Posted on

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been fifteen years since Hollywood Undead were formed and started sharing their signature sound with the world behind those masks of theirs. The band is now about to drop their 6th full-length album, New Empire, Vol. 1 via Dove & Grenade Media/BMG. According to Johnny 3 Tears, the band decided to take a fresh approach and write the album as if it was the first time they had written together. The result of that approach is actually two albums, with New Empire, Vol. 2 still to come. Although the music is definitely fresh and timely, the combination sound of rock, hip-hop, and however else you might classify the band is still mostly definitely the sound of Hollywood Undead.

So far, the band has released three videos from the album, Already Dead, Time Bomb and Empire. From what we have seen so far, it seems like the band is actually going to remain unmasked…for now at least. The first single, Already Dead has already seen great success and airplay and the video’s theme perfectly matches the creepy keyboard motif of the song. Many of the songs focus on deeper issues, such as addiction, current events and mental health. Some songs are heavier on the hip-hop side of things, such as Killin It, while others highlight more melodic vocals and powerful guitars. There are also a couple of vocal cameos from the likes of Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens (Upside Down) and Good Charlotte’s Benji Madden (Second Chances). The album ends with Nightmare, which includes a haunting piano intro with equally haunting vocals.

It seems the band will be hitting Europe first after the album drops, so those in the States will have to wait a few months before they can see the New Empire tunes live. In the meantime, keep an eye out for announcements of when Vol.2 will be available.   

What Do You Think?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.