Reviewing a Limp Bizkit album is really a no-win situation: if you like the album, your musical cred is snatched quicker than a fat woman at the buffet, or if you hate it- you just end up sounding like [...]]]>

"Cobra" should have been much more than Fred Durst lashing out at haters.

Reviewing a Limp Bizkit album is really a no-win situation: if you like the album, your musical cred is snatched quicker than a fat woman at the buffet, or if you hate it- you just end up sounding like every other critic. So, it’s important for me to sit here and straddle the line between morbid curiosity and objective critiquing.

With their first full album since 2003’s “Results May Vary”, Bizkit has busy reliving their late 90’s glory days with packed festivals in Europe, but have kept a super low profile here in the States- most likely due to the fact that the band was mercilessly heckled in their last couple of tours here. But with “Gold Cobra”, it’s a chance for Limp Bizkit to patch things up with their fans and try to capture one last bit of glory. But listening to “Cobra”, one tends to think that the album is one 50 minute Fred Durst rant at detractors.

Let’s not blast guys in the band like Wes Borland and DJ Lethal, who always have brought the meat and potatoes of the band’s sound throughout the years- throughout most of the material on “Cobra”- those guys remained unscathed. But as it was 10 years ago, lead singer Fred Durst becomes the focal point of all praise and mostly criticism on this album as well. One would think that several years away from the scene would have given Durst a sharper skill on his rhymes or a bit more focus on his enemies. But for every track like “Bring It Back”, where Durst rhymes over a Slayer-esque and even takes a shot at Wikipedia and somewhat succeeds- there’s tracks like “Douche Bag” and “Get A Life”, which sound like Durst sounding like a 12 year old boy on a rant against his enemies.

After some very, very mixed results on the first half of the album, songs like “Why Try” and “Walking Away” revisit some of the old school sounding Limp Bizkit and feels a bit more comfortable to the listener, but some of the earlier tracks may have left a bad taste in the listeners’ mouth if they make it to that point.

Listen, I’ll come out and admit- I didn’t hate Limp Bizkit back in the day. I wasn’t their biggest fan, but I felt there were far bigger atrocities in music than them. But I guess I expected a little bit more streamlined, more mature Limp Bizkit on “Gold Cobra”. But instead, “Cobra” should please their hardcore fans and definitely keep their haters salivating.

The warmth and humidity came in for Day 2 at Rock on the Range. After an ok, but far from stellar first day, the second day lived up to expectations and saw major crowds (somewhere in the 20,000 range) that rivaled [...]]]>

ROTR 2010 is in the books and everybody is heading home.

The warmth and humidity came in for Day 2 at Rock on the Range. After an ok, but far from stellar first day, the second day lived up to expectations and saw major crowds (somewhere in the 20,000 range) that rivaled any of the Sundays during the 3 years of Rock on the Range. Out of the 20 or so bands that played on the last day of ROTR 2010, we were able to get a glimpse some of the bad, and some of the good of Sunday at Rock on the Range. Here are the three stars and other notes of Sunday:

Star #1: Airbourne: Even though the sun was beating down and the set time was early, Airbourne delivered major stage entertainment to the Kicker Stage. During their 35 minute set, the new school Austrialian answer to AC/DC banged their way through first album such as “Girls In Black” and new tracks, such as “No Way But the Hard Way”. Complete with a wall of Marshall amps and loud guitar sounds- Airbourne was more than suitable for a main stage spot, let alone a side stage slot.

Star #2: Bullet for My Valentine: Another band that should have been higher up on the billing, the Welsh metallers gave the crowd their all, and got it in return with some of the best crowd surfing of the day. During their 40 minute set, the band played just about every song that most of the fans knew (such as “Waking The Demon” and “4 Words to Choke On” and showed perhaps even though they are big, they are still hard rock’s quietest biggest band.

Star #3: Limp Bizkit: Yep, bring on the haters. Even though they started a little late, the late 90’s rap metal superstars still proved that the crowd is with them, and vindicates them (to a degree) for the verbal abuse the band took right before they went on their hiatus. Playing a “Chocolate Starfish…” heavy set list, Fred Durst, Wes Borland and company had it rockin’ like it was 1999. For as many people that supposedly hate the group- there were plenty of those people singing all the lyrics in “Break Stuff” and others.

Other Notes:

-Slash’s solo band debut was mostly a jukebox type setting, hitting on mostly Velvet Revolver and Guns n Roses material. Singer Myles Kennedy proved he has a mighty voice and up for the task and handles the Guns n Roses material far better than expected, but it seemed that the crowd wasn’t quite up for yet another Guns n Roses karaoke band.

-With a larger crowd, the Jager stage was far beyond viewable capacity for most of the bands that played on that stage. Due to the 80 degree plus temperatures, many people tried to find shade, and took shelter by the Jager Stage. It made sets by Taproot and others not viewable, but at least I was able to find a good spot for Mushroomhead’s headlining performance on that stage.

-Circa Survive is probably really good for the Warped Tour, but for the fans of most of the bands on the bill- it left them scratching their heads.

I had a chance to interview Skinny from Mushroomhead today as well- expect that interview up within the next few days.

Well, that’s it from Columbus and the fourth annual Rock on the Range for this year. Big crowds, a lot of heat and some good bands was the name of the game this year. And yes, everybody with me is still singing Limp Bizkit lyrics- love them or hate them- it gets stuck in your head.

The final day of Rock on the Range has brought some good memories over the past couple of years: 2008 brought a chilly but entertaining headlining performance from Kid Rock, and last year’s high RPM set from Motley Crue capped off a [...]]]>

Sunday's Forecast: 85 & Sunny. Sunburns to go all around.

The final day of Rock on the Range has brought some good memories over the past couple of years: 2008 brought a chilly but entertaining headlining performance from Kid Rock, and last year’s high RPM set from Motley Crue capped off a fun weekend. This year, Sunday could be the more intriguing of the two days this year, as Limp Bizkit (love them or hate them) plays their first show in the U.S. in several years. Slash also debuts his new solo band at ROTR as well too, and we’ll be curious to see how he does. Here are some stories to look out for in the final day of ROTR 2010:

Main Stage:

Limp Bizkit: Well, this may be the most curious choice for a headliner at ROTR yet. Back before they went on a long term hiatus in 2005, the band had been relentlessly harassed and tormented in the final few area shows prior to the hiatus. If you’ve watched You Tube clips in the past year, it looks like European crowds have embraced the Bizkit back with open arms- will American crowds follow suit? To be honest, I couldn’t tell you. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Fred Durst and company are back and their comeback effort “Gold Cobra” is out in July.

Slash: Slash’s solo album came out in April, and met with really good results. The album itself (in my opinion) is just ok, but has a few stellar moments. Bringing along Alter Bridge and almost comeback tour era Led Zeppelin fill-in singer Myles Kennedy will definitely help Slash’s cause. But will crowds accept a non-Velvet Revolver, non Guns n Roses version of Slash? Well, it can’t be any worse than the reception for the mid-90’s project Slash’s Snakepit, but so far, things look promising.

Bullet for My Valentine: Their latest album, “Fever” almost debuted at #1. It just seemed to me that this band should have been a little higher up on the lineup food chain. Even though the band are arena stars in the U.K., they have still yet to catch the same sort of fire here.

Kicker Stage:

Mastodon: According to reports, guitarist/singer Brent Hinds was up to his usual crazy antics and was either 1) too drunk to play a few weekends ago or 2) had a spat with other band members and walked off stage. Either way, the generally loaded Hinds and Mastodon are always awesome to watch, but I will be curious to see if any other fireworks take place.

Airbourne: Seriously, all you little kids that worship AC/DC and play “Rock Band” all the time- this band is the next natural progression. Go out and buy their album “No Guts, No Glory”- what are you waiting for?

Make sure to check back to arthatesyou.blogspot.com and mycitybuzz.com each night of the festival (probably sometime around last call) for my daily blog for Rock on the Range 2010.