The Righteous & the Butterfly
| The Righteous & the Butterfly | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Mushroomhead | ||||
| Released | May 13, 2014 | |||
| Recorded | 2012-2013, Filthy Hands Studio | |||
| Genre | Alternative metal, industrial metal, experimental metal,[1] electro-industrial | |||
| Length | 51:04 | |||
| Label | Megaforce | |||
| Producer | Steve Felton, Bill Korecky | |||
| Mushroomhead chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Righteous & the Butterfly | ||||
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The Righteous & the Butterfly is the eighth studio album by metal band Mushroomhead. It was released on May 13, 2014. It is the band's first studio album since 2003's XIII to feature Jason "J Mann" Popson on vocals, and the last to feature Waylon Reavis on vocals and Tom Schmitz on keyboards. It is also their first album without Pig Benis on bass since the self-titled album, and Gravy on guitar since M3, as well as the first album to feature Dr. F on bass, Church on guitar, and Roberto Diablo on percussion.
Jeffrey "Nothing" Hatrix said about the members' departure: "We also parted ways with a couple of members who didn't share in the founding members’ vision of what Mushroomhead was always meant to be. Pig and Gravy both saw our future in a far different way".[2]
The album title is a dedication to original guitarist John "JJ Righteous" Sekula and wife of drummer Steve "Skinny" Felton Vanessa Solowiow, both of whom had died in 2010 and 2013 respectively.[3]
Album information
In September 2012, Mushroomhead announced that they are currently in the studio working on new music via their Facebook fan page. It was said by Mushroomhead frontman Jeffrey Nothing that former Slipknot and current Painface vocalist Anders Colsefni is in the works to do a recording together in their upcoming studio sessions. The band entered their own Filthy Hands Studio in December 2012 to begin writing and recording their next studio album.
The album is the first and only to showcase all three vocalists. Drummer Skinny described it as "very energetic, dark and by far their heaviest album to date, just a fresh spin on the same old thing if you will. This is the first record with Church on guitar and Farrell on bass, so having those new writers on board you never know where it's going to go. For the old school fans there's a lot of flavorful elements in it so they will definitely enjoy it."[4] The album was revealed to come out around early 2014.
On August 16, Jason Popson confirmed his return to the band on his personal Facebook.[5]
Mushroomhead toured Australia for the first time as part of the Soundwave Festival 2014.[6]
On February 14, 2014, Mushroomhead announced a release date of May 13, 2014, of the album along with the title, The Righteous & the Butterfly. The album marks the return of J Mann. On April 15, 2014, frontman Jeffrey Nothing released the band's first unofficial single "Qwerty" on YouTube from his personal Facebook account, marking the first song featuring J Mann since rejoining the band.
This was the last album to feature Waylon on vocals and Shmotz on keyboards.
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| About.com |   [7] |
| Blabbermouth.net | 8/10[8] |
| Campus Circle | B[9] |
| Mouth4music Magazine |  [10] |
| New Noise Magazine | [11] |
| New Transcendence | 7.5/10[12] |
| Screamer Magazine | 8.5/10[13] |
| Shakefire.com | A[14] |
| The Front Row Report | 9.5/10[15] |
The album received mostly positive reviews and is Mushroomhead's first album to reach the top 20 of the Billboard Top 200 chart in the United States, reaching No. 20, selling over 11,000 copies the first week. The album also, reached No. 1 in the Billboard Indie chart, their first album to do so. The Righteous & the Butterfly also, reached No. 5 in the Top Rock Albums and No. 1 in the Top Hard Rock Albums.[16][17]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Our Apologies" | 3:24 |
| 2. | "How Many Times" | 4:50 |
| 3. | "Devils Be Damned" | 3:16 |
| 4. | "Qwerty" | 3:30 |
| 5. | "Portraits of the Poor" | 3:31 |
| 6. | "Childlike" (feat. Jus Mic of 10.000 Cadillacs) | 1:45 |
| 7. | "This Cold Reign" | 4:04 |
| 8. | "We Are the Truth" (feat. Jackie Laponza of Unsaid Fate) | 4:05 |
| 9. | "Son of 7" | 3:29 |
| 10. | "For Your Pleasure" | 4:12 |
| 11. | "Worlds Collide" | 4:19 |
| 12. | "Graveyard Du Jour" | 3:20 |
| 13. | "Out of My Mind" | 3:35 |
| 14. | "Rumor Has It" (Adele cover) | 3:39 |
| 15. | "We Are the Truth 3.0 (bonus track)" | 3:43 |
| 16. | "Dope Ass Watt [Remix] (bonus track)" | 3:01 |
| 17. | "Watt (DG Mix) (bonus track)" | 2:34 |
| Total length: | 60:22 | |
Personnel
- Jeffrey Hatrix - clean vocals
- Jason Popson - harsh & rap vocals
- Waylon Reavis - clean & harsh vocals
- Tommy "Church" Church - guitars
- Ryan "Dr. F" Farrell - bass
- Steve Felton - drums, percussion
- Robbie "Roberto Diablo" Godsey - drums (tracks 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 12), percussion, water drums
- Tom Schmitz - keyboards, samples
- Rick "ST1TCH" Thomas - turntables, samples, percussion, water drums
- Jus Mic - lead vocals on "Childlike"
- Jackie LaPonza - vocals (tracks 8, 15, 16, 17)
References
- ↑ James Christopher Monger (2014-05-13). "The Righteous and the Butterfly - Mushroomhead | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
- ↑ Interview with Jeffrey Nothing, by Grande-Rock.com retrieved on August 31, 2014.
- ↑ Ketler, Geoff. "Cleveland Rocks!: Geoff Ketler's Exclusive Interview With Steve "Skinny" Felton Of MUSHROOMHEAD". KNAK.COM. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
- ↑ "Mushroomhead's Skinny Talks Nothing But the New, New, New!". Nataliez World. 2011-09-15. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
- ↑ "Jason Popson - Old school, new school, this is the WHOLE...". Facebook. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20151218052759/http://soundwavefestival.com/lineup. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2016. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Mushroomhead - The Righteous & the Butterfly Review". Heavymetal.about.com. 2014-05-13. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
- ↑ http://www.blabbermouth.net/cdreviews/the-righteous-and-the-butterfly/. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Mushroomhead". Campus Circle. 2014-05-19. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20140525232131/http://www.mouth4music.com/. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2014. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Album Review: Mushroomhead – "The Righteous & the Butterfly"". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
- ↑ "Review: Mushroomhead – The Righteous & the Butterfly". New-Transcendence. 2014-05-14. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
- ↑ Croteau, Justin (2014-04-14). "MUSHROOMHEAD - The Righteous & the Butterfly". Screamer Magazine. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
- ↑ "Mushroomhead: The Righteous & the Butterfly". Shakefire.com. 2014-05-13. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
- ↑ "Mushroomhead: The Righteous and the Butterfly review". The Front Row Report. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
- ↑ "Mushroomhead - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
- ↑ "Mushroomhead's 'The Righteous & the Butterfly' Cracks U.S. Top 20". Blabbermouth.net. 2014-05-21. Retrieved 2014-08-25.