Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Limp Bizkit's Gold Cobra (2011)

Limp Bizkit is:
Fred Durst [Vocals]
Wes Borland [Guitar,Backing Vocals]
Sam Rivers [Bass,Backing Vocals]
John Otto [Drums]
DJ Lethal [Turntables & Samples]

Ok, so here's the deal. Fans of meaningful music, just close this page right away.There's nothing in here for you!
On the other hand, all those of you who have headbanged your life,growing up to Limp Bizkit and other bands with some aggressive Nu-Metal stuff, Thrash and Rap-Metal overtones, this could just be your Christmas coming early!

Gold Cobra is Limp Bizkit's sixth studio album.the first sine 2000's Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water,with the original line-up that consisted of Wes Borland.After his many departures and comebacks,Gold Cobra makes you feel he never left after all.

The official Art-work...typical Wes Borland!!

Gold Cobra has rocketed to #1,#2 and #3 on various U.S. Billboard ratings.

Flashes of the eccentric guitarist can be heard throughout the album, the most notable being the crazy laugh at the end of 'Douche Bag' or the jazzy bridge in 'Shark Attack'.But this guy is definitely someone special.The riffs you will hear on Gold Cobra won't ever have been heard by you through either LB on any other guitarist of the modern era.The riffs fluctuate between peaks and valleys,smooth to scratchy.The solos are worth dying for.

Wes Borland-A True Genius


Fred D had announced that during their recording sessions, they came up with stuff worth 2 whole albums, the first one of which shall be Gold Cobra and the second one shall be released at a later date.

So, as Fred Durst says to John Otto on 'Autotunage'.......... Let's "Break it all down!"

From left-John Otto,Wes Borland,Fred Durst,Sam Rivers,DJ Lethal


Gold Cobra [2011] ----------------- *********o     [9/10]

Limp Bizkit continues it's tradition of including Intros & Outros to their albums. So,the phenomenon of 2011 called Gold Cobra begins with Introbra.Mysteriously, there is no 'Outrobra'.I suspect the 'twin' to Gold Cobra, as mentioned earlier, will have an Outro but not an Intro, thus making these two CDs part of a compilation. Introbra is a typical DJ Lethal production.

The first song named Bring It Back, aptly rushes back feelings of the erstwhile Limp Bizkit.The average listener will never feel that this is their first album after the space of 11 years, but hardcore fans will notice the difference, but the change is not undesirable at all !

Another disclaimer! This album is almost full of meaningless & senseless Metal.Hell, most people including me like this kinda stuff once in a while.What with Linkin Park,KoRn going all mature and mellow, it's great to see that Limp Bizkit are still the bunch of goofy kids they were ever since they came to the big stage.




The title track is next up-Gold Cobra.Here,Fred D talks about the sad state of the music made by the heavy-weights.He also, typically, tells his critics to go to hell ! A quite catchy track, given time.The best thing seems to be that the LB seem to be enjoying whatever they are making.






Next in the line is Shark Attack.Again a track about critics as 'Sharks' and a crazy jazz-inspired bridge.

Get A Life is a an interesting song with dark and hallowing verses which shifts to an aggressive-like-hell chorus.Again, this song is targeted at all the 'haters'.I especially loved the bridge- "Don't let the world bring you down", which is what I have always deeply believed in.





Shotgun, their first single, is next. This is basically a fun song to listen to.The solo on this one truly establishes yet again that Wes Borland is among the best in the business.It is the high point of this track.To manage both lead and rhythm guitar duties in a Heavy Metal band like LB is no mean feat!And the actual shotgun samples towards the climax get brownie points from me.







Douche Bag is next.The ultimate LB song, I dare say.The chorus, though nil in meaning, is where Borland makes his presence felt, and makes it a headbanger's dream come true.The crazy laugh at the end just impresses me with it's unpredictability.








Walking Away, the first meaningful song in the track-list.It talks about leaving one's past behind, leaving behind all that you loved.Wes Borland is faultless here, his solo is drool-worthy and Fred's supersonic scream towards the end of the song puts Chester Bennington of Linkin Park to shame.

Loser is of the same category as Walking Away.One of the few legit LB songs.This song blames someone for making the protagonist a 'loser' ever since coming into his life.He feels he has lost what he had,what he cherished.A good enough song to drown one's sorrows in or to just play in the background.After the song ends, Fred D explores AutoTune by singing the chorus of LB's ultra-famous song 'Nookie' over Autotune and tells us that they will try this over some Heavy Metal.The result- the next track!!!

Autotunage is probably the first Metal-genre song made using Autotune.For me, this is the highlight of Gold Cobra.A stunningly impressive drum intro by John Otto becomes a full blown riff when Wes Borland joins the act with his guitar.Fred makes it a memorable party song with his lyrics.









90.2.10 is a disappointing song.


Why Try is another shining star.The generic heavy intro gets a new identity when Wes Borland is around.The verses are very catchy and you just can't help but get entranced by the tune.Borland himself gets into vocals with an entire bridge,with typical Limp Bizkit lyrics.







Killer In You pales in front of the tracks preceding it.Taking nothing away from Borland's work though.This brings us to the end of Gold Cobra.

Now there's an amazing bonus track called Angels.It's one of their legit songs like Walking Away and Loser, and I strongly recommend you check it out.





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All I can say is that Gold Cobra lived up to its hype, and I can definitely wait some more time for it's Part 2 to come along.This one will keep me busy for some time! At least till Julien-K's next 'We're Here With You' comes out in some months.

Next time, I continue with reviews of the debut albums.It'll be KoRn's self-titled debut 'KoRn'.