Known for its theatrical live show and the black masks that most of its members wear on stage, Mushroomhead is one of the more unique and adventurous alternative metal outfits that emerged in the 1990s. And the Cleveland
band's
music is as interesting as its image; Mushroomhead's forceful yet melodic alterna-metal incorporates elements of
hip-hop,
punk, and goth rock as well as industrial and
techno. The members of Mushroomhead have been performing incognito since 1993, when drummer Skinny founded the
band. At first, Mushroomhead was only meant to be a side project. Its members were playing in various
local bands at the
time, and they wore the blacks masks (which look like a cross between S&M/bondage masks and World War I
gas masks) so that people wouldn't recognize them. The only Mushroomhead member who doesn't wear a black mask opts for
Kiss-like clown makeup instead. After a few years, Mushroomhead became one of Cleveland's top
local attractions — and its members kept wearing the masks when they saw how intriguing people found them to be. Mushroomhead's self-titled debut album was released independently in 1995, followed by Superbuick in 1996 and M3 in 1999. The Midwesterners signed with Eclipse in 2000, and their next album, XX, came out the following year. In 2001, Mushroomhead's members included drummer/founder Skinny, lead vocalists J. Mann and Jeffrey Nothing, guitarists Bronson and Gravy, keyboardist Shmotz, bassist Pig
Benis, and sample provider Stitch when they signed to Universal Records to rerelease XX.