Customer Reviews

Legion of Boom

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I couldn't help laughing at some of the other reviews of this album. Some people completely hated this album, then others spoke like this was the greatest album in the history of recorded music. Those extreme reviews, you have to take with a grain of salt; especially when the reviews with harsh vitriolic hatred are filled with numerous spelling and gramatical errors.

Anyone who is already a fan of TCM will tell you that "Vegas" is the best TCM album. It's a classic, and their new one doesn't come close to matching that level of greatness. That doesn't mean I don't like it, mind you; I do! I personally rank their albums the same way that they've been released - "Vegas" #1, "Tweekend" #2 and "Legion Of Boom" #3 (we're not going to talk about "Community Service"). "Tweekend" ranks higher in my book because there were individual songs that were stronger; "Name Of The Game", "You Know It's Hard" and especially "Roll It Up."

This album kicks off with "Starting Over", and then it kinda levels off after that. No stand out tracks like "High Roller" or "Trip Like I Do." Not to say that there's anything disappointing about this album; it's just pretty much what you expect from the group. They don't really bring anything new or fresh to the table this time around.

Maybe I'll enjoy this album more after I see them perform these songs live (like I did with "Tweekend"). But for now, it's a consistent, good album and I'm glad I have it. I just wasn't blown away by it.

I found the reviews of this product very interesting because of the standard against which people judged this album. Contrary to what even positive reviews said, TCM is really not "club" music at it's core. It is rave music, and there is a sizeable difference between the two. The looping and repetition of the songs is a signature of trance, whereas the ethereal and offbeat characteristics of the music are reminiscent of ambient. Trance is designed to provide a lulling structure that removes all conscious barriers to a musical experience...in other words, it is designed to deliberately clear the mind. The ambient noise give the dancer something to weave him/herself in and around. TCM is not designed to be merely listened to. It is dancing music, and thus, must be judged by the manner in which it inspires dance specifically in the rave crowd that feeds off of energy and groove. This album does this very well. This album does very well, much better than Tweekend, which was energetic, but lacked the deep grooves of Legion of Boom, and was tasteless in its lyrics. This album is a maturation of Vegas, which was sheer tripped-out energy, and is closer to catching the deep grooves of British trip-hop. This movement in their music is not necessarrily a "step up," per se, but is rather a lateral movement towards a hybridization of genres, and is exceptionally done.

I couldn't help laughing at some of the other reviews of this album. Some people completely hated this album, then others spoke like this was the greatest album in the history of recorded music. With those extreme reviews, you have to take them with a grain of salt; especially when the reviews with harsh vitriolic hatred are filled with numerous spelling and grammatical errors.

Anyone who is already a fan of TCM will tell you that "Vegas" is their best album, hands down. It's a classic, and this one doesn't come close to matching that level of greatness. That doesn't mean I don't like it, mind you; I do! I personally rank their albums the same way that they've been released - "Vegas" #1, "Tweekend" #2 and "Legion Of Boom" #3 (I'm trying to keep this review as brief as possible, which is why I'm not going to go into why I'm not including the "Community Service" albums).

"Tweekend" ranked higher in my book because there were individual songs that were stronger - "Name Of The Game", "You Know It's Hard" and especially "Roll It Up."

This album kicks off with "Starting Over", and then it kinda levels off after that. No stand out tracks like "High Roller" or "Trip Like I Do." You're waiting for that one song to make you go, "Yeah - that's what I'm talkin' bout!!", but it never happens. Not to say that there's anything disappointing about this album; it's just that you walk away expecting more from an album that didn't seem like a lot of work went into it. They didn't really bring anything new or fresh to the table this time around.

Maybe I'd enjoy this album more if I saw them perform these songs live (like I did with "Tweekend"). But for now, it's a consistent, good album and I'm glad I have it. I just wasn't blown away by it.

This was my first Crystal Method album and I was a little concerned because I read that it didn't compare to the previous ones. Not true in my opinion. I subsequently purchased Tweekend but I think Legion of Boom is better. Worth a purchase thats for sure.

i didn't know this album was out until i heard some very fresh, dark, electro-influenced and perhaps vaguely familiar breaks coming over the system in the local record store, and then saw the LOB case in the "you are now listening to:" thing by the register. shortly thereafter i put down the peter tosh cd i was about to get and yoinked this one up. this album is right up there with vegas in my opinion, a bit refreshing after tweekend which i felt was a little too chaotic and just slightly tasteless in places. LOB has the same spacey, dark atmosphere of vegas, though with a much more techy and "up to date" production aesthetic. the thick beats of the 90s have given way to more IDM/electro influenced sounds, with breakbeat producers breathing life into mechanics instead of starting with more organic sounds in the first place. this gritty minimal style is what defines this cd for me, the more refined layering of sound is much easier to listen to than the bombastic headbanging that was most of tweekend. even the track born too slow, not the sort of thing i am usually into (i usually prefer that rock music keeps its distance from electronic, the middle ground never seems to come out right) works out in the context of the album. not too noisy to be interesting and not too quiet to be ineffective. the weakest track is by far "the american way" with rhazel, who is becoming dependably dissapointing. hes a solid beatboxer but he is by no means the best or the most original, and he's excessively arrogant due to all the somewhat misguided hype he's gotten from college kids just discovering the "underground" hip hop of the Roots et al. his spot here on an already uninspired track consists mainly of saying "eera eera rhazel" and stuff like that.

this album strengthens my theory that a lot of "pop" music went through a period of confusion and lack of focus in the late 90s and early 00s, producing a lot of uninspired, sub-par stuff like Tweekend, the Chem Bros Surrender, roni size's In the mode all readily come to mind, that all seemed to float around between genres and sensibilities, not because of versatile musicianship, but because of a missing sense of direction or something along those lines. everybody seemed to get their collective act back together after that though, roni size released touching down, tom and ed did come with us, and TCM turned out this tasty bit of breaks. even mainstream rnb and hip hop, which used to be the untouchable genres of hell to me, have become far more enjoyable than the trash that passes for rock music these days, due no doubt to the efforts of the neptunes. anyway basically my point is that this is a fine example of a group seeming to come to grips with their own style after a bit of a lull in creativity (by my standards anyway). definitely a unique sound to this record, not as party/funky as norm cook, not as psychadelic as the chemical brothers, not as sharp as nu school breaks, drawing from all those areas though it seems. by the looks of this one, the next TCM record should be a killer

I am not a big Techno fan , nor do I claim to be. However I really do enjoy this disc. I know that for some of my friends that are really into the scene, this album was seen as only average, and I think I know why. It is accessible. The large amount of guitar work, the lack of strange sound effects and some actual singers make this album much more for a rock fan like myself. My review can be somed up like this. I don't worship this album, but I must say that it is something significant when a die hard rock and roll fan like myslef feels the desire again and again to put this album in. I enjoy it and I think most people will feel the same way.

Admission: I'm a huge Crystal Method fan, having collected all their albums and a large number of the remixes that have been done to their songs, in addition to the numerous remixes and collaborations they've done for and with other groups.

What made their "Vegas" debut so amazing was the freshness, the excitement, the feeling that we were experiencing something brand new in the world of music. Not just 'electronic' music, either - no, this was something that transcended genres, unlike so many of CM's electronic predecessors. Their follow-up effort - Tweekend - showed an evolution in style while continuing to maintain their trademark sound. The addition of guest vocalists worked really well, and Tweekend stood on its own rights.

"Legion of Boom" continues to showcase their evolving sound and contains a selection of great songs, along with a few clunkers. Their overall sound on this release is more subdued and refined than in previous efforts.

"Starting Over" is pure Method, with the driving beat and semi-obscured vocal sample. Good stuff. "Born Too Slow," featuring John Garcia of (former) Kyuss fame lending his voice to the track, is a rocking bit of music that I SHOULD have enjoyed, but I didn't. I never did like Kyuss, and the lead singer is the reason. Ah well - seems a lot of other folks think this is a good track, so maybe you'll like it more than I did. "True Grit" is an example of their more subdued songwriting techniques. Again, it's a good, subtle sort of track.

Then we reach "American Way" and "I Know It's You," which is by far the high point of the CD. I'm not a rap fan at all, but with Rahzel I can make an exception. On "American Way" he adds a well-done rap line, along with a few of his legendary "human beat box" sound effects, all of which complement the thudding beat. Milla Jovovich lends some artfully-done vocals to "I Know It's You," which, when paired with the progressive beat and pure evil vocal dubs, adds up to the best track on the CD.

From there, it's a mixed bag. "Realizer" is good, but it suffers from an almost boring beat, and I skip it sometimes. "Broken Glass," "Weapons of Mass Distortion," and "Bound Too Long" are pretty dull and monotonous, and I fast-forward past them ALL the time. But, for the final 3 tracks, it gets a bit better, with "Wide Open" finishing things up on a meditative, contemplative note. The spoken-word vocals on "Wide Open" add a nice accent to the looping music, even if the words being spoken are less than inspired ("I have been informed... that it's wide open" - repeat, repeat, repeat).

If you're a Crystal Method fan, you'll find much to like on this release. You won't find any real ground-breaking tracks, and you're liable to regularly skip a few of the lame tracks as you listen to the CD, but overall it's a good addition to the CM catalogue, and worth a listen.

The third studio album from The Crystal Method, LEGION OF BOOM, combines the spacey, ethereal techno of their 1997 debut, VEGAS, with the hard rock aesthetic of its 2001 follow-up, TWEEKEND, and adds a healthy dose of hip-hop to the mix, with mind-blowing results. Electronic music rarely gets this good. Like TWEEKEND, LEGION features a high-profile hard rock/heavy metal guitarist. This time, they've traded Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave) for former Limp Bizkit axeman Wes Borland. Borland complements TCM well; his swamp-rock riffs are superb on "Born Too Slow" (the obvious choice for the first single), and his other contributions (the metalesque "Broken Glass" and "Weapons of Mass Distortion") are just as entertaining. However, the most jaw-dropping collaborations are with MC/beatbox Rahzel (of the Roots). I always knew that Rahzel was a gifted beatbox, but when his considerable talents are enhanced by The Crystal Method's technological ability, the results ("Starting Over," "Acetone") are simply stunning. This isn't just dance music; this is art, and it's the first must-buy (as opposed to download and burn) album of 2004.

At some point in every music lover's life, there comes a time in which their tastes are set. You get stuck, conceptually at least, on some particular style, some aesthetic where your musical heart will remain for the rest of your life. Ever heard of someone who is "stuck in the 60's" or "stuck in the 70's"?
I'm stuck in the 90's, and fortunately, The Crystal Method is as well.
Legion of Boom, Crystal Method's latest album, is a homage to the electronica of the 90's- their own, as well as the work of others. It's essentially a work of instant decadence- while recent "superproducers" have taken on 70's and 80's music with great flare, The Crystal Method revives the music of a decade much closer, yet strangely far away- the 90's. Self-referential? Extremely. Original? Not terribly. Fun? Absolutely.
The Crystal Method is known for combining dark, subtle synth riffs with pounding drum and bass beats, as well as unforgettable sample loops. Legion of Boom fails to disappoint in this respect. The opening track, "Starting Over", sets the mood of the whole album: mellow, dark, and infused with industrial elements. The sampling on the track is almost reminiscent of dance-pop artist Fatboy Slim, with it's subtle, creepy repetitions. While the tempo picks up on the second track, "Born Too Slow", this collaboration with Wes Borland (formerly of Limp Bizkit) and John Garcia (formerly of stoner-rock group Kyuss), infused with the energy characteristic of Crystal Method's second album, Tweekend, falls a bit flat, and seems more intended for a video-game soundtrack than an album (which may be part of why it made the CD).
The third track, "True Grit", calls for comparisons with brit-techno group The Chemical Brothers. It serves mainly as filler, however, to dampen the energy level built up by "Born to Slow". After this little interlude, the listener is plunged into another song of an entirely different stripe- "The American Way", in which beat-box badboy Rahzel joins the fray in a song that sounds custom-made for a MoveOn.org commercial. Here the album echoes yet another artist- quasi-legendary Acid House DJ Paul Oakenfold, with his seamless blending of trance and trip-hop.
Of course, with all of this revisiting, something unique to the Crystal Method has to pop up somewhere. Track five, "I Know It's You", almost delivers the goods. The song is reminiscent of what Crystal Method's '97 hit "Comin' Back" (off their debut album, Vegas) would sound like if remixed by Paul van Dyk and infused with Milla Jovovich's vocals. At least the second part was correct. Here we see the creepiest song on the album, and perhaps the best as well- certainly stronger than the song that succeeds it on the disc, "Realizer", a forgettable trip-hop tune reminiscent of a poppy Morcheeba remix.
The second half of the album is lighter on the vocal sampling than the first. The seventh track, "Broken Glass", conjures up the techno-punk titans of Prodigy, with it's mix of drums, bass, guitar, and offbeat digital effects. The same themes that permeate "Broken Glass" continues into "Weapons of Mass Distortion", which ups the guitar noise and the whiplash beats. Too bad Prodigy's hardcore anti-singer Keith Flint didn't offer his vocal "talents" for this track- it could have made a decent track into a hard-hitting anthem. The ninth track also seems as if it's asking for vocals that weren't included- "Bound Too Long" is reminiscent of some of Tweekend's (Crystal Method's 2001 dance party) stronger tracks, such as "Wild, Sweet and Cool" and "Murder", only lacking in any lyrics, other than intermittent, undecipherable samples. The remainder of the album, "Acetone", "High and Low", and "Wide Open", continue in this vein, echoing a not-so-easy compromise between the dance rhythms of Tweekend and the experimental sounds of Vegas. Yet, they also seem to borrow heavily from other techno artists, such as Fluke and Orbital.
In the end, The Crystal Method has created what amounts to a retrospective of an era- the emergence of electronic music as a force in of itself, independent from it's rock roots, yet sampling freely from all genres. Like a Quentin Tarantino film, this album steals brashly from it's chosen genre, and puts it together in an artful fashion. At the same time, however, it seems that little life is breathed into the creation- the artists put together elements, yet the spirit of the originals is missing. Like the 90's themselves, the spirit of the decade is dead and gone. The days of dot-coms and raves, Bill Clinton and post-Cold War exuberance are over, and the music of that era is finally dying as well.

I for one really liked this CD. Although it isn't perfect, most of the songs are very good. With a bunch of big beats, and electronic riffs similar to Vegas, it cranks out nice sounding tunes all the way through. Lots of funk-a-licious beats to break to, and some old style TCM, Vegas-sounding songs (True Grit) to bomb down the freeway to.

All in all, I think it's a very good CD, but maybe not what TCM fans would expect.