Cleveland, Ohio-based masked metal masters MUSHROOMHEAD recently announced their brand-new, upcoming ninth album, “Call The Devil”, due out August 9 via Napalm Records. 30 years into their groundbreaking history, the band shows no signs of slowing down, proving innovative without losing sight of their trademark sound and imagery.
Following the album’s hard-hitting first single “Fall In Line” — which Revolver dubbed “groove-heavy” and Consequence called “a pummeling barrage of industrial metal” — today, MUSHROOMHEAD unveil their second new nü metal-laden single “Prepackaged”. The song shines as one of the band’s heaviest new offerings, cementing their renown with massive riffs, aggressive growls and a catchy chorus.
MUSHROOMHEAD mastermind Steve “Skinny” Felton says about “Prepackaged”: “‘Prepackaged’ turned out extremely heavy, aggressive and haunting. Full of dark sonic textures. Both the video and the song are delightfully dark, foreboding and unrelentingly grim.”
Returning after a 12-year hiatus, longtime guitarist Dave “Gravy” Felton — who performed on several of the band’s biggest albums and is credited as a primary songwriter on classic anthems like “Along The Way”, “Sun Doesn’t Rise” and “The Dream Is Over” — contributes his trademark skills to two “Call The Devil” album tracks. The album once again features production by band mastermind/drummer Steve “Skinny” Felton, as well as the return of Matt Wallace (FAITH NO MORE, 3 DOORS DOWN) on mixing, also recognized for his work on MUSHROOMHEAD‘s iconic album “XIII”. The album is also the band’s first to feature mastering from Jacob Hansen (VOLBEAT, EPICA, ARCH ENEMY).
MUSHROOMHEAD‘s “Fall In Line” music video offered a first-person look at the band’s new masks, featuring design elements and sculpting by Jordan Patton and guitarist Joe Gall. The track pummels with electro-industrial injections and spine-tingling keys, boasting a twisting vocal attack balancing both brutal and melodic sounds from vocalists Scott Beck and Jackie LaPonza.
Steve “Skinny” Felton said about “Fall In Line”: “One of my favorite things about the ‘Fall In Line’ video is the use of the color red. It’s a powerful and emotional color palette. ‘Fall In Line’ was actually the last song we recorded for the LP. It came together really fast. Upbeat, aggressive and fun.”
Resulting in debuts at No. 2 on the U.S. Current Hard Music Albums chart and No. 8 on the Current Rock Albums chart, and with the unveiling of the band’s first woman vocalist, Jackie LaPonza, MUSHROOMHEAD introduced a whole new slew of accessible, hard-hitting anthems on the “artistic breakthrough” (Loudwire),“A Wonderful Life”, and have only aimed to expand on it with their ninth auditory onslaught.
Bursting with ominous intensity, album opener “Eye To Eye” launches with warning sirens and a grooving riff provided by Gravy, proving the band wastes zero time with filler on “Call The Devil”. Eclectic tracks like the emotive, surprisingly jazzy anthem “Emptiness”, dramatic carnival creeper “UIOP (A Final Reprieve)” and haunting “Hallelucination” showcase the more experimental side of MUSHROOMHEAD, while heavy burners such as the gripping “Prepackaged”, charging and melodic “Hideous” and aggressive drum-forward “Torn In Two” cement the band’s lauded metal renown. Featuring guitar work and writing from Gravy, the winding, dark “We Don’t Care” proves to be a future live favorite with its chanting chorus and earworm hook as vocalists Steve Rauckhorst and Jackie LaPonza split leadership duties. “Call The Devil” brings the cinematic, signature style of musical mastermind and bassist/keyboardist Ryan “Dr. F” Farrell to the forefront, exploring piano-driven balladic auras and compelling with eerily Vaudevillian three-part vocal achievements on songs like “Decomposition”, “Grand Gesture” and “Shame In A Basket”, eventually veering into welcomed bizarre territory with album closer “Doom Goose”.
Steve “Skinny” Felton said about the album title: “We played around with a few different album titles, and apparently ‘Shout At The Devil’ was already taken… so we figured we’d just try calling.”
“Call The Devil” track listing:
01. Eye To Eye
02. Fall In Line
03. Emptiness
04. We Don’t Care
05. UIOP (A Final Reprieve)
06. Prepackaged
07. Decomposition
08. Grand Gesture
09. Hallelucination
10. Hideous
11. Torn In Two
12. Shame In A Basket
13. Doom Goose
MUSHROOMHEAD recently announced a slew of tour dates.
MUSHROOMHEAD is:
Steve Rauckhorst – Vocals
Scott Beck – Vocals
Jackie LaPonza – Vocals
Dave Felton – Guitar
Joe Gall – Guitar
Ryan Farrell – Guitar, Bass, Keys
Aydin Kerr – Drums, Percussion
Robert Godsey – Drums, Percussion
Steve Felton – Drums, Percussion, Keys, Vocals
Last year, Steve “Skinny” Felton told Cleveland.com about MUSHROOMHEAD‘s longevity: “All I can say is that we have been very blessed to be able to do this. Whether it’s 10, 20, 30 years — pretty much any time at all — anyone who gets to do this for any length of time knows how blessed and lucky and fortunate they are and to really soak in that.
“If there’s a secret, it’s to wake up every day with the goal of figuring out how to make your band, brand or artwork a little more accessible,” Felton said. “To have an opportunity to create art with multiple people — to have their attention, time and creativity for a while — while chasing that creative element, staying inspired, believing in yourself and being true to your art is what does it, from my point of view.”
Photo credit: SK1