Pretty Maids – Undress Your Madness

6/10

Pretty Maids, another one of those classic rock bands who are just keeping on and keeping on, year after year, without ever losing their touch, but rather aging like wine. These days, they are highly regarded as one of the few major acts in melodic metal that still create new music in the great tradition of the old days, and that despite the fact that they never were one of the biggest names back in the 80’s. Their last album Kingmaker was a success among fans and critics, and now we have the followup Undress Your Madness. Will it make their reputation expand even more? Let’s dive in.

First of all, this album is very much all right. The songs are good, Ronnie Atkins voice is nice… But it’s a little too overproduced. The production is modern and radio oriented (apart from the fact that Pretty Maids never would get played in radio), and I miss the extra crunge, roughness or just something to make it stick out and feel a little more rough. To me, the production holds the songs back, and the result is nothing more than just okay. But still, okay is okay, and so I think this album is all right, even though I had hoped for a little more.

My guess is that this will go down as a middle of the road album in the Pretty Maids history, as long as it is not their last, seeing how Ronnie Atkins is currently being treated for cancer. So I can just hope and pray that singer Ronnie will beat that cancer in the ass so he can come back and make another, even stronger, Pretty Maids album. And that with a rougher sound, of course!

Artist: Pretty Maids
Title: Undress Your Madness
Label: Frontiers
Date of release: 8/11-19
Time: 43,18
Rating: 6/10
Standout track: Firesoul Fly