Live and Die in Hollywood
03. I Know the Feeling
04. Pain of Pleasure
05. Still Alivee
Madlife are a modern hard rock band with Industrial tendencies. On the surface I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy this album as I’m not big on modern metal and am touch and go about the type of Industrial metal I will listen to. When the album first started my initial trepidations seemed almost warranted, but as the album progressed I started to enjoy it somewhat. Releasing their fourth album 21st Century Megalomaniac they have built an underground following through their participation in 2009’s Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival as well as exposure on Nikki Sixx’s (Motley Crue) radio program.
Though I didn’t totally fall in love with the band’s sound, I can certainly hear where they are a cut above the other bands playing this style. With elements of Powerman 5000, Alice In Chains, Linkin Park, and Three Days Grace, the thing that sets them apart is that they take a non-melodic style like Industrial and give it some sense of melodicism. However, despite this, it is still fairly derivative of most modern hard rock bands out there which is one of the biggest reasons I’m not a big fan of the genre. There are moments where I heard things I really enjoy and appreciate (especially considering I wasn’t as pumped to hear this reading the bio,) but there are just as many elements that I can’t appreciate because of it just not being my taste.
I’d say fans of bands like Sixx AM, Seether, and the like would enjoy this album. Fans of more traditional hard rock should probably steer clear of this. Again, it’s not that the music contained is bad; it’s just not what I want to necessarily listen to on a regular basis. I can certainly hear where it would have appeal to those folks that do appreciate this sound, but it’s just not for me. Looking at it from this angle, I would have to give it 6 out of 10, but someone geared to this sound would likely go a little higher.
Written by Chris Martin
Ratings Chris 6/10
About Author
