One Listen Review
1st Listen 8 Aug 24
Reviewed 9 Aug 24
Mushroomhead – Call the Devil
Napalm Records
Released 9 Aug 24
Mushroomhead have been about for a long time, and Call the Devil is their 9th album, there 1st for Napalm Records. Although I have been aware of the band, I cannot say that I have ever listened to them until yesterday.
Alas, yesterday is probably the only day I will ever listen to them.
This is not my thing. If you want an album that some may describe as ‘avant-garde’, then this may be for you. To me, this was a very confused album. Perhaps it is the numerous line-up changes over the years, perhaps it is the driving force of the band not having a clear direction, but there is something that made me switch off. For the first time since starting these one listen reviews, I struggled to finish the album.
From vague attempts to sound like Faith No More (down to Mike Patton vocal impersonations) followed by down-tuned nu-metal riffs in the next track, Call
the Devil is a sporadic album that jumps all over the place.
That said, there are some enjoyable moments in the album. The female vocals, provided by the excellent Jackie LaPonza, are particularly striking, especially in the ‘Fall in Line’ which is decently heavy and dark. Other good points are ‘Hideous’ and the slower ‘Grand Gesture’.
This album isn’t to my taste, but it may be yours, so check it out. After all, this is the album Mushroomhead have delivered to the excellent Napalm Recordsfor their debut release through them, so they believe in it.
With a song called, ‘We Don’t Care’, it is likely this review will prove as irrelevant to them as Call the Devil will forever be to me.
The DevilsHorns 
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