Presence
Rise
Curb
Let me just start out by telling you that these guys have a comic book on their website that gives the history of their band. It is quite possibly the corniest thing on the face of the planet; click on their web address below to take a look (it’s free, so you’ve got nothing to lose). Someone should have told Presence that 1998 ended five years ago, and that rap-metal was never a good idea.
From start to finish, this is a hack job of the worst kind: a talentless tribute to Limp Bizkit and all things Fred Durst. It should be known that the guy who “produced” this record has also recorded Creed and Puddle of Mudd, so you see the connection. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, from every watered-down metal guitar riff, to the white boy rapper spitting rhymes about overcoming adversity, to the fact that this band has a DJ, you will know that you have entered the frightening world of rap metal the minute you hear the album’s opening track, “Remember.”
Is there anything redeeming about Rise? No, not really. Who listens to rap metal? Another good question, as I know no one who will admit to this, yet the bands just keep putting out records. What can be done about records like Rise, and how can we keep them out of the hands of our youth? Again, I know not the answer, but I can tell you that we ignored MC Hammer, and he just went away, as did Fred Durst•
Curb Records: http://www.curb.com/home.html • Presence: http://www.presencemusic.net
