Album review: Hollywood Undead's 'American Tragedy'

Longtime Linkin Park fans disappointed by that band’s turn toward introspective art rock on last year’s “A Thousand Suns” might do well to check out “American Tragedy,” the defiantly shallow — yet undeniably bracing — new studio disc from L.A.’s Hollywood Undead. Here we find six young men (and their various studio-pro collaborators) in single-minded pursuit of a straightforward goal: synthesizing the aural equivalent of uncut testosterone. Complicating agents? They’re simply not here.

The upside of the group’s purity of purpose is that it sounds as energetic as any band of rapping rockers ever has: On “Apologize,” HU rides a booming groove out of prime Rick Rubin, while “Levitate” throbs with disco-metal urgency. (Kevin Rudolf, the dependably dunderheaded party-starter responsible for “Let It Rock” a few years ago, produced the latter cut.) The downside is that along with heart and brains, Hollywood Undead has filtered out any sense of humor from its music, which makes “American Tragedy” virtually impossible to listen to for longer than a few songs at a time. Try it at your own peril.

— Mikael Wood

Hollywood Undead
“American Tragedy”
(A&M/Octone)
Two stars

Comments

[Eric]

these guys are great. any bad reviews are wrong. Danny the new member (who replaces Deuce) is great and adds a great chorus voice. Check them out. One of the best bands I have heard.

[Luke]

"Try it at your own peril". Are you kidding me? This may be their only second album but its the best one. I Loved it.

[hufan]

for the two comments below you obviously arnt true HU fans...this isnt them...and its their third album...and like linkin park....they sold out ....they now sounds like a dirty version of nsync

[Matt]

OK every one, listen up. You can't compare this album to their first or second. Swan Songs featured Deuce, so the style of the band has completely changed with this album. This is the new Hollywood Undead. I don't really know how to describe this new HU. It's not as much like a party-crazy college moron kind of band, its a methodical mixture that sounds, in my opinion, far better. The lyrics are a lot more similar between songs this time around, but I'd rather them use this and build towards another better ablum like this.

Don't consider Desperate Measures as an album. Half of the songs are terrible covers and the other have were created without effort or heart.

[Sam]

@ hufan: When you say Linkin Park sold out, you obviously don't understand the meaning of selling out. They went in a different direction with their music because they've grown up and are interested in different things now. They wanted to experiment with their sound and they KNEW they would lose a lot of fans because of it and eventually sell LESS records they sold with the nu metal sound. Warner wanted them to stick with the nu metal sound because it sells well, but they went against that and did what they wanted to do. So how can Linkin Park be sellouts when they've chosen creativity over succes?

[Crispy]

lucky to be a 1/2 star rating here..i'm sorry American Tragedy is a flop...They have cut their roots and tried to hit too many markets at once.

[Opposite]

You aren't there real HU fan, if they want to try something new or change thats their option not yours. If you wont embrace that, or atleast keep your mouth shut and move on; I have some bad news for you.

The album is great. Just because its not the same, duplicated swan song album doesn't mean its not them.

[Josh]

Ok anyone who thinks this CD is better than "Swan Songs" is crazy. This CD has a couple good tracks ("Hear me now", "Been to hell") but overall this CD is totally the opposite of their last CD, and I feel that with the loss of Deuce Hollywood Undead isn't what they were.

[Britney]

i think this CD is just as good as Swan Songs. even though Deuce is gone i still htink they sound great!! i loved the CD(: its just my opinion tho. other people are going to think differently.

[Kevin]

Ironically, my opinion is exactly the opposite of this reviewer. If anything, their new music is deeper and more personal than before. I prefered the "old" HU, back when the music was even more raw and risque. I will say that this new album isn't a disappointment though. The music itself is much more complicated, and this creates deeper sounding tracks.
@Eric; No, bad reviews aren't wrong, reviews are an opinion. Everyone has one.
@hufan; Their sound didn't change because they "sold out", it changed because they have a new singer. Danny has a great voice, but he is being sh*t on by so many HU fans because he's not Deuce. The times, they are a'changin. Get with the program.
@Matt; Good actual review, my only input is that Swan Songs can definatly be compared to American Tragedy. Just because they have a different singer, doesn't mean it's an entirely different band. All the other members still contribute, and if the albums sound different, that's because it was a group effort to move in a different direction.
@Sam; If you wanna review a Lincoln Park album, then get off an HU album comment thread.
@Crispy; I disagree, but you actually talked about the album and didn't get distracted. Good job.
@Opposite, Josh, Britney, and Luke; Good.

[kuku]

screw this album. listened to swan songs one month ago for the first time. didn't know somebody left. this is a different band, no matter what you say or think. it's got nothing similar at all. i can see where it is trying to be similar, but is failing. who is deuce anyways? gonna go google and see what is his new stuff and when it is coming out. cuz i think that's where the party at.

[Stephanie]

I think that this album wasn't AS good as Swan Songs but its still a great album. I just felt like it didn't have AS much rap and that it was more pop like. It is still a great album and i hope no one says I am not a HU fan 'cuz i am but its just my opinion. Everyone has their own. And I think the songs like "Been to Hell" and "Comin' In Hot" are great songs. I miss their up beat awesome songs like "Everywhere I GO" and "Sell Your Soul" and "Dead in Ditches" but hey, once again my opinion. I can never hate HU :) Overall, it's a nice album just different from the other.

[Josh]

Mikael do i sense some resentment for HU? Especially since there talking about LA and hollywood in there first song? Aren't you a bit biased to do a review?

The ablum is great in my opinion, the people that listen to it can relate to it in many ways obviously you can't because you probably had stuff all your life, try living on 140 bucks a month.

There first song "Been to hell" describes hollywood and right after you start out on your own by yourself trying to make it in this world cause a lot of the times dreams do become nightmares.

[Cal]

You clearly didn't listen to the album if you think it's a complete change from their old music. If you think it's bad that's obviously your opinion, and that's ok but at least listen to the full album before making random observations that aren't even true. This album features themes that their old music featured, and it still has many different styles to it just like Swan Songs did.

To those who are upset the change from Deuce to Danny you clearly haven't seen them live. Deuce wasn't a very good singer, and didn't have the best stage presence, while Danny is actually an amazing singer who fills the role of clean vocals better than Deuce did. I was a huge fan with Deuce, and I'm a bigger fan without him. He filled his roll great, but Danny's just better go see them live or watch some videos and you'll know what I mean.

[Nate]

Alright, I've listened to the album a couple times (put it on repeat in my iTunes) and the thing I noticed right off the bat was that it was missing that certain emotion that swan songs had. I'm not saying that this is a bad album, its just different; and different isn't always bad.. Though I personally prefer Swan Songs (But my favorite songs were Young, Pain, Black Dahlia, Circles, City, The Diary, The Loss, Knife Called Lust, and The Natives) That is what I'm basing the difference in, They are missing that emotion I felt from them in those songs.. Though the songs on American Tragedy are great if you want some good party-esque songs; I just feel that it doesn't deliver the feelings and passion that Swan Songs had.

Plus, I don't know if it was really that bad, but I swear that Auto Tune on American Tragedy killed the album for me.

If I were to compare the two albums on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best, 1 being the worst)

Swan Songs - 8.5 - 9.0
American Tragedy 6 - 7ish..
(Which hey, if you were to be grading like in school it still 'passed' as an album for me)

[Chez]

Are you kidding me? True HU Fans need to stop hiding in denial here. When I first got my hands on the CD and flipped through the first few tracks I was missing the hard edge they had with Swan Songs. HU will never be the same. Deuce definitely wanted to keep their original style in check but HU definitely sold out! There is no denying it here. I mean come on they picked up a guy from American Idol? Give me a break.. they are looking for radio time on this one. The chorus guy is definitely out more on this cd and he ruined it!

[Namakestri]

Listened to the album.
Was utterly disappointed...
I know they've changed their singer, but that doesn't mean they have to give up their old style.
As mentionned in the article, they did exactly like Linkin Park and just sold out.
Even the new songs from Desperate Measure are better than this (And there's only 3 of them)

Don't buy the album, listen to it on the radio if you want.

[rowdy turner]

this is theyre best album. keep it on replay//

[Patrick]

I don't know what the writer of this article was thinking, but I am a long time Hollywood Undead fan (from before Swan Songs) and I loved this album. While some people call it "selling out" I believe the band has matured, their music has become more serious and their sound has evolved. I was very relieved to see them doing so well after the former lead singer, Deuce, left. Danny really does a good job picking up on the choruses, giving Hollywood Undead a similar sound as before Deuce left. Long time Deuce fans may be disappointed, but most Hollywood Undead fans will feel right at home.

Overall, I thought the album was excellent, especially the songs Hear Me Now, Been To Hell, and Levitate. If you've never heard Hollywood Undead, now is a great time to hear them. But you shouldn't base your opinion from another persons review, give it a listen and make your own choice.

[David]

Gonna order this album off of amazon when i get home, listened to it at my cousnins house and loved it (loved swan songs too) danny is a beast and i dont know why everybody is dissing the band for kicking duce out, he was awesome but danny is just a good. Luv u guys, cant wait till the next album!

[Michael]

I agree with mikael. they lost their sense of humor and i thought that was the best part about them. they weren't just rapping about banging chicks, you could tell that they actually put some time and effort into the lyrics. not anymore. this album didn't have me smiling even once. and having autotune isn't a bad thing in moderation, i just believe it was used too much.
American Tragedy 5 out of 10

[G]

I think this personally is a great album. I am glad they have Danny now instead of Deuce. I do miss the humor of the first album; as this one is more about irony, and cynicism than the humor. It's really a matter of musical preference between American Tragedy and Swan Songs. I believe American Tragedy is must better and though I miss the quirkiness of the first album I love the more volatile sound they took for this one and the more maturity. While their lack of maturity on some songs is something I like I think it really pulls the idea of this album together. Much better than Swan Songs for me.

[Tyler]

Sam-- Linkin Park may not have sold out but they havent created a good song in like the last 3 albums. I never have bought one of their albums because they only have a few decent ones on most their cds

[Tyler]

Josh-- this cd was just as good as swan songs. i only liked bout 8 out of 14 from Swan Songs. and i liked bout 11 out of 18 on American Tragedy.