Various Artists "Loud Rocks" (2000)

 

Here's one for my youth! Loud Rocks is a Hip Hop & Metal crossover record I'm somewhat flabbergasted to have not discovered years back. Release around the peak of aggression in the millennium music scene, dictated largely by MTV, it features popular Nu Metal bands and Rap artists collaborating in varying shades of success and failure. I'd actually heard a few of these from the Napster mp3 trading days, for example Wu-Tang Clan linking up with System Of A Down and Tom Morello to perform their songs in a metallic context. How I'd not learned of the record is beyond me.

The brief 90s Rap and Nu Metal collision was a strange affair yet the holly grail of my youth... If done right, a rare occurrence. I think the crown might belong to Cypress Hill with the second, metallic, half of Skull & Bones. Most other crossovers are novel and occasionally decent but Loud Rocks mostly seems conceived to serve a niche through remixing Rap tracks, often giving the stems to an artist to re-arrange and work in metallic elements. I think Wu-Tang are the only exception, however the remix of one of their finest tracks, For Heaven's Sake, is handed over to Black Sabbath for a strange mix of two sounds that clash awkwardly with sudden eruptions of dense distortion guitars and Ozzy singing that simply cannot resolve to the mood of its rap verses.

Xzibit seems to have the most success. Something about his tone and cadence mixes well with guitars. His songs too have a meaner demeanor allowing the original samples to blend. Far from fantastic yet hearing Sevendust and Endo scream out his chorus hooks had a little gratification. Hardcore legends Sick Of It All bring an interesting touch to the Mobb Deep sound, however its sense of rhythm often looses the lyrical cadence. Everlast reworking Shook Ones Part II might be the albums one solid track, however it plays more like a moodier incarnation than anything metallic.

With the Rap Metal era being so disliked, this record will sound like trash to most. My observations on its various chemistries were simply a vent on my curiosities. I wanted this long forgotten musical movement to work out so bad, however the reality is very little of it did. Discovering another piece of the picture will always be a delight for me, even if the fruits of collaboration were far and few between. In the case of Loud Rocks, it mostly feels forced to serve an audience. A fun listen but I'll move on swiftly.

Rating: 4/10

Incubus "Make Yourself" (1999)

Browsing through my collection a record caught my eye, one Ive maybe barely thought of in the last decade. In the midst of Nu-Metals rise Incubus dropped this fine record that brought the healthier traits of its sound to an inviting Alternative Metal style rich in a colorful tone with a plentiful helping of melodies and sing along vocals. It was American rocker's Incubus third full length and one I don't think I gave it enough praise at the time of its release. Its quite remarkable to spin this one again and find the words fresh in my mind, I found myself singing along with Boyd's infectious approach.

With tinges of Pop Rock and Punk Rock they almost come across like an atypical band of the time, however the constant waves of bright and colorful melodic accents give their music an inviting depth. Between the bouncy, heavy guitars that lead the way they drop in to fill the music with a gentle vibrance the distortion guitars don't offer. There's plenty of decent, mosh friendly, Nu Metal riffage, even some vinyl scratching thrown in over the break down moments but its counterpart is what makes the all difference in raising the bar. From a perspective of how this record has aged, its the dropped tuning guitar distortion and DJ scratching that feels tired, but the rest is brimming bright.

Aesthetics aside, where the record really finds itself is in its spirit, message and purpose. In retrospect there's a lot of deep and thoughtful substance to introspect. As the title says, "Make Yourself" and a lot of whats discussed through the lyrics are fantastic for a young person to engage with. Positive, considerate and critical, Boyd's lyrics avoid the teenage angst you might except in favor of strong, rational messages of introspection and using ones mind to think about whats going on. At a couple of moments he needless cuts the mood with some unnecessary swearing which I'm not opposed to but in this case it took the edge of the spirit in favor aggression. Listening back to these lyrics I wonder how much they impacted me as a lot of it feels quite relevant to me now.

Favorite Songs: Privilege, Nowhere Fast, Drive, Battlestar Scralatchtice, Pardon Me

Rating: 8/10