If Corrosion Of Conformity and Alice In Chains ever had an illegitimate love child then, chance’s are, it’d grow up to be Sweden’s MadMan’s Choice. With similar vocal harmonies, expansive choruses, and indisputably crushing riffs, MadMan’s Choice transports listeners to the mid-90’s but with an updated sound and vocals like David Coverdale meeting Stephen Pearcy.
“Derailed” is a statement of intent. Make no mistake about that fact. From the second the sounds hit your eardrums, the song just screams “Rawk!!” with Patrik Petersson’s intent drumming meshing with Peter Gustafsson’s bass work immediately bringing to mind the grunge era. Then Morgan de Boer comes in with a thunderous voice that’s infused with as much the ’80’s screechers as it is the moody, complex singers of the ’90’s.
“Vanity” continues that AIC meets COC trend, even touching on some of the diversity Taproot brought to the table once they matured, yet shows how the band is manifesting their own sound from the ashes of greats. “Blind” shuffles in next with huge grooves and a swamp boogie until an unearthly guitar breakdown complemented by the hugest chunks of riffs and skin bashes splits the song into two parts as de Boer’s voice lays a blanket of awesome on top.
“Burn That Halo” slows it down a tad to bring listeners a layered, intricate alt-rawk jam that’ll have you instantly singing along as soon as that huge chorus enters. Another quiet track, the acoustic-driven “Desperately in Need”, bristles with a subdued intensity as you get to feel the full scope of de Boer’s range. “You Fools”, on the other hand, is just a no frills hard rawker through and through that gets even better as the song goes on as Gustav Linde completely gets to show off his guitar prowess throughout. “River of the Condemned” concludes it all and takes that awesome stuff that came before and wraps it in a massive jam which encapsulates all that MadMan’s Choice is with concise songwriting and perfectly executed everything.
Vanity is out now! You can get yours instantly by clicking here. For more on the band, head on over here.