Released by: Megaforce Records
Release Date: Out Now!!!
Genre: Metal
Links: https://www.facebook.com/mushroomheadofficial
Line Up:
J Mann: Vocals
Jeffrey Nothing : Vocals
Waylon : Vocals
Shmotz : Keyboards
Skinny : Drums
Stitch : Samples & Drums
Church : Guitar
Dr. F : Bass
Roberto Diablo : Drums
Tracklist:
01. Our Apologies
02. How Many Times
03. Devils Be Damned
04. Qwerty
05. Portraits Of The Poor
06. Childlike
07. This Cold Reign
08. We Are The Truth
09. Son Of 7
10. For Your Pleasure
11. Worlds Collide
12. Graveyard Du Jour
13. Out Of My Mind
14. Rumor Has It
After 2010’s rather disappointing Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children, Mushroomhead were in real need of a release which epitomised their devilishly fantastic 20 year musical career in the underground industrial metal scene. Although in the eyes of many, this Ohio based 9 piece never received the recognition they so rightfully deserved, the bands 8th studio album, The Righteous & the Butterfly is hands down one of Mushroomhead’s finest achievements to date – sporting 14 incredible tracks that will no doubt be classics in years to come.
If we forget about the lack lustred first single ‘Qwerty’ – a track which simply should have just been dropped from the album all together, The Righteous & the Butterfly is one of the finest albums of 2014 thus far; showing that a band who is both lyrically and aesthetically dark as Mushroomhead are capable of writing an album with contains both power and passion. Songs such as the enigmatic and mysterious ‘Childlike’, the eerie haunt of ‘How Many Times’ and quite surprisingly, the raunchy cover of Adele’s ‘Rumour Has It’, are all examples of how Mushroomhead’s synth/sample led take on Industrial metal has evolved for the better since Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children, providing the listener with three amazing songs which should have definitely been chosen as the lead single on this album over the god awful ‘Qwerty’.
As well as being the first album to feature new members Church on guitar and Dr.F on bass, The Righteous & the Butterfly is also the first Mushroomhead album to see all three of the bands former and current vocalists join forces. With Jeff Hatrix spilling forth his raspy demonic growls and J Mann and Waylon Reavis on clean duties, tracks such as the brutal as fuck, ‘Our Apologies’, the bouncy and energetic stomp of ‘We Are The Truth’ and the guitar driven ‘Son of 7’ have all the elements of both classic Mushroomhead and newer Mushroomhead, spawning forth a sound that is both easily accessible to those who have been fans of the band since the beginning, and those who have only recently discovered this 18 legged freak show.
Although this can be described as Mushroomhead’s heaviest release to date, it is also heavily driven by piano; adding a melodic and emotional touch to every song on this album. Bringing up the rear of the record, ‘For Your Pleasure’ and ‘Graveyard De Jour’ are two songs that combine both these elements to form an insane hybrid sound that is the living embodiment of all things evil. The riffs sound malevolent, the piano backing sounds like its ripped straight from a B-rate horror film, and the vocals sound downright demonic. This is how a Mushroomhead record should sound! It should scare the living shit out of you whilst captivating you within its web of musical intricacies.
There are not many bands who can survive a 20 year career in the music business, but after the impressive release of The Righteous & the Butterfly, it is evident that the mighty Mushroomhead are nowhere near reaching their swan song just yet. 13 amazing tracks (excluding Qwerty) make up this incredible album, and 13 amazing tracks are going to be spinning on your Ipod for years to come. 2014 is the year of Mushroomhead. Let us only hope that this is the year that they hit the big time!
Written by Matt Seddon
Ratings Matt 9/10
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