This summer is proving to be an interesting time for fans of Mushroomhead. For those who may not have already heard, former Mushroomhead vocalist Waylon Reavis’ current band, A Killer’s Confession, is set to release its latest album, Victim 1 next month. Also, fellow former vocalist Jeffrey Hatrix (a.k.a. Jeffrey Nothing) has been making his own noise with news that he is planning to launch his own Mushroomhead lineup under the moniker of Jeffrey Nothing’s Mushroomhead. He has been raising the topic through his official Facebook page. And this past week, the current lineup of Mushroomhead released its latest album, Call the Devil. The 13-song record is a standout new offering from the band as its musical arrangements display from one to the next. They will be discussed shortly. The record’s lyrical themes are just as engaging as the new musical compositions and will be addressed a little later. The album’s production, brings the finishing touch to the presentation here, completing the whole. When it is considered along with the overall content, the whole makes Call The Devil a powerful, engaging and entertaining new offering from Mushroomhead that well deserves to be heard.
Call The Devil, the latest album from Mushroomhead (the band’s ninth full-length studio recording) is an interesting new offering from the veteran metal outfit. The record’s interest comes in great part through its featured musical arrangements. The arrangements are of note in that they show so much growth from the band this time out from its existing albums. From beginning to end, audiences do get elements of the band’s familiar semi-Euro metal approach, but at the same time there is much more this time around, too. Case in point is the rather dark, heavy, prog-metal style approach taken in the album’s penultimate entry, ‘Shame in a Basket.’ The familiar melodic hard t be sound and style for which the band has come to be know is present here. At the same time though, there is also something deeper in the contemplative moments in this song, what with the subdued, melancholy piano line alongside that familiar approach that makes this arrangement stand out.
On another note, the album’s latest single, ‘We Don’t Care,’ is another sign of the band’s growth. That is because it is the album’s most commercially viable song. The heavy, bluesy banger is easily comparable to works form the likes of Corrosion of Conformity, Hellyeah, Pantera, and others of that ilk. It is a powerful composition that is also quite infectious. Again, the more familiar Euro-leanings are there and the balance of the two elements makes the whole a completely immersive work.
One more song that stands out and shows the growth from the band comes late in the album’s body in the form of ‘Decomposition.’ The creepy circus music at its core makes for quite the unique presentation. Add in vocals that match that arrangement stylistically, and listeners get a song in whole that is one of the most unique that the band has ever crafted. When this composition and the others examined here are considered along with the rest of the album’s entries, the whole makes for reason enough for audiences to hear Call The Devil. The lyrical themes that accompany the album’s musical arrangements make for even more reason for audiences to give this record a chance.
The lyrical themes presented throughout Call The Devil are just as unique as their musical counterparts. Case in point is the early entry, ‘Emptiness.’ Full discretion, this is just this critic’s interpretation, but this song’s theme comes across as being one of overcoming one’s personal demons. This is inferred through the song’s lead verse and chorus, which state, “Desperate to disconnect/Overjoyed to escape/Pacified by its caress/But sickened by the taste/Falling toward forever/Broken down inside/Never ever ever satisfied/Until you…/Return the life you’ve grown to hate/Reclaim your expiration date/Intentions unexplained/Yours alone to behold.” This comes across as being a statement about people in such a state that they welcome being alone, facing those emotions but at the same time hating them. There will never be resolution so to speak until those people take control of those thoughts and refuse to just give in and give up. The seeming theme continues in the song’s second verse, which states, “Another dose of emptiness/Another portrait of waste/Unable to control the depths of your disgrace.” Therein lies the seeming continued battle with those negative thoughts and emotions until in the song’s third verse, the battle seems won as it states, “A battle is born of the deepest desires/And a commitment to the uncontrollable urge to self-destruct/Easily beaten and torn by the bastards within/Do not let the bastards win.” That last statement, that reminder to not let the negative forces win is a fitting final point here. It is a reminder to not give up even as dark and thoughts and feelings may get. Again, this is all just this critic’s interpretation. Keeping this all in mind, this song is a clear example of the important role that the lyrical themes in Call The Devil hold to its overall presentation.
Another example of that importance comes through the much latter entry, ‘Hideous.’ In the case of this song, the theme seems to be one of social and political consciousness. This as the song’s lead verse and chorus state, “The deepest lore could never predict the scene/The purest form of societal disease/The planet recedes in horror of the species/Collision course with our true destiny/Bloodlust compounded by our greed/Maniacal totalitarian regimes/All taken away from you/Beyond wants and needs/The case for our existence fading day by day/Resonate/Replicate/Desecrate/Decimate.” This comes clearly as a sociopolitical commentary about what humans have done to Earth and to ourselves. It comes across as an indictment stating mankind deserves less and less to exist on this planet. It is not an incorrect statement, either. Yes there are good people out there but there are also such bad people who have done so much bad that it is becoming less reasonable for humans to continue on. One cannot help but agree with this seeming viewpoint to a certain extent. The indictment continues in the second verse, noting, “Hideous life forms/Machines of endless hate/Insidious bygones/Unique in our disgrace/Xenophobic masochists/Split hairs among the waste/Encased upon this dying shell/Existence deteriorates/In dust all that we lust/Reveal the truth we have always known/For one time in our lives/Reveal the truth that we have always known.” This is pure anger towards what mankind has done and how we have ignored it, opting to not see it or hear it. It is hardly the first time that any band has addressed what the human race has done to itself and its home but is just as engaging here as in the case as from other bands.
‘We Don’t Care’ is one more example of the importance of Call The Devil’s lyrical content. That is because just as with its musical arrangement, its lyrical theme and how it is delivered is by far some of the most accessible the band has produced to date. The theme here is that of dealing with fake people. This is inferred through the song’s lead verse and chorus, which state, “They say talk is cheap/But silence is cheaper/A little late to make amends/One more time to sever ties deeper/To never get fooled again/Couldn’t care any less/Not afraid anymore/Do what we need to do/One more time/To make the cuts cleaner/Is all we need from you/Well you say all you want/To protect your pride/Convince yourself you feel good inside/We don’t care/We don’t give a f***/And you can blame all your problems on somebody else/When you crated all this mess yourself/We don’t care/We don’t give a f***.” This comes across clearly as commentary to those fake, toxic people who refuse to take responsibility and accountability for their actions and themselves/But more time keeps slipping away/Every mistake made your way/. This is that statement of “we are done with you” to those people. The commentary is, again, not unfamiliar to the rock and metal realm and hits just as hard here as with any other band’s delivery thereof. When this theme and the others examined here are considered along with the rest of the album’s lyrical content the whole collectively gives listeners all the more reason to take in this record. When the collective lyrical content is considered along with the album’s musical arrangements, that whole makes for all the more reason to take in this record.
The overall musical and lyrical material presented throughout Call the Devil goes a long way toward making the album a success. It is just part of what makes the album worth hearing. The album’s production puts the finishing touch to its presentation, expertly balancing the heaviness and richness in the instrumentation in each song with the vocals. The result is that each song presents itself in a rather well-balanced manner with no one part overpowering the others. To result is a positive aesthetic that does just as much to keep listeners engaged and entertained as the album’s overall content. All things considered they make this record one of Mushroomhead’s most notable offerings to date.
Call the Devil, the latest album from Mushroomhead, is an engaging and entertaining new offering from the veteran metal outfit that longtime fans and more casual listeners will appreciate. That is due in part to its featured musical arrangements. The arrangements are of note because of the growth and evolution they serve to exhibit from the band. The lyrical themes featured alongside the album’s arrangements are also of note. That is because of their own depth and their messages. The production that went into the album puts the finishing touch to the presentation as it expertly balances each element of this whole. The result is a record that sounds just as good as its content. Each item examined throughout this review is important in its own way to the whole of Call the Devil. All things considered they make the album one more welcome addition to this year’s field of new hard rock and metal albums.
Call the Devil is available now through Napalm Records. More information on the album is available along with all of Mushroomhead’s latest news at:
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