Mayhem: Honest thoughts so far

[dit 46,333]

My second favorite Gaga album so far only surpassed by Cheek to Cheek at #1

 

[Chesescake 3,928]

I think it's okay. A listenable 6/10 album that is.

You can tell the songs are nice, but they rarely surprise me.

I think Eden and Celebrity are cool too but my favs are Abracadabra and How Bad.

And no, this is not her best since 2011.

Edited March 12 by Chesescake

[popkulture 70]

It's easily her best, or second to best album. It tells us who she is. It could have easily been titled "GAGA" as an album name. Comparing it to Born This Way is unfair since BTW was when she showed the world a part of herself that we all fell in love with. You can't compete with the first time you were introduced to something. Nothing compares. It's like when you visit your dream country for the first time - it won't feel the same if you visit again, but it'll be different. 

This album has been on repeat all day since release. She truly surpised me in the best way.

The weakest parts, for me, are LoveDrug, Don't Call Tonight, and How Bad Do U Want Me. They're very generic. BUT, they are there for a reason. Gaga knows how to write a killer pop song. They're generic pop songs but still hold power. They just feel like weak spots. Still, way better than anything BloodPop "helped" with.. 

Highlights: the funk. This was unexpected and so so so Gaga. SO theatrical, too. The real fans will get it, and only the real Monsters that have been here since '08. 

As of now: Zombieboy and Perfect Celebrity are my top two. Killah was my initial favorite on first listen. It's still high up there for me. 

The Beast has grown on me. It's a classic that'll age like fine wine. Blade of Grass is also a grower (the chorus bugs me though).

I'm really proud of Gaga. This album feel like a warm embrace after not seeing one another in a long time. The first time I heard the album, I felt like I was 16 all over again when I heard BTW when it was released. Mayhem is so special.

Edited March 12 by popkulture

[Versace 7,951]

I’m happy with it overall 

There are songs I am crazy over such as Disease, Abracadabra, Garden Of Eden, Perfect Celebrity, Zombieboy, Shadow of a Man 

^ these really should satisfy the thirst fans had for more old school Gaga but elevated 

the rest are either good or average but might clash sound wise with the songs I mentioned above, which I guess why some fans feel let down? but you have to understand it creates a more diverse album and appeals to more listeners. 
 

Fans who only liked 1-3 songs only probably had personal expectations that were never gonna be met in the first place. It’s a great album overall, arguably in her top 4 at least. 

 

 

[steven 5,846]

3 minutes ago, Chesescake said:

I think it's okay. A listenable 6/10 album that is.

Like you can tell the songs are nice, but they rarely surprise me.

I think my fav are Abracadabra and How Bad.

I think the second part of the album is a bit a hit or miss, maybe a bit too predictable and redundant, expect Shadow Of A Man. 

[hELXIG 42,674]

I need to find the time to give it another listen 

[2School4Cool 6,399]

It’s still early, but could be her best album to date. Incredible. Astonishing. Unbelievably excellent. She keeps topping herself almost 20 years into her career, it’s astounding 

[LilyLark 10,074]

It's my second favorite Gaga album behind BTW. I love it, frankly a lot more than Joanne, ARTPOP, Chromatica, and even TF and TFM (and I like all of those albums a lot).

I'm glad it has the best reviews of her career-but honestly, I'd put it even higher on Metacritic. Then again, it should be about how we view the music ourselves, and we shouldn't base our feelings on critics or other fans.

I-unlike some fans-really, really love the disco/fun sounds of much of the album. Vanish Into You has crept up on me and might be my favorite Gaga song of all time. The opening 6-7 track run is so strong, and even the latter half-which is a bit weaker-is still great imo.

As far as criticism, I don't think it's the most cohesive album (to be fair, TFM and BTW weren't terribly cohesive either). Disease and Abracadabra are great songs, but they don't fit as well as Perfect Celebrity (which is also dark, but seems more in line with the album) imo. DWAS in retrospect works well with the album. 

I do get "why" they are on the album though...she's mashing together 80s and 90s style from NIN to the Cure to Prince to Bowie. There's just a lot of different sounds in the blender. How Bad Do U Want Me is a solid 7/10 imo, but still the weakest song on the album by far when everything else is a 9/10 or 10/10.

I read a write-up today that basically argued Gaga managed to somehow tie up a lot of disparate elements and different sounds work and that it was a great album, but they wish it was a bit more cohesive....which I agree with. For me, that makes it a 9.7/10 instead of 10/10.

As far as innovation, I'm sorry-but unless someone is doing straight up PC music like BRAT-you really can't come up with a "new" sound. There's just been way, way too much music over the past 70 years to be 100% original. What I appreciate about Mayhem is it is a sound we aren't really hearing a lot in the US right now....it stands out among the whisper pop or folky pop or even Olivia's pop rock.

[LilyLark 10,074]

55 minutes ago, Versace said:

I
 

Fans who only liked 1-3 songs only probably had personal expectations that were never gonna be met in the first place.

 

 

I wish I had remembered where I read this, but one writer gave a pretty positive write up of Mayhem (tho he did not like How Bad Do U Want Me at all lol) and he also addressed the fans. Basically, said some of Gaga's fans are always going to want dance bangers from Gaga unlike the Taylor fans who kind of moved with her from country to folk rock to adult contemporary. And I don't think they were entirely wrong...Abra (an excellent) song didn't help as it set up expectations, even though Gaga specifically mentioned Prince, MJ, etc. as influences.

But they praised her for exploring the dance/funk/rock type of sound and specifically singled out Shadow of a Man, Vanish Into You, etc.....

They more or less said that it's a Catch 22 for her as an artist, that Abra is a good song but it's going to be constantly bring references to her past hits which were considered more innovative at the time, which is why the dance/funk/rock works well because it stands out in 2025 much like songs like Abra/Bad Romance stood out in 2010.

Edit: I didn't entirely agree with the write up, but I think they were bang on the money with the fans and the reason the funk/rock/pop sound works so well for some of us.

Edited March 12 by LilyLark

[southpaw773 3,171]

After the first listen there were some songs that I liked but not like how I knew I would be songs I’d be all over (like GOE, Zombiefied, etc). 
 

and now I love them all and I don’t think I could rank them.  But I do like them all better than DWAS but only because I’ve played that one 28384 times before. 
 

really digging Vanish. don’t call, beast and how bad but I know I was shocked at how Perfect Celebrity sounded. 
 

this album is both a grower and a shower and I can’t wait to see what songs spawn from this as new hits atop the charts not to mention videos. 

[candydarling 1,571]

I've always wanted her to released a rock inspired album, harder then born this way, less pop. And Perfect Cebrity, Killah and Zombieboy get very close to that. Killah might be my favorite ever song from her, it has that marry the night edge of glory you and i vibe (3 of my faves) but more mature sound wise and Im a sucker for her bowie vocals. 

A couple of other songs are also amazing, so I would say half the album is amazing, but the other half is either mediocre or just really bad. So I guess the album sits higher then chromatica and joanne because they seem uninspired ou way too serious. And it could've been better than ARTPOP or even the fame if it followed the nine inch nails bowie prince michael inspiration all the way through. 

Also I hate the cover and I don't think the tilte really is indicative of chaos or even that many different genres. ARTPOP is way more chaotic, agressive and all over the place. So it feels like she either got lost in the concept or just threw it on afterwards. 

But I still like it a lot! It's her best in 10 years for sure.

[OMF 3,407]

I on the other hand LOVE The Beast and Blades of Grass, place them up there with her best ever. I also love all other songs and listen to them all. Brilliant album 

[Charmz 4,134]

It’s tied with Born This Way as my favorite Gaga album.

i really don’t feel like it is a bait and switch. The fame monster has dark imagery with similar themes. If anything, Mayhem is more diverse. 
 

we made it. I really wanted chromatica to be this album style, and we’re finally here.

[REALITY 75,618]

It's honestly my favorite album of hers.

I think BTW is more interesting, but MAYHEM is more consistent and I truly think every song on the album is a banger. In contrast, it took me a while to get into some of BTW's songs. There's not one song I dislike or even think is mediocre; they're all varying degrees of good/great. The production is stellar, the melodies are insanely catchy, and her vocal delivery is excellent and extremely diverse.

The genre-switching doesn't affect me whatsoever, especially because I'm into funky, groovy, disco music. And contrary to what some people believe, the album is actually dark! I think people have a narrow view of what "dark" music is. Dark music isn't exclusive to industrial/electro-grunge/techno. About half the album is "dark" songs (i.e., Disease, Abra, Perfect Celebrity, Killah, Zombieboy, The Beast). And even the songs that aren't explicitly dark like Vanish Into You or Shadow of a Man have some dark imagery.

[Starmie25 17,173]

I'll be completely honest.......I don't like it.

 

.... I love it*