Hollywood Undead gets a lot of hate, but I feel it's unjust. I'm no diehard, but I like me some Hollywood Undead. That said, when evaluated on their own merits, the L.A.-based rap-rock sextet can deliver a very pleasing album full of great beats, and catchy vocals. Plus plenty of distorted guitar give it some weight and grit. Hollywood Undead pick up where they left off with their 2008 hit, Swan Songs. American Tragedy is a darker, funner, booze-soaked ride. Still all the tongue-in-cheek sort of self awareness, but with a little more edge.

The album starts out amazingly strong with the crunching, industrial "Been to Hell", and closes very nicely with a the underrated rap-rock classic "Tendencies". It's electric and murderous. The Linkin Park-sounding "Levitate" is fantastic as well. "I Don't Wanna Die" is reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails. Could be considered fairly emo, but I'm not sure I care. "Apologize" is a highly self aware to which goes down real smooth with the new vocalist, who sounds like a mix of Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, and Justin Timberlake (?). It's a great slap in the face to all the haters. "We don't apologize, and that's just the way it is." The ballads are very forgettable, and really don't do it for me. "Coming Back Down", "Hear Me Now", the like. Really, the only ballad that worked was "Pour Me", in which Johnny 3 Tears pours his guts out and bears his lonely, boozed soul. It has a really great hook, and a dark ballad. Real, true genius lies in "Bullet", a disturbingly upbeat and catchy song about a man longing for suicide. It's probably the album's sunniest track, despite the dark subject matter.

This album though is tonal. It's hard to flip-flop between your "Been to Hell"s and "I Don't Wanna Die"s to blatant and unsubtle tracks like "Gangsta Sexy". But the party anthem "Comin' In Hot" is a guilty pleasure. It's foul, it stupid, but it's catchy and just metallic enough. Charlie Scene dishes out wisdom such as "man sword". These tracks are og course purposely vulgar and edgy. I just can't place if they're doing it on purpose or if they're trying to be tough gangstas...

Overall, American Tragedy is at least worth checking out, especially to those disappointed with Linkin Park's A Thousand Suns. It's amazingly catchy, no doubt. Killer hooks, distorted guitars, aplenty. Hollywood Undead still do have sort of a identity crisis, have one foot in the typical party lifestyle of drugs and women, and another foot in the dark and surreal. I can still appreciate it for what it is, and it's a perfect follow up to Swan Songs, if not better.