The latest track from Egyptian Thrash Metal heroes Maddox Theory is the third overall release, and second single since their return to form and live debut in late 2022. Facing several lineup changes, Mustafa ‘Mike’ Gharib remains as the sole founding member and the beating heart of the band, with guitarist Salah Wahba being the other longest-standing member.
The track starts with a drum intro by the notoriously versatile Abdallah Hesham which reminded me of Avenged Sevenfold‘s old Metalcore era. The guitars follow with the infamous Core/Thrash fusion that has all the chunky tones fans of Trivium and old BFMV would love to hear. The opening riff leads us to the brief and powerful verse, which in turn flows into the pre-chorus.
While the riffage and composition style is not distant from the band’s debut album and previous releases, the effect of the new lead guitarist Mr. Kareem Osama is prominent and powerful. Renowned as one of the amazing players on the Egyptian shred collab video and being the lead guitarist of the band Mutayam. Prepare to be amazed by Osama and Wahba’s dueling roars throughout the track.
A point worth highlighting here is the tightness of the rhythm section. Bass veteran Gasser Helal plays some tasty lines that move and thicken the riffs into being much heavier and much more moving to the listener. While Hesham could’ve just played super quick blast beats the entire time, the drums vary and change their pace according to the change in the song’s intensity from the pre-chorus to the chorus, making this a musician’s track with a lot of mindful details to stay on the lookout for. After the second chorus, we have an onslaught of melodic soloing from the band’s axemen…and in all seriousness, they made me envision a solo duel between Marty Friedman and Michael Amott because of how they maintain the melodic sound with the percussive and thrashy one…it’s a super satisfying payoff.
As far as the vocals go, frontman Mike leaves nothing behind in this new track…from shouts and yells to full-throttle growls to the great melodic singing we’ve always been used to. The way his verses start with the doubling of two vocal styles is terrifying, and the usage of the yells in the background emulates a lot of eighties-style thrash vocalists. The clean vocals are what actually keep Mike distinct and unique from other vocalists you might have heard, because of how present his emotions are and how that rage and aggression in the lyrics is amazingly displayed throughout his range starting from the most calm “clean” parts to the most intense screams…there’s literally no dull moment.
In the recent “new era” of the band, they have added a few modern metal elements and quirks that make the overall sound heavier and more core-oriented…which made them much more intense and much more in line with their energetic live performances, which always have faster tempos and heavier-sounding instrumentation. Check out ‘I Am Disorder’ to get a glimpse of what Maddox Theory‘s best lineup is capable of doing, at their full potential and power.