Review Summary: This is a best of album of mushroomhead's work before they were with a major label.
Mushroomhead is an eight piece band from Cleaveland. This is a best of cd from their previous music they released before they got signed to a major label. Even if you have their later work and don't like it I still reccomend this cd. Their sound has changed alot since this album was released. If your a first time listener of this band you can expect to hear is a great use of two vocalists and just overall superb lyrics. Don't judge the band because they wear masks. They actually put out some quality music.
What was good about the album:
The thing that seperates this band from other nu-metal bands is the flow during the rap verses. Unlike other nu-metal bands the rap vocalist actually has a pretty good flow. This is also the album that got me into metal bands with melody in general. The keyboards on this album go so well with the feel of the songs. I was really skeptical on buying this cd when I heard they had a keyboardist(I think thats a word?)but it really takes the album to a new level. The lyrics are superb on this album also. Most the songs on this cd have a darker feel to them. The keyboards just put in that creepy feel when your listening to the songs. They use they two vocalists great throughout the whole album,the lyrics seem as though they are specifically chosen for a certain vocalist. The song xeroxed is the biggest stand out track on the cd. On xeroxed they experiment with a death metal sound. I wish they would of experimented with the death metal sound a little more,because xeroxed sounded great. The nasal vocals from Jeffery Nothing are the biggest highlight on this album,I really wished they would have used him a little bit more throughout the album. J mann's growls sound excellent also,though they do get a bit boring after awhile. The best tracks are the ones that primarely use Jeffery Nothing,though j mann is a great vocalist jeffery nothing really distingquises the bands sound.
What was bad about the album:
The guitarwork on this cd isn't anything special,its pretty much the same as any other nu-metal bands. The drumming sounds good but it is much to simple. Their not fast and it is the same drumming sound on almost every song,I really wish they would have experimented with the drumming more. The blank tracks on here weren't neccesery either. And after waiting patiently through all the blank tracks you get bwomp(remix),which in general was the same as the original just longer with more sound effects,they didn't even change the lyrics! There are also a couple fillers here which I don't understand considering this is a complition album of their previous work. J mann's flow is good but his rap lyrics really lack something,which really brought the rap verses down a notch.
Overall this album was superb. There are fillers on here but they don't sound half bad though they don't really stand out compared to the rest,there still decent songs. To me this is really a breakthrough nu-metal album. Even with the average guitarwork and drumming,just the vocals,lyrics,and keyboards make up for it. All I can say about this album to explain it shortly is I don't understand why this band wasn't signed earlier if they were coming out with material like this! If your into nu-metal and you still haven't got this I highly reccomend it.
Reccomended tracks:
xeroxed
the new cult king
43
before I die
these filthy hands I reccomend them all but thes are the biggest stand out tracks.
before I die-5/5
bwomp-4/5
solitaire unraveling-5/5
these filthy hands-4.5/5
never let it go-4/5
xeroxed-5/5
the wrist-3.5/5
chancre sore-3/5
the new cult king-5/5
empty spaces-3/5
born of desire-4.5/5
43-5/5
fear held dear-3/5
too much nothing-4/5
episode 29-N/A
bwomp remix-4/5
