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What happens when you put together three dudes who're pissed off at their old band, a crazy-ass vocalist with a few screws loose and high doses of beautiful, addictive Teutonic Metal? X-fucking Wild happens, that's what! Created as a big "fuck you" to Rolf Kasparek in 1993 by Jens Becker, Axel Morgan and Stefan Schwarzmann, the band quickly got to work and released three albums (Schwarzmann left the band in 1995 and Frank Ullrich replaced him in 1996) before parting ways, and Monster Effect is the second and heaviest of them all.

I used to listen to X-Wild a lot when I was a kid, and true Metal hymns like "Wild Knight", "Heads Held High" and "Sons of Darkness" are some of the reasons why I love German Heavy Metal so much to this day. The mix of fast and powerful riffs, Becker's piercing bass lines and Frank Knight's harsh vocals take you back to the 90s like few other bands will, and while I still think Savageland (1996) is better than this, the overall atmosphere of the album is the epitome of Euro Power/Speed for that era. This is packed with metallic testosterone from start to finish, from the mid-tempo badassery of "Dr. Sardonicus" to the gloomy vibe of the title track. If you're not familiar with these guys yet, do yourself a favor and buy this, go listen to it on YouTube, download it, steal it from someone or whatever; it is Metal in its most pure, honest and organic form.