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The Crystal MethodLegion Of Boom V2/FMR 2001's 'Tweekend' was a slight change in direction to the more rock-influence of their previous album, so where would you expect The Crystal Method to go next? The answer is that 'Legion Of Boom' takes a half-step backwards to stand in between that more song-based album and the largely instrumental beats of their excellent 1997 debut 'Vegas'. Even some of the old samples from 'Vegas' are put back to use: High And Low employs virtually the same bleeps as Vapor Trail, while new track Acetone would fit in right alongside Bad Stone and Cherry Twist. That's not to say they don't sound that bad; Acetone is one of the highlights of the album, helped by the vocals of one Rahzel. Which brings me to the guest artists. There's something a little dissatisfying about listening to Rahzel's voice being electronically manipulated, knowing what the beat box champion is capable of naturally. Still, his vocal punctuations are a welcome addition, especially on Starting Over. Likewise, actress Milla Jovovich's vocals provide an ethereal backdrop to I Know It's You. Meanwhile John Garcia (ex Kyuss) provides us with the twangy single Born Too Slow: it's this album's equivalent of Murder from 'Tweekend' (that one also featured a guest vocalist in Scott Weiland). A weak middle hampers 'Legion Of Boom' though: Realizer is messy, Broken Glass is boring, and while there is a lot of guitar action on Weapons Of Mass Distortion (maybe too much) courtesy of Wes Borland, it's not particularly interesting. While the beats are plentiful and big, unfortunately for 'Legion Of Boom', the album is still missing what it really needs: killer hooks. What is even sadder though is a lack of evolution in sound, something I would have thought was well within the reach of Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland.  |
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