After giving it a fair chance, I’d be lying if I said I’d be listening to this collection of music again. Does this come as a surprise? Have a listen to it for yourself and you might notice a few things. Many people believe that a vocalist, whilst definitely part of the traditional rock act, is not the whole and soul of a band. Limp Bizkit, it seems, does not subscribe to this ideology. Fred Durst’s contribution to Gold Cobra is quite imposing even upon the first listen. He’s also taken on the mantle of album producer. If an apt title was their aim they should’ve named the album Control Freak, instead of trying to sound glittery and venomous. Sadly, Fred delivers his vocals with the potency of an old and irrelevant cobra. Wes Borland’s decision to return to the band again reportedly stems from his belief that something special comes out of sessions with the Limp Bizkit members. Something about this reminds me of how Lennon wouldn’t let go of Ono.
A first listen might convince you that indeed, the Bizkit’s latest effort is somewhat just under par. It’s something akin to a once tremendously popular band trying hard to relive their former glory. On this outing they’ve convinced me that they’ve left shoes too big for their older selves to fill. This kind of music was popular once. But there’s a possibility that many listeners have outgrown this sound.
The somewhat downplayed stars of the show are largely the musicians Wes Borland, John Otto and Sam Rivers. It’s only on tracks like 90210 that listeners are reminded of the presence of DJ Lethal. Maybe his other skills were coming up with the album title. Whilst no Jimi Hendrix, Wes has always been able to hold his own. The same goes with John and Sam. The tragedy about this album, and indeed this band, is the vocalist. His unnecessarily aggressive, shallow and unconvincing lyrics and sheer pointlessness make themselves mercilessly known in a bid, it would seem, to induce earaches. The opening segue has been named Introbra. This stuck out like a sore thumb, but I persisted.
Bring it Back is the Bizkit being ruthless and aggressive. There is indeed hope in the opening bars and possibly a sign of broadened musical horizons with the inclusion of beats that seem more suited to a Beastie Boys record. And then, sadly, the vocals come in. Listening to the title track before the album dropped, made me think of a few things. Its vicious opening riff foretold that the album would feature Limp Bizkit sounding like...Limp Bizkit. Wes shines throughout with unabashed and intelligent use of punchy pinch harmonics the way only Wes does. His touches are mostly audible in the verse and are reminiscent of the raw-sounding track Counterfeit – from the band’s debut album that also featured masterpieces like Indigo Flow and the instrumental epic Everything. The sound of the bass in the breakdown part takes listeners back to the breakdown in tracks like Nookie, or Eat You Alive.
Shark Attack kicks off with a reference to Break Stuff and runs along like the LB of old. Pay attention to the breakdown part and you will wonder if you’d be able to appreciate these lyrics if they were delivered by someone else. Fred once again shits all over a tight and beautifully frenzied track. A listen to the lyrics of the track Get a Life are, to be fair, just awful and come off as all bark and no bite. He’s convinced me of how deluded he is. The musical parts are sadly overlooked because of the needlessly intrusive vocal parts. The breakdown showcases some inspired use of double stops on the bass while the actual breakdown is a platform of some inspired use of guitar delay. The follow up chorus is misplaced, like every lyric on this album. On the POD-esque track Shotgun the sonic heaviness continues. The well -constructed song features an uncharacteristic guitar solo. It’s debatable what purpose the screaming in between the guitar solos serve. I notice after a third listen that there are some subtle samples that are barely audible beneath all the layers of heaviness until the outro begins. The sample of the shotgun, meanwhile, rips off 2pac’s Thug Luv.
Douche Bag has the potential to kick some serious ass had it not been for the shockingly inane lyrics in the chorus. How badass does Fred sound in that part of the song? Not very. Meanwhile Walking Away is a moment of brilliance on an otherwise contrived record. Featuring some blissfully dissonant guitar parts and bass melodies it seems that finally the musicians will have their moment in the sun. This would be a phenomenal instrumental number, but harrowingly it isn’t. It raises the question of how relevant heavy music in this foul year of our Lord 2011? Cruel are music fans and critics. If a lyricist bears his soul a little too much he comes off as a whiny loser. Apparently in the hip-hop circles, a certain degree swagger is a hallmark of an emcee who knows what he’s doing. But anyone who goes overboard paints a self portrait of a pompous megalomaniac. Fred seems to think it a feat of impossibility to find a semblance of balance. He’s either one or the other.
It’s easy to think about the track Loser with a different vocal melody. Its deliciously stellar and spacey guitar tones warrant a bit of eyebrow raising. Every non-instrumental song is a perfect example of what’s wrong with Limp Bizkit. I began listening to the album with optimism, trying my best to give Fred a chance, but that interlude with the autotune just about sums it up. The track Autotungage does have a little something to it. The frenetic intro to 90210 throws you off and makes you expect something different rather than the distortion-laden bassline. This track brilliantly demonstrates John Otto’s preferred technique on the drums. The outro interlude serves as a reminder that, yes, DJ Lethal is still kickin’ it. Why Try like every other song on the album features needless vocals. I feel tremendously sorry for the overshadowed musicians. The same applies to the track Killer In You that features some delicious guitar work. On the whole, the vocalist leaves the impression that he’s trying to sound like Vanilla Ice trying to sound like Eminem.
System of a Down showed some maturity and lack of ego by allowing their vocalist and guitarist to both cover some vocal duties on their Mesmerize Hypnotize album. Perhaps the same approach would’ve done wonders for Limp Bizkit. At the end of the day this, by all definitions, a Limp Bizkit album. I wonder if kids today will find it as special as kids of years past found it back in the day. Maybe its not about being taken seriously. Maybe these guys put out records purely for entertainment and not for the sake of creating art. If that was their goal, weak lyrics over brilliant sounding music, they have succeeded.
