4 out of 5

Label: American

Producer: Rick Rubin

Yeah, I was young, and they were probably one of the first “heavy” bands I listened to, on the recommendation of the local cool kid whose pee-pee we all wanted to tiddle.  You might not believe me, but the things that feel uneven about this album or a little too indulgent stuck out to me even then… but what has changed is I’m a bit more studied in hardcore now, so the influences are a wee more apparent, and I’m not as wowed by guitar and vocal antics as I am songwriting (read about it in my new book – “How To Be a Douche… a proper Douche”), and thus the songs that used to win me over have shifted to the back of the playlist in favor of some of the more straight-forward tracks.  Though “Sugar” is still totally a badass single.

So the album is book-ended by the sound that I feel like (at least early on, having not heard their later discography yet) – quick high-lo guitar riffs, fast double-bass drums, and lead singer Serj’s singing voice that’ll drop into a growl.  As was the case with Rage Against the Machine, we suddenly had this “intelligent” lyricists popping up in popular music, writing about topical political thinger-dos, though Serj was a little less direct with it than Rage’s de la Rocha, perhaps.  But – and this is one of those elements that used to make me roll my eyes a bit even way back when – both bands fall into the “fuck you, fuck you, fuck you” lyrical trap too much, weighing down some interesting narratives with unimaginative swears filling in gaps where more fantastic, evil imagery could’ve done better.  And I still can’t tell if that was a legit move or if it was an attempt to capture some teen angst.  The other bit that the band hadn’t mastered on this debut… were the bridges.  Almost every song has an excellent core riff involved, and then they’ll stop and go into the next portion of the song.  Stop/start dynamics are evident in a ton of genres, but for some reason it’s almost always choppy with SOAD, like they’re forcing it in because Serj has more to say and they realize that there’s supposed to be some other part to the song… so… okay, put it here.  It really ruins the flow of those high/lo songs (because that’s where they most often use it), including “Sugar” – and in case I’m not being descriptive enough or you’ve never listened to SOAD, that technique I’m talking about is just playing super high notes and then dropping into open or major chords for some stuttering riffage, then back to high notes… and repeat.  It’s a neat trick, but the songs that are bit more straight-forward, without the guitar or vocal antics, are actually stronger, more focused.  They don’t play around, and so they rock out.

Some words about Rick Rubin.  Rick’s a huge fatherly figure and brought a lot of great bands out through American, no fucking doubt.  And his low-end, clean production is good for a lot of acts.  But it can also shave the corners off of things.  It’s a not a “smooth” heavy sound like Andy Wallace or something, but it’s very produced.  And this album is no different.  The tempo changes that I now recognize from some of the post-hardcore from which SOAD takes a bit of their style are slick and almost friendly sounding.  Even Serj’s grindcore growl has been tuned into an easy-listening din.  Is that a bad thing, per se?  Shit no.  And I must credit the group with not only exposing me (and plenty of others) to a different type of heavy music than that of which I was aware at that point, but also for – like Nirvana before them, and whatever other influential bands – temporarily opening up the gates for major labels to throw money at acts that deserved it.  Before it all inevitably turns to crap of course.

But the good news is that this album definitely holds up.  The parts that you remember (if you’re like me) as being a little embarrassing still are, but the ability for it to get your blood pumping is totes in tow as well.