Mayhem (2025) - lady gaga - album review
8.4/10
By O. Jacobs
Mayhem (2025)
The beautiful thing about giving Mayhem (2025) the flowers it deserves regardless of what the online haters have to say, is that it’s especially fulfilling after trekking through all of Gaga’s catalog and re-affirming that it’s definitely the most solid piece of work she’s ever put out.
This fourteen-track bundle of synth-pop, pop-rock, and industrial-disco-dance inspired tunes has enough ecstacy-laced “OG Gaga Era” vibes to please any variation of Gaga fan, with some to spare for the newbies who are just getting started with the whole “Little Monster” thing.
Lady Gaga via Instagram
With only a few songs airing on bogging this album down toward its third act - Mayhem stays strikingly focused on its mission throughout. That is, if pummeling the listener into submission with enough Nine Inch Nails-esque riffs, beats, and synths to make them want to buy a ticket for Tron: Ares was the goal here.
All jokes aside, the spectrum of sounds and influences contained in this record make for an extremely enjoyable experience. The songs don’t feel tired, they feel stadium-sized. A welcome return to form calling back to Gaga’s early days of arena-stomping tracks like “Bad Romance” or “Judas”. I’ll dock a few points for slapping “Die With a Smile” on the end of the record to boost sales (most definitely), but looking at the fresh produce it offers up ahead of that, there’s no question this record is a beast, and a victory lap for Lady Gaga’s massive career and subsequent history for jaw-dropping world tour productions.
Mayhem came to f*ck shit up, and I personally cannot stop listening.
