MAD SEASON

Heavy Alternative Rock • United States
MetalMusicArchives.com — the ultimate metal music online community, from the creators of progarchives.com
MAD SEASON picture
Mad Season was an American hard rock, grunge band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1994 by members of three popular Seattle-based bands: Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Screaming Trees. Mad Season released only one album, Above, and is best known for the single "River of Deceit". The band went on a semi-permanent hiatus in 1996 due to the band members' conflicting schedules and vocalist Layne Staley's problems with substance abuse. Attempts were made in the late 1990s to revive the group without Staley; however, the band dissolved following the death of bassist John Baker Saunders in 1999. Staley died three years later of a drug overdose.

During the production of Pearl Jam's Vitalogy, guitarist Mike McCready went into rehabilitation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he met bassist John Baker Saunders. In 1994, when the two returned to Seattle, Washington, they formed a side band with drummer Barrett Martin. McCready played in
read more...
Thanks to Lynx33 for the addition and 666sharon666 for the updates

MAD SEASON Online Videos

See all MAD SEASON videos

Buy MAD SEASON music

More places to buy metal & MAD SEASON music

MAD SEASON Discography

MAD SEASON albums / top albums

MAD SEASON Above album cover 3.50 | 6 ratings
Above
Heavy Alternative Rock 1995

MAD SEASON EPs & splits

MAD SEASON Hard Candy album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Hard Candy
Heavy Alternative Rock 1995

MAD SEASON live albums

MAD SEASON Live At The Moore album cover 2.50 | 1 ratings
Live At The Moore
Heavy Alternative Rock 2013

MAD SEASON demos, promos, fans club and other releases (no bootlegs)

MAD SEASON re-issues & compilations

MAD SEASON singles (0)

MAD SEASON movies (DVD, Blu-Ray or VHS)

.. Album Cover
0.00 | 0 ratings
Live At The Moore
Heavy Alternative Rock 1995

MAD SEASON Reviews

MAD SEASON Above

Album · 1995 · Heavy Alternative Rock
Cover art Buy this album from MMA partners
UMUR
"Above" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Seattle, Washington based rock/hard rock act Mad Season. The album was released through Columbia Records in March 1995. Mad Season was formed by guitarist Mike McCready (Pearl Jam) and bassist John Baker Saunders, when the two met at a Minneapolis drug rehabilitation center in 1994. When the treatment was completed they returned to Seattle and formed The Gacy Bunch, with vocalist Layne Staley (Alice in Chains) and drummer Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees), which soon changed name to Mad Season. The group was rather short lived as a combination of Layne Staley´s serious drug issues and conflicting schedules made them disband in 1996. John Baker Saunders had a relapse with heroin and died of a drug overdose in January 1999 and Layne Staley died in April 2002. Also as a result of a drug overdose.

So Mad Season was definitely an act with their fair share of drug experiences, and it rubs off on the music which is a type of laid back psychadelic tinged rock/hard rock. It´s often so stoned and laid back that you can almost picture these guys playing in a heroin haze. Which of course isn´t true since it was only Layne Staley who had those issues while recording "Above". They occasionally play some more punchy hard rocking parts, but the album is predominantly more mellow and laid back. The use of instruments like cello, marimba, and vibraphone, in addition to the regular rock instrumentation of guitars, bass, and drums, further enhances the soft and mellow sound of the music. Mad Season have also opted to include saxophone on "Long Gone Day", which is a real treat, and fits in perfectly with the song´s atmosphere.

The 10 track, 55:36 minutes long album is an organic listen, featuring a pleasant sound production and blues and roots rock influences. The material is relatively well written, but not necessarily that catchy upon first listen. "Above" is definitely a grower, but it never really grows beyond being a good listen. For that there are too many sections where not enough happens, and you as a listener are left listening to a couple of guys who obviously enjoyed playing together, but don´t always manage to channel that joy of playing to their audience. That´s probably a harsh choice of words, but although a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved, I still feel the need to voice my opinion on some of the issues concerning "Above" and not just the good things.

MAD SEASON Movies Reviews

No MAD SEASON movie reviews posted yet.

MAD SEASON Shouts

Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Deviance Deathcore
ASHES INTO BLOOD
Buy this album from MMA partners
Equilibrium Atmospheric Sludge Metal
BESRA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tension Between Rot And Genesis Sludge Metal
ANTHESIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Recycle Brain Crust Punk
C.P.G
Buy this album from MMA partners
Cartography Of The Mind Deathcore
TETHERED
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us