This is Mr. Gray, and welcome to Study Hall. That’s right, we’re not in Metal Shop today. Our regular class will resume here in the next couple of weeks. This is a special edition that I’m doing as an aside. Call it extra credit, if you will. I plan to do these as review sessions for new albums that I’m jazzed about. What’s new out there today? Well, we head back to September for our subject.
Y’all, I’m basically a prophet. September’s class focused on Limp Bizkit. Turns out Fred and the gang were finishing up a new album as I wrote. The first single, Dad Vibes, dropped on September 30th, with the full album releasing at midnight last night (Halloween). Let’s do a run-through. In the spirit of Limp’s namesake (review that September class to… “enlighten” yourself on that), I’ll be rating these songs on a cracker-based scale. Low to high will be: Saltine, Veggie, Triscuit, Ritz, Cheez-It, and Lance cheese and peanut butter sandwich crackers (henceforth referred to simply as Lance), and if you don’t agree that those are the best thing on that list, get straight the fuck out right now.
The first track is Out of Style. This one has kind of a different sound. It’s that classic Bizkit vibe, but unlike anything previous to it. I really dig Wes’ guitar work on this track. Lots of work from DJ Lethal on this one as well. I give this song a solid Cheez-It.
Dirty Rotten Bizkit is our next track. This song musically could have been a full recycle off of Significant Other and I honestly wouldn’t be able to tell you differently. Lyrically, though, Fred puts in some decent work. He goes hard into his classic rapping, complete with backing vocals by… well, himself. But he throws in some actual singing, too. It’s not great, but it’s different, so I do enjoy it. I give this song a Ritz rating.
Track three is the aforementioned first single, Dad Vibes. I just… this song is so god damn stupid, but it’s easily my favorite on the album. This is the proverbial Fred Durst and DJ Lethal rap track. Honestly, there’s not much to say here. The beat is super catchy, the lyrics are classic Fred, but acknowledging that they’re older now. Older, not more mature. This song is 100% a Lance.
Track four is Turn It Up, Bitch. Drums from John Otto and some jazzy bass playing from Sam Rivers (I assume, could be Wes) are all that back up Fred here. It reminds me of something they could have done in the past, but I can’t place it. Decent, but kind of forgettable. I give it a Triscuit.
Next up is Don’t Change. Acoustic. Meh. Negative Saltine.
You Bring Out The Worst In Me. A mostly down tempo beat with some heaviness and screams sprinkled in. Does a decent job of showing off some versatility. Still not particularly memorable, but pretty good. I’d once again say this is a Triscuit.
Love The Hate is… there. There’s music in the background. Fred is there a couple of times. It’s mostly a couple of guys talking shit about the band. It’s there to be “edgy.” OoOoOh. Saltine.
Barnacle is next. Barnacle gives me Offspring vibes. At 1:55, this is a short entry. No DJ Lethal, no rapping, just a straight up rock song. A pretty solid one, at that. I give it a Cheez-It.
Next we get Empty Hole. Another acoustic entry. Okay, fucking seriously. One is enough, but you’re gonna throw two in? Eugh… saltine.
Pill Popper. Yes. I really dig this one. It goes hard. We get strong showings from every member. There’s a message. I mean, it’s as much of a message as you can get from Fred goddamned Durst, but hey, he’s trying. Fuck yeah! Lance!
Alright, we just had a super strong entry. Don’t give me shit with Snacky Poo. Okay, we’ve got another Lethal/Fred combo here. Lethal’s work here gives me Brass Monkey vibes. Strong vocals from Fred. Fuck it, it’s a bop. Cheez-It. Little bit of a skit at the end as well, which acts as the lead-in to the final track.
We end on a song called Goodbye. Now, when Wes got on Fred’s Tik Tok to announce this release, he promised a “boy band” song. This is it. Fucking LOL. Yeah, that’s a pretty good description. Is it bad? No. Is it good? Also no. I’ll give it a Triscuit.
So overall, I think I kind of expected a little bit more after a ten year hiatus. The two acoustic tracks really kind of annoyed me. I get wanting to show off artistic range, but this ain’t it. However, the good stuff was GOOD. There was also a lack of guest appearances on the album, which kind of surprised me. Overall, aggregating our scores looks like Still Sucks gets about a Triscuit and a third. I’d say that would make it the serving suggestion on the front of the box. I feel like that might actually be a bit harsh, so we’ll upgrade that to… let’s go Ritz with some cheese and salami on top. So in English, it’s not great, but I’m generally satisfied.
Make sure to keep an eye open for our next session of Metal Shop Class, where the lecture will cover Japanese heavy metal. Until then, enjoy the Dad Vibes, throw those horns, and rock responsibly!
