Nothing

UNDERRATED ALBUMS: MUSHROOMHEAD- XIII

It happens all the time. You come across a band that on the surface doesn’t really peak your interest for whatever reason. It could be a song, the band name, their style and more. The fun part of it all is over time, your previous expectations begin to dissipate and you give that band a chance and the end result is quite surprising.

Only a few weeks back I was out driving and put on one of those similar artists stations on Apple Music. While winding through canyon roads, a song came on that struck me. I didn’t have the who’s playing screen on so I didn’t know who it was. But this song was quite the heavy melodic treat. When I got to a place to stop, I went back to check who it was and to my absolute surprise it was a band I was not expecting. The song was “Sun Doesn’t Rise” by Mushroomhead. Yes, I was that surprised too. It’s been years since I heard this song and probably the same amount of time since I actually last listened to Mushroomhead. Needless to say, what came next was listening to the album XIII which the song is from. The end result led to…

“Wait?! This is Mushroomhead?!! Oh damn, maybe it’s time to give them a second look.” Before I went into this album, I made sure to put aside any pre conceived notions I had about the band and went in with fresh ears. The end result is that XIII is a really really good melodic heavy album. There are elements of the time with some “nu-metal” styles but, there is way more to take away from this album and band. Throughout the album, piano is a vital and prominent instrument that propels certain songs and moments in a delicate but menacing nature. The down-tuned riffs, while they do have some nu-metal flair, you’d be surprised to hear that it’s actually more in line with Meshuggah style djent-y guitar riffs and rhythms. The album itself is hyper-focused and you hear the amount of effort being poured into XIII. As this is the bands “major label debut” the need to go full on here paid off quite well.

The way the album plays out feels very cohesive with each part being there on purpose. The 13 tracks on this album bring about a variety of styles fused together, different moods and interesting arrangements and structures. Without giving the albums away, this track by track rundown will guide you to listen to the album!

Starting XIII is “Kill Tomorrow” which out of the gate kicks things off in a great way. Then “Sun Doesn’t Rise” really takes it to another level. Really this is one of those songs that makes this an underrated record. “Mother Machine Gun” is one of the standout songs on here. The intro blends so well into how the songs continues. The melding of styles on this song is a good idea of the progressive nature of where things are headed. “Nowhere To Go” has a ballad sensibility and a great push and pull aspect. “Becoming Cold” is a track that feels like a throwback to some of the bands earlier material in the M3 era.

“One More Day” is another treat of a piano driven song. “The Dream Is Over” is a heavy stellar track that has a very deep sludgy style. “The War Inside” is the companion of the previous. Rght in the middle of the record is a left and right hook to the head. “Almost Gone” goes further into the sludge territory and gives the album a song that is a true deep cut. The last three songs “Eternal,” “Our Own Way,” and “Destroy The World Around Me” play out like three chapters of a book that you are eager to get to so you know how things are going to end and what possible direction will come next. Closing out the album is “Thirteen” an instrumental track continues on that leads to a secret song, a cover of “Crazy” by Seal.

The band themselves have chops and write good songs. The vocal combination of Jason “J Mann” Popson and Jeffrey “Nothing” Hatrix sounds stellar. Each have their own style and character in their voice which makes their back and forth and chemistry really be present. Drummer Steve “Skinny” Felton propels the songs with an ignited spirit. As the bands main producer too, Skinny knows the band inside and out. Jack Kilcoyne aka Pig Benis, has a mighty bass tone that feels like it could have been a part of Crowbar. Dave Felton aka Gravy, like Benis, has a great sludge style of guitar playing as does other guitarist Bronson. And Stitch on turntables/samples giving the songs an added texture.

At the end of the day, when you take away the gimmick aspect, the band name, the stage names, you have a really quite good band. Mushroomhead really are a solid band. To be an entity back from 1993 till now, shows there is something here. Each of their albums has it’s own moment. XIII just had something else to it that makes it what it is. This is a really great example of an underrated album that got the brush off just because of some silly media crap. Listen to what you want and like. And while you are at it, give Mushroomhead’s XIII a spin!

By: Brian Lacy

MUSHROOMHEAD- XIII:

LIVE REVIEW: MESHUGGAH AT THE FORUM-04.09.25

For well over 30 years now, Meshuggah have long been one of the heaviest and most visceral auditory bands to see live and hear on a record. The gents in Meshuggah have long cemented themselves in the lore of heavy music and then some. Their influence on countless bands alone is astronomical. I can remember back to about 1998/1999 when I first heard Meshuggah. At first I was completely perplexed by them and how the hell they were pulling this off. Then fast forward to about 2001/2002 and Tool put out Lateralus and took Meshuggah out as their opener. That show was what really made me a believer. Also, I still to this day, don’t know how Tool was able to go on night after night as Meshuggah would rip those audiences apart!

This nice spring night in April at the Forum was a night for a grand celebration of not just heavy music but to show that Meshuggah is at the top of the musical food chain for good reason. I must say having soft jams play before the onslaught began was a nice touch especially walking out to “Careless Whisper.” From that point as the stage was dark and shadowy figures appeared and then… “Broken Cog” from Immutable kicks things off with one hell of a bang. Then a barrage of absolute beatdown songs “Violent Sleep Of Reason,” “Rational Gaze (one of my all time favorites),” and “Combustion.” Throughout the set the lights really brought the songs to life in a whole other way kind of like how a kaleidoscope looks on the inside. Other choice cuts for the evening included “Lethargica,” “Swarm,” and of course the classic “Future Breed Machine.” For the encore, “Bleed” was right out of the gate after a moment of pause. From the get go, the audience was completely sucked into the world of Meshuggah. The sheer volume that was permeating through The Forum was another thing all on it’s own. I kept looking up and around and saw the roof shaking a bit and then even outside, the rumble was making the security guards shake their head in disbelief. Put it this way, this was a LOUD show and it should be! The way that Jens Kidman, Tomas Haake, Fredrik Thordendal, Marten Hagstrom, and Dirk Lovgren are so precise is another show to watch all on their own .

Also playing this evening were Carcass (who we missed- thanks LA traffic on a Wednesday) and Cannibal Corpse. Cannibal I did get to see. It’s been since 2001/2002 since I last saw Cannibal and they are still badass and awesome. I was having quite the fun time watching them deliver a brutal set. I forgot how technical they are as a band and the tone those guys have is quite unique to them. You can hear others try to cop that one but, it’s not quite right. The head banging too, that was a sight to see. My neck was sore just from watching them head bang onstage especially Corpsegrinder. That guy really is the champ. Their set although short was another one that was chock full of classics and some other choice cuts. My buddy and podcast co-host Justin, is a big Cannibal fan so the enjoyment he was having was quite fun!

This was a great show. Meshuggah absolutely brought it and delivered a set and show that I hope is released as a live album. What a great show. It’s quite the heavy tour. I will say, it does feel like it’s missing that one direct support band to really put it over. Don’t get me wrong this lineup is great, it just felt like there should have been 1 more band to really up the energy and blow the roof literally off The Forum.

Overall Rating: A

Review and Photos By: Brian Lacy

Meshuggah Set List:
01) Broken Cog
02) Violent Sleep Of Reason
03) Rational Gaze
04) Combustion
05) Kaleidoscope
06) God He Sees In Mirrors
07) Lethargica
08) Born In Dissonance
09) Dancers To A Discordant System
10) Swarm
11) Future Breed Machine
ENCORE
12) Bleed
13) Demiurge

Cannibal Corpse Set List:
01) Scourge Of Iron
02) Blood Bind
03) Inhumane Harvest
04) Evisceration Plague
05) Death Walking Terror
06) Unleashing The Bloodthirsty
07) Summoned For Sacrifice
08) I Cum Blood
09) Stripped, Raped and Strangled
10) Hammer Smashed Face


Meshuggah Photos:

Cannibal Corpse Photos:

Collaborations: Full Of Hell and Nothing

It was a couple months back that I first heard the news of an upcoming collaborative album between two quite pulverizing bands in their own right. Full Of Hell and Nothing initially crossed paths in the twenty-tens, sharing the bills of shows and festivals intermittently. Dylan (Full Of Hell) and Nicky (Nothing) kept in touch over the years, and the collaboration naturally followed. Together, they pushed sonic bounds in the middle out of Full of Hell’s abstract and harsh ambience and Nothing’s searing shoegaze tendencies which then stirred up some extreme peaks and valleys inspired by the likes of My Bloody Valentine and latter day Swans. Speaking on the collaboration, “We’ve never done anything like this,” Nicky goes on. “The contrast is huge as we’re putting two extremes together and making them work. We’re just bridging the gap.” The bands all gathered together and notably wrote face-to-face in Ocean City, MD and collaborated in-person as much as possible. Eventually, they entered the studio with GRAMMY® Award-nominated producer and all around badass, Will Putney. The atmosphere contributed to the energy of the record itself. So far, what has been released is pretty damn awesome. It’s volatile yet subdued and the heaviness isn’t overdone in a way that removes the atmosphere both bands are so good at shaping. Their album, When No Birds Sang will be out on December 01, 2023 via Closed Casket Activities.

Full Of Hell & Nothing- Spend The Grace:


Full Of Hell & Nothing- Like Stars In The Firmament:

Preorder – https://closedcasketactivities.com/co…

Stream – https://orcd.co/whennobirdssang

New Release: Nothing- Say Less

I’ve always thought it was interesting that sometimes, it takes me a little bit to get into a band. Perhaps at the time they come out, I’m just not feeling it or there’s just so much else out there at the moment I don’t devote the time to it. Recently a friend of mine, suggested I check out the new song by the band Nothing. This is one band that I tried to get into a while back but, for the reasons above, it didn’t happen. Now though, they have my attention and I can’t wait to hear more. On October 30th, Nothing will release their new album, The Great Dismal (via Relapse Records). The first song released “Say Less” has this really cool 90’s alternative vibe, kind of like Hum and a slight (very slight) industrial tinge to it. This album is shaping up to be something quite cool.

Nothing- Say Less: