Metal Underground.com

With it's creepy combination of lo- and hi-fi sounds, bizarre samples and consistently solid songwriting, Mushroomhead's "Beautiful Stories For Ugly Children" is a good, if not entirely groundbreaking bit of alt-metal. It ought to be enough to silence those who believe this fright-mask-wearing Ohio band to be a second-rate Slipknot.

On this album, Mushroomhead straddles the divide between nu-metal and industrial, usually to good effect, although those who didn't like nu-metal may turn up their noses at the synth-and-drum start of "InspiratioN," which, with its slightly hip-hop feel, will remind some of Limp Bizkit. Far more successful, in a traditional metal sense is the opener, "Come oN," with it's chorus of "Do you really want to fuck with me tonight?" over some excellent guitar work by Dave "Gravy" Felton. Tracks like "Darker Days" and "Harvest The GardeN" also have plenty of metal edge.

Those looking for a variety of sounds won't be disappointed in the array offered here. "The Harm You Do" is a creepy bluesy tune, with Felton's guitar having an almost surf-rock tone. "HoleS In The Void" and especially the Faith No More-ish "I'll Be HerE" feature effective use of Tom "Schmotz" Schmitz's keyboards, utilizing piano tones, and some interesting samples of what seem to be children singing or playing.

The vocals by Waylon Reavis and Jeffrey Hatrix work quite well on most of the songs, with the contrasts on "Your Demise" standing out — as does Felton's excellent guitar solo.

There aren't too many negatives to be had here, though sometimes the sound comes across just a shade tinny. You won't be hearing a lot of bass guitar here, and it would've added a little more weight to some of the songs. I don't really understand why the band decided to go with a bizarre "bow-chicka-bow" sample to open the driving "Burn The BridgE" either, but that's a minor quibble at best.

Mushroomhead's "Beautiful Stories For Ugly Children" is a solid, if hardly groundbreaking bit of metal from a band that's been around long enough to know what its fans want. If you're a fan of the band, you'll love it — and even if you're not, the sheer variety of songs will no doubt include something you'll enjoy.