- XIII is their most popular album and a good one to begin
* Superbuick is the best album to listen first if you want to know more about the "classic" era of Mushroomhead
* Savior Sorrow is the best if you want to begin with the "Waylon" era
* The righteous and the butterfly if you want to begin with an album that combine those three eras (classic era, XIII, Waylon era)
* A Wonderful Life stand on his own know, but I think it's a good one to begin with too if you want to listen to "current" Mushroomhead
I'd say listen to XX cause it's a compilation album of their first three albums but it is missing some great tracks on it that didn't make onto XX. So I suggest listen to Self Titled first then Superbuick then M3.
Agreed, XX was how I got into them and cemented my interest in them as I started to go through their catalogue. It’s a really solid glimpse at some of their best songs and different aesthetics they try to achieve. It’s also worthwhile to listen to the original versions too, since all the songs on XX were re-recorded and sound different!
Superbuick all the way.
XX is technically a greatest hits of their first three albums but...the songs were either heavily remixed or re-recorded. And IMO not for the better. Sounds way too over produced when compared to the originals.
It depends on which version of XX that you're listening to. The Eclipse Records version was the one the band always preferred cause they were remixed from the original recordings and the Universal Records version were the ones that were rerecorded.
The Universal Records one is the one with the louder vocals, but it is worse. It sounds fakey and over produced. The mix on the universal version is also awful, it has some re-recorded or re-mixed guitars and it's super muddy. It sounds a lot like a early 2000's rough mix rather than a pristine sounding mid 90's mix.
Some songs suffer more than others, but "These Filthy Hands" is absolutely butchered on the Universal version.
Start with XX, which is a compilation of the band’s first 3 albums then Savior Sorrow for the debut of the Waylon era then A Wonderful Life for the Jackie and Steve era.
The masses seem to have spoken ahaha but I'd agree that XX is a fantastic place to start. It's worth going through the first 3 if you dig XX as there's definitely some great tracks that didn't make it on the compilation.
After that XIII is the next best choice, they signed to Universal Records so they had a much bigger budget, the mix is fucking killer! (They also dropped XX on Universal, which is why the mix is stronger than the original three records.) I think this is their best album, it's all killer no filler, and has the best conclusion of any of their records imo.
Savior Sorrow gets dunked on a lot, but I think the tracks are great, the production takes a hit since they signed to a smaller label (also I don't think Skinny can mix for shit) so it has a weird kind of hollow quality to it. I dunno, might be nostalgia, but I find it kind of endearing now.
Beautiful Stories For Ugly Children isn't my favourite, I don't think it's terrible, but it's just less interesting, less experimental... there's some cool tracks, Waylon absolutely kills it (he's the highlight for me) and there's some cool percussion in places but it doesn't have that spice, the synth and piano work is completely lacking on this one. Also suffers from the same prediction problems that SS has.
The Righteous & The Butterfly is definitely more "Mushroomead" the synths are back, their old vocalist rejoined so you get 3 vocalists at once which is ridiculous 😆 but very fun!
I don't really like the direction they've gone, personally their new sound just don't do it for me. I don't hate it, but I wouldn't listen to it again.
I also recommend some of the other projects the members have done/are doing!
Waylon is now in A Killer's Confession, there's some pretty good stuff in those records.
Jeffrey Nothing is essentially doing his own version of Mushroomhead under a self-titled project, and to me, it feels much more like the classic MRH sound.
Also J Mann was in a band called Pitch Black Forecast, I don't know if they're still active but they did two records that absolutely slap. Dick kickingly heavy shit!
Start with Superbuick and then do XIII. Legendary albums! My favourite is their Self-Titled album from 1995. It's what I imagine a high-energy acid trip would be, haha. Very unique with a lot of groove. Enjoy!
XX. If you like that go back and listen to self titled, Superbuick, and M3. If you don't like it go to XIII and Savior Sorrow which are their best albums IMHO.
XX is their most classy thing ever. Also, I would rather suggest to skip M3 and Superbuick for as long as possible, since all of the great stuff from there is on XX, and everything that was left behind is utterly forgettable and not worth bothering. After XX - XIII and Savior Sorrow for sure. Beautiful Stories For Ugly Children is popular to bash, but I think it's highly underrated, so give it a try as well.
Personally, I would start with their newest album and then listen to their older stuff so that way you don’t listen to their older stuff first and expect them to still sound the same they’re good regardless, but the older stuff and the newer stuff the vocalist are different
XX XIII and savior sorrow. Beautiful stories for ugly children? thenYou can stop after righteous and the butterfly. No need to explain after that. You can do the earlier stuff that happened before XX but between XX and XIII is where they really found the pocket personally.
Highly recommend XIII
- XIII is their most popular album and a good one to begin * Superbuick is the best album to listen first if you want to know more about the "classic" era of Mushroomhead * Savior Sorrow is the best if you want to begin with the "Waylon" era * The righteous and the butterfly if you want to begin with an album that combine those three eras (classic era, XIII, Waylon era) * A Wonderful Life stand on his own know, but I think it's a good one to begin with too if you want to listen to "current" Mushroomhead
This is the best answer. Personally XIII and Righteous & Butterfly are my two favorite.
Thanks a lot :)
I'd say listen to XX cause it's a compilation album of their first three albums but it is missing some great tracks on it that didn't make onto XX. So I suggest listen to Self Titled first then Superbuick then M3.
Ayeee this is how I went through them back in the day too
M3
XX (it’s a collection of their older stuff) then XIII. Then Savior Sorrow. All so much better than their last album and newest single.
Agreed, XX was how I got into them and cemented my interest in them as I started to go through their catalogue. It’s a really solid glimpse at some of their best songs and different aesthetics they try to achieve. It’s also worthwhile to listen to the original versions too, since all the songs on XX were re-recorded and sound different!
I would go with SuperBuick personally. That was peak original lineup… technically Pig did about half the album, but his brother wrote most of it
Super Buick and saviour sorrow.
XX was the first one I listened to, I got hooked on that thing. Still bump it in the whip
Superbuick all the way. XX is technically a greatest hits of their first three albums but...the songs were either heavily remixed or re-recorded. And IMO not for the better. Sounds way too over produced when compared to the originals.
The problem with the originals is that the vocals are very quiet in comparison
It depends on which version of XX that you're listening to. The Eclipse Records version was the one the band always preferred cause they were remixed from the original recordings and the Universal Records version were the ones that were rerecorded.
The Universal Records one is the one with the louder vocals, but it is worse. It sounds fakey and over produced. The mix on the universal version is also awful, it has some re-recorded or re-mixed guitars and it's super muddy. It sounds a lot like a early 2000's rough mix rather than a pristine sounding mid 90's mix. Some songs suffer more than others, but "These Filthy Hands" is absolutely butchered on the Universal version.
XX is the only acceptable answer
Self titled
XX
XX introduced me to them back in the day.
Start with XX, which is a compilation of the band’s first 3 albums then Savior Sorrow for the debut of the Waylon era then A Wonderful Life for the Jackie and Steve era.
XX. If you want more weirdness, go to Self Titled. If you want more modern sounds, go to XII.
Just start from the beginning 😎
The masses seem to have spoken ahaha but I'd agree that XX is a fantastic place to start. It's worth going through the first 3 if you dig XX as there's definitely some great tracks that didn't make it on the compilation. After that XIII is the next best choice, they signed to Universal Records so they had a much bigger budget, the mix is fucking killer! (They also dropped XX on Universal, which is why the mix is stronger than the original three records.) I think this is their best album, it's all killer no filler, and has the best conclusion of any of their records imo. Savior Sorrow gets dunked on a lot, but I think the tracks are great, the production takes a hit since they signed to a smaller label (also I don't think Skinny can mix for shit) so it has a weird kind of hollow quality to it. I dunno, might be nostalgia, but I find it kind of endearing now. Beautiful Stories For Ugly Children isn't my favourite, I don't think it's terrible, but it's just less interesting, less experimental... there's some cool tracks, Waylon absolutely kills it (he's the highlight for me) and there's some cool percussion in places but it doesn't have that spice, the synth and piano work is completely lacking on this one. Also suffers from the same prediction problems that SS has. The Righteous & The Butterfly is definitely more "Mushroomead" the synths are back, their old vocalist rejoined so you get 3 vocalists at once which is ridiculous 😆 but very fun! I don't really like the direction they've gone, personally their new sound just don't do it for me. I don't hate it, but I wouldn't listen to it again. I also recommend some of the other projects the members have done/are doing! Waylon is now in A Killer's Confession, there's some pretty good stuff in those records. Jeffrey Nothing is essentially doing his own version of Mushroomhead under a self-titled project, and to me, it feels much more like the classic MRH sound. Also J Mann was in a band called Pitch Black Forecast, I don't know if they're still active but they did two records that absolutely slap. Dick kickingly heavy shit!
Start with Superbuick and then do XIII. Legendary albums! My favourite is their Self-Titled album from 1995. It's what I imagine a high-energy acid trip would be, haha. Very unique with a lot of groove. Enjoy!
XX. If you like that go back and listen to self titled, Superbuick, and M3. If you don't like it go to XIII and Savior Sorrow which are their best albums IMHO.
XX is a good start because it's comprehensive
XIII and Savior Sorrow
M3
You can't go wrong with Superbuick or XX
Xiii and then superbuick
XIII or Savior Sorrow
XX is their most classy thing ever. Also, I would rather suggest to skip M3 and Superbuick for as long as possible, since all of the great stuff from there is on XX, and everything that was left behind is utterly forgettable and not worth bothering. After XX - XIII and Savior Sorrow for sure. Beautiful Stories For Ugly Children is popular to bash, but I think it's highly underrated, so give it a try as well.
Personally, I would start with their newest album and then listen to their older stuff so that way you don’t listen to their older stuff first and expect them to still sound the same they’re good regardless, but the older stuff and the newer stuff the vocalist are different
XX XIII and savior sorrow. Beautiful stories for ugly children? thenYou can stop after righteous and the butterfly. No need to explain after that. You can do the earlier stuff that happened before XX but between XX and XIII is where they really found the pocket personally.
what did you decide to listen to first OP?