Luke works in the Central Library’s Arts Division and here’s his playlist.
Produced by Scott Litt, Incubus’ second full-length album, Make Yourself, makes a bid for broader mainstream success while keeping the group rooted in a hybrid of familiar late ’90s alt-metal (i.e., roaring guitars, white-noise sonic textures, and an undercurrent of electronics) and Chili Pepper funk-rock. Where S.C.I.E.N.C.E. sometimes veered abruptly between the two genres without really fusing them, Make Yourself finds the band settling more comfortably into its sound, and once again, there are a few really good singles. Once again, too, there are still a few awkward moments and underwritten songs, but overall, the album should definitely please fans.- All Music Guide
On their fourth album, A Crow Left of the Murder, Incubusgot heavier, both musically and lyrically, which might have developed their music but it shrank their audience. It’s hard not to see their 2006 follow-up, Light Grenades, as a reaction to this situation — not that they shrink away from the progression of Crow, but they polish and streamline their innovations from that album, resulting in a record that’s sharper, cleaner, and more immediate in every respect. This naturally means that Incubusdoesn’t sound as heavy as they did earlier in their career, but they’re still pretty somber here; even when the rhythms crash and the guitars wail, this is serious music, but they have a lighter touch here than they did on Crow. They also have a greater mastery of mood, as well as a greater musical variety than they displayed on the outset of their career. – All Music Guide
Wake Up/ Rage Against the Machine
Probably the first album to successfully merge the seemingly disparate sounds of rap and heavy metal, Rage Against the Machine’s self-titled debut was groundbreaking enough when released in 1992, but many would argue that it has yet to be surpassed in terms of influence and sheer brilliance — though countless bands have certainly tried. This is probably because the uniquely combustible creative relationship between guitar wizard Tom Morello and literate rebel vocalist Zack de la Rocha could only burn this bright, this once. While the former’s roots in ’80s heavy metal shredding gave rise to an inimitable array of six-string acrobatics and rhythmic special effects (few of which anyone else has managed to replicate), the latter delivered meaningful rhymes with an emotionally charged conviction that suburban white boys of the ensuing nu-metal generation could never hope to touch. – All Music Guide
Sleep Now In The fire/ Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against The Machine isn’t really the only metal band that matters, but their aggressive social and political activism is refreshing, especially in an age of blind (or usually self-directed) rage due to groups like Limp Bizkit, Bush, or Nine Inch Nails. Recorded in less than a month, The Battle Of Los Angeles is the most focused album of the band’s career, exploding from the gate and rarely letting go the whole way through. Like a few other famous revolution-in-the-head bands (most notably Minor Threat,) Rage Against the Machine has always been blessed by the fact that the band is spewing just as much vitriol as its front man. – All Music Guide
When They Come For Me/ Linkin Park
A clear continuation of 2007’s Minute to Midnight, A Thousand Suns also trades aggression for contemplation, burying the guitars under washes of chilly synthesizers — a sound suited for a rap-metal band that no longer plays metal but hasn’t shaken off the angst, choosing to channel inward instead of outward. So few rap-metal bands have chosen to embrace their age — they fight against it, deepening their technical chops while recycling ideas — that it’s easy to admire Linkin Park’sdecision not to shy away from it, even if their mega-success gives them the luxury to pursue musical risks. – All Music Guide
So, Linkin Park decided to embrace the inevitable and jumped headfirst into maturity on Minutes to Midnight, which meant that poor Mike Shinoda was effectively benched, rapping on just two songs. In many ways, it seems like even the guitarists were benched this time around, since Minutes to Midnight doesn’t really rock, it broods. Apart from a handful of ringers — “Given Up,” the Shinoda-fueled “Bleed It Out,” easily the best, most visceral track here — this is quiet, atmospheric stuff, dabbling with electronic textures that were cutting edge in 1996 but sound passé now. Also sounding passé are the tortured musings of lead singer Chester Bennington, who still is tormented by love, loss, family, any number of items that sound convincing coming from a man in his early twenties, but not so much so when the thirties are approaching rapidly. – All Music Guide
Faceless, Godsmack’s third full-length, grooves more fluidly than Awake, but the band still hasn’t managed to locate the pop hooks that made their debut a success. And while concentrating on texture can be just as interesting as hooks, lyrics as misanthropic as Erna’s only sink Faceless further into the mire.- All Music Guide
Adjectives like “ambitious,” “jagged,” and “startling” have always defined System of a Down, and their third official full-length is no different. Pre-release, the band described Mezmerize as being the first part — the first side — of what’s essentially a double album. The records’ packaging would even slot together, making the eventual Mezmerize/Hypnotize whole. Appropriately then, there’s an intro to System’s first new material since 2001’s brilliant Toxicity. On “Soldier Side” Daron Malakian and Seri Tankian harmonize as they do throughout the record, and Malakian’s guitar has a mournful, Eastern air. But it’s just a lull before “B.Y.O.B.,” a thrash assault pierced with rabid and incredulous screams. -All Music Guide
If you’re new to Korn, the most influential and successful metal band of the ’90s, this disc should blow you away — that is, assuming you’re a fan of extreme music with a dark, disturbing edge. But if indeed you’re new to Korn, you’d be better off skipping over this best-of and heading straight for their self-titled debut (their one undisputed classic), and then moving chronologically forward through the band’s catalog. Each album stands well on its own, albeit some better than others, and here you’re only getting the tip of each iceberg. If money is a concern, however, and you can only afford one Korn disc for your collection, don’t think twice about picking up Greatest Hits. You won’t be disappointed. No chance of that.-All Music Guide
The primary conclusion being that songwriting versatility alone does not risk-taking music make, if those disparate elements have all of their edges sanded down, rather than serrated enough to leave indelible scars on the listener’s memory banks. (Having said that, we should mention the gorgeous, densely orchestrated ballad, “Wide Awake,” which will hardly convince the extreme metal masses to lay down their torches, but definitely harks back to Lacuna’s most celebrated releases.) In all fairness, Shallow Life, does come on very much as expected based on Lacuna Coil’s preceding career arc, and many observers would argue that backtracking isn’t the solution either if a band is to prosper in the long run — but it may have to be here, given the underwhelming sales and vociferous critical backlash bestowed upon the album.- All Music Guide
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