Hello my mate! Last year was pretty hectic for you and the other guys of Mad Max. You released an album (Night Of White Rock) and an EP (In White). In addition to that you already started to work on the new album to be released end of February. You were also touring and doing gigs quite a lot. How did you have time to do all of this?

Juergen: Yes, 2006 was a very busy and successful year for MAD MAX. Due to the fact that NIGHT OF WHITE ROCK was selling so well and got so many positive reviews and due to the extensive touring we did, we had a very special positive vibe in the band. Everything we did seemed to work out. There were no discussions - we just did it! I think this is the secret - it's alot of work, but also it's fun and positive energy!

You launched last year a new term to describe you current music style, i.e. "White Rock". You new album "White Sands" continues this story very nicely. Would you give us a rundown of the tracks on White Sands.

Juergen:

Family Of Rock - this song is for all our friends, fans and true believers - we all together are the family of rock!

Little Princess - this one is about child abuse - very heavy lyrics that you would not expect from MAD MAX maybe!

Heaven Is... - very catchy hookline - with a little bit DEF LEPPARD feel - heaven is sometimes not what you ecpect it to be

Someone Like You - very riff-oriented - like Mira put it: our SCORPS Rock you like a hurricane!  

Lluvia - instrumental with Spanish vibe - lluvia means "rain"

We Fight In White - our motto

Change It - if there is something going wrong in your life - do something - change it

Glorious Night - kind of a power ballad with worship touch!

Too Wrong - the story of someone searching for the right way - little bit of early KISS style rocker

War - the heaviest song we ever did !

White Sands sounds a bit heavier than Night Of White Rock. What I have understood the reviewers seem to appreciate it. Do you think it will be the same case with the fans of yours? Was this heavier style in your mind already before you started to work on the new album?

Juergen: After the very successful acoustic EP "In White" we wanted to show the fans that we still can rock very heavy - heavier than a lot of people would have expected from us. But - to be honest - when writing the songs, we didn't really think about that - we just write what we feel! There's no real plan. But, seeing all the press reactions from all around the world - we did the right thing at the right time!

There are some interesting and thoughtful lyrics on White Sands, such as Little Princess. It seems that you have toned down the Christian aspect. Would you agree?

Juergen: All the lyrics are still based on Christian aspects, but on the new album we wanted to show a few other aspects. "Little Princess" is dealing with the topic child abuse and "War" - the heaviest song we ever did - is our statement against violence and war. We are a rockband that definitely has something to say, we are not only singing worshipsongs.

Would you tell us something about the writing and composing process?

Juergen: Michael Voss and I went to a little finca in the hills of Mallorca/Spain and wrote all the new songs. There was no handy, no internet - nothing - just the two of us. It was a very intensive time and you can hear this special vibe on the album. We even kept all the lead vocals we did on Mallorca, because they were so intense - there would have been no chance of repeating that in a studio. On the album there is a bonus "making of" where you can see some impressions of the writing process. (Photo on the right: Vossi and Juergen in a Spanish mood.)  

Your new album, White Sands sounds really good, but it is pretty short, though. There are really only 9 songs, accompanied by one instrumental track which could be considered as an interlude. Why is that?

Juergen: On Mallorca we did those 10 songs that are building "White Sands". We had the feeling that we wanted to keep this vibe on the album - songs from another time period would have destroyed this vibe - for the fans we put one bonus - track ("Shine On You") on the album and the "making of".

You decided not to have any keys on White Sands. Do you think it was a good decision?

Juergen: There was absolutely no plan for having no keyboards on the album - it just came naturally while writing the songs. Basically MAD MAX was and is a 4 - piece band based on guitars. So for us it's not really a surprise having no keyboards on board.

What kind of feedback have you received from your fans as regards your reunion and the albums released last year?

Juergen: We are so happy that there still is such a strong fanbase after all these years worldwide and we are happy to have gained so many new fans, both from the Christian rockscene and the classicrock scene - I have the impression that the fans really appreciate to stick to a real band rather to all those projects that never ever make it on a stage - we play live, no line-up changes - what you see is what you get!

White Sands and In White will be released in Japan, followed by Night Of White Rock later this year. Are you ready to be big in Japan? What do you think, will your Christian style of rock go down with Japanese rock fans? Any plans for doing gigs there as well?  

Juergen: We are proud to get an Japanese release - it's not easy right now to achieve this - times are getting tougher businesswise - even in Japan. There are a lot of STRYPER and SCORPIONS fans in Japan that seem to have discovered MAD MAX. Later in fall we will try to do a few shows over there supported by our Japanese record company.

You'll be touring with Axel Rudi Pell (end Jan. - beg. Feb). How did you end up to tour with ARP? Do you have any other touring plans for the spring or summer? Do you assume this year to be as hectic as the previous one was?

Juergen: Hopefully this year will be even more busy - MAD MAX is established now more than early 2006 - people know that we are back and through all those shows in 2006 we proved that we are a strong live band. I guess this is the main reason AXEL RUDI PELL invited us for his European tour. This is a great opportunity for us to play in front of a more heavy rock oriented audience. Later in the year we will go for another big tour all around Europe - we're right now working on a few options. Definitely the "family of rock" will come to your town - check us out!

Thanks for your time. I wish you and the rest of your family of rock all the best in 2007!

Juergen: Thanks to our friends at www.rockunited.com and to all our Scandinavian fans!

23 January 2007
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