Hollywood Undead 'Notes From The Underground' Album Review

Hollywood Undead is back with one of the more anticipated albums of 2012, Notes From The Underground, the band's third studio album. The album is the sound we expect to hear from Hollywood Undead at this point, but I feel that it's nothing too special. Hollywood Undead is one of the more intriguing acts around today. With six current members, this group is a cross between rock/rap/hip-hop and even a dash of boy-band. They are hard to really embrace; it's a unique style that will remind you of a cross between Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit. All members of the band are known by their pseudonyms, and they each wear they're own unique mask to keep their identity's unknown. This is all besides the point from the music. Notes From The Underground was a good and interesting listen, but I feel like it's an album I only need to hear once, as opposed to their awesome debut album Swan Songs of 2008.

Notes From The Underground is an 11 song album (14 if you buy the deluxe "Unabridged" version), combing some hard rock beats, and some good rap flows. It kicks off great with tracks such as "Deadbite" a sinister melody featuring some solid hip-hop and hard rock chords. This is the tone of the album till around the seventh track "Rain" where the band shows a softer side. The interesting thing about Hollywood Undead is although they are rather good rappers, they actually have decent vocal progressions along with good musical melody. They are a good band. The lyrics range from tough and hardcore to comical jokes at times. I honestly just can't put my thumb on this album though. Of course bands have to grow and mature, and look to reach into the unknown to test new sounds, but the tracks on Notes From The Underground just don't jump out.

< i>Notes From The Underground is a good album, just not great. Hollywood Undead fans will probably really enjoy it, and some that may not have heard it will be intrigued. Hey, it could probably even pull in some pop music listeners to the hint of boy band found in the choruses. I like Hollywood Undead, I'm sure they aren't done. They have a good sound, and are quite original. I'd recommend a listen and decide for yourself if you can get into them, but it's not a "must-have" album. A band like this will certainly be more up to personal preferences, so I say give them a shot.

Hollywood Undead - "We Are" (Explicit):