Sooooo, my friends. What can I say? "Limp Bizkit is back, Bitches!" (Source: YouTube) hits the nail on the head. Only this time, the hammer is not a hammer, but a huge, golden cobra that wants to bite me in the head. At first, I think I must be seeing things: Yes, it actually has speakers in its spread neck shield. Its tongue touches my skin, it probes me, and I get goosebumps all over my body. At the same time, I hear some strange, atmospheric sounds. I feel completely relaxed. I know: Limp Bizkit is back, Fred Durst is back, Wes Borland is back. That’s why I’m here, that’s why this golden snake gives me its attention. The intro sounds from its speakers. I sit down, lean back, and eagerly await what’s coming next…
The first song is called "Bring it Back." It starts with a very heavy riffing. At first impression, it sounds a bit strange. But when the beat kicks in, I immediately find myself in a sound world that will surely cause some tinnitus in hip hop clubs. The rhythm change in the chorus is interesting. It instantly takes me back to my youth. Fred Durst's flow is, as always, top-notch! The theme of the song is his position in the media, or rather, his reputation among fans in recent years. Now I’m hooked! Let’s go for the next round. I bounce up and down impatiently. A glance in the mirror leaves me surprised: I look like I’m 15 again!
The title track starts. It’s called Golden Cobra. Right in the first second, I get a massive hit from the snake right in the face. Fred Durst again describes his position in public. He talks about this golden cobra that has set itself up in front of me. He refers to this snake as the devil, which I somehow already suspected. This also makes me want to take a sewing needle and pop this golden snake like a balloon. I’m really not into metaphors like that. Okay, the overall sound is absolutely solid. Nothing more to add. Let’s wait for the next track:
Yeah! It comes just as the name promises: Shark Attack! This completely reminds me of the old days. Awesome! The chorus is accompanied by very nice atmospheric guitar delays. Fred Durst has a groove in his flow here that invites you to go wild! The theme, as usual: I’m the best, you’re all not. So far, the best song on the album.
The next song, Get a Life, is initially confusing, as Fred's voice sounds different than usual. Did he use the pitch shifter differently? At first, I thought it was a guest appearance by someone, but no way. It’s actually Fred Durst. But when the chorus kicks in, I fly into the wall and stick to it like gum. Now a guitar interlude starts, which immediately catapults me into another atmosphere. A deep voice pulls me out of these thoughts, and by the time the chorus kicks in again, I’m back to being the gum on the wall. The end of the song consists of a psychedelic guitar beat, accompanied by Russian chatter. The theme of the track is nerds and their addictions.
BOOOM! The next song hits me with its name: Shotgun! Here, Fred addresses the rappers he can’t stand. He talks about their drug addictions, especially to cannabis use. "Everybody jumps from the sound of the shotgun
Yeah in my neighborhood, everybody got one!" (Source: google.de) Towards the end, there’s a guitar solo that doesn’t particularly blow me away, just like the entire song. The sound is absolutely fat, no question, but the lyrics feel a bit TOO OLD SCHOOL for my taste.
Douchebag comes with a guest appearance. Very nice flow. Very nice sound. The chorus again impresses with Fred's atmospheric singing, except for the "Fuck you up" talk. Very nice breaks. Totally crazy jazz outro paired with insane laughter. One of the strong songs on the album.
Now it’s probably going to get a bit quieter. Walking away starts very calmly with guitar delays and a nice synth pad. Fred sings this time. I really like that. I love this voice. My goodness! This is so far the highlight of the entire album for me. Bizkit presents itself here in the best Soundgarden manner. It also reminds me a bit of A Perfect Circle. I can very much relate to the theme of the lyrics. It deals with someone fighting against their inner demons.
I have to laugh at the next song title. It’s called "Looser." Let’s see what the Bizkits have prepared this time. I open my ears again: A very nice guitar delay. It starts with the chorus. The theme is similar to the previous song. It probably discusses his past or what he still stands for. Typical musician problem. The raps don’t particularly blow me away. It could be better. In the middle, there’s an oriental-sounding guitar solo. That doesn’t really impress me either. At the end, you can hear Fred running his voice through autotune. HaHaHa He’s making fun of nearly every rapper worldwide.
This is probably the introduction for Autotunage. Now I’m curious. Absolute killer riff at the beginning! Nice halftime beat. The lyrics are indeed completely recorded in autotune. There’s really nothing more to say. They could have saved themselves that.
Now comes 90.02.10. It starts like a machine gun. Very nice break in Fred's rap passage, which tears everything apart again. Endlessly great flow. The theme once again is "I’m the best and you’re not." As for the chorus, I can only say that the constant "Hey" could have been spared. But the verse tears everything down again. Now comes a psychedelic middle part. A few nice delays over Fred's voice. Towards the end of the song, the first real hip hop beat on the album kicks in. Real gangster shit. But does that fit Limp Bizkit? NO!
Now starts Why Try. Very brutal jumping part! Fred's raps tear everything apart again! The riffing is very expansive, and did I mention that it’s very brutal? Yes! You should know that it’s REALLY very brutal! SOUNDBOMB! Towards the end, everything calms down again. One more chorus and then we’re off to the last song.
Killer in You is its name. It starts with synth beats and hard riffing. Fred sounds like a ten-year-old going through puberty again. But somehow, that has its charm. The theme of the lyrics is the evil within oneself. The song isn’t particularly special, nor is the ending. Again, that annoying midi beat.
So that’s it with the golden cobra. In hindsight, I can only say that anyone who didn’t like Limp Bizkit before won’t change their mind this time either. Die-hard Bizkit fans, however, will feel like they’re back in the Break Stuff days with this album.
I personally had fun with it, but I must also say that I’ve been blown away better before.
Rating: 3
Soooooooooooooo, my friends, soft cookies, and all those who want to become one. I hope I could bring some joy to at least one of you. In this sense, see you at the next review!
Daniel
