rock

Mushroomhead

1 upcoming festival

Cleveland masked-metal institution predating most of the nu-metal wave — painted faces, dual vocalists and a rotating cast held together for decades.

Mushroomhead formed in Cleveland, Ohio in the early 1990s, drawing its first lineup from members of other local bands who wanted an outlet for something heavier and stranger. The group settled on a large lineup built around drums and percussion, keyboards and sampling, and more than one vocalist, with the members performing in masks and face paint and using stage names rather than their own.

The music combines metal riffing with industrial textures, sampled noise and melodic clean singing traded against harsher vocals, and the live show has long leaned on visual staging, including percussion played on water-filled drums. The band's membership has turned over repeatedly across its run, with drummer and co-founder Steve Felton the constant, and Mushroomhead has continued to record and tour for three decades.

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