Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hair tossing, brain shaking rock to satisfy your metal soul, June 12, 2004
Mushroomhead truly reigns from the topmost tier of rock and metal, taking an art that can quickly become repetitive and turning it into a mind-boggling sensation of multiple sounds blending into one astounding taste of ear candy. The combination of vocals from Mann and Nothing never cease to intrigue me, one rough and the other melodic, but it is their ability to blend their differences so well that stands Mushroomhead out from the rest of the pack. Overall heavy rock with metal fusion, there are surprises in XIII that will tickle your musical tummy and perk your ears up in interest. My absolute favorite song on the CD would have to be Sun Doesn't Rise, but its difficult to pick just one from this amazing collection of songs. In Kill Tomorrow the treat is the tasty break in the song that provides a spectacular drum solo followed by rolling, crunching "railroad" guitars. Listen for the baby giggling in the background. Mother Machine Gun starts out with a beautiful piano solo, that quickly melds into Mann's growling vocals, before being joined by Nothing's mellow metal-croon. Nowhere to go and One More Day have some interestingly dark, intense moods. The Dream is Over and The War Inside are a pure, driving metal fest, and I can't leave out the beauty of the classical piano sounds in Our Own Way, sending us the lyrical message to "Arise! From your failures, Traitors all await your final fall." The synthesizer and drumming, marching mood in Destroy the World Around Me, with its building feeling of a premonition of dread, and don't forget to log in with your CD and pick up the copies of The Simpleton and Along The Way from Mushroomhead's website, a nice little bonus. I don't know what to say about Thirteen. It stirs the beast inside me in pleasing and yet uncomfortable ways. I can honestly see myself sitting on a grassy hillock, a crisp breeze fluttering my hair, looking out over the valleys as the world ends around me. That odd, Celtic feel brought to life with the guitar/synthesizer, as mournful as the sound of bagpipes rolling across fog shrouded Heaths. I feel like I am frozen, locked up rigid with longing, and forced to gaze into the abyss of my own mind. And just when you think the music is going to release you, a child's laughter fills your headphones, and the beast spreads its wings to lift you up once more, the same tune but deeper and more sorrowful, sharply contrasting with the baby's giggling. A choir is brought in now, lifting up the highs while the bass pounds lower still, and eventually fades into nothing more than the sounds of a scratchy record on an old phonograph. Then the song breaks into a remake of "Crazy" by a early nineties pop artist named Seal, taking something originally mediocre at best and cranking it into a modern rock masterpiece. Other bands have remade pop tunes successfully, like White Zombie's version of "Boogieman" and Dope's version of "You Spin Me Round", and Mushroomhead joins the ranks of those successful covers. Really, don't let anyone say this song is boring. It is very un-metal, but a truly talented band should be able to move you in mysterious ways, and Thirteen moves me deeply inside, lightening the sludge as the base of my soul's pillar. ENJOY!!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth the wait!, January 30, 2004
By A Customer
I have been waiting forever for this CD. Ive been a fan of the band for 3 or 4 years and I have seen them live 5 times. When this CD finally came out, I was so excited. Definitely worth the wait.1. Kill Tomorrow - Starts off with a real chunky riff that gets you banging your head right off the bat. Then it Skinny starts attacking the drums while J Mann screams his head off. This is a sick song and a great way to begin the cd. 2. Sun Doesn't Rise - An awesome intro with sort of a tribal sounding drum supporting Jeffrey Nothings wailing. I really like the balance between the 2 singers on this song. Definitely a catchy tune. 3. Mother Machine Gun - I just love this song. Sometimes I will just sit there and listen to this song and then start it over and listen to it again and again. One of the sickest riffs. Definitely one you bang your head to. 4. Nowhere to Go - This song slows it down a little and then it builds up a bit in the end. This is a pretty good song, I haven't ever really heard much like this from Mushroomhead before. Jeffrey Nothing sings most of this song, much like the rest of the album. 5. Becoming Cold (216) - This is another fast, catchy song. I read a lot of reviews that think this song is the greatest thing in the world. I never really got into it all that much, but its still a good song, just not one of the best. 6. One More Day - At first I didnt like this song for some reason, but it has grown on me quite a bit. I would still rank this as my least favorite on the CD, but I do like it and I appreciate it as a softer song. Jeffrey sings the whole thing. 7. The Dream is Over - This is where the CD really picks up again. The dream is over is just a furious song. Perfect for driving your car into a wall. J Mann and Jens from Meshuggah sit there and scream at eachother. It sounds like they are ready to destroy eachother. This song gets my blood pumping. 8. The War Inside - Right after I get pumped with The Dream is Over, they throw the War Inside at me. By far the fastest song on the cd, maybe the fastest song Mushroomhead has ever recorded. Skinny is just awesome on this song. The chorus is great too, with J Mann and Jeffrey going back and forth at eachother. One of the best songs on this cd. 9. Almost Gone - This song has a totally different sound from a lot of other Mushroomhead songs. Thats one thing I noticed about XIII, they really have tried a lot of new things and a lot of it turned out great. There's a real catchy, southern sounding rif, until J Mann comes in with one of coolest parts in the cd, almost like a rap type of thing in the middle of the song. This is another standout on the CD. 10. Eternal - I can tell that they are really trying with this song to make it really heavy. It sounds sort of like Xeroxed. While I like this song a lot, its mostly just because it has a killer chorus. The rest of the song doesn't really knock my socks off or anything. But it does have a cool chorus. 11. Our Own Way - I really like this song because its creepy. It starts out with a clean sounding guitar, no distortion or anything, and the Jeffrey and Shmotz and everyone come in and just create this eerie vibe. A lot about this song is great, but I think it just needs a little something else and it would become one of their best songs. 12. Destroy the World Around Me - If this song was about 2 minutes shorter it would probably be my favorite song on the CD, if not my favorite song by Mushroomhead. There are 3 different parts of the song, the beginning with J Mann where there is a militant sounding beat. Then Jeffrey takes over and starts this desparate sounding singing. In the end it becomes a little more angry sounding and Jeffrey starts singing "Caught in the wave of the world around me." All 3 parts are sick, but I think the 2 differnt parts with Jeffrey could be cut back maybe a minute or so. ?This song is a really emotional song, almost a cry for help. I love it. 13. Thirteen / Crazy / Treason - Track 13, entitled "Thirteen," is actually three songs. Thirteen is just sort of a folk sounding guitar that has kind of a calming sound to it. It goes on like that for a little while and then it fades out, when it fades in, its similar, only somewhat more deranged. It sounds like the guitar is being played backwards and theres like a baby crying and darth vader breathing. I dont know, I usually fast forward so I can get to their cover of Seal's "Crazy." This song is just awesome. I dont know how they came up with this song to cover but they just took it and tore it to shreds. You would never knew they didnt write this song. The last song is "Treason" which is all Jeffrey again, and hes just kind of singing over this mellow, trippy music. Its pretty cool too. Now I am no expert on rating Cds, but I do know that I really like this CD and so does everyone I have shown it to. One of the best in my collection.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the Best Metal Albums for 2003, October 19, 2003
In 1993, a group of eight musicians in Cleveland, Ohio created what was initially just a side project: to blend extreme music with a vaudevillian stage show. The result was the heavy metal band called Mushroomhead: J Mann (screaming vocals), Jeffrey Nothing (melodic vocals), Skinny (percussion & band founder), Shmotz (keyboards), Pig Benis (bass), Gravy (guitar), Bronson (guitar) and Stitch (samples). They are known for their distinctive masks and makeup, as well as their unique, well-balanced, dual-singer sound.In the 1990's, Mushroomhead locally released four independently produced albums and opened for many well-known heavy metal groups (Marilyn Manson, Type O Negative, Anthrax, etc.). In 2001, they released their national debut album called "XX", which was a compilation of remixed songs from their first four independently produced albums. Now, Mushroomhead has released an entirely new album called "Xiii". With 13 songs totaling just over 1 hour of music, it is some of the band's best material yet recorded: I. "Kill Tomorrow" (3:44 min, 5+ stars). An intense, guitar-laden beginning that features the vocals of both Jeffrey Nothing & J Mann. One of my favorite songs on the album.
II. "Sun Doesn't Rise" (3:13 min, 5+ stars). Jeffrey Nothing starts this song and is quickly joined by Skinny and J Mann before the guitars, bass and samples create an intense collage. One of my favorite songs on the album.
III. "Mother Machine Gun" (4:16 min, 4.5 stars). A soft piano-driven beginning gives way to very aggressive guitar and J Mann's vocals before being joined by Jeffrey Nothing. The intensity fades at the end for the piano and samples.
IV. "Nowhere To Go" (3:42 min, 5+ stars). One of my other favorite songs on the album, which features Jeffrey Nothing's emotional vocals accompanied by J Mann.
V. "Becoming Cold (216)" (4:25 min, 4 stars). Intense & fast, guitar & percussion driven song with the vocals of Jeffrey Nothing & J Mann riding on top.
VI. "One More Day" (3:36 min, 4.5 stars). A slower song that begins with piano accompanied by intense percussion blasts and featuring a duet by Jeffery Nothing & J Mann, who are later accompanied by a female studio chorus. The guitar & bass come and go.
VII. "The Dream Is Over" (3:15 min, 5 stars). An intense & heavy song featuring percussion, guitar, bass & J Mann's screaming vocals. (No Jeffrey Nothing vocals on this song.)
VIII. "The War Inside" (2:58 min, 5 stars). Very aggressive percussion drive this fast song with some intense vocals from Jeffrey Nothing and accompanied by J Mann's screaming vocals for the choruses.
IX. "Almost Gone" (4:01 min, 4.5 stars). A revving car engine starts this slightly slower, retro, guitar-driven song with vocals from both Jeffrey Nothing & J Mann.
X. "Eternal" (3:12 min, 5 stars). A more death-metal sounding song with tons of double-drumming, intense bass and J Mann's screaming vocals, giving way to more melodic sections with Jeffery Nothing's vocals.
XI. "Our Own Way" (3:40 min, 5 stars). A ballad-like instrumental beginning that features Jeffrey Nothing's melodic vocals, later joined by J Mann's screaming vocals.
XII. "Destroy The World Around Me" (8:21 min, 5 stars). A melodic, electronic, instrumental beginning giving way to J Mann's intense vocals accompanied by aggressive guitar & bass. The melodic beginning returns then returns with Jeffrey Nothing's vocals. Neither a fast nor slow song, but very intense.
XIII. "Thirteen" (12:04 min, 4.5 stars). An electronic, melodic introduction with the addition of crackling noises reminiscent of listening to an often-played LP. The melody briefly stops leaving only the crackling noises, then returns with the addition of a child's sounds. This goes on for 5 minutes, then only crackling is heard for about 30 seconds before the band returns with an updated cover of Seal's song "Crazy" from his 1991 self-titled album debut that includes many unique Mushroomhead additions. Overall, I rate Mushroomhead's album "Xiii" with 5 out of 5 stars and is probably one of the best heavy metal albums released so far in 2003. If you love unique metal sound, I highly recommend this album.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Overwhelmingly, Extremely, Ridiculously, Totally, Completely, & Hulkingly new, fresh, unique, diverse, original,etc!!!!!!!!!!!!
I really, very, & also truly LOVE Mushroomhead's music, all of it, every CD/Album & also every "Song". I like, love, & care about this whole Album.
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Published 3 months ago by BUFF
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by Mushroomhead 
