Available at Amazon Japan
| Rize - Experience |
| I'm
just gonna go ahead and throw this out there: I don't like rap rock.
I'm not really sure what my problem is. I like rap. I like rock. But
for some reason, putting the two together makes my toes curl, and not
in the good way. I also intensely dislike vast portions of Nü Metal,
especially the "tough verse, pleading chorus" style that can turn me
from easy going rock dude to cranky curmudgeon in .02 seconds. Rize use
all of these tactics at various points in their latest disc,
Experience, and it's a testament to how damn good the album is that I
have not only willingly played it more than once, but that it's made
its way into heavy rotation here at Chez Jrawk. Why is that? I've got a few guesses. It damn sure doesn't hurt that the disc opens with "Jesus And Maria," which takes Fu Manchu style Camaro sludge and blows away just enough of the pot smoke to reveal the gleaming muscle beneath the trudge. Single "Laugh It Out" (with actor Hayato Ichihara) is another check in the plus column, with its seamless blend of tough and catchy that actually mixes the two, rather than pitting them against each other. There's also "XL," which takes the opposite approach; tough guy rap verses and a sweet chorus. Then there's "Muppet," which opens with the utterly awesome couplet "There's a hole in the bucket/there's a hole in the Muppet." There's actually a lot of these, and by "these," I mean immediately accessible, powerful tunes that say their piece, plant their earworms, and get the hell out of the way. Maybe that's it; there's hardly a shortage of bloat in rap rock or Nü Metal, and Rize wisely avoid it like the plague (Experience's longest song is slightly over four minutes,) sticking to pop economy in their structures and steering way clear of the sonic clutter and overly obvious "hey look at me!" stylistic hopscotch that typifies a lot of this kind of stuff. Maybe that's it; Rize never stick big red flags in their change ups. They just let the songs change naturally, finding ways for rap to find its way to metal to find its way to pop rock without making it sound like they just super glued two parts together in an attempt to look sophisticated. Maybe it's because vocalist/guitarist Jesse McFaddin (son of Japanese Guitar God Char) is one of the 0.0001% of rock singer/rappers who doesn't sound like a bullied child when he's earnest, or an absolute prat when he raps. Of course, it's really the combination of these elements that makes Experience work so well, but it bears repeating that Rize have mastered the delicate balance necessary to merge everything they take on into a unified whole. Much as I love heavy music, that's been my biggest problem with it in these post-Sabbath days; everybody's so damned self conscious about being "creative" that they forget (or have no idea how to) make it all work together (not everybody can be Sepultura, after all.) Whatever the reason, I'll take it. Loudly. |