Review Summary: Bass drop much? It could be worse, but it could use some improvement.
Madison Affair is an Post-Hardcore/Electronicore band from Berlin, Germany. Are they the next big thing? No. So any one who doesn't like electronic in their metal, stay away. This is not for you.
Madison Affair aren't what you would call legendary. In fact, they borderline straight up terrible at times if you're one of those who despise electronic metal. But, if you're into it, I don't blame you. They offer some interesting moments at times. We've heard it before. Your basic metalcore formula of breakdown, breakdown, riffs, and more breakdown. It's overused at times. What makes this band interesting is their use of dubstep in their music. Now, they aren't a so called "Dubcore" band like Sweden's Beyond All Recognition, but they use a lot dubstep. The most prominent example of this would be the electro breakdown at 2:20 of their opening track, New War. I thought this was put to use very well in that instance. They rely on electronica too much. It sounds like they use it to fill the holes the instrumentation leaves behind most of the time. Then come the bass drops. Above This much? Each song contains an obscene amount of bass drops. (On average, maybe 4-10 bass drops. I didn't bother to count.) Florian Michaelis is a competent vocalist, but nothing special or noticeable. The auto tuned vocals could be a turn off to those who aren't into that sort of thing. In fact, they abuse the auto tune. It gets to the point where you need to turn it off, the cleans are high pitched, aforementioned auto tuned and are borderline annoying.
Every once in a while, you'll find a catchy riff in there, but that is very seldom. Most of the time it's just breakdown being backed by electronic flourishes. The lyrics are pretty generic too. Just personal, teenage angst. Guess we know why it's called Teenage Time. What I don't understand is the last two tracks. You'll Better Keep Your Eyes Wide Open and The Darkest Storm. The previously mentioned a dubstep mix that just seems to be thrown into the album. The latter is an electro-rap track that has no reason to be in the album at all. The band is still very young, and maybe they'll figure out the sound that'll work. Otherwise, they're just lost to obscurity just like the rest of the generic bunch.
Overall, annoying auto tune, decent screamed vocals, breakdown heavy guitar work, drumming didn't even catch my attention and a drowned out bass guitar. I'd like to see these guys release something real good and something worth listening to. But sadly, they fall where they could be so much better. If you're into Electronicore, I recommend this album to you. Otherwise, steer clear.
Recommended tracks:
New War
Promised
