Artist: Mushroomhead
Label: Eclipse Records
Release Date: 5/8/01
|
|
Title: XX Artist: Mushroomhead Label: Eclipse Records Release Date: 5/8/01 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
|
2 | ||
|
4 | ||
|
3 | ||
|
|
Go to Reader Reviews | ||
Abyss's Review:
While I haven’t read any interviews or press releases about this band, I’m sure they all mention that these particular artists hate the fact that they are constantly compared to Slipknot. Actually, I haven’t read anything about this band, including anyone else’s take on them, so I’m not even sure anyone has compared them to the Slipsters, but if no one has- I’d be really surprised. What with their nu-metal persona and elaborately masked faces, this band looks as if they’re begging to be compared to Slipknot. And while every band I know hates to be compared to someone else, it is all together necessary because there is so little truly original music out there. So I guess this is a note to all bands in all genres: if you don’t want stupid poser writers like me comparing you to other bands, do yourself a favor and do something completely different. It ain’t our job to make you sound original. It’s amazing how many conversations I’ve had with band members and music fans where they say they sound nothing like those they’re compared to. Most say something like, “sure we were influenced by them early on, but we’ve grown way past that… we’ve added keyboards!” You know, a banana is different than a plantain, but you sure as fuck can compare the two. Can you imagine a banana getting all indignant during an interview, “Man, that plantain shit has just been all played out, I’ve been doing this yellow fatty bean thing all this time… old school.” My reason for saying this is, well I guess I wanted you to imagine someone interviewing a banana, but also for those of you who have heard nothing about Mushroomhead, they are a lot like Slipknot.
"My reason for saying this is, well I guess I wanted you to imagine someone interviewing a banana, but also for those of you who have heard nothing about Mushroomhead, they are a lot like Slipknot." There, I said it. And I bet I’m not the only one. And of course they’re not exactly like Slipknot, but they’re pretty fucking close. They wear masked, over the top costumes and play low-end nu-metal. Whatever else they say won’t change that fact. The differences between them and their peers is that they seem to shift the influences a bit. Faith No More is obviously a big influence on this band, as the keyboards and clean vocals pay homage to the band. These moments are surrounded by your run of the mill low-tuned, groovy riffs that you can pogo to. They are mildly successful to a point. They definitely have the head bobbing groove to find their way onto the cd player of many a fourteen year old, but their ambition is also their demise.
The Patton like crooning that is evident throughout the album is way below par, and is very distracting. This band would have done better to avoid it all together. The singer seems like he’s struggling to stay in tune, but even when tone is the problem he just doesn’t have a good voice. There is one exception, however, the song “New Cult King” has vocals that are surprisingly adept, sounding a lot like Mr. Patton. I’m not sure if it’s through technical assistance or a guest singer, but these vocals are awesome compared to the nasal interpretations that appear everywhere else.
I don’t think this band is all that bad - heck, they’re probably amongst the better in the genre, but there is really nothing here that will ever cause me to listen to this album again. However, if I was at a bar listening to top forty all night, and one of these songs came on it would make me happy.
Death's Review:
I had heard of Mushroomhead before, primarily through a friend of a friend who knew the band from living in the Cleveland, OH area. Talking to people in the circles he ran in back in Ohio, it seemed that everybody loved Mushroomhead, and each person totally insisted that I had to fucking hear this band. More adamantly, they insisted that I had to fucking see this band live to completely understand how awesome they were. So, while I had no idea what Mushroomhead actually sounded like, I have to admit that I was interested.
Then the posting began. Although the MetalJudgment.com web board is extraordinarily rudimentary and therefore doesn't really see all that much daily activity, Redwolff, Solomon and I, together with a core group of regular posters, have recently been trying to have a go of it. One day, the Mushroomhead posts started appearing. It seemed like every day, sometimes twice a day, some jackass decided to violate every rule of web board etiquette by posting something along the lines of "Mushroomhead fuckin' rawks, yo. Check this krazy next level shit out now before it slams you fuckin' face in, bee-otch!" Every day. Those of us who were legitimately trying to use these web boards to talk about metal started to get annoyed, and these posts were becoming downright ridiculous.
"Mushroomhead fuckin' rawks, yo. Check this krazy next level shit out now before it slams you fuckin' face in, bee-otch!" So, in honor of Mephistopholes, Devilboil, Twilightofthedead and Crimhead, before discussing the XX record, I am going to use part of the Mushroomhead album review to prop the Metal Judgment.com web board, a penance of sort for Mushroomhead's using our web board to spam-prop Mushroomhead. Here goes:
There are three sections to the MJ web board: Metal Albums, Metal Concerts, and General Metal. Metal albums has become the main posting area, and this is where the best discussions occur. Metal Concerts is the least frequented section, although people do tend to discuss tours and give festival update information there. General Metal has pretty much deteriorated into a spam-fest, a place to post links to MP3 sites featuring samples of unsigned bands and stuff like that. Whatever. But trust me - even here, a single post (or, if you must, a post every month or so at the most) will surely suffice.
"an adventurous, powerful and creative band which probably does kick serious ass live. At the end of the day, I'm on board." Now that that my artificial Mushroomhead grudge has been purged, I move on to an unbiased review of the band's debut national release, XX. Bottom line? While inconsistent in delivery, perhaps due mostly to the fact that the record is a mere collection of the "the best of their independent releases in remixed form," XX shows an adventurous, powerful and creative band which probably does kick serious ass live. At the end of the day, I'm on board.
Picture a mixture of Pantera, Slipknot and Faith No More. Pantera, for the guitar sound and the riffing. Slipknot for the crazy masks and the eight band members with ridiculous pseudonyms. Faith No More for the live-sounding keys and the Mike Paton-esque vocals and dynamics. Does this interest you? Well then you should know that Mushroomhead sounds only slightly less interesting than such a creative combination might sound. But they do the job, and they do it right: to the extent they draw on Pantera, it's Vulgar Display; to the extent they draw on Faith No More, it's The Real Thing and Angel Dust. But nothing on this Mushroomhead release comes close to the transcendental force evident on any of those records. It does kick ass-in many ways, there hasn't been enough bands copping the Faith No More sound, and at least Mushroomhead does so from a darker, hardcore and/or metallic perspective. To the extent they come off as Slipknot clones, I have to remind myself that Mushroomhead have been together since 1993, and although I don't know if they always wore the masks, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
So the bottom line is, I like Mushroomhead. I think they are a breath of fresh air on the music scene that, while ultimately derivative, are far more original than the scores of other releases coming out now in the contemporary scene. And I have strong suspicion that if I was to see Mushroomhead live, I would leave there totally convinced. So I'll go out on a limb and give XX four skulls, hoping that when Mushroomhead finally emerges with a freshly record album of new material for national release, they'll win the rest of you over so I can tout my openmindedness about Mushroomhead as a testament to my ear for talent rather than an embarrassing blight on my critical resume.
"Now stop spam-posting to the god-damned message board" Now stop spam-posting to the god-damned message board.
Hel's Review:
Favorite Faith No More impersonation on the record: "Never Let It Go"I have to admit, I protested against reviewing this album. As many frequenters to our web board noticed, some people went a bit overboard trying to hype this thing. Not only was our board relentlessly spammed, but my mailbox was hit as well. And it is as I feared, not only have I been irritated by the overzealous promotion, I don't like the record much. So now what do I do? What I always do in this situation, grit my teeth and try to be as objective as I can muster myself to be.
The two major components that seem to set the tone of this record are the vocals and the keyboards. The keys are used in two ways: 1) the techno/"rave" style, and 2) Faith No More style. And essentially, there are three types of vocals utilized: 1) overt Faith No More homage, 2) hardcore scream, and 3) nu-metal (or whatever the hell they're calling it these days) style rap (done fairly well, but nonetheless…).
Point of fact, I have not been able to finger a band as blatantly devoted to Faith No More since God Lives Underwater. While I am a huge FNM fan myself, I simply need more from a band than essentially a rehash of someone else's material. And granted, there is more to Mushroomhead than that, but, reviewing the last paragraph should clue you in to the direction of that, and if you know me at all… It doesn't make it better for me.
"Ultimately, I consider this band as falling into the category of "metal junk food" - sure, they're empty calories, and for some irresistible, but others won't be bothered." The beat is often bouncy, and if you swap Mushroomhead's obvious FNM influence for more steady, industrialized guitar riffing, then perhaps I can visualize these Slipknot references they resent so much, but honestly, it doesn't matter who wore the masks first - the other band got famous first, and you are doomed to be the ones who are "like" them for all eternity.
And I feel bad for them on that token. I also realize objectively that, as far as bands to emulate go, they certainly could have picked worse. No, I'm not going to wander around singing the praises of this album, nor will I be telling everyone who will listen how bad it is. I believe some people will find value in this album, and others will not, the dependent variable in the equation is what the individual is looking for from it.
Ultimately, I consider this band as falling into the category of "metal junk food" - sure, they're empty calories, and for some irresistible, but others won't be bothered. I am awarding them an extra pity skull as acknowledgment for this merit, although I personally don't want to be bothered, and at this point, I'd rather be on a diet. Can I go now?
[- Metal Judgment Home -] [- Email Metal Judgment -]
©1999 Metal Judgment. All rights reserved.