Music Review: MUSHROOMHEAD Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children

I've been listening to Mushroomhead for about 7 or 8 years now. Since the start of the band in the early 90's, they've released 7 studio albums. Of those, Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children is the latest. The name of the album is derived from a comic book of the same name from the 80's.



As I've noticed with other albums from the band, the first time you sit and listen through, it doesn't sound great. The music is good, but the lyrics seem a bit sub-par. Sure there are always a few songs that sound really good right off, but it really takes two or three times listening through a Mushroomhead album to get all of the little nuances that make the band. The lyrics are the big thing, the band is message driven, and typically unless you really pay attention to the lyrics and how they interact with the music and sampling on the album, you won't get the message. It took me three times through the CD to really appreciate the lyrics, mainly because I wasn't devoting my attention to the music: something I learned long ago I shouldn't do when I get a new CD. Hardcore Mushroomhead fans already know that the way to appreciate one of their CD’s is to sit and listen to it, paying attention to it, soaking in the meaning. I forgot to do that.


I can say that overall the album is not my favorite production of the band. This is mainly because it was not what I have come to expect out of the band. They changed their sound some for this album; it very much sounds like a group of hard rock anthems, as opposed to their typical Nu-metal raps and melodies. Don't think that yields the album any less typical for Mushroomhead though, they still keep the rapping in the cd, but it is toned down a little bit in exchange for some singing from Waylon. If you're looking for old-school Mushroomhead, I'd advise listening to "Burn the Bridge," but if you want to hear a newer side of their music, I'd suggest "The Harm You Do" or "Slaughterhouse Road." Overall I'd give the CD a 4 out of five star rating, definitely something that won't come out of my CD player for a while.