Once you get past the very tough exterior (to say the least) of the pshychobilly culture, you can very triumphantly enjoy the music to its most sharpest extent, and full-on admire the band, whether it be from listening to a recording, or seeing one perform live. From the wreckage of Germany in the 90s, an early form of phychobilly, or at the time, called hillbilly, or punkbilly, emerged in the form of a trio; three musicians carrying one of the earliest traces of the genre to hit the country.
Mad Sin quickly flourished, adding new tricks and unforgettable sights to their live shows, including two more band members, and an impressive amount of recordings for the first year out. Theres something about the style of the genre that could make your blood freeze as well as boil. And despite the few different forms phychobilly can come in, the concept stays put as something very fresh, original, and something to continue the new age. Fast forward to the new millennium, and Mad Sin is to release their fifth record,
Survival Of The Sickest in September of 2002.
Mad Sin's earlier sound, as well as every other punk band in the decade, had a very gritty, raw sound to the work. The productions of the albums progresses, and the music is eventually mixed with many other sounds that cause to sound a lot cleaner, and more filtered. Fused with things like screams, sniffing, sighing, and many clips from old movies, this production strikes as very intimidating compared to their others, and delivers an elegant sense of creativity and provides a much stronger hook for the record.
The eerie, thought-provoking vocals of Mad Sin are provided by Koefte Deville. As compelling as his vocals sound on the first half of the album, his real talent lies in the pure creativity he has to transform any style to his liking, using yelps, his pitch, and how he bounces from word to the next. These transformations are evident as the album progresses from straight punk, to rock ‘n roll, to some old fashioned hellbilly, which makes very few appearances on the album.
Nothings Alright and
Sin Is Law are simply excellent appearances of gritty rock n roll, complete with a pulverizing leads by guitarists Tex and Stein, and with such a driven rhythm, jumpy bass-work and all.
1000 Eyes is a slow fashion show of what Keofte can do with his goodies. Like those of Tiger Army, the style used in this song and others alike is slow progression with heavy focus on the bass and drums. It’s also a fine example of how the band does on a slower pace. As said, Valle plays a big part in the more phycho-oriented songs with his stand-up bass. It will always become the most important element in a driven phychobilly song and it simply has to be well-coordinated with the others to achieve a steady rhythm, or in the case of these tunes, something truly groundbreaking. Im fairly sure
Revenge has to be one of the more deliciously vile explosions to come from the culture, drums pounding, rapid-fire bass pirating the speakers, to make it one of the trademarks of the album.
Senseless Species and
Bloody Monday are others that show off other unique, fast-paced material, also colliding with small sound clips from old westerns and mob movies, to make the entrance or exit of the song more dramatic and thrilling.
Any fan of the genre will find it fairly simple to enjoy the album, but if its one of the first phychobilly albums thats to be heard, it could be very confusing to catch onto. Haircuts from hell and crotch piercings don’t mean the listeners cant have mad, clean fun.
Mad Sin- Survival of the Sickest:
Koefte Deville- Vocals
Valle- Bass, Vocals
Tex Morton- Guitar, Vocals
Stein- Guitar, Vocals
Andy Laaf- Drums
Stand Out Tracks:
Communication Breakdown
Revenge
Where The Wild Things Are
Senseless Species
Bloody Monday
4.5/5
