Hollywood's alive!
It's easy to write off Hollywood Undead as a gimmick band who look like Slipknot and sound like D12, but actually there is a lot more behind the clever marketing of a bunch of mask-wearing ugly blokes who can put together a catchy tune. The band's first album 'Swan Songs' is a very good album, however it's only when you hear 'American Tragedy' that you realise just how disjointed the first album is, playing out with Metal tracks and Hip Hop tracks randomly thrown together. 'American Tragedy' blends together the elements that the band do well which is catchy hooks, harmonies and great rap lyrics.
There are still some heavy guitars here in tracks like the opener, 'Been To Hell', the slightly Papa Roach-esque 'Hear Me Now', the great sneer of 'Tendencies' and 'Le Deux', however it's the boy band catchiness of the monster hooks and choruses from the other songs that make this album so good. It's almost a guilty pleasure that you can like the tongue-in-cheek humour of 'Apologize' that sounds like it might be The Backstreet Boys gone x-rated. Some of the reasons for this sound is the change of lead singer from one of the founding members Deuce (real name Aron Erlichman) who had a voice that could sing harmonies and also Hardcore with ease, to Danny (Daniel Murillo) who was a contestant in the 9th season of American Idol.
We have the full out party songs like the drinking/chick anthem of 'Comin' In Hot', and 'Gangsta sexy', however for me it's the songs that have good flow in the rap verses and sing-a-long choruses that fail to leave your head, and that show how good the band are. The first being, 'My Town', another track that they show their love for LA, The twisted dark lyrics of, 'I Don't Wanna Die' ("I don't Wanna // So you're gonna have to // Blood is getting harder // Blood is getting colder // I told you once // I'm the only one who holds her"), the huge chorus of 'Lights Out' and the head nod of 'Pour Me'.
Elsewhere we have the great Hip Hop track of 'Coming Back Down' and a track that is probably the most surprising here and one that would never have appeared on the first album. 'Bullet' is a mid-tempo foot-tapper of an acoustic track telling the tale of somebodies failed attempt at suicide. It's simple, catchy and melodic whilst still being edgy with dark lyrics. "If I survive, then I'll see you tomorrow // I'll see you tomorrow" is sung at one point in the bridge to the chorus of, "My legs are dangling off the edge // The bottom of the bottle is my only friend // I think I'll slit my wrists again and I'm gone, gone, gone // My legs are dangling off the edge // A stomach full of pills didn't work again // I'll put a bullet in my head and I'm gone, gone, gone" even with sweet but slightly haunting addition of a small child at the end singing, "I wish that I could fly // way up in the sky // Like a bird so high // oh, I might just try // I wish that I could fly..." Pure brilliance.
Whilst there are similarities between the first and second albums, it's best to regard these separately. 'Swan Songs' was a mix of Linkin Park and Eminem leaning more towards the former and with explicit lyrics, however this time the production is slightly cleaner and the emphasis is definitely on hooks and choruses. The band looked to propel themselves more into the mainstream with this album and I think that is exactly what they have achieved. Whilst the concept of the band is not original, there is certainly not any bands that sound half as good with the cross-gender musical assault that Hollywood Undead achieve. The Deluxe Edition also features four slightly heavier tracks also making this a worth while album to add to your collection. Love it.