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MUSICBOX
Survival of the Sickest
From the American quintet, that earlier enthralled us with the spectacular success of their sophomore album, Back into your System, comes another concrete record which exudes musical notes that are bolder, darker, stronger and more vibrant than the preceding two albums from the band.
Survival of the Sickest is an album meant only for the ears of the genuine rock lovers. Consisting of 12 tracks that are loaded with the pulsating energy of pure rock; Survival of the Sickest is one of the best records to hit the shelves this year.
Biting, creative and full of active gunpowder, the album shows the band’s potential to become one of the lead players in the rock music industry. Josey Scott has a seasoned command over his magical vocals, and the crisp ax work that fuels the music shows vast signs of improvement and gives the band a resonant sound and a contemporary cutting edge. It also shows that unlike many acts that fall prey to complacency after savouring their success story; Saliva has not become static as far as the charge of their music is concerned.
The album begins with the aggressive Rock ‘n’ Roll Revolution which Saliva has indeed brought. The song writes off those artists who only make music with the intention of minting money and milking fame. One thing which Saliva has managed particularly well in this album is the jettisoning of their signature rock-rap nature to opt for a more diversified classic Rock feel. The title track is another awe-inspiring number with Scott’s vocals in fine vivacious form. Open Eyes is a grand power ballad and probably boasts of the best lyrics on the entire disc. Every song is accompanied by an extravagant guitar solo; a juxtaposition which works well to tilt the balance in Saliva’s favour. Plucky and gutsy, Saliva openly mess with the artillery of Dixie Chicks (“and I heard the Dixie Chickens run their mouths in a foreign land”) and Nickelback (“so take your nickel back and default the rest of your take”.) The contagious number Razor’s Edge features 3 Doors Down vocalist Brad Arnold (which was a major surprise) on the backing vocals, and No Hard Feelings provides a sensationally radiating finishing note to the album.
Saliva’s sterling venture will have you hooked onto it in virtually no time. In the jungle world of music where Darwinism is a rule rather than an exception; Saliva has what it takes for the survival of the fittest. —Taimur Saleem
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Better living thru technology
Once touted as leaders of the new school of techno that was supposed to become the next big thing, the next grunge, delivering pop music from its self-created demons of mediocrity, the Prodigy were arguably the biggest band in the world in 1997. The Fat of the Land was being name-dropped in hipster circles across the globe, and behind the strength of such monster singles as Firestarter, Breath and the notorious Smack My Bitch Up, a little known rave outfit from Essex, England become one of history’s most commercially successful techno acts.
That was then. This is now. After Fat of the Land, the Prodigy, led by their mysterious ringmaster Liam Howlett, went into a nocturnal remission, as hungry fans waited for even the slightest bit of information regarding their next record. But for the most part, there was deafening silence. Until now. Seven years in the making, the Prodigy’s, or actually Liam Howlett’s much-awaited new record, the ambitiously titled Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned, has arrived. And what a diabolically delicious brew of hard-edged electronics, old-skool hip-hop and harsh techno it is. In truth, this album is beyond the electronica tag (Howlett hates the term) and is what dance music with attitude should sound like: a frontal blow to the designer drug, ‘members only’ queer sounding face that mainstream techno and trance have adopted.
The whole record is awash with fervent energy. Gone is the entire circus: Maxim Reality, the devil-haired Keith Flint, dancer Leeroy Thornhill. All that remains is Howlett and his machines of loving grace. Spitfire nosedives through the speakers with a booming, mechanical pace. Girls featuring the Ping Pong Bitches (who??) is a gem of a tune, oozing mad Eighties flavour, and sounds like it came out of the Bronx rather than the English countryside. Get Up Get Off even has a slight industrial kick, but the swift rapping sets things right. Hot Ride featuring actress Juliette Lewis on vocals is instant fast-forward material. What was Howlett thinking?
Action Radar creates a menacing atmosphere with its relentless bass-work, while the psychedelic tinge of Phoenix, featuring a sample of Sixties Dutch pop group Shocking Blue’s Love Buzz (also covered by Nirvana) is simply marvellous. Interestingly, whenever the Prodigy team up with big names (as in Shoot Down, the closer featuring Oasis’ Gallagher brothers) the results are lacklustre.
A record worth every paisa invested into it, Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned makes the pop charts dangerous again. —QAM
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