Customer Reviews

S.C.I.E.N.C.E.

5 star:		(109)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you're only familiar with Incubus's recent work, and haven't yet heard this album, then you're in for a total shock. This Incubus was a much different one. While they've recently moved to a more catchy and accessible (but still great) sound, they were once a much heavier and more experimental band. "SCIENCE" is probably the best and most creative thing they've ever done. The music has a very heavily funk-influenced style, similar to early Chili Peppers and Faith No More. However, their sound was still very distinctive and unique.

Frontman Brandon Boyd puts on what is easily his best performance to date. His quality melodic voice is still there, but his performance overall is more aggressive and eclectic. He effortlessly toggles between singing, rapping, and screaming, and always keeps it interesting. The musicians all put on fine performances, particularly Dirk Lance and Jose Pasillas, who stand out much more here than on later releases. Lance is a super-funky bassist, who can drive the song with power and groove, and Pasillas is an extremely dexterous and versatile drummer, who can combine many different styles with precision and finesse. Mike Einziger is an extremely creative and talented guitarist, excelling in both metal and funk styles. And, the mighty scratches of DJ Lyte give a bit of a hip hop flavor, which melds well with their brand of metallic funk.

The album is full of diversity, and fun twists and turns. "Redefine", "New Skin", and "A Certain Shade of Green" are hard-hitting funk-metal, with catchy melodic choruses to balance things out. "Vitamin" is kind of a straight-ahead hard rocker, with a wacky instrumental breakdown to shake things up. "Glass" features a jangly Primus-like bassline, mixed with a crushing guitar riff on the chorus. "Idiot Box" is sort of a slow funky groove, with some pretty wicked time changes. "Nebula" and "Calgone" are pure insanity, with some very jazzy drum work, and a lot of weird rhythms and time changes. "Deep Inside" moves back and forth between a funk/hip hop groove, and crushing metal, with a really cool bluesy guitar solo. "Magic Medicine" is sort of an instrumental, with some interesting drum beats superimposing some weird dialogue samples. The highlight of the album comes with "Summer Romance (Anti-Gravity Love Song)", the ballad of the album. This song is basically straight-up oldschool soul/funk, complete with Temptations-like backup vocals on the chorus, and a nifty saxophone solo. Definitely one of the coolest songs they've done. Great feel to it, too. Really puts one in the mind of meeting up with a cool chick on a hot summer night.

The album also features a hidden track, roughly ten minutes in length. The track is mainly driven by Pasillas, and his wildly eclectic and always engaging drumwork. The song moves through several musical styles, from hip hop, to melodic rock, to funk, to jazz, and is interspersed with wacky sound samples, and a guitar riff and bassline here and there. One of the technicians apparently screwed up the ending of the last song (you get to hear one of the bandmembers, probably Brandon, scold him :), so this hidden track was most likely thrown in to make up for it. Sometimes mistakes are blessings in disguise.

Anyway, this is an extremely well-made and fun album, one of the finest rock albums of the 90's, no doubt. Even if you hate newer Incubus (which I don't), you should definitely look into this, as this is quality music that anyone with an appreciation for the creative and unconventional can appreciate. Buy now.

This is currently my favourite album to listen to, and most certainly the most interesting; which of course means its my favourite of all their CD's. Now the others I've listened to, I would give 5 stars, but this is easily 6, and slips into my top 20 alltime albums (and I have alot of albums to choose from).

This a fantasic debut album, taking me back to the craziness of the 1st two Roxy Music Albums (yes I know that was a long time ago, but I remember them, and still listen to them)

Initially, after having enjoyed Morning View, I thought, 'no, not as good', but after the 2nd listening, Redefine and Vitamin caught my 'ear' and then after further listening I realised that the initial problem was the sear variety of music styles played, the sear scale of 'orginal ideas'; however the more I listen the more that variety made the album much more interesting listening for the longer term. In fact the opening track trio are probably my favorite combined opening on any album.

Yes, not everything is perfect, and some styles don't quite gel as well as they might, I wish they had split up Calgone (I always end up laughing though): this is just 'nit' picking. Originally I couldn't understand the point of 'Medicine Magic' (which seems to be the case with most people; actually I still don't see the 'point'), but now I love it; the drums and bass are fantastic and everything else just fits, enjoy the words, but marvel at the music.

From a musician's point of view, great bass, great syncopated drums, the odd jazzy guitar, then there's, funk, metal, hip hop melody, etc. These guys obviously have great diverse musical tastes.

Summary: Original, Eclectic, Continually interesting, Great Musicianship, Fun, No bad tracks, Superb.

Incubus is now riding a wave after their Make Yourself album, so they have re-released Fungus Amongus and Science. There is nothing different than the CD, which was previously released, but the CD itself is simply great. Then never rerecorded Calgone, which was cut suddenly four minutes into the track with a speech about who's fault the cutting of the track was. Mainstream songs in an album before anyone knew about them! Full of great funny vocals, rock, unique tracks, like Magic Medicine which is a fantastic track for those of you that like turntablists! Some other great songs on the CD are Favorite Things, Calgone, and New Skin (which a live version appeared on Family Values 98). Another song to note is A Certain Shade of Green, which is a very sarcastically funny song of how slow things move in the singer's world. Even the hidden track after Calgone is hysterically funny, original and must be heard!

After getting hooked on Make Yourself and Morning View, i decided to take a step back towards Incubus' more humble beginnings. I was afraid that i wouldn't like S.C.I.E.N.C.E., but within an hour, I was hooked again! In my opinion, DJ Lyfe's presence was too obvious (too much mixing) but that is the only criticism i can come up with.
Each song has it's own unique beat and lesson. "Redefine" tell us that we should take life into our own hands and "paint whatever picture [we] like." "Idiot Box" exposes our dependence on television, and "Favorite Things" reflects the belief that religion confines our lives. These are great songs to start a conversation! Not to mention great to listen to! There are great guitar riffs and steady drum beats and vocals that hypnotize. Incubus can't be beat!
For ANY INCUBUS FAN, BUY THIS CD!!!

Before one listens to this cd for their first time, they should also be aware of the cultural impact that it had to their target audience at the time: High-school teenagers in the year of 1997.

A simple walk around my high school campus revealed several individual cliques: "Ravers" infatuated by the fad of ambient electronic music, "Stoners" who listened to mainly rock and hip-hop of the time (i.e. Cypress Hill, Korn), "Jocks" who proudly boasted a dichotomy of Pennywise, Slayer, and Gangsta Rap, and of course your punk-rockers, teeny-boppers, etc. you get the idea.

When S.C.I.E.N.C.E. came out, it started as a quiet ripple among the musically open-minded and those in the know about the underground local music scene (their hometown Calabassas was a mere 15 minutes from our campus). Without the aid of strong radio support, grassroots word-of-mouth eventually took over, and nearly everyone in our class had a copy of the album by the end of the 97-98 school year. There was something on it for everybody: dj breaks and interludes with hints of jungle techno, strong melodic choruses, heavy guitar riffs, funky grooves, this album literally integrated almost every genre imaginable. Even the way they looked on their album cover inspired new fashion standards for your average 16 year old kid: dreadlocks, baggy pants, adidas, and short-fitting tees... like a cross between Jonathan Davis of Korn and a hip-hop artist.

The music is incendiary of course; Without this music, there would be no impact. This music has all the perfect elements that I feel music is missing today: A singer who can sing without coming off as whiny. A bass player not afraid to slap without being compared to Flea. A tight and diverse, jazz-influenced drummer. A dj who truly knows their instrument is more than scratching turntables.

This is when their overall image and sound as a band clicked for me. They promote a level of spiritual consciousness and societal psychedelia. As if you were to transport a hippie into the later 1990's, this was a contradiction that painted images of beauty inside the listener, and encourages them to find out more.

Fans of Angel Dust-era Faith No More and Red Hot Chili Peppers need this in their cd collection. Get this and become a part of music history.

Incubus has been my favorite band for almost 5 years and I tend not to like very hard and loud music. Make Yourself seemed hard enough for me and Morning View was very mellow. Friends told me about SCIENCE and I figured I would try it. Even though the music on SCIENCE is harder than any on the other two albums I mentioned, it was incredible. They can perform hard music in a way so it is not just screaming over one guitar chord and the lyrics don't repeat over and over. It is the most melodic hard rock sound I have ever heard. It is now my favorite Incubus album and only made me love the band more. Not only do they have multiple rock songs (my fav. being Idiot Box), but they also throw in funk, jazz and hip hop. Songs like Antigravity Love Song and Deep Inside (my fav. song on the album) mix rock with funk, jazz, and hip hop like never done before or since. It really makes you think why other bands don't try this until you remember that very few bands have the talent that Incubus possesses.

S.C.I.E.N.C.E is easily their best work...This CD is packed front to back
with well written throbbing basslines, tearing
guitar riffs, scrathcing, beat tossing, a semi
jungle track, samples, excellent lyrics and an
overall uniqueness.

Ranging from jazzy to hardcore, this is one of
my favorite cd's to listen to. If you have any
appreciation for music beyond the radio (or on it),
and have SOMEWHAT of an open mind, this cd should
completely blow you away.

Easily without a doubt a 5 star cd. I would give
it six, but I guess amazon didn't take into
account this album when designing it's ratings.
HIGHLY reccommended.

After hearing other Incubus albums like Make Yourself and Enjoy Incubus, I figured that S.I.E.N.C.E would have a similar sound. But it didn't. It has a better sound and type of music than their others. This one shows their heavier side before becoming soft like on MY and MV. EI had more of a jazzy sound. Being an Incubus fan, I wasn't disappointed with any of these, but this one is my favorite. If you don't have it, I suggest you buy it. It's cheaper...and remastered. I feel "New Skin", "Glass", "A Certain Shade of Green", and "Deep Inside" are the best songs, but buy it and judge them for yourself. I would start out with this CD first, then work your way from oldest release to newest release. Get this record before any others. It's the best.

If you're here reading this review with interests of buying, I think it can be safely assumed that you're just starting to look into Incubus.
And whether or not you'll really like them, my friend, begins right here.
Fungus Amongus, their "first" album, is something you'd do well to avoid until you've accustomed yourself to S.C.I.E.N.C.E... mainly because it may be a little too wild and unorthodox.
If you're used to their Morning View or Make Yourself sounds, be prepared. This is new.
S.C.I.E.N.C.E., in a nutshell, is metal, funk, jazz, alternative, and punk thrown into a blender. I'll do the rest song-by-song on a percentage scale.

Redefine - 85%. A strong opening riff bleeds into funk-rap and strongly-wah'd guitars. The chorus is the opening riff with a vocal line plastered over it. The bridge is the strongest part, a wild instrumental highlighting fast-popping bass and funky electronicness.
Vitamin - 83%. Brandon's lyrics are the strong point here; speaking out against our sleeping somnambulist society. Compared to the rest of the album, this song is poorly written and the level of musicianship isn't necessarily up to par. However, it's still an interesting song in the least.
New Skin - 94%. The heaviest song on the album begins with a crunching guitar riff with wild drums and accompanied by Brandon's bongos. The verses are filled with nutty slap bass, an anxiety-inducing guitar line, and insane lyric-ing. A highlight track.
Idiot Box - 92%. Great main riff, verses have an EXTREMELY funky bass line and a good vocal line. Again, the bridge is probably the best part.
Glass - 95%. Starts quite weirdly, then proceeds into a jazzy bass/drum/vocal verse. Chorus is heavy. Bridge is by FAR the best part, outstanding instrumentals and the heaviest section on the entire album.
Magic Medicine - 70%. Negligible all-electronic/bass song. Fun sometimes.
A Certain Shade of Green - 71%. Repetitive riffs and poor songwriting make this the worst song on the album. It's still tolerable.
Favorite Things - 83%. Odd song, takes some getting used to. Good lyrics explain Brandon's animosity towards religion. Not my personal favorite, but it's likeable.
Summer Romance (Anti-Gravity Love Song) - 93%. Incubus shows their other influences in a full-on jazz fury. Amazing musicianship and songwriting, and a mellow but upbeat song. Another highlight track.
Nebula - 98%. "... Holy crap." Those were the first words I uttered after hearing this. Pure insanity. Quite possibly the best song on the record. You'll never have heard anything like it, and you probably never will.
Deep Inside - 98%. Incubus shows off their funk, their jazz, AND their metal sides in the same song. Quite possibly the best song Incubus has ever written. Amazing guitar, amazing bass, amazing vocals, amazing drums, and even the scratching is satisfying. Two guitar solos, both quite impressive. Pure bliss.
Calgone - 93%. The song itself is a crazy mashing of everything. Homage to Mr. Bungle, indeed. Weird lyrics, too. The rest of it is a humorous/funky/nightmare-inducing samplefest. Eeeenjoy.

I'm done.

Incubus' first great album is ironically also their last. Depending on how you view their formative demo-compilation Fungus Amongus, it is also their debut album. Signalling the consolidation of the funk-metal stylings of Fungus Amongus and the E.P. Enjoy Incubus, with the backing of a major label (Immortal/Epic) the southern California youngsters found themselves with more studio time, more experience and ultimately more scope than ever before to flex their creative muscle.

Commonly credited as the brainchild of (since-fired) bassist Alex Katunich aka. Dirk Lance, S.C.I.E.N.C.E. (origins of the title remain a mystery) is a ferocious and fascinating hybrid of metal, funk, drum and bass, hip-hop and jazz fusion. Indeed, Katunich's rapid-fire slap/mute style forms the basis for many of S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'s most recognizable pieces, most notably 'Redefine', 'New Skin' and 'A Certain Shade of Green'. His laid-back, groove-heavy playing on tracks such as 'Glass' and 'Deep Inside' also showcase the burgeoning talents of drummer Jose Pasillas on a percussion-laden record.

Frontman Brandon Boyd is the figure least recognizable from Incubus' current incarnation however, with his staccato quasi-rap vocals; tabla, djembe and didgeridoo playing, and lyrics concerned with social belligerence, spiritual rebirth and higher states of consciousness belying his current status as a supermodel-dating, GAP Jeans poster boy.

Turntable-ist DJ Lyfe also shines in his final outing with the band (he would later be fired, with unconfirmed reasons for his dismissal ranging from disputes over publishing monies to Lyfe having slept with Boyd's girlfriend) adding a much-imitated aspect to the band's frenetic sound.

Comparisons with Faith No More not withstanding, S.C.I.E.N.C.E. is often overlooked with regard to the band's catalogue, yet it stands as their only truly accomplished work, with subsequent records ranging from inconsistent (Make Yourself, 1999), to middle-of-the-road (Morning View, 2001), lacklustre (A Crow Left of the Murder, 2003) and unadventurous (Light Grenades, 2006). S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'s most unfortunate legacy however, stands as its considerable contribution to the popularisation of the loathsome 'nu metal' genre.