Mushroomhead He is back with a new album and with some changes in his line-up, highlighting as the most relevant the return of Jason J Man Popson as a vocalist, but keeping Waylon Reavis -his successor when Popson left- now becoming a band with 3 vocalists, with Jeffry Nothing complementing the triplet.
This plate is born after -without penalty or glory- ‘Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children’, and although it has only been a few weeks of having seen the light, it already has very good reviews and not only that, it sold approximately 11,000 copies in its first week of exhibition and was ranked 20 in the top 200 of Billboard and in places 1 and 5 of the charts from the same count belonging to the best-selling album of Hard rock and Indie [WTF?], As well as in the general Rock charts. In short, it has become a best seller.
‘Our Apologies’ It is the track that opens this new installment, showing that the combination of the vocal styles and the dizzying speed of the song, make it a perfect choice to introduce us to this new work by Mushroomhead. It must undoubtedly be one of the most accelerated songs of the group, a massive display of their vocals, guitars, and synthesizers. However, if you are a fan from hell of the band, you will know that no album of theirs is linear and does not keep trend between their songs. ‘How Many Times’ it is well mischievous and experimental, it loses speed against its predecessor, but it is much more evil, dark and dense.
The album continues with ‘Devils Be Damned”, whose structure is very similar to the song that opens the album, fast, powerful, hard, that invites you to move your head like a madman from top to bottom. And then, an instrumental entry worthy of a nightmare waltz gives way to ‘Qwerty’ un -debo decirlo- “rapeo” macabro, aderezado con guitarras que aceleran o bajan de intensidad según la orden las vocales. Es una canción perfecta para conciertos y Mushroomhead lo sabe, no por nada está en su setlist, además de ser un single promocional del disco. Estoy seguro el publico gritara con todo el Boom boom and the "Fuck you".
‘Portraits of the Poor’ and ‘Childlike’ [with the appearance of 10,000 Cadillacs Just Mic] are those typical calm but disturbing songs, which the band generally uses as a bridge between two very powerful songs, although in both, the sound of the piano gives them a very particular touch and enhancement. What if, as I predicted! ‘This Cold Reign’ it is piercing and powerful, it has practically no rest and it lacks melodic parts. Could it be that live will alternate J Mann and Waylon, 2 of the now 3 vocalists and who are the harsh and throaty voice.
A southern sound, well in the style of Rob Zombie and the feminine / burlesque voice of Jackie Laponza of Unsaid Fate accompany all the time to ‘We are the Truth’, that if it is rare, it stays very short with ‘Son of 7’ -at least at the beginning-, because after a start totally out of place, weird, sui generisThe guitars and vocals typical of the Cleveland, Ohio natives arrive and everything returns to normal. ‘For your Pleasure’ It is supported by piano sounds - again, and perhaps the band is exaggerating in the use of this resource - and returns us to relative tranquility, to continue with ‘Worlds Collide’, la cual considero un bache en el álbum, pues si bien tiene el sello de la casa, lo tiene en el mal sentido. Peca de monótona y me recuerda porque grandes clásicos como ‘Solitaire-unraveling’ from the album "XX" I was never captivated, as I prefer the twisted and sick facet that surprises you with those unexpected nuances. Boring.
Digno de una película de horror, con el sonido de grillos de un jardín maldito, un reloj de cuerda, las risas de pequeños infantes y -de nuevo- un piano [pero mucho más misterioso y perturbante] es el preludio de ‘Graveyard du Jour’ . Yes, maybe those who read this and listen to the album can throw in my face the argument that it is just as monotonous as the previous one, but its atmosphere is totally different. It is dark and gripping. You don't even realize the time, it seems like it lasts a minute, which actually was almost 4 minutes. It absorbs you, captivates you, keeps you pending, an excellent track.
‘Out of my Mind’ sin duda pondrá a girar la cabeza y brincar a quien la escuche, previo a la sorpresa del álbum, cuando ‘Rumor hast It’, un cover de Adele [Si, leiste bien… Adele] hace su aparición. El inicio es casi imposible de no relacionarlo con ‘Links 234’ de los alemanes Rammstein, además del tono industrial que Mushroomhead le da a toda la canción, llenandola de distorsiones y sintetizadores. Definitely a very good closing.
‘The Righteuos & The Butterfly’ es en resumen, un buen disco. Si, no es para nada algo fuera de serie y mucho menos una evolución radical -para bien o para mal- de Mushroomhead, pero queda bien claro que ellos conocen su formula y se mantienen en ella, intentando no variar demasiado entre cada producción. Si eres fan de la banda, créeme, esto es “pan con lo mismo” but it does not mean that it is bad. It will be what you expect from them and you will like it.