Limp Bizkit

Nu metal kings Limp Bizkit are back with their 2003 release Results May Vary. Before getting into the details of the actual album, let’s review what has happened with Limp Bizkit since the last time we heard from them in 2000 when they released Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water. The band lost its founding guitar player Wes Borland when he left the band in 2001 to pursue his own musical career which to date, hasn’t gone all that well (where the hell is he, is he even alive?). After an unsuccessful tour of the United States to find a guitar player, the band settled on ex-Snot guitar player Mike Smith. Since the last album, front man Fred Durst hasn’t done much as well except claiming that he banged Britney Spears, while she claims that he’s lying. Anyways, the new album is a bit of a departure from the previous 3 records. While Fred is still plenty angry and pissed off with girls, the band shows a more musical, progressive side on this album.

The 16 track album begins with the first single “Eat You Alive,” a crushing track that’s almost schizophrenic as it alternates between Durst’s seething anger of wanting to “eat you alive” and his remorseful cries of “I’m sorry.” The anger continues on the second track, “Gimme the Mic,” another fast, hard, fury filled song, one of the best songs on the album. After listening to the first two songs, you’d assume that the rest of the CD is just as hard and aggressive, but it doesn’t extend far past track two. Starting with track three, the album becomes softer and less aggressive which in some cases works, but in other cases is a bit boring. For instance, the band excels on the tracks “Down Another Day” and “Build a Bridge,” but their new direction runs a little stale on the rather forgettable “Underneath the Gun,” “Creamer (Radio is Dead) and “The Only One.”

Unlike their two previous albums, Limp Bizkit does not include any collaborations, with the exception of “Red Light-Green Light,” the only real hip hop track on the album. On “Red Light-Green Light,” Snoop Dogg lends a verse and hasn’t sounded so good since perhaps his second album The Doggfather. One song that you would expect to suck but doesn’t is the cover of the Classic Who track “Behind Blue Eyes.” Fred and the band do a surprisingly good job with this song, staying true to the original, but also making some cool changes to update it and make it sound modern. It fits in very well with the somber mood of the rest of the album and is a good compliment to the slower tracks.

Overall, Results May Vary is an accurate statement of what the fan reaction will likely be to this album. If you’re expecting the Limp Bizkit of old, you’ll likely be disappointed with this album, but if you’re open to a few new things, you’ll probably like it. The album works in most areas and for the most part, Fred and the band succeed in their new musical direction, but there are definitely at least two or three songs that could have been left off the album.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Re-Entry
02. Eat You Alive
03. Gimme The Mic
04. Underneath The Gun
05. Down Another Day
06. Almost Over
07. Build A Bridge
08. Red Light-Green Light
09. The Only One
10. Let Me Down
11. Lonely World
12. Phenomenon
13. Creamer (Radio is Dead)
14. Head for the Barricade
15. Behind Blue Eyes
16. Drown

Run Time: 68:33