Hollywood Undead - American Tragedy Redux (2011)
I have a love/hate relationship with remixes. Generally I think most remixes are kinda shitty unless they're in hip-hop, in which they can actually be pretty damn cool sometimes, but when you get into poppier music, a good remix (keep in mind, what -I- think is a good remix) is a once-in-a-blue-moon kinda thing. That's why, when this was announced, especially due to them saying there'd be some dubstep remixes on the album (I generally avoided dubstep like the plague back in 2011, could you even blame me with how the fans were?!), I was ready to instantly take this album to the trash and delete it after just one listen, but holy shit, there are some GOOD remixes on this album!!
The remixes on here, for the most part, outside of a few tracks, are mainly of various electronic subgenres, typically made with the sole intention of getting these tracks played in the club, and wouldn't you know it, one of the things I occasionally felt off about when it came to the original album, the fact that Daniel Murillo's voice when he sings the chorus is a bit too soft, well, it works GREAT in some of these remixes! He very easily could've been a popstar, but he hangs out with these lovable bastards instead. Good guy, that Danny boy.
The fact that I hadn't listened to this remix album in years (for no real reason, wasn't like I was avoiding it) but could still tell you some of the unique things about most of the remixes should say something about how varied it is on here, in at least how the remixers tackle the songs. "Levitate (Digital Dog Club Mix)" and "Comin' in Hot (Wideclub Boys Mix)" are straight-to-the-clubs as the names would imply, which works well because the original songs sounded like Hollywood Undead's best attempts at getting rap-rock songs into the club, but then you get "Apologize (Buffalo Bill's "Die Young" Remix)" with its acoustic guitar leading into synths, which I will admit that this track lasts WAY TOO FUCKIN' LONG at a running time of 7 minutes and 38 seconds with no real progression to speak of in the last few minutes, it's neato for what it is.
The factor of "Oh shit, NEATO!!" travels on to other tracks, such as the obvious highlight "My Town (Andrew W.K. Remix)" where Andrew W.K. doesn't actually do much to chop up the song or change the structure, but comes in with his triumphant 80s heavy-metal guitar and keyboards, poppy drums, and even strips down Daniel Murillo's vocal track for the chorus so it doesn't sound like a wall of voices like it did before. It's a great remix because Andrew W.K. knew exactly what people liked and disliked about the original song, and pretty much fixed it to where it sounds like it could fit on one of his actual studio albums. Also worth noting is "I Don't Wanna Die (Borgore Remix)" where pretty much the ONLY thing Borgore takes from the song is the chorus, which is manipulated, and then thrown through dubstep-hell as he comes through with abrasive as shit drops that remind me of electric drills. I like it for what it is but holy shit, do not listen to that loud. That comes out of the left-field on the album and shocks the shit out of you.
See, the rest of the remixes are pretty okay for what they are, except for two: "Hear Me Now (Jonathan Davis Remix)", which, yes, the Jonathan Davis from Korn is pretty shitty. I don't really know my way around remixing songs that well (although I've certainly tried) and I'm willing to bet I'd be able to make a better remix than that, because it sounds like he tried to make a darker version, but couldn't give it that feeling that people have come to love by Korn. No real guitar riffs (I'm pretty sure the one that's in there is just chopped up from the original song) or anything to really give the song any "oomph" at all, which sucks because the song could've benefited a shitload from the old Korn sound. The other that let me down is "Lights Out (The Juggernaut & Obsidian Remix)" because there's a repeated sample of someone saying "Breakfast" or some shit over and over again, and to be honest with you, I kept listening to it and I CAN'T FUCKING STOP HEARING "Breakfast"! I have NO IDEA what it's supposed to be if not that, and I have no idea why it'd be repeated in the first place even if it was somehow relevant!!
Some neato remixes, some "eh" remixes, one "What the fuck are you doing, Jonathan Davis?!" remix, and one steaming hot load of "Breakfast" makes me feel like this album definitely has moments where it shines, and even shines quite competitively to the originals, but I can't bring myself to rate it any higher than the original album due to various issues, such as the fact that I've already eaten breakfast today. You can't hype me up, bitch!!
7/10 ________________________________________________________
Feel free to check out the song previews/buy this album using my Amazon Associate link!
