Maxxwell
Metalized

Maxxwell from Switzerland are becoming metalized, meaning that they are going more Five Finger Death Punch than AC/DC, or something like that according to the press sheet. I didn’t really read the sheet to closely as it talks mostly about the band’s prowess on the stage and that they have shared the stage with many band and played over 200 shows in 11 countries – kind of useless information when you are promoting an new studio album. They don’t even mention where the album was produced or what producer they used, information that seems more relevant to the studio album than the fact that they have shared poster with Within Temptation for some show or festival. I did listen a little bit to their album Tabula Rasa when it was released in 2014 but never found the time to review it, it wasn’t that great either.

Musically this is modern rock/metal, kind of in the vein of countrymen like Gotthard or bands like them; perhaps those death punchers can be in the comparison as well. It isn’t that special stylistically, the press the same buttons as many other bands before them – and compared with Tabula Rasa I don’t think they have changed that much. Decent vocalist with a typical modern metal voice, the production is the same, typical for the modern metal music – it is solid but doesn’t stand out. And having fifteen tracks on the album feels a bit much, ten would have been more than enough.

My impressions of this album are mostly positive, the songs are good for the most parts but many of them are a bit similar and the album feels too long. They aren’t exactly original either and that might be a bit negative as well, the fact that one grows a bit tired of it fairly quickly can be added to that as well. But the songs are catchy and easy to like so that is a positive and if you liked what the band has done before I think it is a fair bet that you will like this album as well, it is a very solid effort but perhaps not an overly impressive album.

My conclusion is that it is a better album than the predecessor; it works well and can be described as a good musical handiwork. So I guess you could say that it works but is quite easy to forget and the album isn’t as metalized as one might suspect from the name, it feels like modern hardrock of good calibre with a boring artwork.

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