Whenever a music act releases a new album that one-ups their previous releases and gathers praises from all over the music scene, a question eventually begins to loom over: what now? The world of music has plenty of “one hit wonder” artists. Many of which fall into malaise or settle for recycling what happened to work in the past. Others try to experiment and branch out, which rarely comes out without a hit to quality and frustration of fans of their previous works.
On the other hand, Hollywood Undead belong to a rarer breed of artists who continue setting ever higher standards for themselves ever since 2008 – back when they started out with hits such as “Young” and “Everywhere I Go”, which continue showing up on their concerts to this day. Within a short period of time and despite lack of interest from mainstream media, the band managed shot themselves right to the upper echelon of musicians – the kind that can fill any concert stage in the world.
In a way, the band has not changed that much despite the passage of time and consecutive album releases. They have, of course, polished their musical workshop (sound and lyrics alike), resulting in increasingly better albums. The more explosive music only added to their already explosive showmanship – the treats that Hollywood Undead serve their fans have no equals.
Once the first previews of their next album “New Empire” came out along with the titular song, we briefly feared that the band might have tripped over their own feet with such a turn towards the alternative. But that’s exactly what they have always done – every new album adds a new spice to their musical repertoire. Like an expert brewer with a few types of hop and some extra ingredients, the band can create something incredible and original out of any possible variation.
The album’s opening track “Time Bomb” is easily one of their best songs to date. Not only we got anti-establishment about blowing up facebooks and instagrams, but also an excellent sonic accompaniment that beats everything they have created thus far.
We are most interested in how the group will attempt to meet their new standards in the future. Perhaps they will blow everyone’s expectations once again and create something even better…
