I still follow most of the bands I liked 20 years ago while in high school.  Some of them are still active and releasing music regularly, such as Mushroomhead.  The band has changed considerably as far as members goes, but they still sound like Mushroomhead.  Their new album is called Call the Devil and it releases on August 9^th through Napalm Records.

Mushroomhead hails from Cleveland, Ohio, so I guess they are something of a local band for me.  I first heard them with the release of XIII back in 2003, still one of my favorite albums of that era.  The band has seen plenty of change; the current lineup is Steve Rauckhorst, Scott Beck, and Jackie LaPonza on vocals; Dave Felton and Joe Gall on guitars; Ryan Farrell on guitar, bass, and keys; Aydin Kerr and Robert Godsey on drums and percussion; and Steve Felton on drums, percussion, keys, and vocals.  As you can tell from the personnel listing, they all sort of dabble in everything.

The band has always preferred the label avant-garde metal to anything else they’ve been called through the years.  I’ve never seen them as part of the nu-metal thing, but their outside-the-box sound is different from the progressive metal crowd, typically.  They do their own thing, and it often sounds patched and cobbled together in raw and odd ways, but that’s sort of why I like them.  Yeah, I’m not a fan of the masks, but their music has always been greater than the sum of its parts.

I’m not going to get into the “is this the same band” discussion; yes, the members have changed dramatically, but what I really care about is whether the music is good.  And, yes, Call the Devil is good.  I won’t say that it is exceptional or even one of their best, but I’m enjoying it.  I was underwhelmed at first, to be honest, but as I kept listening, the nuance (yes, this band has plenty of that) and beauty of this album began to grow on me. I will say that Jackie needs a little more singing time, as she adds a great element to the band that is under-utilized.

Some people are surprised when I describe Mushroomhead’s music as “beautiful”.  The band has always offered gorgeous melodies, though, especially in the form of keyboards, and I think this album brings that to the forefront more than any of their works in some time.  I’ve always found beauty in the contrast of their various vocalists, too, and in the quirky and brilliant song structures.  People give this band less credit than they deserve.

Call the Devil can feel like a mixed bag at times.  The singles “Fall in Line” and “Prepackaged” are both heavy, dramatic, and dark, and I really like them.  Some of the songs mirror those, like the opener “Eye to Eye” with its driving and raw tone.  Some deliver more on the heavy and raw aspect, like “Torn in Two”.  Some of them are more tender, though, like one of my favorites, “Emptiness”, with its hovering keys and terrific chorus.

And, yes, some of the songs are little off for me, or maybe I’m not really the audience.  “We Don’t Care” feels like a song written for rebellious late 90’s kids wearing JNCO jeans and spiked hair.  Those dudes were my bullies, so I can’t relate, I suppose.  I will say that the keys on that song are lovely, though.  “Decomposition” is another one I don’t particularly like with its stilted and odd sound, though I think it is meant to have a bit of circus music in it, like “UIOP (A Final Reprieve)” has in a stronger and more successful way.  “Hallelucination” is a little off, too, like its name, though its backwards-sounding melody is slowly growing on me.

My favorites overall are probably “Emptiness”, “Prepackaged”, “Grand Gesture”, “Hideous”, and “Shame in a Basket”.  The first two I’ve mentioned already, but the other three are truly great.  “Grand Gesture” is stylish in its elongated riffs and floating atmosphere; I really love how it sounds faraway and mysterious.  “Hideous” has a fantastic guitar sound, and I like how it trades been driving portions and dramatic, lower octave vocals for the chorus.  It reminds of something the band would have done years ago.  “Shame in a Basket”, believe it or not, has some Floydian atmosphere; much of it is ambient and darkly expressive, like someone floating in the void of despair, and I love that melancholy feeling.  The album ends with the peculiar, but somehow theatrical “Doom Goose”, and, yes, there is a goose on it.

Look, I’ve been a fan of Mushroomhead for a long time.  Their M3 and XIII albums will always be my favorites, and I really liked 2020’s A Wonderful Life.  Call the Devil is different from all of those, and is probably better than a good half of their other albums.  It is rock solid, especially if you give it some time to breathe and settle into your mind. 

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