Critic's evaluation
A little less than two years after the announcement of New Empire, vol. 2
Hollywood Undead has resumed songwriting activity for a new material. Entitled Hotel Kalifornia, the new album marks the group's eighth studio album.
The guitar emerges with a harsh riff inciting a blood effervescence that suggests an uprising. After shrill bursts, a raw explosion, dripping in bass riffs and guided by a drumming that, under the dominion of Greg Garman, sounds explosive, is introduced while Jorel "J-Dog" Decker, with his raspy and almost panicked vocals, gets into a loop by repeating the word 'chaos'. It is then that, under a tense and slightly industrial terrain, Jordon "Charlie Scene" Terrell enters with rapped verses delivering a curiously provocative cadence. After something bordering on dissonance and disharmony, the song flows into a dramatic melodic chorus in which Daniel "Danny" Murillo offers a mournful lyrical rendition that borders on weeping with disappointment. Chaos is not just a song about conformation. It is a song that talks about impunity, about cause and effect, and that criticizes the essence of futility that governs society while rejecting authoritarianism and extreme measures that achieve their goals through bloodshed. Chaos is, therefore, a product of critical lyricism and stunning, indeed chaotic, melody.
Repetitive, stunned piano sounds appear solitary and give way to a kind of delirious reverie by Charlie Scene. In a melody rhythm grounded in minimalism and whose movement is built entirely by the rapped cadence of lyricism, the song, without delay, presents the listener with a desperate and distressing context. In the case in question, the lyrical character finds himself, every night, giving access to the negative thoughts that hide his true essence. Immersed in a deep disappointment with himself, he dialogues about guilt and regret while genuinely asking God for help in finding peace. World War Me is the perfect contest between conscience, instinct, and desire. It is a description of the war of ideals that haunts the conscience every night. When the melody meets a metallic structure guided by Danny's high-pitched timbre, it is the moment when, at last, the lyric self realizes he is his own enemy in a clear realization that all dark ideas are part of who he is.
A shrill, acidic, electronic sonar that recreates the intro of Chaos makes itself present in New Dawn. Interestingly, the melody brings a mix of rap and pop that softens the lyrical content that begins to mature. With a theme very reminiscent of the rhythmic aesthetic of the Black Eyed Peas, Ruin My Life is a description of a night of partying with alcohol, nonchalance, and impulsiveness. The comforting ecstasy that offers sudden oblivion from worldly problems.
The base guitar comes solo in a slow, high-pitched riff. Accompanied by a kind of white noise, it is surprised by the flash of the solo guitar and builds, beside it and with the permission of the sequential blows of the box, a melody that mixes elements of pop punk, rap and hardcore. With the bass as the main element in creating the sound pressure during the minimalist air verses structured between it and the drums, Hourglass is an energetic song that talks about courage, focus, predestination, pride associated with origin. It even sounds like an autobiographical account of Hollywood Undead that shows the maturation of each one, the reunion with each other, and the places full of recorded memories. The description of people who have their goals decorated and who are constantly thirsty for personal achievement. People whose time cannot be wasted, because they are governed by the character of consistency and discipline.
A dramatic suspense echoes in the air like a slightly sweet scent. Breaking through this barrier of sudden sweetness, Danny enters the scene accompanied by a 4x4 drum beat that can't hide the intricate rap base in its rhythmic foundation. Filled with catchphrases, the first verse is a rite of passage into a section that, guided by Funny Man, is denser and allows the listener to see smoke coming from all sides, creating an inhospitable and chaotic scenario. Narrating the drug trade and the routine of this market, Go To War manages to mix social criticism that includes greed and bribery. Between the sub-bass and more catchy phrases, Go To War also brings an acid point of view that even those who call themselves pacifists have the same level of interest as those they abhor.
The guitar in low, blowing distortion provides the starting point. Here Danny enters with a clean, melodic vocal that imputes melodramatic notions to the building introduction. Flowing into a verse that manages to mix ingredients of pop punk with alternative metal, Alone At The Top talks about greed, time, and how people relate to it to the point that, from this relationship, regrets and loneliness always arise. No wonder that time is here the omnipresent character that is brought in as the determining factor of destiny and an unconscious sense of eternity. Regarded as the most coveted commodity, time is the one that makes it possible to live in seemingly insignificant moments without giving up those that are considered the focus of the present. Alone At The Top is like a lament that says 'what's the point of getting this far if I have no one to celebrate with?' A big, melodic, dense and dramatic mournful reflection of the way we let moments slip away without due appreciation.
With a similar structure to that which 3 Doors Down adopted on In The Night, in which the playback of Here Without You is heard in the background, Wild In These Streets, with the playback of Chaos in the introductory aisle, has its awakening. Flowing into a rough, metallic, and curiously numbing rap, the song has a dialogue that highlights the reflection of action and reaction while uniting capitalistic and even slavish concepts in today's work environments. A song where the listener can see the blood dripping through the microphone, a four-voice microphone detailing what life is like in Hollywood.
The low, lonesome guitar pulls the intro in a way that creates an aesthetic resemblance to the dawn of Linkin Park's single One Step Closer. A child's voice appears babbling the word 'dangerous' while sirens, barks, and propellers share space in the melodic aisle creating a sense of danger and insecurity. Dense, the melody finally presents itself in a unison based on alternative metal. Flowing into the nu metal guided by J-Dog's rap, Dangerous is a song that sells itself through the metallized optics while dialoguing in a complementary way to Wild In These Streets. After all, here the plot seems to mix reality with a kind of gambling game. Complete with an improvised rap in Spanish by Funny Man, Dangerous is chaotically catchy.
Contagious and embryonically comic at first, the introduction is built on a minimalist foundation, but whose rhythmic movement is elaborated through the rhythmic cadence structured by Charlie Scene and Danny, who share the first two verses. Unlike the urban and social plots of the previous songs, Lion Eyes presents an immersion in a more emotional field itself. Evidencing the naivety and purity of feelings from a relationship perspective, the song dialogues about deception, greed. Lion Eyes is the sound of the description of the look of interest in a way that represents all the people who get close to others just to suck the best out of them, be it material goods or even emotional balance. It is interactive recycling. An interesting single from Hotel Kalifornia.
A mystical and mysterious sonar appears on the horizon like the dawn of something enigmatic. Suddenly, what promised to be the awakening of a gentle rhythm flows into an intense, precise, and raw rap that is guided by George "Johnny 3 Tears" Ragan's low, aggressive vocals. It is he who introduces the street scene, the prejudice, the drugs, the impulsiveness. When Danny enters the scene, there is a melodic lapse in the bridge between verse and chorus, a moment of ecstasy before J-Dog embraces the whole melodic context of Trap God with a shredded and dramatic nu metal apex. It's up to Funny Man to provide a minimalist bridge where his voice and vocal cadence are the only sonic ingredients hovering around. With pure, swinging rap, he introduces the verses that define the message of Trap God, a song that questions empathy and love while exuding an inordinate sense of distrust towards society in a clear rejection of falsehood.
Driven by a folky hard rock groove that evaporates like a breath of wind, the sonar evolves into a high-pitched digital lead accompanied with a cadenced piano sound in the background. Catchy with its sub-bass and 4x4 rhythm, Happy When I Die is an ironic character track that is mostly starred by Charle Scene, who narrates a storyline of dissatisfaction with life, with the lack of money and the absence of self-love. Like a conversation between Scene and Man, the track has an autobiographical content that brings a turning point in the life of the interlocutor. After gambling and drinking so much, he has lost precious things in life like his son or his wife. Happy When I Die is also like a quiet wish that happiness lies only in death as a metaphor for the moment when the whole vicious cycle of searching for a false sense of well-being is over.
The sound of distorted guitar accompanies Danny in his shy, intimate performance that soon flows into a pop punk ambience reminiscent of Paramore's rhythmic structures, with special mention to the single Misery Business. With hints of alternative metal scattered throughout its little more than three minutes of duration, Reclaim manages to be catchy in its mix of metal, rap and pop punk while bringing a curiously nostalgic energy to dealing with a negative viewpoint of the concept of legacy. At the same time, however, the song has a religious character as it brings reflections that it is we ourselves who choose what we will live. And in this sense, revenge and conflict are only stepping stones toward the evolution of the spirit.
The sun is at its rising point on an autumn morning. The streets are almost deserted. A strange sense of empowerment mixed with melancholy then invades the interior of a pedestrian. In his nonchalant, slow paced walk, his gaze suddenly stiffens. His hands close and his body stiffens. It is as if he is
ready for a clash. This scenario of curious internal and external conflict is evidenced by a lonesome, dirty drumming that confronts a melancholy, weeping melody embodied by the guitar. At the melodic base, however, the guitars sound comes together in the creation of a piercing dramatic-melancholic atmosphere. Far from the rap-rock and nu metal aesthetics that marked songs like Undead, what happens on City Of The Dead is a surprising take on a pop punk guise that harkens back to the aesthetics that boasted the early 2000s. Not coincidentally, Murillo's timbre seems to have the mold thought out especially for such an aspect of rock, as it harks back to the iconic vocals of Tom DeLongue. With somber notes that accompany the sound like an omnipresent character, the song has a bridge drawn in the cadenced formation of rap whose protagonism falls on Terrell. With a somber atmosphere before the reality of fame, an environment where there are no differences between the people who are part of it, where greed rules and where the feeling of loneliness walks hand in hand with recognition, City Of The Dead enters, together with The Great Apes, single by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Knock'em Dead, track by the Scorpions and The Path Less Followed, single by Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators in the list of songs that try to show the reality without filter and without romance of fame.
Percussive sounds make themselves heard creating a slight sense of movement and a simple flirtation with the melodic aesthetic built by Imagine Dragons on their single Believer. Suddenly, a duet of tonic blend builds between Danny's falsetto and Charlie Scene's bass creating a growing harmony based only on vocal synchrony. In truth, a transcendental, linear sonority is heard in the background cooperating with the harmonic-melodic elevation of the song. From the introductory duet verse, the song flows into a rapped, univocal verse that gradually matures the melodramatic character of the composition. Under Johnny 3 Tears' narrative, Alright presents itself as the fuse of guilt, regret, pain. At the same time, the track features a lyrical self immersed in the dialectics of insecurity and fragility with a fearless sense of predestination. Coming home symbolizes safety, comfort, and protection, but it is not always an easy process to execute. And in Alright, this trail is watered with conformation, the focus mixed with the concept of faith and a volatile identity. It is the story of one who seeks inner peace through forgiveness.
A strong record, to say the least. With a strong social character, Hotel Kalifornia is a visceral album with a great autobiographical content. Bringing the reality of the streets while mixing social and emotional issues, the album manages to be plural in its concept and to reach an even wider audience.
It is true that it has generous motivational aromas, but what is sold in the most superficial part of its content is emotional conflict. The need for forgiveness as a way to disentangle oneself from regret and guilt is the key factor in much of the songs that fill the album.
Having in Danny the purely melodic character even when the sound is denser, it is with him that Hotel Kalifornia manages to create the first link with the listener. Then J-Dog, Scene, Tears, and Man come in, delivering movement in their rapped contributions. With this structure, Hollywood Undead manages to be sonic, chaotic, dense, and stimulating all at the same time.
Filled with a diverse rhythmic range that transits through fields such as nu metal, rap, pop punk and alternative metal, Hotel Kalifornia has managed to sound strong and plural thanks to the work of Zakk Cervini. Even at a young age, the sound engineer has in his resume more than 30 contributions, most of them with the alternative rock and pop punk side. No wonder that in several moments the listener can get Blink-182 vibes during his journey.
There is no point in a strong and resistant sound if the path to be followed is not so clear. Drew Fulk p/k/a WZRD BLD, No Love For The Middle Child and Erik Ron were essential names for Hotel Kalifornia to build a reputation that defends the essence of Hollywood Undead while at the same time brushing intense reflective issues to the lyrical-melodic content.
Released on 08/12/2022 via BMG, Hotel Kalifornia is a tense, melodic and intense record that speaks to the reality of the streets and what passes in the emotions of each individual that fills the urban landscape. Sometimes a punch in the stomach, sometimes reflection, but never just fun. Hotel Kalifornia is an invitation from Hollywood Undead to think about life and, above all, to value time.
