The Album

The Mudbloods was one of the first wizard rock bands I was introduced to way back in 2011. I am thrilled to present my review of Live (then dead). This fourteen song album was created from three separate recordings of their final show at Wrockstock 2009. It was released on May 1st, 2014, and ten percent of the sales of the album are donated to RAINN.org. Are you ready? Here we go!

The Tracks

We begin with an Intro (by Matt Maggiacomo) which already is an incredible start. I love hearing Matt speak and reference the fandom and the wizard rock community. It is amazing to hear the live reaction to wizard rock that happened many years ago.

The first song is I’m Not Afraid to Die. It is a carefully slow, melancholy song with gorgeous harmonies and a serious topic. I can imagine Harry walking towards (what he thinks is) his death, hearing the leaves crunch underneath his feet, breathing in his last breaths.

Eulogy for an Acromantula has almost the complete opposite sound of the first song. The stark contrast comes from the bold and brassy electric guitar and upbeat percussion. The singer tells of the great Aragog, and provides a moving eulogy for the giant spider.

You can tell that the audience knows exactly what to expect with the next song, Cho Chang. You can even hear them singing along with the lyrics. This is an incredible and upbeat song that’s high energy and high vibes. A love song for Cho from Harry, it details how he feels about her using lots of magical metaphors. The audience provides an a cappella harmony near the end of the song.

I have always thought that Zombies! was an interesting title for a song about Inferi. To me, the Inferi are scary, serious, and deadly. This song takes that idea and turns it on its head. I love the melody of this song, especially during the chorus. The vocal performance is just incredible, whether you are listening to a recording or hearing it live.

A Pensieve Full of Unrequited Love is truly a classic wizard rock song. I believe that it is a staple of any wrock playlist. No matter how you feel about Snape, you’ll agree that this song is heartbreakingly beautiful. The lyrics are full of emotions; longing, regret, and love. To this day, I still use “I wish you peace and love and happiness in everything you do” as a hope – written, thought, or spoken – to my foster kittens when I take them out to get adopted, in wedding guest books, and wish sticks at camp.

Get ready for crowd participation time with Ode to Broom. It’s a great song with high energy, singing about how all the singer wants is a new broom – preferably a Firebolt. Combining with the audience has an amazing effect – it sounds so good, and I love it.

Ginny and Me is a sweet love song between Harry and Ginny. The vocal performance in this one is really strong, and my favorite part is the song’s bridge.

We come to the second non-original song in the set, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (the first song, Not Afraid to Die, was also not written by The Mudbloods). The passion in both the vocals and the instrumentals drives the song to infect the audience, who you can hear clapping along.

A great theme song for the twins’ new store, Weasley’s Wizarding Weezes has a great beat and a wonderful melody. I can definitely see this song being played over the speakers in the store on repeat. It also reminds me of Gred and Forge’s music, which is very appropriate. The ending-which-is-not-an-ending will leave you laughing.

Freedom is Only a Hippogriff Away starts off with some amazing electric string parts. It is filled with hope, longing, and joy at the thought of finally being free. I particularly enjoyed the percussion in this one.

What are the three tasks in this year’s Triwizard Tournament? It’s Dragons! It’s Mermaids!! It’s a Maze!!! This song is upbeat and intense. With the audience shouting and clapping along, you can really feel the energy spark. Each member of the band is recognized by name during this one.

I Wish You’d Be My Witch has always been one of my favorite wizard rock songs. Innuendos galore with a genuinely sweet message? Incredible. I used to put this song on all the time when I was missing my partner in our (at the time) long distance relationship. It was interesting to listen to this song live because I’m so used to listening to the recorded version.

Harry’s Lament is the first Mudbloods song that they wrote. I am sure that this recording cannot truly capture the emotions that were running through everyone in the room during The Mudbloods final performance, but I think we get a pretty good idea of what it felt like. The passion charges the air with an electrical current like a phoenix song. I got some major feels listening to this song.

In Summary

It is clear that The Mudbloods were very well loved during this live performance. I am so happy that they got a recording of it for posterity, so that we can continue to listen to – and feel – the energy and joy these many years later. What a truly incredible performance from both the band and the audience. I think many of us share the wish of the repeating chant from the audience: “ten more shows!”