Legion of Boom [ENHANCED]

The Crystal Method

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 13, 2004)
• Original Release Date: January 13, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: V2 North America
• ASIN: B0000X7KD2
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (115 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,951 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Dance & Electronic > Big Beat

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Crystal Method's Legion of Boom lives up to its title, dropping blasts of thumping samples, catchy riffs, and dependable grooves. But as with previous records like 2001's Tweekend, a chaotic, industrial darkness lurks around the edges that has little in common with the sheen of commercial dance. Many still compare Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland to the Chemical Brothers and their Big Beat, arena-pleaser cousins. But Boom sounds more like Nitzer Ebb in a good mood, or an angst-free Front 242. The duo has invited another batch of touchy-feely artists to contribute, like those noted softies Wes Borland and John Garcia, formerly of Limp Bizkit and Kyuss, respectively. Don't think for a second they aren't all having a blast, mixing in big, dumb hair metal with abandon. Most fun of all is the boost singer/actress Milla Jovovich gives to "I Know It's You," weaving her tweaked voice through a forest of tangled keyboards. With its bombastic techno-jams, Legion of Boom definitely makes for a tasty party record. Just keep the lights down as low as the bass end if you really want to capture the mood. --Matthew Cooke

From URB Magazine
The Crystal Method continues their quest to prove that synths rock more than guitars, three years after everyone else decided that trying to out-rock the rock is a dead-end street for electronic music. From the opening buzz of "Starting Over" to the closing breakbeat that comes 80 minutes later, this is the same boom-bap-bleep that had dollar signs appearing in dilated pupils back in 1999. The only semi-novel moment comes with the first single, "Born Too Slow," which features Kyuss vocalist John Garcia shrieking ˆ la AC/DC over a steroid blues guitar riff provided by ex-Limp Bizkit lizard-man Wes Borland. The song could almost jump on the whole garage rock bandwagon if it weren't for the annoying techno guys and their drum rolls. For the moment, TCM has become utterly irrelevant. Ask us again when the big-beat revival of 2005 kicks in.

Joshua Glazer

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Real Review, January 19, 2004

By	Justin (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

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.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Potent product of a rave generation, February 7, 2005

By	TL Gabrielsen "Liquid chick" (Ohio) - See all my reviews

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.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing? No. Thrilling? No., May 31, 2005

By	Justin Waters "Synth Pop Lover" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.