Pros: Great lyrics, Great music, Truly talented artists
Cons: Too many instrumental and spoken tracks
The Bottom Line: If I had to be stuck with any album, it would be Declaration of a Headhunter by Stuck Mojo. Finally, a band with a mind and a message.
gwumpysmurf's Full Review: Declaration of a Headhunter by Stuck Mojo
If I had never met my boyfriend, I would have never heard of Stuck Mojo and I would have never heard any of the wonderful songs on Declaration of a Headhunter and you would not be sitting there reading this review right now. But fortunately for all of us, I did meet him, I did hear Stuck Mojo and I did write a review. Yay for all of us.
Stuck Mojo is a very unique band. I have heard them referred to as rap-rock, but I do not hear any rap in there at all (so if you are one of those people who thinks there is a reason that rap is only missing a "c" in the beginning, have no fear, there is no rap to hear). As far as I can tell this is 100% rock, not even the slightest little whiff of another genre.
1. A Lesson in Insensitivity
This first track is a spoken one. It is in the form of a public service announcement that talks about homeless/needy people... "Get a f*cking job you bums! You make me sick! I want to kill you!" How nice. It is rather amusing the first time, but not something you really need to listen to every time you hear the album.
2. Set the Tone
Like all of the other songs on this album, Set the Tone has a really catchy, great chorus (actually the whole song is catchy and great, but the chorus actually significantly sticks out)... "When the cards are stacked against me, And my heart is full of envy, I'm feeling wiser as the days go by, It's the game I play." This is one of my absolute favorite tracks on this album.
3. April 29th
I hate instrumental and spoken tracks so much, this is an instrumental track. It really does fit in with the album and when listening straight through, you probably would not notice that it was not the beginning of track 4.
4. Raise the Dead man
This is another of my favorite tracks (and really every track on this album that is not spoken or instrumental is quite wonderful). My absolute favorite part of this song (with this one being my actual favorite song on the album) is the beginning. "You must be going right out of your mind, Surprise me, you picked a hell of a time, You must despise me, the words I can't find, It's just me, hate machine by design." That just sounds like something I would like to scream in someone's face when they have done something to make me really mad.
5. Drawing Blood
This song sounds somewhat more morbid than the other songs on the album. "I feel the need to kill the seed, To bleed the breed of this disease" (screaming) followed immediately by normally singing "Happiness and ignorance as long, As he can pay the rent, Until the day that freedom's gone, Utopian society, a welfare state for you and me, Until the day that freedom's gone". This is a pretty interesting song which I really enjoy (through the good times and the bad).
6. An Open Letter
This is another spoken track, An open letter to the Reverend Jesse Jackson. While some people might find this track offensive to an extent, I absolutely adore it because they say some things that need to be said and everybody is afraid to say them. I think that this is a crucial track for everyone to hear at least once. "You kind of work for the advancement of the black community and you speak from a position that the black population cannot advance itself socially, politically or economically because an immovable object, the white establishment, forever blocks its path."
7. Give War A Chance
"All in the name of war", the first line from this track, is a very nice transition from An open letter to the Reverend Jesse Jackson. I'm not quite sure why, but it just seems to fit right in. "Embedded internal, We know that it's our destiny, Internalized paralyze, The thirst for war, the killing seed, In the jungle by the river, Death for sale, We will deliver."
8. Feel It Comin' Down
The lyrics for this track are somewhat depressing, but luckily the music is more upbeat and the lyrics are somewhat hard to understand. "It's an apocalyptic time, An apocalyptic era, Days of autumn near, Hands shake in terror, Quivering, shivering, it's the start of the ice age, A hate, fear mixture starts the public outrage, 123 class warfare the enemy, Fueling the fire with a single parent family, Disbelievers turn to welfare receivers, Underachievers, corrupted leaders."
9. The One
The One is definitely one of the most interesting songs on the album lyrically speaking. This song, especially the line "An Alpha male with a focus, Easily angered like a swarm of locust", completely reminds me of my step father who not only calls himself the "Alpha male", he is also easily angered and quite the a-hole. This song is my second favorite of the album... "A jelly fish in stature, Focused on things that just don't matter, A skinny, pathetic, gutless creature, Respected like a molesting preacher, Lonely, and it's the best thing for ya', Family, but they all deplore ya', Search to find that deep inside, There's no place to hide".
10. Evilution
The music in this track sounds cheerful while, once again, the lyrics bring you down. This is a band that definitely puts a lot of thought into writing their music. A lot of their lyrics are politically based and deserve a second look. "The sickness inside of you, It eats you deletes you, The haze that you live in, It rapes you it breaks you. You're a slave and a slug to your favorite drug, You're half a man, your own biggest fan. I often visualize this world, Without your filthy presence, And I stand p*ssin' on your grave, Without a sense of reverence."
11. Declaration
Blah, yes another spoken track and while its political content should make it worth a listen, once you have heard two other spoken tracks, you really cannot stomach another.
12. The Ward Is My Shepherd
Wow, imagine that, a spoken track followed by an instrumental track, I think we all know that I was in hell here. I completely suggest that you skip tracks 11 and 12, unless you personally are into spoken political tracks and instrumental tracks.
13. Walk The Line
Another track with not so happy lyrics that still makes me happy. There are two sections of lyrics in this song that I madly love... "I live for the hunt, I thirst for the kill, I lust and I eat, I sleep where I will" (mainly because it rhymes and flows so well) and "I can be a motherf*ckin' dick, Got a temper and it'll flare up real quick, Talk the sh*t - run the lip, Nervous tick - hear the click" (that part reminds me of myself and he sounds really cool and evil when he sings that stanza).
14. Hatebreed
The lyrics in this song are somewhat hard to understand, but are catchy, well written, and have a great flow. "This hate makes me a better man, My hate helps me take a stand, Strong inside, clear of purpose, Heart of stone, never nervous."
15. Reborn
Yay, it is always great when a band worth some merit has a bonus track, then it really is a bonus (except this is the only actual song on the album I don't like)!
The Verdict
Boy these sure are some hate filled fellows with a considerable disliking for government, just two more reasons to love them. This is a must have CD, be the first kid on your block to have it (even though it came out in 2001, nobody has it). Stuck Mojo is a very talented band with a lot of important things to say, maybe we will be lucky enough to be graced with another album from them that is of equal quality to Declaration of a Headhunter. I cannot assure you that this album would make a good gift since it seems to be an acquired taste (I am not quite sure why, the music does not seem odd to me at all, I think it is great). Go to a music store or download a song or two to get a feel for Stuck Mojo before you buy anything. Between Declaration of a Headhunter and Pigwalk (one of their earlier albums), I think Declaration takes the cake, hands down.
The Band:
Bonz::Vocals
Rich Ward::Guitar
Dan Dryden::Bass
Bud Fontsere::Drums
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