(Milwaukee, WI) – Until about a year ago I had never heard of Cleveland’s Mushroomhead, even though they’ve been steadily performing and recording for over 20 years. What initially caught my eye was their appearance. The band employs distinctive horror themed masks for each of its members, creating a uniformity, yet giving each member their own unique character.
After being bludgeoned by former Misfits guitarist, Doyle for 40 minutes the small but rabid crowd packed into The Rave Underground eagerly awaited for Mushroomhead to take the stage, many decked out in the mask and costume of their favorite band member. The band has built a close relationship with their die hard fans, often mingling with the crowd out of costume while the support bands play.
With the stage bathed in blue light and a blanket of fog, the nine musicians marched on stage to the eerie circus like calliope of “Qwerty”, from 2014’s The Righteous and the Butterfly (Megaforce). A pair of water drums on either side of the stage sending spray into the air and crowd with each pounding beat. From there the band reached back to their self released 2nd album, 1996’s XX for the techno and hip hop infused metal of “Bwomp”, it’s pounding double time techno beat being broken up by a guttural scream of a vocal and a break down reminiscent of Public Enemy.
The band’s instrumentation is made up of guitar, bass, keyboards, three drummers and three singers, who’s vocals cover the spectrum from lush and melodic to the now common place “Cookie Monster” vocal style that first emerged in the 90’s. It’s almost impossible to classify the music into a neat category as there are so many different influences coming at you at any given moment. Some of the other musical highlights were “Sun Doesn’t Rise” from their top 40 album XII (Universal Records), “We Are The Truth” also from The Righteous and the Butterfly and a downright sinister cover of Pink Floyd’s classic “Empty Spaces” from 1979’s The Wall.
Not to be outdone by the strobe lights, water drums, fog machines and masks, the band members themselves are constantly at the edge of the stage or perched atop the drums egging the crowd on into a further frenzy all the while never letting up their sonic assault.
While their fusion of Nu Metal, Hip Hop and Industrial isn’t my go to style of music as a listener, as a photographer it’s hard to resist the visuals and the energy on the stage. Photographing Mushroomhead can be difficult, the lighting is usually dim, the stage often alternating between a wash of red, blue and green light, or blazing strobes, water spraying around and the masks only allowing the band to emote with their eyes and body language. Those things that make my job difficult are all highly entertaining for the audience and can make for some very creepy images.
There are about a dozen dates left on the current leg of the US tour before the band heads over to Europe for the summer festivals, catch them if you can.
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