Coming to us by way of Vienna, Austria is MADHOUSE, and their debut release "Money Talks Bullshit Walks." When I first heard about this band, I had visions of another faux comic take on the 80s Hair / Glam Metal era, and being a fan of a lot of those bands, I just wasn't quite ready for any of that. It has been done...to death.

What I got was a welcome surprise. These guys don't mess around, AT ALL. From the first whistle from the opening track "Boom Boob Shaker" (yes, you read that correctly), to the last booming power chord riffs of "Hard 'N Heavy", what we have here is 48 minutes of brash, eighties sounding Metal. This record could easily have been released in 1986; but never sounds stale or regurgitated. Kind of a SHOTGUN MESSIAH meets KIX... in a gutter... feel, complete with scorching guitar solos, raspy vocals, sometimes bordering pornographic lyrical content, and a bottom end that is hard, steady and ALWAYS ready. Ken Shuri's drum sound brings to mind some of the heavier moments of Wild Mick Brown from DOKKEN, under Michael Wagener's production.

In particular, the title track, "Money Talks Bullshit Walks" stands out immediately. Opening with a sweet, nasty guitar groove and never letting up. The song just works, and it works well. Tommy Lovelace's vocal sounds like a cross of Stephan Pearcy and Mike Monroe, while Stixx and Hart absolutely wail on the guitars. There are other stand out moments, as well. "First Time Lover" screams, as does the lovely swipe at religious self-righteousness, "Kiss My Ass (Till Paradise)." The sole ballad, "Tears Like Rain", is a beautiful piece of music, with a fantastic vocal from Lovelace. Getting a tad further into the record, "Sick Sex" (yep, that's what it's about), and "Hard 'N Heavy", with the sound of a cigarette being lit to open it up, are great finishers. Like all of the best, they left me wanting more; enough so that I listened through just once more...you know, to make sure I caught it all. All in all, one of the coolest records I have heard in a long time.

MADHOUSE's raison d'etre, from their own Facebook page, is "We're on a mission to spread the word of '80s Glam & Hair Metal all over the world again." You're off to one hell of a start, guys. I'll be along for the ride.