MADHOUSE
“Bad Habits”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9/10

Madhouse are a hard rock band from Austria formed in 2017, releasing their debut album ‘Money Talks Bullshit Walks’ in 2019. The bands sophomore album ‘Bad Habits’ was released in 2021…

…and features an incredible fifteen songs of good ol’ fashioned glam/sleaze rock. Glam rock began in the seventies with the New York Dolls, Kiss, and the king of shock rock Alice Cooper. Sleaze rock evolved in the eighties with Motley Crue, Ratt, and Cinderella. Somewhat killed off in the nineties by grunge and an array of alternative rock, since 2000, glam/sleaze has seen a revival through the re-emergence and/or reunion of many of the genres biggest bands from its eighties halcyon days – heralding the arrival of many new bands – bands such as Crazy Lixx, Santa Cruz, Steel Panther, and (of course) Madhouse.

Lyrically, the album makes many references to sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll – with song titles such as ‘First Lick Than Stick’, ‘I Walk The Ponygirl’, and (the title song) ‘Bad Habits’. Musically, the band pull off perfectly the sound of eighties glam/sleaze rock, cruising into sight with the explosive heavy hitter (and album opener) ‘Bang Bang’. Strutting its stuff majestically, ‘Bang Bang’ is big, bold, and brash – and reeks of eighties nostalgia, when bands such as the ‘Crue, Ratt, Cinderella, and Faster Pussycat were shaping the sound of sleaze rock. Hitting heavier than the opening punch, ‘Sick Of It All’ is a haymaker of a song that’s gonna knock you into next week. Yet amazingly, Madhouse deliver an infectious chorus that deserves a total song a long. And that raspy vocal performance – just perfect for this type of sleazy rock music.

For someone who was a teenager during the eighties and grew up listening to all the emerging sleaze rock bands, this album takes me back to those glory days. Upping the infectious levels and injecting more raunchiness, ‘First Lick Then Stick’ is a foot stomper of a rock anthem. With its brash swagger and sexual overtones ‘First Lick Then Stick’ is reminiscent of the mighty Aerosmith at their sleaziest best. Varying the pace, ‘I Walk The Ponygirl’ is a mash-up of up tempo heavy rock with the sultry Southern rock swagger. Keeping the tempo up, ‘Itch To Scratch’ is a fast paced fist pumping, chest bumping, adrenalin rush of hard rock. Bloody great stuff! Slowing the pace to an almost walk, ‘Atomic Love’ follows the rocky path of the mighty Aerosmith once more, but also throws in chunks of Poison and Cinderella. ‘Atomic Love’ is a meaty punch of all out balls out sleaze rock.

Upping the tempo and pace, ‘Rodeo’ is a hearty mix of sleaze, glam, and the traditional sound of hard rock. The vocal rasp of lead singer Tommy Lovelace is the perfect accompaniment to the heavy hitting, hard rocking sound of the band. The title song ‘Bad Habits’ is one of the albums heaviest hitters. And just like ‘Unskinny Bop’ – “what!”, I hear you all scream! Well, in 1990 ‘Unskinny Bop’ was a departure from the glam sound and style of American hard rockers Poison, proceeding to dish out a much more hard hitting and bone crunching sound – ‘Bad Habits’ (the song) taking that same swing. And believe me, it’s a very heavy swing… ‘Live It Up’ is a raucous slab of anthemic rock, and will entice an in concert crowd to raise their arms high in the air, and enthusiastically sing a long. Come on everyone “live it up”!

Over half way through the album, and the rock just doesn’t stop rolling – ‘Pure Oxytocin’ weaving its way into the soft rock and AOR genres too. The most melodic (even though all the songs on offer are melodic) song the album has to offer, ‘Pure Oxytocin’ opens the band up to a much more diverse audience. What an effort! Moving back to their root sound, Madhouse thunder forth with the high velocity opening that heralds the glorious ‘Fake It Till You Make It’ – a corker of a song that epitomises everything that glam/sleaze rock stands for. And that chorus chant of “fake it till you make it” is gonna be one helluva blast in a live arena. And moving in a more heavy metal direction, Madhouse gallop on with ‘Metal Creed’, by having a guitar sound that just stepped out of the eighties NWOBHM evolution – the band showing their prowess at delivering heavy metal infused hard rock.

And as quick as “metal” arrived, “rock” makes an emphatic comeback, with the heavy foot stomper ‘Say Nothing At All’ – a song title that resonates ballad, but isn’t. Well, maybe, a little bit…Especially the chorus, the glorious ballad edged chorus that screams “I’m a ballad”, when the rest of ‘Say Nothing At All’ screams hard rock. I’ll leave you to make up your own mind. But rock definitely screeches into sight with the high paced, high tempo ‘Tourette Brunette’. Screaming ‘Crue, Poison, and Aerosmith, ‘Tourette Brunette’ is a glorious gallop of all out hard rock. As the whole album has been – as we reach the final song, without having a single reason to hold our lighters high – very much an unusual occurrence in the rock genre. But all credit to Madhouse, for a delightful hour of hard rocking glam/sleaze. ‘Love To Hate’ closes the album with one more feisty foray into the realms of sleaze rock, as defined by eighties greats Motley Crue, Poison, Ratt, Faster Pussycat, and Cinderella.

Overall, a heavy hitting and hard rocking hour of punchy rock, fuelled by the glam and sleaze sound and style of the glorious eighties.

TRACKLIST

Bang Bang
Sick Of It All
First Lick Then Stick
I Walk The Ponygirl
Itch To Scratch
Atomic Love
Rodeo
Bad Habits
Live It Up
Pure Oxytocin
Fake It Till You Make It
Metal Creed
Say Nothing At All
Tourette Brunette
Love To Hate

https://www.madhouse-official.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/madhouseband

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