Music - Into The Dawn Of Darkness

I once took a day out of the week, to provide some sort of musical commentary to the masses, and I quit doing that. I lost my way. No more. Music is a major part of my life. I have a wide interest in music, covering many genre's and artists. I am also very opinionated.

This brings me to probably my favorite musical genre, but one that is highly misunderstood, and gets little respect musically from many: metal. It amazes me that artists like Justin Timberlake, who do not write or compose their music, just simply show up to a studio and sing, recieve critical acclaim. Many metal and rock artists have to record for a decade in order to recieve the accolades a pop star can get in one album.

Todays metal band is Mushroomhead. They hail from Cleveland, Ohio. All 8 of them. They are one of the bands that (unfortuneately) use a popular metal gimmik--the mask. A die hard Slipknot fan will argue Mushroomhead copied them. A die hard Mushroomhead fan will point to pictures of Mushroomhead back in 92 with them wearing masks. An old person like me who listens to bands for music and not gimmics will tell the kids to shut their asses up it doesn't matter, the music is what matters.

The band itself is comprised of a wide variety of sounds. Its not all noise, as many people believe metal is. Two vocalists (although one recently left the group). One vocalist resembling more of a Marilyn Manson voice, higher pitched and more melodic. The other a Phil Anselmo of Pantera/Down/Superjoint Ritual style of vocals; lower, rougher, and more of a barking rhythmic vocal. Besides the more common bass, guitars, and drums, they also use synthesizers, samples, and a surprising amount of piano (many have given them referances to Faith No More.)

Lyrically speaking, the band is one of the better metal bands out there. Here is a brief exerpt from the song "Nowhere To Go."

we've been brought here for a reason
Be it fate, or internal treason
Souls will be saved,
Or mutiny's waged,
As we plead for something to believe in

Another song that deserves lyrical mention is "Destroy the World Around Me." This type of song is what I refer to as a metal opera; a type of song that the pop music world will never understand. The song is over 8 minutes long, with numerous tempo changes. Its something Metallica once excelled at, before they turned into a Metal/Pop band. "Your government is in control. They'll keep you safe inside your homes. Board your windows, lock your doors. Let freedom ring." Lovely lyrics. This is the music of the Nu-Hippy era. Not to say every song they have written is lyrically outstanding. Some are terrible in every aspect.

The band has also done the necessary covers, as is ever so popular nowadays. I know I have a sick fascination with covers of songs. Pink floyd has been covered, along with Seals "Crazy (Never Gonna Survive)." At a show I saw them at last spring, they did a rather interesting yet amazing cover of "When Doves Cry" by Prince. (I really really really hope this makes a CD.)

If the band interests you, check out their webpage. They have videos for a couple songs, "Sun Doesn't Rise" and "Solitaire/Unraveling." I'd recommend "Sun Doesn't Rise" to a new listener, as it is a bit more mainstream acceptable. They also have samples of songs available to listen to. Metal isn't everyone's taste, but be openminded, it might surprise you.

And what would all this be without a group photo? Patriotic bunch of guys, aren't they?