Rating 7/10
As a Jacksonville native, and a teenager at the turn of the century, my early musical tastes were greatly influenced by Limp Bizkit. With that in mind I completely recognize that Limp Bizkit is a polarizing force; you either love them or you hate them. So, if you think Fred Durst is an arrogant prick and everything Limp Bizkit has ever done is garbage then this album is not for you. However, if you’ve been waiting for the past ten years to have something that could blow your face off the way Starfish, Significant Other, and Three Dollar Bill did, then I am pleased to inform you that Limp Bizkit is back.
Following a string of unsuccessful albums and an extended hiatus it finally seems as though Limp Bizkit has realized what side their bread is buttered on. Front man Fred Durst has abandoned the spoken word political candor, which ruined a musically phenomenal EP, and has returned to the classic hip hop rapping with occasional brutal screams. Also, with lyrics like “Waking up aggravated, stupid shit, man I hate it, bitches lying bitches crying” and “ Everybody jumps from the sound of a shotgun. In my neighborhood everybody got one” it is safe to say that this album isn’t trying to say anything profound. In fact Durst has completely retracted back to his threatening and careless attitude mixed with teen angst vocal styling’s; which is perfectly acceptable because it’s fun and completely self-aware.
In a classic Limp Bizkit tradition, Gold Cobra starts with a short pointless intro track. Following that the album really takes off with “Bring it Back”, a track that takes guitar influences from Slayer and features Durst mimicking a Lil Jon type of “What” at the beginning. From there the album really keeps up the momentum with a majority of tracks that showcase guitarist Wes Borland’s chunky metal riffs. There are times where the band slows it down in reverb and delay soaked tracks that seem quite reminiscent of earlier work such as “Boiler”. Musically, most of the hip hop influence is gone as you will not find any tracks resembling “Getcha Groove On” or “N 2 Gether Now”, which seems to be a wise decision for now but one which shouldn’t be completely enforced in future endeavors. After all there is a DJ in the band, which doesn’t get much say in this album, and hip hop was a solid foundation for Limp Bizkit in the past and very well could be again in the future.
While this album isn’t perfect, it is certainly a step back in the right direction. After ten years it is nice to finally have an album the feels like a proper predecessor to Chocolate Starfish.
Album High Points: Bring it Back, Gold Cobra, Shotgun, Walking Away
Album Low Points: Douche Bag, 90.2.10, Killer in You
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