When I first got the email for the stream of the new album, I was a little surprised. Hollywood Undead is one of those bands that’s always been around, are talented, but you just kind of forget they’re around unless you’re a diehard fan. I say this not because they’re bad, but because rap rock isn’t a genre that is promoted much in the mainstream. Nowadays, in order to find any subgenre of rock, you really have to dig through the digital media files that inhabit the Internet in order to come across that iconic album.
But the digging is worth it. While I personally found the album to be a bit too long at moments (this could also be because I listened to the bonus track version), it’s evident that Hollywood Undead are back in full-force with an action-packed set of songs on Day of the Dead, their fourth studio album. The band worked with longtime producer Griffin Boice (Rob Zombie, The Black Eyed Peas), as well as Sean Gould, in order to bring these twelve new songs to life.
Day of the Dead immediately kicks things off with “Usual Suspects”. The rap verses aren’t overtly obscene as with past releases, but they have just the right amount of edge to catch our attention. The clean vocals kick in with the soaring “I think I’ve lost my mind” line, providing one of the strongest anthems HU has produced to date. The chorus in “How We Roll” provides a similar result. The eponymous title track could very well be the best song the quintet have released thus far in their career. “War Child” is a very fun venture into the pop/EDM world, but it still keeps the rock elements that have been ingrained in the band’s DNA since the beginning. Suddenly, a darker tone spreads through our ears with the haunting music box melody in “Dark Places”.
The album itself is rather unpredictable. But that’s the fun of a band like Hollywood Undead. You never know what to expect from them. Keeping the audience on their feet is part of their genetic makeup, and the best thing we can do is go along for the ride and just have fun. S
Day of the Dead by Hollywood Undead is available now via Interscope Records.
This has been another Shameless Promotion.