Album: Good Head in a Mad Society
Year: 2002
Style: Metal, Rock
Similar Bands: Green Jelly, Korn, Limp Biskit, Zebrahead, Alice In Chains, Semisonic
"One Word" Review: terrible -juvie-metal-jam
Based Out Of: Van Nuys, Ca
Label: High School Records
Good Head in a Mad Society - Cover, CD, Back
Good Head in a Mad Society - Liner Notes & Tray Insert
Good Head in a Mad Society (2002)
- 67 3:07
- Screaming "o" 3:59
- Regular Joe 4:56
- Chinese 5:08
- No Merci 1:18
- Plasterd 3:24
- Wonder Why 5:34
- Complicated 4:24
- Sinderella Story 4:30
- Rich Boy 6:18
- Empire 4:50
(video of 67 on enhanced CD)
Album Rating (1-10): 3.5
Members & Other Bands:
John Bogosian - Produced
Mike Rozon - Mastered
Katherine Delaney - CD Design
Jacques de Groot (Lojac) - Artwork, Guitar, Vox (Royallush)
Kris Carpenter (Kristafari) - Drums (Royallush)
Kory Carpenter (The Kore) - Bass (Royallush)
Kelly Carpenter - Video Editing, Camera
Jason & Mishell - Camera
Depak Chopra - Narration on 67
Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of these guys. I got this CD as part of my friend’s moving cd purge care package. From the looks of it, the cool artwork, it might be an interesting CD. Although with the stupid play on words and sexual meanings of “Good Head” “Screaming O” Sinderella” and stupid spellings of Merci and Plasterd, I can’t help but cringe at what could be here. 2002 means nothing, since there was so much music from that period. But I read a little about them, and it said they were Spiritual Punk, and that they recorded their first takes, making them a jam band. I can only cringe more at that thought.
Album Review: The album begins with “67,” apparently their single, since a video is also on this CD. Creepy narration begins with buzzing guitar, and guttural chanting of “This song is 67.” The narration continues throughout the song, and the metal guitars take over. Some sorta singing that reminds me of Presidents of USA making a song with Green Jelly begins, but nothing really ever takes complete control over the chaotic track. A dancing drum track starts “Screaming "o"” and soon after that the vocals, nasally whiny angsty voice is added, featuring a multipart chorus on sections. I have to admit, when the song started, I thought, “Oh hell, what is this shit.” And I still think that way about this after its run its course. It is very juvenile and literally refers to what you would imagine the title to reference. “Regular Joe” comes next, possessing a heavy, metal drum and guitar intro, and some jittery Korn like vocals. It reminds me of a bad Zebrahead song, and the band comes off as imagining just how cool they are to themselves. It’s pretty bad too. There are glimpses of a catchy hook, but they do a good job at abandoning that idea and playing crap. “Chinese” starts with stark flute sound effects in a soundscape of nighttime emptiness, the thick metal guitar and whining guitar parallel each other, but this staggering dark strut contains nothing catchy. I’ve gotta track ahead, its only 2:45 into the song. It sounds like he just gets angrier and the song quickens in pace, but nothing is added. It slows back down in the end, back to how it began, and ends. “No Merci” is a short ballad track, slow electric guitar strums and an actual melody in his vocals, even if it is a bit depressing. And it ends very suddenly. “Plasterd” starts with a good, driving pace drum & bass beat. The driving guitars are added, streamlining the song’s momentum. But the vocals, similar to Alice in Chains, come in actually adding to the appeal of the song. But then they succeed in ruining the song as it ends, adding unnecessary scream effects.
“Wonder Why” is a long country tinged drunk rocker. It staggers along in a cowboy cloud of inebriation. The chorus shows competence, but it dives back off the deep end after they are through. The chorus makes them sounds like about a terrible version of Semisonic. “Complicated” continues with the Semisonic sound, just adding heavy metal guitars. It could just as easily be a pop song, but they chose to cloud it in liquid guitars and pointlessly heavy riffs. The chorus takes me back to the Alice In Chains comparison, but it is not even close to as good. “Sinderella Story” starts nicely, with choppy guitar work used as a hook, and a much more rocking feel. The vocals are not quite as trying here, and follow a straightforward melody. This is a story-song, reminding me of something that might happen if Semisonic would get hold of an Oingo Boingo song ideas notebook and interpret the story through the eyes of a college frat boy. I’m just waiting for the moment when the song dives off the listenable end, and what might just do that. Even the mocking-vocal melody, and stupid lyrical “Girlfriend’s got a girlfriend” can’t sink the song yet. It successful ended without completely sucking. But they saved the suck for the next song, “Rich Boy.” Which is another sing-song, mocking vocal style song that slows down for the verse to a mesmerizing, make the spinning stop feel. The Green Jelly chorus picks up, even with an added vocal of a high pitch freak out vocal section over the chanting. There is a long ween-like jam out section, which is the only piece of a live ween show that I cannot stand. Oh, now they have to employ cursing for no real reason to the vocals, how creative. This song sucks. But it does not end before they bring back the embarrassing rich boy chant and stupid vocal overlays to end the song. “Empire” ends the record, with a Captain Beefheart style vocal, which persists through out the song, but it more aggressive than Beefheart ever was, and the song is the terrible parts of prog and metal jammed together. It also sounds like a poorly interpreted Tom Waits. The end cannot come too soon. There are some breakdowns and some theatrics presented in the song, with multiple vocal styles exhibited. The chorus actually has a bit of a catchy hook, but they bury it under the theatrics again. And it is not enough to save the song. The song fades out quite early and is an exasperated, long fade out that feels like it will never fully come.
“Wonder Why” is a long country tinged drunk rocker. It staggers along in a cowboy cloud of inebriation. The chorus shows competence, but it dives back off the deep end after they are through. The chorus makes them sounds like about a terrible version of Semisonic. “Complicated” continues with the Semisonic sound, just adding heavy metal guitars. It could just as easily be a pop song, but they chose to cloud it in liquid guitars and pointlessly heavy riffs. The chorus takes me back to the Alice In Chains comparison, but it is not even close to as good. “Sinderella Story” starts nicely, with choppy guitar work used as a hook, and a much more rocking feel. The vocals are not quite as trying here, and follow a straightforward melody. This is a story-song, reminding me of something that might happen if Semisonic would get hold of an Oingo Boingo song ideas notebook and interpret the story through the eyes of a college frat boy. I’m just waiting for the moment when the song dives off the listenable end, and what might just do that. Even the mocking-vocal melody, and stupid lyrical “Girlfriend’s got a girlfriend” can’t sink the song yet. It successful ended without completely sucking. But they saved the suck for the next song, “Rich Boy.” Which is another sing-song, mocking vocal style song that slows down for the verse to a mesmerizing, make the spinning stop feel. The Green Jelly chorus picks up, even with an added vocal of a high pitch freak out vocal section over the chanting. There is a long ween-like jam out section, which is the only piece of a live ween show that I cannot stand. Oh, now they have to employ cursing for no real reason to the vocals, how creative. This song sucks. But it does not end before they bring back the embarrassing rich boy chant and stupid vocal overlays to end the song. “Empire” ends the record, with a Captain Beefheart style vocal, which persists through out the song, but it more aggressive than Beefheart ever was, and the song is the terrible parts of prog and metal jammed together. It also sounds like a poorly interpreted Tom Waits. The end cannot come too soon. There are some breakdowns and some theatrics presented in the song, with multiple vocal styles exhibited. The chorus actually has a bit of a catchy hook, but they bury it under the theatrics again. And it is not enough to save the song. The song fades out quite early and is an exasperated, long fade out that feels like it will never fully come.
Stand Out Track: Sinderella Story
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