One of the things I love the most about metal album reviews, is coming across bands that, essentially, ceased to exist, or otherwise fell through the cracks; an unfortunate perpetuation of 'corporate' Metal music. Such was the case for legions of potentially excellent underground bands, most notoriously the underground NWOBHM and Thrash scenes. Hence, I was delighted to delve into this monumental comeback release from German Heavy Rockers, MAGGIE'S MADNESS, who's last release tracks back to the mid 80's. Over 30 years down track, 2014 sees the release of "Waking Up The Dead", a massive, career-defining release that contains re-recordings of some old favorites.

The title track kicks off this release. The first thing you should expect when you hear "German Hard Rock", is raucous, powerful vocals, combined with strong melodies, chunky riffs and ever-perpetuating grooves. That is exactly the case with the opening track, which prides itself on a tremendous chorus. The production is delectable; pristine and organic, and does well to bring a gem of the 80's back to life. "Let's Rock Tonight" is one of the moments on the album where the band gets to shine; I'm overwhelmed by 80's this, 80's that; classic heavy music from veterans of the genre, is the only way to experience it. Kept at a slower pace, the track does well to carry your attention on the crest of the waves overflowing through and after epic choruses. The vocals deliver the upbeat, melodic progressions typical of music from that era, but it is also the guitars send this track flying high, with memorable, crunchy grooves, embellished with typical Euro melodies.

"Nowhere Land" is a tremendous effort of a rock ballad, incorporating prominent acoustic riffs which take the forefront of the arrangement here. It gives the track a whole new range of dynamics to experiment with, and completely alter the sound of the vocals, adding a uniquely  'Southern' flair to otherwise very-German Rock. Funnily enough, it sports one of the album's best guitar solos. "Starlight Blues", a homage to their back-catalogue, stand out as an album-favorite for me; true to its name, it has a prominent Blues-Rock feel to the riffs, albeit bumped up in volume by 10 notches, heavily mudded in overdriven guitars and raucous vocals, of which are oozing with charisma and power.

I'm extremely glad these veteran rockers decided to show themselves again, because I might never have heard of them; you come across a band like this, and you tend to appreciate the serendipity of the discovery.