Hair Metal Hodge Podge with Every Mother's Nightmare and Diamond Rexx

Have not done one of these in a while so it was time to close my eyes reach into a bag filled with hair metal discs, pull two out, listen to them and either suffer or be surprised. Now if I said one of these discs was mainly influenced by Poison while the other disc was by a band with a singer who sounded kind of like Alice Cooper and they were heavy for a hair band then which band do you think you'd rather here? Well I am hoping that most of you will choose band B. So let's get into them and see.


Every Mother's Nightmare-s/t 1990
I remember seeing ads for this one when it came out, but I was full on thrash metal mode at the time so I didn't hear it then. Instead my introduction to this Nashville band was in the form of their 1993 release "Wake up screaming". Someone else played it for me and I found it to be mediocre and it suffered from poor production. It wasn't until just a few years ago then I spotted their debut in the bargain bin of a now defunct record store for $2. I picked it up not expecting much. The down side is these guys liked Poison a lot and their ballads are terrible as in skip over them kind of bad. However the up side is they are faster and heavier than Poison with a touch of blues rock thrown in and all of their non-ballads are at least decent. The music is generally tight although basic. They keep it going pretty well. The vocals are not as consistent, but certainly passable. This was a surprisingly decent album and I listen to it from time to time.



Diamond Rexx-Golden Gates 1991
This EP was the third outing from Chicago's very own Diamond Rexx. These guys had the glam look and a sound  that crossed metal and hard rock. The singer sounded somewhat like Alice Cooper and I said above they were on the heavier side of the hair metal spectrum. You can just sense the "however" coming. However as with their previous efforts this album was dull, almost painfully so. They can knock out a riff and the singer had some talent. Yet all their promise was flushed down the toilet due to lack of ideas. They begin a song, they run out of places to go about thirty-five seconds into it and then just play the same thing over and over. Even with only six tracks this album felt like it went on forever. It was maybe okay when I heard their debut because I remember thinking well, with experience they'll get better and grow as songwriters. Nope, they got worse with each album. What a shame.

There you go. What a surprising turn of events.

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.