Customer Reviews

Broke

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

ive been listening to this cd for about two monthes now because a friend of mine hooked me up and its a pretty damn good sophomore release,not quite as good as the first but its definatley still hed (planet earth) theres no doubt about that.mcud uses his voice with alot more range displaying his vocal ability better than on the first which is very evident on such tracks as feel good (with serj from SOAD and morgan from kittie singing together in the chorus) where mcud goes from a really laid back style of rapping into a furious scream or on pac bell where he sings in the most demented tone ive ever heard him use.also on crazy legs they do a cover of the chorus from hypnotize,an old notorious big song with a twist on it in the traditional hed pe flavor.hopefully this will get hed a little more exposure and recognition because they deserve it alot more than some other bands who recieve more coverage,but i know this cd wont go unnoticed or ignored because its too good for that.if you liked hed pe's last cd or just like rapcore then i definately recommend this to you and also be on the look out for linkin park,a good upcoming rapcore band-later

I'll make this short and to the point.To me none of these other so called "rapcore" bands can come close to the sound that hed has created.IT'S SO RAW!

I purchased this cd "Broke" because I liked Hed (pe)'s self-titled first album. I origianally purchased the first album due to recomendations by friends and after seeing them perform live.

I must explain I am not a big fan of rap music or mixes of rap n' metal. But this cd rocks. Plenty of variance throughout the album. Hed (pe) has a formula that is not only entertaining, but sounds great. The music is metal in nature, the voice is in the rap-like styling. But it is not simply a series of bad rhymes set to metal. The singer does have a true voice and can sing, croon, and growl. All of which will visit your ears.

I cannot help but like this band. The guitars can be heavy, but not overflowing. The bass is very distinct and ambiguous. There are some very interesting bass lines keeping rhythum. The drums are at best average, but they keep the beat.

The highlight tracks are the opener Killing Time, Feel Good, Swan Dive, and the filthy and antagonizing Crazy Legs. Some of the songs were written obviously for concert situations, and lose some of thier luster recorded.

There is not much in the way of ground-breaking going on here in this gangstermetal mix, but they do much better than most. Fans of Korn should be pleased, aggresive fans of rap should be pleased, but if you can not stand the idea of rap/hiphop influences in music then stay far away.

Believe it or not this is worth your time and your money.

Oh yes - this is the good stuff! A much more focused effort compared to their debut with some great arrangements, terrific sounds, excellent vocals and unique beats - what else could a white, middle-class, self-confessed metal-head want?! (hed) really came into their own with this album. What I particularly like are the computerised beats and sudden flourishes of human drumming over the top - really creative and, if I can get away with saying this, showing something akin to what Peter Gabriel did live with Manu Katche on the Secret World Tour. The two songs on Broke I'm referring to here are `Pac Bell' and `Jesus (of Nazareth)'. Everyone goes on about the song `Bartender', but I don't rate it as high as some other stuff on here. I can't really fault any of the tunes on `Broke' but I do particularly like `Killing Time', `Boom', `Swan Dive', `Stevie' and `Jesus'. The thing I've learned most to admire about this band is Mawk's sparse basslines. Most players would lace these songs with monstrous riffs, but his playing shows some damn fine maturity. I'd recommend this album to anyone because it's not overly obtuse, and it showcases a band that is top of their tree. To be honest, I don't think much else compares in this genre.

Was completely blown away by Hed's second record (selftitled) which was extremely intelligently written, pushing the heavy/rap into a clever and diverse way and having a dramatically powerful vocal presense at all times.

At the time Broke came at first I was a little dissapointed as the sound had changed but that soon gave way to appreciation that they had gone for something a bit more diverse than before - not quite as far as say Mr. Bungle type diverse but more in that direction than the previous album - which is a lot more conventional. For me are a few time lyrically they lose the integrity of the first record but are still a lot of songs where they hang onto it.

Probably their strongest record between self titled and back to base X, definitely worth a shot if you liked those two and better than the others in the middle.

Stand out tracks for me are: "Waiting to die" Hard and Fast
"Little Stevie" clever sense of music, great timing and nearly captures the same sort of power as their classic remix of Darkie off selftitled
"I got you" greatly passionate power song with great Chorus
"feel good" apart from having Serj on it it's a clever piece of music
and a few others - generally it's really good - only negative really is the incredible record before

This CD has alot of really good songs on it, like Bartender which was played on the radio alot a few years ago, and The Meadow which is another awesome song. I also really liked Pac Bell. This is one of those CD's that you can listen to over and over because all of the songs are really good. You should get it.

I'm a fan of everything. I love Metal(Soulfly, Ill Nino, System of a Down, etc), Rap(Eminem, 2pac, DMX, ect.), R&B(Lauryn Hill, D'angelo) and Hard Rock(Sevendust, Nonpoint, Rage Against The Machine). This album is amazing. It mixes all of these genres. But.....you will not fully understand how great this band is if you don't like anything other than Metal. Cause they're more than just a metal band.

Hed-PE is the only other rapcore band, besides Rage Against The Machine, to sucessfully do the genre. They are the only two rapcore bands that matter. Limp Bizkit single handedly ruined the rapcore genre and lost all of its credibilty. Don't be fooled. Hed-PE isn't just another Limp Bizkit. M.C.U.D. is amazing. Take it from a fan of hip hop...he can rap his ... off. And he's a great rock vocalist. He really reminds me of a cross between Eminem and Zack de la Rocha of RATM. The music is really heavy. Great songs to just jump up and down to and go crazy. Here's a song by song look at this album......

Killing Time: Slammin. It's really shows what the band is like. I'll give it a 9/10.

Waiting To Die: The most "metal" song on the album. Very in-your-face song. It gets a 8/10.

Feel Good f/ Morgan from Kittie and Serj from SOAD: Love this song. The vocals are tight by everyone involved. 9/10.

Bartender: Probably one of the best songs on the album. The verses are pretty funny and the rest of the lyrics are kinda depressing. 10/10.

Crazy Legs: Great song. Some of the most offensive lyrics that I have ever heard in my entire life. Great though. 10/10.
*NOTE: Another eviewer said that they were making fun of the origional song, "Hypnotize" by Biggie. Understand that M.C.U.D. loves hip hop and is a big fan of that song. Another ... said that it was a Dr. Dre song and a bad idea to do that. ... . It's a song by Biggie. ....

Pac Bell: Probably the strangest song on the album. M.C.U.D.'s vioce is distorted for most of the song. It's yet another good song. 8/10.

I Got You: Pretty Good song. Nothing really amazing about this song. Good none the less. 7/10.

BOOM(How You Like That): This, along with Crazy Legs, is the most hip hop influenced song on the album. 8/10.

Swan Dive: This is also one of the best songs on the album. Very reggae influenced. Dark, self loathing lyrics and heavy a*s guitars. What more could you ask for. 10/10.

Stevie: Probably the weakest song on the album. It's ok but not as engaging as the other songs on the album. 7/10.

Jesus(Of Nazareth): This joins Bartender and swan Dive as one of the best songs on this album. It's actually the best. I think the song is about feeling betrayed by the religion that you gave your life to. But I could be wrong. 11/10.

The Meadow: A very suprising ending to an amazing album. This is a very relaxing ballad about wanting to love and be loved by someone. 9/10.

All around tight album. Go out and buy it now. And look out for their next album. It'll be out this October so pick that up too. Peace!!

I remember when the first (hed) pe album came out. Boy was it a different sound! Although it was kind of a silly album and lacked focus overall, there was no denying that this group had a really crazy, slick sound that had real potential. "Broke" was that potential realized. Where the songs on the self-titled CD seemed to wander aimlessly at times, and lacked real structure or arrangement, all the songs on "Broke" have very precise arrangements, and come in "just right"... not too much, yet not lacking anything. Musically, this album is very tastefully done, and every member of the band seemed to have a sense of when to go all-out, when to hold back, or when to cut out altogether. Sections of songs turn on a dime, yet it all makes sense, and flows very naturally.

Lyrically, I believe this CD may be one of the most cynical and debauched CDs I have ever owned. As some reviews have said, there's enough cursing and depraved activity on here to make a sailor blush. In addition, the songs are just oozing with a nihilistic attitude--and the band is well-aware of it, and completely unapologetic. As a stark contrast to the sort of "woe is me/I'm so depressed/give me something to break" moodiness you heard on most flash-in-the-pan rap-rock and nu-metal, you have lyrics like this: "There is nothing wrong with me/ I'm not trying to see things your way/ I'm not lost, I'm not drowning, I'm not lost/ I'm just waiting, waiting to die."

And it's that lyrical bravado combined with the very tasteful musicality that has made this CD really stand the test of time in my collection. As much as I am almost ashamed of the unabashed filthiness (hed) pe brags about on this album, I can still pull it out almost any time, and it always brings a smile to my face, and I can't help but want to want to move to the beat.

If ever there was such a thing as a perfect union between hard rock and rap, (hed) PE surely discovered the perfect balance.

I actually found out about (hed) PE from the song Feel Good with Serj of SOAD and Morgan Lander of Kittie. I loved Serj and Morgan's parts but wasn't entirely sure about Jahred's. The rapping eventually grew on me so I decided to pick up Broke purely on a hunch. Turns out that I really do enjoy this CD, much to my surprise.

If the topic of sex is taboo for you, definitely look elsewhere, (hed) PE doesn't shy away from that topic. Other than that, if you like rock beats and you like rap, Broke just might be exactly what you're looking for. For the majority of this CD it really is just rapping, but Pac Bell is a little more than that. A lot of the time the songs on here are just fun, but Pac Bell seems, I don't know, real. The intensity in Jahred's voice is incredible towards the end of the track. Other than that, Bartender is a great song with excellent verses and an extremely memorable chorus. Jesus (Of Nazareth) has some pretty honest lyrics and yet another great chorus. The Meadow is a nice closing track, with almost a Sublime-esque quality. Not the best song, but it seems a fitting end.

My favorite songs are Killing Time, Feel Good, Bartender, Pac Bell, and Jesus (Of Nazareth). Broke isn't a groundbreaking CD, just a solid listen. However, if you're a band wanting to infuse both rock and rap together and avoid being completely cliche, you might want to listen to a few (hed) PE CDs. Each song has a solid beat and, the majority of the time, good rapping. A worthy addition for any music library.

Broke is by far the best CD ever put out by (hed)PE...from 'KILLING TIME' to 'THE MEADOW' this CD is worth every second. 'KILLING TIME' opens with a great song to get you into the CD...not the best song on the CD but one of the most 'fan-friendly' songs showing the rap and rock side of the CD. Great track. 'WAITING TO DIE' is one of my favorite tracks ever done by (hed)PE...the screaming is great. As a huge fan of Kittie and System of a Down, the next track 'FEEL GOOD' is just a blessing. The verse is great, I just love the monotone rapping done 'I'm ready n****, slice like a macheti n****'. Morgan is awsome, great screaming voice, but it's Serj's bridge that makes this song kick@$$! 'BARTENDER' was the first single. It's decent, reminds me of a Sublime song...not bad. 'I GOT YOU' and 'BOOM' are kicking songs, especially 'BOOM' it's just so freaking awsome and in your face "how you like that!" The start of 'I GOT YOU' reminds me of a KoRn song, the way he sings is like Jonothan Davis. 'SWANDIVE' is one of my favorite songs here, different, more mellow, melodic and slower paced with piano and a great verse...the chorus is heavier, but it's the verse that I really like. 'THE MEADOW' is a great closer, much like 'SWANDIVE' great great way to go out. I just wish every (hed)PE CD would be this good.