MAYHEM, Gaga’s new and highly anticipated album has just been released this past Friday, March 7, 2025, and stands at 53 minutes long. This release makes MAYHEM Gaga’s eighth studio album and sixth solo album. Three very strong tracks off of the album, the opening track, “Disease”, the track following it on the album, “Abracadabra”, as well as “Die With A Smile” (with Bruno Mars) were each individually released at different times as singles prior to the album’s release on March 7th, 2025, leaving fans and passive enjoyers of Gaga’s music wanting more– and she delivered. Apparently, Gaga’s inspiration for MAYHEM came from a period in which she experienced a lot of personal challenges that led to a deep form of introspection that she tried to make sense of through her art, and I believe it is definitely reflected throughout the tracks. Gaga’s passion and love for music as well as appreciation for musicians who came before her is evident, and the album is very reflective of this.
Here are my initial impressions and a personal breakdown of each track:
Disease
Opens with great vocals and then transitions into a bass-heavy beat drop. The bridge into the chorus is addicting, and the general sound mixing for the track is phenomenal. Her vocal inflection contributes so much to the overall vibe of the song, she conveys so much emotion, especially through her impressive vocal volume control and tone.
Abracadabra
For starters: such a fun song. The beat and instrumentals pull you in and really make you want to dance and move! If I heard this while going out, I would be so excited. Love the overall concept for this song and the themes of control as well as utilizing and realizing your own strength– it really feels like a fun, upbeat, confident song that emits so much power. Definitely one of my favorites on the album already.
Garden of Eden
Very 2010’s pop, again, great instrumentals and beat. Consistent energy, not too much vocal range, as the pitch stays the same for a large majority of the song, but the backing track and the flow of that really carries the song. The last minute and a half of the song is my favorite part, as it draws you in with that catchiness and repetition.
Perfect Celebrity
Less upbeat, love the vocals–again, the way Gaga is able to convey emotion through her vocal inflection is my favorite. I enjoy that the drums pick up within the chorus while the beat picks up tempo, as it creates more intensity.
Vanish Into You
More emotional and dramatic, unexpected funky synth and continuation of vocal echo effect, which is very cool. Love the vocal layering and sound mixing on this one particularly. Definitely heavy on meaning and lyricism over danceability with this track. Piano near the end of the song with the build up of the drums with the tension and emotion and sticks out as noticeable in a good way.
Killah (feat. Gesaffelstein)
First impression: oh my gosh?? Only a few seconds in, and the mixing and backing track is already so amazing. Absolutely obsessed with the synth and the almost funk vibes with the instrumentals sometimes. Very Bowie-esque! The lyricism is so fun, it would be such a good song to go on a power-walk to. The instrumental break two-thirds into the song is very cool, the progressive building of energy and tempo increase leading to the drop then switching back to the regular beat of the song again is insanely cool.
Zombieboy
Upbeat, cheer vibes at the beginning, more synth and funk vibes (which I am loving!!). The song has a good beat and it really shines through as the strong point of the track in comparison to the vocals or lyrics, which are still good! Fun guitar riffs throughout, vocals really shine at around 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the track. Love the synth and the bass in the outro.
LoveDrug
Builds as it goes, focused on lyricism and meaning but still has good instrumentals and is danceable! Honestly, not the most memorable, and not my favorite track on the album, but still a good song. I’ll stick with “Love Game” over “LoveDrug”– sorry Gaga, love you.
How Bad Do U Want Me
A slight change from the typical pop vibe we see from Gaga and the rest of the album. It’s not the most upbeat, and is definitely focused on meaning through the lyricism. I hate that I don’t love it more, just personally, it doesn’t stick out as strongly in comparison to others on the album, it sort of gets lost, and it is very repetitive.
Don’t Call Tonight
Drums and the beat with the synth and slight echo effect seems to be a staple, and I enjoy it. Again, pretty repetitive, but that’s honestly how a lot of pop songs are formulated anyways! The vocals at 2:20 with that particular effect is so fun and matches the synth/electro vibes of the instrumentals.
Shadow of A Man
Love the initial vibes, the bass and beat is strong and I appreciate it– the vocals are fierce. Familiar beat to a lot of 2000’s pop music: that feeling of familiarity automatically makes me like it. The vocal layering and building of the song in one of the bridges before the repeated chorus was so fun. The song keeps getting better as you listen more, the guitar at the end is awesome and I could definitely see this playing in a high energy environment.
The Beast
Less upbeat, slower tempo, but in an individualistic way that feels very Gaga, especially with the chords and layering. Heavy bass on the chorus, the synth beats are unique and work well with the heaviness of the continual bass that really drives the song. Her instrumental breaks never fail to impress me, they are so so good and really add something special to the tracks.
Blade of Grass
Doesn’t open with synth like most of the others on the album, ballad-esque, piano instrumental, definitely more emotional and focused on meaning and lyricism. Strong emotion, the addition of guitar with Gaga’s powerful vocals is moving in some ways. Love this one the most compared to other slower, more emotional songs on the album, as Gaga’s vocal performance in this song is very impressive and the track’s overall structure is memorable.
Die With A Smile
Already have been loving this song. Bruno and Gaga collaborating makes so much sense, and it is executed perfectly. Both performers and their individual portions of the song as well as the way that they sound together is so great. The instrumentals are phenomenal as well. It’s emotional, it’s catchy, it’s memorable, and it’s overall such a good collaboration. As the final track on the album, I think it’s an amazing way to conclude.
After listening through the album in its entirety, I can see why critic reviews are mostly positive. Though there were some tracks that got lost and didn’t stick out as too memorable for me personally, I could find a way to enjoy each individual track in their own special ways regardless. My favorites are “Abracadabra” and “Killah (feat. Gesaffelstein)”, while my least favorite would probably have to be “LoveDrug” (though there are still great things about this track!). It’s clear that Gaga acknowledges her roots in pop music and shows so much of her authenticity and individuality within this album while still showcasing her growth not only as an artist, but as an individual who has ups and downs just like the rest of us as well. Overall, listening to MAYHEM in its entirety was a great experience! I would recommend the album to any Gaga fan, 2000’s pop lover, or to anyone who enjoys synth-pop, hints of classic rock influences, and a more industrial feel to ‘traditional’ pop instrumentals.