A KILLERS CONFESSION – Unbroken (Album Review)

Former Mushroomhead co-lead vocalist Waylon Revis is back with A Killers Confession and their debut album Unbroken. Out now on Dave Ellefson‘s suddenly busy EMP records, Unbroken was co-produced by Waylon and Thom Hazaert. I think I first became aware of Mushroomhead with the documentary A Clown Short of Destiny. In which a fairly strong argument is made that in at least some fashion, Mushroomhead gave Clown (Shawn Crahan) the map to the covenant of the arc that Slipknot would become. Since then I’ve enjoyed Mushroomhead to some extent. Not enough to know what to expect when my step-son told me Waylon was starting his own thing.

A Killers Confession is by no means a departure from Mushroomhead. Maybe a credit to his role in songwriting. Maybe a discredit to his ability to do more than one thing. A Killers Confession could just as well be the new Mushroomhead record. Not necessarily a bad thing but it makes you wonder why leave an established band to do the same thing? This record rules out creative differences as a cause of the split. It may be a little heavier but not enough to separate it from Waylon‘s past.

That said it’s a decent record. The first track of note, “Spawn of 7”, is what you’d expect. It’s with “Rebirth” you first get a spark of something fresh. From there it gets sort of… boring. “A Killers Confession” (featuring Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch) sounds like it was recorded in 1998, buried in a time capsule. And dug up for this record. It’s also where the records lack of direction starts.

If you like Mushroomhead this isn’t a bad record. It’s also not great. The production is dated. The best songs are predictable. As are the less best. I want to tell you to buy it but too much of this is instantly forgettable. My money is the live show will change that. With his background you know Waylon is going to deliver a killer live show. Better luck with the next AKC record.

BUY: Unbroken