Lesser of two evils

It's a battle of the big hair this time around with two bands who released debuts in the mid-1980's. Surprisingly both bands were from the midwest with Diamond Rexx being from Chicago and Madam X hailing from Detroit. So it is...


Diamond Rexx-Land of the damned

vs.

Madam X-We reserve the right

Vocals
We have Nasti Habits (his given name no doubt) for Diamond Rexx going against Bret Kaiser for Madam X. Both singers are well enough in tune, but neither establishes that much of a style of their own. Nasti of Diamond Rexx sounds like mid-80's Alice Cooper at his best and rather ordinary the rest of the time. Kaiser of Madam X maintains a stronger approach for longer. He doesn't bring the kind of energy he really needed to, but be keeps songs afloat at times. Madam X also benefit from better than average backing vocals which I am guessing is due to having female and male voices involved.

Point to Madam X

Guitars

It's S. St. Lust for Diamond Rexx up against Maxine Petrucci for Madam X. Lust of Diamond Rexx is playing a very basic style and the solos are kind of forgettable. However his rhythms have a decent tone and he is able to establish most of what little presence this band had. Maxine Petrucci might be the opposite because she fares better on solos than she does on rhythms. Her solos have some style, but her rhythms vary from decent down to dull and practically invisible. Actually a tight contest, but the fact that I recall Lust's parts more easily allows me to say...

Point to Diamond Rexx

Rhythm section

We have Andre on bass and Johnny Cottone on drums for Diamond Rexx going up against bassist Chris Doliber and drummer Roxy Petrucci for Madam X. The Diamond Rexx pair handle themselves alright, but they just tend to plod more than charge and that's a shame. I think the Madam X rhythm section is perhaps the best or at least most consistent part of their band. Roxy Petrucci has some variation to her beats and the bass lines move along well enough.

Point to Madam X


Originality/production
At best Madam X remind of a cross between second rate Twisted Sister and second rate Quiet Riot. They are big on anthems, but unfortunately rather limited on creativity and energy. Diamond Rexx sound a little like Alice Cooper say around the times of Constrictor, but they are also so ridiculous at times that they sound like a spoof of 80's hair bands. Neither band are pulling out all the stops when it comes to lyrics. Production wise the Diamond Rexx album is a little rough and fuzzy at times. The Madam X was produced by guitarist Rick Derringer and it's pretty sharp with a fairly strong sound.

Point to Madam X

Madam X take it 4-1, but it was actually closer than the score indicates. Madam X only did the one album, but Diamond Rexx did three albums in between 1986 and 1991 and have a done a few in the last decade as well. Yet Madam X may be more known just due to association as drummer Roxy Petrucci

Who rocks more?

This was actually kind of close as both bands hit some moments, but they both struggled as well. Diamond Rexx tended to emerge early and then fall into being very repetitious about a minute or so into most of the songs. Madam X didn't erupt as often early on, but they were a bit more steady. Neither band really tried hard enough in this category and that's a large part of why neither ever went very far. Still there are more songs where I can take the whole thing from Madam X.

Point to Madam X


So Madam X wins 4-1, but it was a closer contest than the score indicates. This was Madam X's only release, but Diamond Rexx knocked out three releases between 1986 and 1991 and have done a few albums in the last decade as well. Yet Madam X may be more well known perhaps just due to connections as drummer Roxy Petrucci was later in Vixen and Sebastian Bach did a short stint with this band before being in Skid Row. It's not surprising that neither act really went anywhere though as neither band did enough to truly esablish themselves or set their band away from the pack. There were some good bands doing this style at the time, but for every band like Motley Crue or Ratt there were four or five bands like Madam X or Diamond Rexx.