Getting dropped from its label and losing its lead singer in the span of six weeks would be enough to drive any band to call it quits, but not Cleveland-based Mushroomhead. The seven-piece metal band overcame impossible odds to release its sixth studio album “Savior Sorrow.”
Mushroomhead dates back to 1993, when a bunch of friends from random Ohio bands wanted to experiment with some music. The demos they came up impressed a lot of their friends, and so they decided to try it live. Not wanting to reveal their identities, the guys came up with the idea to wear costumes, masks and used pseudonyms.
The band got so much attention that many of its members left their original bands so they could keep playing with Mushroomhead. It kept picking up steam, making new music and getting more popular. But in 1999, things changed. A band named Slipknot from Des Moines, Iowa, hit the metal scene. Its members were also wearing masks.
Mushroomhead felt like their image was stolen for the mainstream. They reinvented themselves, killing the colorful outfits and rubber masks. They started wearing black leather and masks with Xs on the eyes.
Even with the theft of their image, the band continued to gain popularity. After releasing “XX” on an independent label in 2001, it was picked up by Universal and re-released. The band was thrown on Ozzfest, and catapulted into the mainstream.
“XX” rode single “Solitaire/Unraveling” and sold over 300,000 copies. Universal wanted more.
In 2003, “XIII” was released. Relentless touring and a hot single in “Sun Doesn’t Rise” helped the album debut at number 40 on the Billboard charts. It sold over 400,000 copies worldwide, but still wasn’t enough. Mushroomhead was dropped by Universal.
“To the Universal crowd 400,000 isn’t anything. They want four million,” said Skinny, Mushroomhead founder and drummer. “They are such a large entity and they just didn’t want to do it any more. The contract was up. It was what called ‘option time’ and those not to take the option.”
It was also around that time that J Mann, the band’s lead singer of 11 year, decided he was finished with the rock and roll lifestyle. He quit and left Mushroomhead singer-less and label-less, but they weren’t ready to give up.
“I’m the kind of guy who loves a challenge,” said Skinny. “So we decided it was time to reinvent ourselves yet again. We’re the Home Depot of the underground metal industry man. We’ve been doing it ourselves for ever.”
They went home to Cleveland and did it themselves. Skinny hired Three Quarters Down vocalist Waylon Reavis to replace J Mann. They started recording “Savior Sorrow” in their own studio in Cleveland. Skinny produced it himself.
“There is a lot of honesty on this record as far as writing goes,” said Skinny. “There was no contractual deadlines, no A and R reps breathing down our back, no one cracking the whip saying ‘you need a radio single’ or ‘you need to be more this way or that way. It was actually fun. God forbid you have fun, right?”
The album is some of the group’s best work. It debuted at number 50 on the Billboard charts and showcases Mushroomhead’s talent. The first tour in support of the album hits the Whisky in Hollywood this Tuesday.
“We’re playing a lot of material off the new record. We have new costumes and new masks,” said Skinny. “We’re just trying to come out and represent the new album the best we can.”
