More event info can be found at www.namm.org/thenammshow2012

» www.hollywoodundead.com

By Paige Montgomery

Throwing darts at the T-shirt wall at Hot Topic could have chosen the lineup for Friday’s show at the Fillmore. 

The World War III Tour had a little something for everyone featuring Hollywood Undead, Asking Alexandria, We Came as Romans and Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows.

The show was a random mash-up of post-hardcore, metal, and rap-rock artists complete with a dubstep set from DJ Borgore and two pole dancers, which raised the question: If the dancers are wearing tennis shoes does that make it appropriate for an all ages audience? 

Asking Alexandria, We Came as Romans and D.R.U.G.S. each amped up the crowd with their individual brands of hardcore, but the combination of the heavy sets and the dubstep DJ made for an odd opening sequence.

The saving grace for the randomness of the show was the headlining set from Hollywood Undead which brought nuances of each previous genre together with a swagger and style that made you want to rush the stage. Sporting their signature hoodies and masks, the six-member SoCal band came out full-force with “Undead” and continued to develop the harder rock vibe of their show with “Been to Hell,” “Lights Out” and encore of “Hear Me Now” that closed the night. 

The band had a playful side as well, making jokes about drinking and even making jabs at the Broncos. Tracks like “Everywhere I Go” and “Comin’ in Hot” turned the Fillmore into one big party.

Rap-rock might have been done before, but the L.A. edge Hollywood Undead lends to their image and the way they incorporate hard rock into their music puts them on their own level as far as the genre is concerned, which might be why they can’t find a bill to match. 

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Loved. Loathed. Twisted. Controversial.
HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD
ARE WINNING FANS AND ALIENATING PEOPLE IN EQUAL MEASURE…

CHARLIE SCENE, vocalist, guitarist, and self-proclaimed lyrical genius with Los Angeles rap-rock outfit Hollywood Undead has a theory as to why so many people are starting to love his band.

“It’s because it’s totally different. For the past 10 years music was so repetitive, with the same shit coming out,” he explains. “You just get tired of listening to the next Foo Fighters song. Everything was getting boring and then something new and different happens and people can relate to it.”

Sitting next to Charlie in the band’s dressing room at Leeds Metropolitan University – the third venue of a sold-out UK tour – Johnny 3 Tears, vocalist and self-proclaimed band hard-ass, also has a theory as to why so many people hate his band. And, as it turns out, it’s much the same one.

“A lot of people don’t like us solely because we’re new and you can’t try to bracket the music the way you can other bands,” he offers.

With their debut album Swan Songs released here last summer – some eight months after its U.S. release – the band hit the UK as heavily as they could. A stint supporting The Blackout in May, an appearance at the Slam Dunk festival and an opinion-dividing but frenetic main stage opening slot at June’s Download festival set the band up for their first headline tour on our shores in December.

Hollywood Undead’s energetic genre mish-mash incorporating hip-hop, punk, rock and pop initially saw them tagged with the unflattering scream-crunk label but it’s certainly not a description the band themselves embrace, or even recognise.

“I don’t even know what the fuck that is,” sneers Johnny with a look of utter disdain. “I don’t know what crunk is and we’re not emotional.”

They’re certainly not that. Pick any song from Hollywood Undead’s album and you’ll find lyrics that, littered with references to ‘bitches’ and ‘faggots’, smack of unapologetic misogyny and homophobia.

“It’s silly that people consider us offensive,” Johnny says in his band’s defence. “There’re so many bands that have said things like this before but we get all this bullshit. Do people not realise that it’s not meant in a literal way? People still seem to get pissed off for some reason, though. Maybe they’re bored or religious.”

Perhaps it’s the simple fact that people have overlooked an important element of the band – pointed out in album opener Undead – ‘What, you can’t see the sarcasm in the verses I spit?’.

But what of a track like Black Dahlia? With a title referencing the infamous murder case and a dark lyrical bend, the song appears to be have a subtext about killing the girl who broke Johnny’s heart.

“It’s not meant like I’m literally going to stab my girlfriend to death but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it at one point,” Johnny shrugs. “I’d never do it – I don’t wanna go to jail and I don’t like blood that much but let’s say those things exist in my head and I’m going, ‘God, I just wanna kill this bitch’. One of the reasons people respond well to our music is because we’re saying things they’re thinking but maybe they don’t have the balls to say.

“We’re saying it’s okay to be weird. It’s okay to want to stab somebody sometimes. You never wanted to kill a bitch, man?”

Er, no.

FORMED IN 2005, Hollywood Undead adopted a distinctive masked look not to hide their identities, but simply to stand out.

Unlike an emergent Slipknot, they had no compunction about appearing unmasked in public and indeed the masks only make a brief appearance in their current live show. Exploiting the power of online social networking sites to the fullest – their Myspace page has had in excess of 130 million plays – Johnny is keen to stress they’re not just an online phenomenon.

“Every band has Myspace but 99.9 per cent of them aren’t successful,” he says. “If people are listening to our music, it’s because the music’s good, not because of our Myspace page. To us, touring is far more important. Ultimately, it’s how you’re going to survive as a band.”

And on this tour, vocalist Daniel Murillo, who has replaced founding member Deuce, is making his UK debut, despite not being a full-time member as unresolved legal issues continue with the band’s former singer. While internet rumors claim Deuce is taking time out to work on a solo album, Johnny unequivocally states he left the band before their U.S. tour in September.

“Deuce is a piece of shit, fucking cocksucker,” Johnny offers. “Nah, I’m only kidding…Sort of. It was musical differences, as boring and clichéd as that sounds.”

But that aside, Hollywood Undead certainly can’t be accused of being boring onstage. As the whole front section of the Leeds Met pump their fists and sing along to the set, it’s unclear how many fans either recognise or care about the sarcasm and literal meanings or otherwise contained in the band’s lyrics. What is clear, though, is that this audience absolutely adores them and Undead fever is spreading with the wildfire virulence of a rage-infected monkey bite.

“They’re just a brilliant band,” reckons 16-year-old Aimee, who’s been queuing in the rain for over two hours in order to secure a place near the front. “I saw them at Slam Dunk and they’re amazing live.”

Do you think they’re offensive?

“Maybe,” shrugs 17-year-old Zoe. “They’re not to me, though. It’s more just a laugh and the sort of band you can have a really good time to.”

With a Gold-certified album in the States, 20,000-plus UK sales, and a successful year on the road behind them, Hollywood Undead are looking set to have an interesting 2010. With plans afoot to begin work on album number two – which will, they say, see the band evolve while retained the Hollywood Undead fundamentals – the quintet are getting ready to expand their fan base, whether their detractors like it or not.

“I’d like to see how big this thing can get, I have some houses picked out in the hills above the ‘hood,’ admits Johnny with a grin. “Seriously though, all that stuff is secondary to the music. Over time you can lose what it meant to you at the beginning, but to see what it means to an audience inspires you and makes it worthwhile as an artist.

“In 2010 I’d just like to see more people at our shows,” he adds, “and influence more people to think as twisted as I do,”

Prepare yourselves, people.