PopSyndicate.com

Just really graphic.

This album should be their swan song, but based on a rapid escalation of fan mania in the Los Angeles area, Hollywood Undead is, unfortunately, here to stay.  Their debut CD probably isn’t going to be their last- - despite the title.  Swan Song offers up a compilation of rap and hip-hop music from the streets of LA.  Nothing is sacred to the group; nothing goes unnoticed as they scream and sing their way through garbage cans, Hollywood cars and the dirt on the streets of Los Angeles.  I can’t even repeat some of the lyrics here.

Hollywood Undead describes themselves as being normal, average on-the-street people who like to have a good time and want to share their hip-hop, rap-style music with their fans.  Of course, “normal” goes right out the window with the masks they wear: bandanas, and stage masks with eye slits and covered mouths.  Their one wish on their web site is they’d like to see more of an older crowd attend their performance rather than underage teensters who thrive on their music.  Their first album contains a parental advisory because of adult content.

Their music is about the Hollywood scene and how fake everything is.  Many people go to Hollywood to become a star, only to find it’s more difficult than they think. Many end up on the streets using drugs, selling them or prostituting themselves just to survive.

Hollywood Undead speaks the language of the street and their music is negative.  Iife is a b- - ch and nothing is worthwhile.  Out of all the songs on the 14-track album, I liked “No. 5” with its beat and the words in the song.  Part of the chorus uses the words, “Hollywood going down.”  It’s a negative song about how people have come to think of Hollywood as a mecca for stars with big, flashy cars and lots of money while the streets are full of people living off the scraps they can find in garbage cans. Wearing the masks when they performs gives these six men the chance to hide their true identities in the hopes their music will spur on their fans to hear the music instead of identify with the men themselves. The rap is the same as five years ago; nothing has changed except the music, and it’s the same garbage that we’ve heard before.  I can’t believe the fan base goes for this type of music, but they go wild when Hollywood Undead plays somewhere.

I’m reminded that some of their songs (“Undead,” “Sell Your Soul”) use lots of yelling or screaming much like KISS used to do.  Their popularity is growing by leaps and bounds as they tour all over the country.  Radio stations are giving their songs lots of air play in and around the Los Angeles area.

The strong language aside, I wasn’t really impressed with the tracks on this album because of the demeaning attitude towards women and gays.  As I said, “No. 5” was the best song on the entire album and the only one I really liked.  If you like hip-hop and rap, then this is an album you can add to your library.  Not mine.

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