Universal
2003
XIII
About This Album
When Mushroomhead signed with Universal in 2001, fans' reactions ranged from elation to knee-jerk pessimism. Some followers were thrilled that Cleveland's best-kept alternative metal secret had hooked up with a major label and hoped that the headbangers would finally receive the sort of national success they deserved; pessimists feared that a corporate powerhouse like Universal would neuter Mushroomhead and try to take away their risk-taking spirit. On a creative level, XIII is the first album that really tests Mushroomhead's relationship with Universal; it's the first album they actually recorded for Universal, whereas their previous album, XX, was originally an indie release before Universal remastered and re-released it. As it turns out, the pessimists had nothing to worry about; XIII is no less adventurous than Mushroomhead's pre-Universal output. XIII sounds quite focused but never comes across as contrived, and longtime followers will be happy to know that this 2003 release is state-of-the-art Mushroomhead -- forceful, loud, and in your face, but melodic and intricate as well. Bombast is still an important part of the picture, although not at the expense of musicality.
Track List (try tracks 1,4,5 and 8)

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