MUSIC REVIEW: Bizkit record impresses
Rap-rock band's newest album keeps guitar riffs heavy, lyrics tight
Ken Brosky
Issue date: 9/25/03 Section: Showcase
4/5 stars
Limp Bizkit: you either love them or you hate them. For those who hate them, I suggest you stop reading this now and return to your dark room where you can safely listen to "Three Dollar Bill, Ya'll" without being caught, because you won't enjoy this review.
When Wes Borland left the band nearly two years ago, it seemed as though the backbone of LB had disintegrated. In a foolish attempt to pull the band together, lead singer Fred Durst announced an open try-out for all the fans who play guitar in order to find a replacement.
Thankfully, this plan fell through, and Durst, et al., went on doing the guitar parts for a new album on their own. It wasn't until they were looking for a guitarist to tour with that they found former Snot guitarist Mike Smith.
Smith was no stranger to the world of hard rock. His previous band was one of the biggest underground metal acts of the late 90s before the untimely death of its lead singer, Lynn Strait.
When Smith went into the practice sessions with the rest of Limp Bizkit, more songs began to emerge. Before they knew it, Limp Bizkit had an entirely new set of original tracks with Smith.
These are the tracks that appear on "Results May Vary." Who knows where the original songs with guest guitarists went, and frankly, who cares? The 16 songs on the completed CD feature Smith on guitar, and the members of Limp Bizkit should be thanking him on their hands and knees for bringing the "rock" back into this rap-rock outfit.
It doesn't come as any surprise that the best tracks are those where Smith is given credit in the creation. Smith's crunching riffs on "Underneath the Gun" and the first single, "Eat You Alive," bring back memories of a time when Limp Bizkit's music leaned closer to metal than rap.
In fact, if it wasn't for such tracks as the hilarious "Red Light - Green Light" featuring Snoop Dogg, Limp Bizkit could easily have passed off its newest record as pure rock, thanks to years of MTV pop saturation that has blurred the line between rock and rap. Still, even the rap-oriented tracks feature guitarist Smith's heavy-metal riffs, which serve as a delicate balance to make sure Durst doesn't stray too far from his metal roots. The best example of this is "Phenomenon."
Limp Bizkit: you either love them or you hate them. For those who hate them, I suggest you stop reading this now and return to your dark room where you can safely listen to "Three Dollar Bill, Ya'll" without being caught, because you won't enjoy this review.
When Wes Borland left the band nearly two years ago, it seemed as though the backbone of LB had disintegrated. In a foolish attempt to pull the band together, lead singer Fred Durst announced an open try-out for all the fans who play guitar in order to find a replacement.
Thankfully, this plan fell through, and Durst, et al., went on doing the guitar parts for a new album on their own. It wasn't until they were looking for a guitarist to tour with that they found former Snot guitarist Mike Smith.
Smith was no stranger to the world of hard rock. His previous band was one of the biggest underground metal acts of the late 90s before the untimely death of its lead singer, Lynn Strait.
When Smith went into the practice sessions with the rest of Limp Bizkit, more songs began to emerge. Before they knew it, Limp Bizkit had an entirely new set of original tracks with Smith.
These are the tracks that appear on "Results May Vary." Who knows where the original songs with guest guitarists went, and frankly, who cares? The 16 songs on the completed CD feature Smith on guitar, and the members of Limp Bizkit should be thanking him on their hands and knees for bringing the "rock" back into this rap-rock outfit.
It doesn't come as any surprise that the best tracks are those where Smith is given credit in the creation. Smith's crunching riffs on "Underneath the Gun" and the first single, "Eat You Alive," bring back memories of a time when Limp Bizkit's music leaned closer to metal than rap.
In fact, if it wasn't for such tracks as the hilarious "Red Light - Green Light" featuring Snoop Dogg, Limp Bizkit could easily have passed off its newest record as pure rock, thanks to years of MTV pop saturation that has blurred the line between rock and rap. Still, even the rap-oriented tracks feature guitarist Smith's heavy-metal riffs, which serve as a delicate balance to make sure Durst doesn't stray too far from his metal roots. The best example of this is "Phenomenon."
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