MAXINE – Titania

People with long memories might remember the 1980s Metal band Madam X, which featured Sebastian Bach on vocals, and the sister duo of Maxine Petrucci (guitars) and Roxy Petrucci (drums). Roxy Petrucci would go on to find some success with all-girl Metallers Vixen, while Maxine started another all-female band, Hell’s Belles, which didn’t get much recognition thanks to the changing musical climate they found themselves stuck in.

Now, Maxine Petrucci is back with a new solo album, Titania. Maxine handles vocals, guitars, and most of the bass duties on this. Roxy Petrucci takes care of the drums, and guest players like Billy Sheehan lend their chops.

Running at about 30 minutes, Titania is 10 tracks of fun, catchy, Hard Rock, performed by experienced musicians who are old hands at playing tunes like this. Maxine Petrucci is a skilled guitarist, and she throws out lots of good solos and riffs on this album. Her vocals aren’t as notable as her playing, but Maxine Petrucci’s singing is solid, with equal measures of grit, personality, and playfulness. Her lyrics aren’t “deep” by any stretch of the imagination, but they’re serviceable enough, with dashes of humor and attitude added when the situation calls for them.

Outside of an obligatory instrumental track (“Max Attacks”), which is basically an extended guitar solo, the songs on Titania are well-constructed and enjoyable. It’s very heavy Hard Rock (but not quite heavy enough to be Metal), with tasty riffs, big grooves, catchy vocals, and memorable hooks. The title track (featuring Billy Sheehan) is a lot of fun, with a very infectious chorus that will get stuck in your head, and “Squeeked” is another fast, fun rocker (samples of both of these songs can be heard at Maxine’s Web site, listed below). “Pathetic” is another good song, and is one of the faster-paced ones on the album.

“Fun” is a good word to describe Titania, since it’s just enjoyable to listen to. It’s not fancy and it doesn’t want to change the world, but it rocks enough to make you happy. Music doesn’t have to have deep meaning, just as long as you like what you hear.

The Japanese release of Titania features one extra track, “Always Been.” Too bad that it didn’t make it onto the North American version of the album, since it’s pretty good.

Titania is a good slab of “Arena Rock” from veteran rocker Maxine Petrucci, and is worthy of a recommendation.