Mad Season
Above

THE REVIEW

Mad Season was the name chosen in '94 for Layne Staley's side project, which involved, alongside the famous singer, other figures from the music scene of the time. Joining him were “Pearl Jam” guitarist Mike McCready and “Screaming Trees” drummer Barrett Martin, while the bass was placed in the capable hands of John Baker Saunders.

The result of this unusual collaboration is “Above”, a work completed during the decline of grunge, inheriting its class and characteristics. The album presents itself with dark hues, balancing between melancholy, unease, discomfort, rebellion; yet always melodic, even in its harshest and darkest moments. In any case, songs like “Lifeless Dead” speak volumes about the atmosphere that pervades the listening experience. Staley's raw and damned singing, the true protagonist, manages to express itself in all its natural essence, in a sort of self-portrait of the soul, as in the haunting “River of Deceit”, where the depths of pain are explored.

The music does not fall short either: Mike McCready successfully experiments with rough and dirty sounds, sharp and biting tones, unusual for him, but now revealed. Even the seven instrumental minutes of the captivating “November Hotel” do not bore, on the contrary, they further elucidate the validity of the members of the improvised band and the successful fusion of their techniques. Conversely, the extremes of the record, such as “Wake Up” and “All Alone”, stand out for their hypnotic cadence. In two of the best tracks, instead, Mark Lanegan's participation, singer of the “Screaming Trees”, becomes vivid and unique. In the first of these, “I’m Above”, the rhythm accelerates and the voice unleashes, while in the other, the splendid and suffering “Long Gone Day”, there's a free outpouring of emotions with bluesy undertones.

Moreover, the strong emotions that emerge are the true success of “Above”, one of the last masterpieces produced by Seattle's brief, intense, and frenetic rock period.