Mushroomhead - Call the Devil (2024)^{Release ID: 54015}

The problem with having a band with a huge number of members (9) is, you're bound to have a change in lineup in almost every album. For Mushroomhead, it has gotten to the point where percussionist Steve "Skinny" Felton is the only founding member left in the group. The only other consistent founding member was Jeffrey Nothing until he left in 2018. Recently, Nothing started his own version of the band and threatened to sue Felton's band for unpaid royalties.

The new album Call the Devil maintains two of the vocalists from their previous album, Jackie LaPonza and Steve Rauckhorst. Long-time on-off vocalist Jason "J Mann" Popson was replaced by Scott "xtriker" Beck. And making a comeback after 12 years away is Steve's brother Dave "Gravy" Felton on guitar. The powerhouse continues...

Opening track "Eye to Eye" begins with what sounds like old-school radio banjo playing, then the groove-ish action kicks off in the guitars, drums, and vocals by Rauckhorst. The heavy catchiness that makes up Mushroomhead's sound is all in here. "Fall in Line" is a kick-A single marks the debut of Beck. Lots of fresh yet usual music and lyrics here, "You’re killing me with all your sorrow". This is true heavy sh*t while often melodic! "Emptiness" takes on slower experimentation. There's some progressive energy from the funky guitar and ambient background synths. "We Don't Care" aptly shows the band not caring about anything except their own thing. It's like they've taken a song from one of their 90s albums and made it much heavier. An instant classic!

"UIOP (The Final Reprieve)" is the first of a couple filler tracks, which starts with sinister creepiness, then it comes out as more of a d*mn jam track. Honestly, they should've left that track out of the album. "Prepackaged" has the dark heaviness, but their attempts at that are a bit too drastic. "Decomposition" once again has a creepy carnival intro before the mid-paced doomy instrumentation begins. It fits much better for a circus show than a metal concert. "Grand Gesture" stands out here as a stylistic ballad. It's not often you get to hear a ballad from this band, nor a ballad I actually like. "Hallelucination" has more of the uncomfortable experimentation that sounds too random.

Better effort from the band can be heard in "Hideous". Then "Torn in Two" has the guitars, beats, synths, and vocals collide with one another for something ominous and heavy. One of the strongest comebacks to the band's roots! "Shame in a Basket" is a monstrous 8-minute epic, complete with dark ambience that leads into the usual guitar heaviness and vocals. So perfect! Ending track "Doom Goose" is a weird minute and a half outro, with the actual sounds of a goose honking.

Skinny is still going strong with his band and keeping it rolling with his and fellow members' writing, along with their masked performances. Call the Devil is definitely a true comeback, though it could do without a couple filler tracks....

Favorites: "Eye to Eye", "Fall in Line", "We Don't Care", "Grand Gesture", "Torn in Two", "Shame in a Basket"