Mushroomhead and Troops of Doom

US alt-metal band Mushroomhead’s long career has been rather unfairly overshadowed by their reported feud with Slipknot, which mainly stemmed from their joint penchants for theatrical costumes (rumour has it that Slipknot stole their look from Mushroomhead, who were then forced to change up their trademark appearance). Although both bands play a form of demented heavy metal, in truth they occupied different space; there is and has always been room for both bands.
Formed in 1993, Mushroomhead – who have always had a rotating lineup and can feature up to nine members at one time – were initially lumped in the nu-metal pile, but they really make a more interesting fusion of industrial metal and Faith No More-esque experimental metal. I have only seen them live once: at Ozzfest, Donnington Park, in 2002. The masked metal mob were touring their major label debut, XX, and delivered a riotous set (literally – the venue had reached capacity and the attendees stuck outside broke down the barriers and flooded in). Fronted by two charismatic singers, Jeffrey Nothing (clean Mike Patton-esque vocals) and J Mann (hard shouting vocals), who recently rejoined the band after nearly a decade in the wilderness, Mushroomhead smashed through tracks like ‘Before I Die’ and synth-laden hit ‘Solitaire/Unravelling’ with demonic passion. Now the feud is well and truly over, there is talk of a Slipknot-Mushroomhead tour. That would be a spectacle worth seeing…