Post your reviews of Mayhem

[StrawberryBlond 14,405]

I thought it would be best to have one big thread where everyone posts their reviews and didn't see a designated fan opinion topic for everyone to post just their reviews in specifically, so here we go. 

My opinion: This album is a journey. I had so much trepidation going in because early fan opinion from the night before was a bit hot and cold, disappointment and anti-climax was common but listening to it, I found I had nothing to worry about. From beginning to end, what an entertaining experience. Dark elements, mixed with soft pop, mixture of old and new sounds from periods of time to Gaga's personal sound evolution. So many songs that reminded me of those early Fame days, when she was a wild kid from NYC with her fishnets and nine inch heels, all the way through to the mature woman who's moving on to the next stage of life where she is today. 70's funk with subtle nods to Bowie and Chic, 80's synths with distinct MJ and Prince overtures, 90's alt pop a la Gwen Stefani, even a bit of bubblegum dare I say it, Taylor Swift inspiration. Such unadulterated joy, she sounds so passionate and her vocals sound the best they ever have as far as studio recording goes. It is chaotic like its title in its switch up of genre styles but controlled enough in a way that's weirdly cohesive. I disagree that it's a bait and switch, there are plenty of dark pop elements throughout, around half the album has a dark sound. She's done the dark sound before, this has a perfect blend with whimsy so it doesn't sound too downbeat. The tracklist also kept a cohesive pace so that it wasn't too much of the same and I was thrilled to discover that DWAS completely made sense at the end. Gaga had said the album ends with love and it was going that way before the song got tacked on, so it couldn't have ended any better, even the outro of the previous song perfectly led into the guitar opening of DWAS. I heard every track with a smile on my face, mouthing the lyrics, dropping it like it's hot, feeling 20 years younger and being all "YAAAS QUEEN!" and finished actually saying: "Wow..." I haven't enjoyed a Gaga album this much since BTW. I weirdly wasn't overly excited leading up to it which I feared was a bad sign, so what a surprise it was to enjoy it this much. Presently, it's my third fave behind BTW and TFM and her best album in years. Gaga is back and better than ever, showing her true self musically in a way she hasn't for a long time. If this is going to be her last album for a while, what a temporary farewell for the moment. Paws up forever, thanks so much for the amazing album, Gaga. 

Best tracks: Disease, Abracadabra, Garden Of Eden, Perfect Celebrity, Killah, Zombieboy, How Bad Do U Want Me, Don't Call Tonight, Shadow Of A Man, The Beast, Blade Of Grass

Worst tracks: Vanish Into You

Track ranking (starting from least fave and ending with ultimate fave): Vanish Into You, Lovedrug, Kill For Love, Can't Stop The High, Die With A Smile, Perfect Celebrity, Shadow Of A Man, Abracadabra, Disease, Zombieboy, Don't Call Tonight, Blade Of Grass, How Bad Do U Want Me, Killah, Garden Of Eden, The Beast

Overall rating: 4.5/5, 8.8/10, 88/100, 88%, A-

 

Rate the album for yourself and post them here! 

[OMF 3,302]

I wish I had the time or focus to add a lengthy review!

All I will say is the album is EPIC. It’s not as experimental as other albums (minus Joanne) but it’s cohesive despite the first 2 singles having a different vibe to them. Beautifully written, great production.

Most of the songs have a familiarity about them, not just because it’s Gaga but there is a strong 80s feel and reminds me of songs like Fashion of His Love, Bad Kids in that sense. I’ve been listening to each song over and over and while my opinions might change later on so far the standout songs for me are Disease, Abracadabra, Vanish Into You, Zombieboy, Killah, Shadow Of a Man, The Beast, Blade of Grass & Die With A Smile in order of appearance on the album.

LoveDrug, How Bad Do You Want Me and Don’t Call Tonight are great tracks with GP potential however they are currently not on my top faves list, I feel they are more “generic” in their structure. Garden of Eden and Perfect Celebrity so far haven’t clicked for me, least listened to tracks and again, this may change in time.

[REALITY 74,506]

I agree with literally everything you said in your opinion  Everything from the musical influences, to the "bait-and-switch" narrative, to even feeling not overly excited about the album pre-release. To that last point, I was still very excited about MAYHEM leading up to it, but I also weirdly didn't have the same anticipation as her previous albums. I think it was because Disease, Abra, and DWAS, gave me a lot of confidence in the quality of the music, so I didn't need much more convincing

As for the other categories...

Best tracks: Abracadabra, Garden of Eden, Perfect Celebrity, Killah, Zombieboy, LoveDrug, How Bad Do U Want Me, Shadow of a Man

Worst tracks: Blade of Grass; I still really like this one, but I just think everything else is so good

Track ranking (this will definitely change ):
1. Garden of Eden
2. Perfect Celebrity
3. Shadow of a Man
4. LoveDrug
5. Abracadabra
7. Killah
7. Zomebieboy
8. How Bad Do U Want Me
9. The Beast
10. Don't Call Tonight
11. Vanish Into You
12. Die With A Smile
13. Disease
14. Blade of Grass

This feels awful  Cause I genuinely love DWAS and Disease so much, but I feel like I need to rank them lower because they're older  Also, everything from 2-11 can swap places depending on my mood 

 

[Decodekid 27,693]

All the songs stood out to me. This album is packed with quality, it's heavily layered and feels grand. It has a balance between being self-referential (Disease, Abra, GOE, PC) and exploring old sounds and themes (the rest).

Everyone's talking about the genres, but what about the lyrics? It's almost a storyline: breakups, love triangles, way beyond just revisiting old sounds, Gaga is revisiting narratives, which I love. To me, this is technically her self-titled album without being called Lady Gaga.

As for the sound, I'm so happy to finally have songs that fully immerse themselves in different genres rather than just hinting at them. 

Edited 21 hours ago by Decodekid

[MOT 2,809]

It's a joyful thing to listen to. Such a full, rich sound all the way, her voice is as good as ever but the music isn't relying on her voice to carry it. I'm hearing so many familiar nods and winks in there - Pet Shop Boys, Bowie, Prince, MJ, Janet Jackson (or is it Diana Ross), Chic, Keane, Coldplay, Catatonia. 

Favourite tracks (for now) in album order : Abra, Vanish, Killah, Beast, Blade. Kill For Love.

[Stefanotta 1,059]

“Mayhem” is, to me, the ultimate example of a mature artistic rebirth. It’s an emotional rollercoaster and a flawless exploration of transformation and authenticity. The album takes you on a journey from start to finish, with not a single track worth skipping. It seamlessly moves through different musical eras—modern sounds in Disease, the 2000s in Perfect Celebrity, ’90s rock in Zombieboy and Killah, ’70s and ’80s disco and dance in Lovedrug, Don’t Call Tonight, and How Bad Do You Want Me, and ’80s power ballads in The Beast and Blade of Grass—before concluding in the ’60s with Die With a Smile, a nod to the roots of modern music.

This album encapsulates all of Gaga’s influences, which have been present throughout her career. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that she not only pays tribute to the artists who shaped her, but she has reached a level of artistry where she can now draw inspiration from herself. She masterfully references her own musical evolution, embracing who she is with confidence. She’s in a place of joy and self-acceptance, and that love radiates through this record.

“Mayhem” is pure perfection—a masterpiece I will always stand by. No one can convince me otherwise.

 

Standouts: Shadow of a Man, Abracadabra, Perfect Celebrity, Zombieboy

10/10

 

[AcidWashBoys 130]

a very gaga album. her influences have never been so clear on a record but at the same time its unique to her and it feels like a mix of her previous work with a funk bow on top. a lot of the songs sonically remind you of her predebut/fame unreleased music which helps bring out the message of going back to her roots but can also almost feels like a commentary on her relationships with her fans and their approach to those songs. she mixes up many genres but the small team of producers manages to make this much more cohesive than she stated it would be (in a good way!) theres songs that sort of slip out of that box of "her old nachos" and "her inspirations" like HBDUWM and DCT which create room for something a bit more fresh for her, with their very clear pop melodies and structures making them fit onto the record. my only complaints is that some of these melodies while catchy feel a little uninspired and are more of for when im in the mood for those songs exactly. the best quality on this record is the amazing rich production which is super detailed and compliments her vocals perfectly and also the outros, most of these songs wrap so amazingly well and create space for the instrumental to let loose. overall an 8.5/10 for me but i can see it growing forsure.

[carltongrimes 144]

in my opinion, a magnum opus.  i was so excited for the release of mayhem and she did NOT disappoint.  it feels like a love letter to all the monsters and all her previous eras.  i cried so many times and so hard listening to this album, it felt like the first time i listened to ARTPOP.  the standouts for me are perfect celebrity, lovedrug, shadow of a man, and blade of grass.  all so different from each other but all so very gaga.

perfect celebrity reminds me of the music i grew up listening to (nine inch nails, skinny puppy, switchblade symphony, depeche mode), so it hit me right in the nostalgia and had me crying.
lovedrug is such a good song, the kind of song i'd want to sing to a partner at karaoke while he sat in the audience, something i'd say is "our song."
shadow of a man is so mj-esque to me, reminds me of the time i got really into his music in my early teens, the same time i got heavily into gaga.  i love dancing around to it, it's one of my favourite bops right now.
blade of grass is the song i want played at my wedding.  it's so sweet and makes me cry every time.  i wasn't even 30 seconds into the song for the first time before i started sobbing and i can't listen to it without crying.

over all 11/10, my absolute favourite album of hers (i'm not immune to recency bias), i will be buying tickets to the mayhem ball to hear the songs live.

[JoeCool 294]

I heard the tracks on Gaga Radio on Sirius.

Pretty good overall I thought on first listen.

Don't Call Tonight to me sounds the most sort of classic Gaga if you will.  

I'll have to listen to it/let it absorb more to give a more detailed review 

Edited 17 hours ago by JoeCool

[thierryrreiht 20,894]

Disease : 

Spoiler

Not the right album opener. But incidentally, the right first single. Because DWAS was still so big when it came out, it's good that it didn't gain too much traction. Sonically generally interesting, it sometimes touches exaggeration in the vocals. Lyric-wise, piß poor. ⭐️⭐️ 1/2

Abracadabra :

Spoiler

The first Star of the album, it encapsulates a high of energy that's both freeing, thrilling, and chaotic. The dance beat, the operatic chants, the viral "a-bra-cadabra" breakdowns, it works. Lyrics are fine, but I would have appreciated a bit less repetition. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

Garden of Eden :

Spoiler

I was devastated when I heard in the ESPN ad that the short leak from last summer was actually real all along. It's NOT IT sonically, giving Hilary Duff 2007, in the Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchi, Lyndsay Lohan era. Or like, an ad for the new The Hills season. Musically, the guitar is reminiscent of The Joker, but the latter is a much better song (albeit a cover, oop). Deleted from library ⭐️

Perfect Celebrity :

Spoiler

I LOVED the vibe from when she played the snippet in Paris. The post-grunge, techno vibes from the late 90's, early Y2K. *chef's kiss*. The full song could go even harder. Sonically it's there but I wanted it to go 110%. Should have been the album opener btw. Lyrics, again, are fine. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Vanish into you :

Spoiler

Not much to say. Doesn't click, weird vocal treatment in the verses, a love song (one of many on this album). Clichéd imagery, and her deep vocals sound forced. So. Much. Repetition. ⭐️⭐️

Killah :

Spoiler

I don't like the use of Bowie's Fame guitar riffs. It cheapens the song. Otherwise, it's like if the Spice Girls made a Halloween movie in 1997 and this was on the soundtrack. Vocals and vocal layering is fun, lyrics are straightforward but not boring. Kinda dig it, but I'm confused that Gesafelstein produced it. I guess his "featuring" is the outtro, but I wanted something more experimental. It's safer than Brat. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

ZombieBoy :

Spoiler

If we didn't know this album had a lot of 80's influences yet, this is truly it. And.. not always for the better. I don't like the vocal treatment, like she's singing in a small bathroom. The storytelling is cute but chorus is uneven and doesn't hit at all. Also the jarring bridge written in Major should be its own song. It would've been cool if it preceded Shadow of a Man, bleeding into each other ⭐️⭐️ 1/2

LoveDrug :

Spoiler

Again, she needs him like a drug, heard it before. Sonically reminds me of something from Endless Summer Vacation. Deleted from library ⭐️ 

How bad do you want me :

Spoiler

This one is tricky. Yes it's very Taylor. If she was singing it, from 1989-Lover-Reputation-Midnights, I would sing along loudly, like I do for Cruel Summer. Considering it's Gaga.. Idk how to feel about it yet. Maybe when the Sun will shine and the temperatures will increase it'll be like, a feeling of rebirth, but for now, ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (oh and the one phrase with her deep vocals are jarring and unwelcome in my ears)

Don't Call Tonight :

Spoiler

Not my personal fave, but I love the Tina Turner chorus. It's one of the least Gaga songs in here, but she manages to put her identity on it. The verses don't do it fully justice, the bridge could go harder, but the song is cohesive and she does a lot of nice things vocally. The live version will absolutely slap. Could become a fave as time goes. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

Shadow of a Man :

Spoiler

Oooh now this is interesting. Loved what I heard a year ago at the end of the Chromatica Ball. Had high hopes for it, and they were mostly met. The verse melody is a bit weak and I don't like the repeating of the last few words at each line. But the CHORUS !!!! I don't like MJ but she truly channelled him on this and it fits perfectly. I would have loved the last chorus to go all out, the song feels way too polished. It needs more of the Perfect Celebrity grit. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2 (Oh and it should have closed the album)

The Beast : 

Spoiler

Not it. Not interesting lyrically, a wasted opportunity to use the instrumental for something else. The does a lot of vocal prowess but in vain, it's not clicking. Deleted from library ⭐️ 1/2

Blade of Grass :

Spoiler

Pros : the chord progression in the chorus, interesting instrumental, key change.
Cons : the slurring of the lyrics, loud WHINY vocals, the topic, the slow tempo, the repetitiveness of the lyrics. Also why did we waste Gesafelstein's time on this. Deleted from library. ⭐️⭐️

Die With a Smile : 

Spoiler

This one is difficult. I'm glad it got Gaga to new heights with the GP, it has nice vocals, live instruments.. But another love song, and not the most exciting. Should NOT have been the album closer. Like.. The Edge of Glory, Applause, Babylon.. All great album enders, serotonin boost all the way. But this.. a yawny collab that was added after it got popular... Deleted from library ⭐️⭐️ 1/2

I know my opinions won't be shared, nor be popular with a lot of you. That's fine. I did put a lot of pressure on myself to like the album, because I'm in a place recently where things I used to love don't do anything anymore. I find it hard to find joy, and I was like "just gotta push through until Mayhem's release". And while Disease was a bit of a let down for me, Abracadabra truly gave me hope. I know it's day 2 of its release, and my opinion and feeling towards it will probably change, but right now I feel let down. My favourite singer releases a new album, and it didn't spark enough joy for me to feel some relief. 

Final note :
Mathematically ⭐️⭐️ 1/2
Realistically ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Edited 16 hours ago by thierryrreiht

[Zombiecat 14,814]

10/10

but ngl the only ones i fully listen to on repeat atm are disease, abra, zombieboy & shadow of a man

then garden of eden and perfect celebrity because they end so sexy  

oh and i love lovedrug too

but my phase will change to the rest soon i'm sure

Edited 16 hours ago by Zombiecat

[LordByron28 920]

It gets better with more replays. It took me a moment to adjust from my expectations of what the album was going to be to enjoying what it is. Her vocals, production, and writing have never been better. She sounds like she is having a lot of fun, embracing her artistry and her influences are more prominently felt on this album. Reminds me more of a classic album from a revered artist than a collection of pop songs.