Stuck Mojo - Violate This
Century Media
By Philip Whitehouse
Subtitled 'Ten years of rarities 1991 - 2001', this release is a compilation of rap-metal stalwarts Stuck Mojo's lesser-known recordings. Stuck Mojo have never exactly been a household name, which is a crying shame because they were amongst the first to prove that rap and heavy metal could mix, and are one of the few bands in the genre not to compromise their music for commercial gain and to keep true to their roots.
People who assume rap-metal to mean Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit had better stay well away from this record - the metal side of the music was never compromised in the slightest to favour the hip-hop element. Youll find no DJs here, just caustic, flesh-stripping guitar riffs, punishing beats, a funky bassline and some truy acidic flows from the hip-hop-devoted frontman.
First song 'Ten Years' grabs the attention immediately with a catchy riff, while second track 'Revolution' boasts a nifty sing-along chorus ('it's your revolution - your fantasy, it's your revolution - and it's killing me') that immediately burrows its way into your head and refuses to leave.
Stuck Mojo also cover Iron Maiden's 'Wrathchild' and Motley Crue's 'Shout At The Devil' on this release. The former is something of an amusing novelty, while the Crue cover is actually a listenable track in it's own right.
Ninth track 'Despise' begins in an incredibly amusing fashion - a damning tirade against new rap-metal bands compromising the integrity of the scene in the form of a black Pentecostal church sermon, complete with shouts of 'Tell it!' 'Testify!' and so on. Then the track proper begins, and is a fairly brutal assault in the typical Stuck Mojo vein.
That's Stuck Mojo's major downnfall, however - they've stuck so true to their roots and influences that through their ten-year career, they have failed to evolve their sound to any significant degree. All of these songs could have come from any one of Stuck Mojo's albums, because they all sound pretty much the same. Granted, they're all astounding slices of rap-metal, but eighteen tracks of it can get dull, no matter how shredding the riffs or how incisive the lyrical flows.
For Stuck Mojo's dedicated fanbase, this is an essential release. For people looking to get into Stuck Mojo, I'd suggest checking out one of their full albums instead - at least it won't have that cover of Wrathchild on it...
Century Media
By Philip Whitehouse
Subtitled 'Ten years of rarities 1991 - 2001', this release is a compilation of rap-metal stalwarts Stuck Mojo's lesser-known recordings. Stuck Mojo have never exactly been a household name, which is a crying shame because they were amongst the first to prove that rap and heavy metal could mix, and are one of the few bands in the genre not to compromise their music for commercial gain and to keep true to their roots.
People who assume rap-metal to mean Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit had better stay well away from this record - the metal side of the music was never compromised in the slightest to favour the hip-hop element. Youll find no DJs here, just caustic, flesh-stripping guitar riffs, punishing beats, a funky bassline and some truy acidic flows from the hip-hop-devoted frontman.
First song 'Ten Years' grabs the attention immediately with a catchy riff, while second track 'Revolution' boasts a nifty sing-along chorus ('it's your revolution - your fantasy, it's your revolution - and it's killing me') that immediately burrows its way into your head and refuses to leave.
Stuck Mojo also cover Iron Maiden's 'Wrathchild' and Motley Crue's 'Shout At The Devil' on this release. The former is something of an amusing novelty, while the Crue cover is actually a listenable track in it's own right.
Ninth track 'Despise' begins in an incredibly amusing fashion - a damning tirade against new rap-metal bands compromising the integrity of the scene in the form of a black Pentecostal church sermon, complete with shouts of 'Tell it!' 'Testify!' and so on. Then the track proper begins, and is a fairly brutal assault in the typical Stuck Mojo vein.
That's Stuck Mojo's major downnfall, however - they've stuck so true to their roots and influences that through their ten-year career, they have failed to evolve their sound to any significant degree. All of these songs could have come from any one of Stuck Mojo's albums, because they all sound pretty much the same. Granted, they're all astounding slices of rap-metal, but eighteen tracks of it can get dull, no matter how shredding the riffs or how incisive the lyrical flows.
For Stuck Mojo's dedicated fanbase, this is an essential release. For people looking to get into Stuck Mojo, I'd suggest checking out one of their full albums instead - at least it won't have that cover of Wrathchild on it...
