Review by Dom Vigil
Hollywood Undead’s new album, Day Of The Dead is not to be underestimated. Track after track, this album is full of high energy, hard hitting vocals, smart lyrics and a unique blend of sound that is sure to make you do a double take.
Right off the bat, Hollywood Undead waste no time in throwing you straight into a high energy track. “Usual Suspects” is the perfect opening song – it’s big, anthematic, and the chorus hosts that trademark Hollywood Undead sound that old fans will expect and new fans will love. The entirety of “Usual Suspects” is more than enough to get you pumped for this album, but just when you think you know what Hollywood Undead is doing, they throw you a curveball. Following “Usual Suspects,” I expected another fast paced, high energy song, but what I got was the moody, eerie “How We Roll.” The song itself definitely isn’t as big sounding as “Usual Suspects,” but when the chorus comes in, it makes total sense. The beginning of the song has a catchy beat and the big chorus is impossible not to bob your head along to, at the very least. “How We Roll” is the perfect “introduction” song for someone who may not be completely familiar with Hollywood Undead, and is sure to become an anthem for their die-hard fans.
Even with four studio albums under their belts, Hollywood Undead still know how to keep listeners interested. Following “How We Roll” is the killer title track, “Day Of The Dead,” and again, they throw you through another loop with this one. The song kicks off with simple acoustic guitar and clean vocals, but within seconds, it’s exploding in true Hollywood Undead fashion. “Day Of The Dead” is a fusion of many different music genres and influences but it doesn’t sound overdone. From distorted guitar work and the screamed chorus, to rapped verses and killer electronic parts, Hollywood Undead absolutely slay with this track. Then, just when you think you have it figured out, the clean vocals and acoustic flamenco guitar come in about halfway through the song and catch you off guard once more before throwing you into another huge chorus.
Keeping listeners interested is the following song, “War Child,” which is a total electronically driven club track. Then comes “Dark Places,” one of the most lyrically driven songs on the album. “Dark Places” is definitely worth repeating, just to catch all of the smart lyrics laced in this track, especially my personal favorite line, “If you push me any further it’s the end of your life/And I’ll kill you like the sixteen bars I killed on this mic.”
Fifteen tracks don’t come without a couple of weak links, however. “Take Me Home,” tends to fade into the background a little, as it doesn’t seem to pack the same intensity that many of the songs on Day Of The Dead do. “Does Everybody In The World Have To Die,” tends to blend in with the rest a little, as well, though the overall theme of the song and the electronic parts definitely save it. There is a lot of intensity behind many of the other songs on this album, however, making a lot of stand-out tracks. The first three tracks on Day Of The Dead are especially strong, as well as the ninth track, “Disease,” which hosts a catchy drum beat and an anthematic chorus. Another great song on the album is “Party By Myself,” which is an upbeat party anthem. It’s impossible not to get into the nearly LMFAO sounding song, or at least laugh at some of the hilariously catchy lyrics.
Creating fifteen songs as uniquely diverse as the ones on Day Of The Dead is no easy feat, but Hollywood Undead make it seem effortless. A group like these guys could easily stick to one sound and fade into the background, or create four albums that sound all too similar, but that isn’t the case with this Day Of The Dead. Hollywood Undead goes from dancy club tracks (“Party By Myself,” “War Child” and “Guzzle Guzzle”) to darker, more serious songs (“Does Everybody In The World Have To Die” and “Save Me”) and intense, harder hitting tracks (“Day Of The Dead” and “Usual Suspectes”) all the way to poppy anthems such as “Live Forever,” and they do it with ease. Day Of The Dead has a little bit of something for everyone, which makes this album an absolute must listen.
Rating: 4.5/5
Listen to “Day Of The Dead”