Madleaf
“Sinners”
By Reb Sixxx
(SugarBuzz International)
SugarBuzz Magazine
If you put Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Deep Purple into a blender, added just a dash of old Black Sabbath, and pressed LIQUEFY, you'd be 10 seconds from sucking down a bad-ass Madleaf smoothie.
The guys first met in an old tattoo studio back in 2004, and knew immediately they wanted to form a band. As they were leaving the studio, the four of them simultaneously noticed the slow spiral fall of the last leaf off an old tree. That leaf inspired their name, and Madleaf was born.
Madleaf hails from Athens Greece and consists of Lord Jim on vocals, Nick on guitar, Dorian on bass, and George on drums. Four members literally brought together by Fate. The band members were all part of other famous groups in Athens when they first came together. The singer, Lord Jim, came from the cult grunge-stoner rock group, “Lord 13”, who had supported bands like, “Hawkwind”, “Orange Goblin”, “Cathedral”, and “Nebula”. Drummer 
George has an alternative background and came from the Greece MTV featured bands, “Make-Believe” and “Porphyria”. Guitarist Nick came from the alternative band, “Human Asteroid”, and bassist Dorian, from the heavy metal bands, “Clairvoyant”, and “Night Guest”.
As luck would have it, I got a hold of a copy of their debut album entitled, “Sinners” and at first listen, I was stunned. The bass and drums are solid, thundering, and rhythmically perfect. The guitar is creative and technical, but never overwhelming. And the vocals are...well, American. I was shocked to hear a Greek sing such perfect sounding American lyrics. Eddie Vedder and Chris Cornell spring to mind.
I usually don't single out musicians in bands, but in this case I have to. Bass player Dorian, in my opinion, is a master musician. I am quite impressed with how he almost sounds like a rhythm guitarist at times and at other times sounds like part of the drums. The fills he uses are amazing to say the least, and makes this band sound completely full for only being a 4 piece.
As I listened to the CD in its entirety for the first time, I noticed that all of the songs on this CD are sprinkled lightly with psychedelic paranoia, and generally dosed with raw 90's grunge. A perfect musical recipe for an out-of-body, rock-n-roll experience.
There is no way I can just talk about one or two songs, so instead I'm going to review them all. Grab a beer, get comfortable, and get ready to rock.
The first track is, “Sinners”, and instead of reviewing this one, I've decided to let you review it for yourself. Check out the video and get ready to astral project. It kicks ass.
Track 2 is “Wave Girl”, and it starts out with a slow haunting guitar melody that gets steadily faster until it's loud, full, and electric. It reminds me of a dream, slowing taking flight, flying high and low over hills and valleys, and eventually landing softly on a bed of fragrant wildflowers. Great tune. Very powerful and moving.
The third track, “The Age of Reason”, starts out crunchy and atonal, and turns into a psychedelic acid trip. I hear faint Pink Floyd overtones and suddenly all I want to do is watch the walls breathe. Be careful of this song if it gets stuck on REPEAT. You may never be the same again.
Track 4 is “Velvet”, and is one of my favorite songs on the CD. It's radio-friendly and crosses all musical genres. No one on the planet could NOT like this song. It's impossible. The lyrics are easily memorable and it's one of the best jam songs I've ever heard. It's anthem-like nature slams into my soul and makes me unable to control my dancing. In fact, long after the song has ended, I often find myself STILL dancing to it's memory.
The fifth track, “Feed Me”, is my absolute favorite song. It starts out with a wicked bass-heavy groove, almost funk, and overtakes your soul before you can resist it. Throughout each chorus, someone takes a very long obvious hit of weed. I'm sure that was all fake though. It's not like Ozzy really did it on “Sweet Leaf”, right? I mean, RIGHT? Yeah. I thought you'd all agree with me. Pot is the Tool of the Devil and no one really smokes it anymore anyway. Right? *coughs* What was I saying? I totally forgot. Oh yeah! This song kicks ass and feeds my inner most “hippy”. It makes me want to wear tie-dye and follow Phish forever. Just listening to this song makes me want to never wash again and fully embrace filthy hair and bare feet. I just cannot stop listening to this song. Lucky for all of you, you can't smell me right now. It ain't pretty, Folks.
The sixth track, “Under My Head”, starts out with a perfectly slow and clean guitar riff, that eventually becomes dotted with crunchy power tones. It's also an extremely sexual sounding song to me. The bluesy and powerful 2's and 4's would make this tune a KILLER song to fuck long and hard to. And on THAT note, please excuse me. I'm alone and suddenly need a few moments to myself.
....................OH YEAH, BABY!!!!!!!
Now where were we? Oh yes. Track 7 is “Bliss”, which is a beautifully constructed instrumental. It makes my mind wander. It reminds me of diving into the deep blue ocean and exploring the world below. Feeling the cool water slide across my skin as my hair magically floats around my face. I think 
this song would be a perfect addition to any movie soundtrack.
“Dirty Bag” is the eighth track and has a true Pearl Jam feel to it. It's a slow and thoughtful song that has a steady pace throughout it. It starts out strong and maintains that level until it ends. It's slow enough that I would call it a power-ballad, but heavy and haunting enough that I should really call it a power-ballad on steroids. A very soothing and calm tune. I love it.
Track 9 is “Hand You the Crown”, and it also follows the Madleaf formula of success. It's slow and meandering. I hear faint remnants of The Doors in this song (sans the crazy organ). Being a self-proclaimed Doors fan, I am pulled into this song like Alice down the rabbit hole. This song just makes me want to sit paralyzed on the sofa and do absolutely nothing but close my eyes and listen. I can envision the beautiful hallucinations dancing around my mind. Tranquility at it's absolute finest.
The tenth track, “Space Lift”, gets the blood racing through my veins. This is also one of my favorite tunes and definitely one to listen to. This would be a great song to drive fast to. Passing everyone on the highways, smoothly changing lanes. The really cool thing about this tune is the vocals on the verses sound like they're being sung through an old tinny microphone from 100 years ago. This song just pumps me up and makes me wanna rock.
And finally, the last track to round out this excellent CD, is “Into the Sun”. Everything about this song screams RADIO. It's slow, it's fast, it's soft, it's heavy, and it's great to sing along to. The bridge is repetitive, heavy as hell, and the whispery mantra being spoken over the music makes me dizzy with rock-n-roll desire. I simply love this song.
So there you have it, people. “Sinners” is definitely one for the collection. Someone remind me to put this CD in my car so I can crank it to 10 and not worry about pissing off the neighbors. On second thought, fuck the 
neighbors. They need to hear this CD, too.
All in all this CD kicks bloody ass and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. Be the cool kid on the block and go buy it before your friends do. They'll worship you for the rest of your life.
And just to prove how great this CD is (and how cool the band is, too), Dorian was gracious enough to allow all of you to download the song, “Velvet” for FREE! Just click HERE and it's yours. Enjoy.
And on a final note, Madleaf recently signed a management contract and is planning a fall tour in Europe and the US. So look for them coming soon to a city near you. I suggest you all get your asses to one (or all) of their live shows. You will not be disappointed.
Aντίο, darlings.
Buy their Sinners CD HERE: