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Big Dumb Face
By: KNAC.com
March 6th 2001 4:20pm
(Flawless/Flip/Geffen) Big Dumb Face is the wacky country death metal side-project masterminded by Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland. Borland steps out from behind the shadow of Durst to launch this musical cartoon show and plays just about every instrument on the damn thing, proving himself to be a lot more than just some funky rap rock axe slinger. He paints his face, sings in different voices and writes songs about little monsters and lions and space adventures. It's kind of like an audio puppet show. Okay, okay, so what does the music sound like, you ask? Well, that's a tough question to answer. It all over the damn place! The best word to describe this album is "zany." Every tune leaps and skips from style to style, from death metal to country to funky rock to who the hell knows what. It definitely sounds NOTHING like the Bizkit and, for me, that's a good thing. The most surprising thing here is that for all its comedy shtick, some of this is really, really good. Most interesting are the bizarro Zappa-esque jams like the speedball country number "Duke Lion," the alien space oddity of "Kali Is The Sweethog," and the nerdy aqua-funk stomp of "Space Adventure." Another gem is the ZZ Top meets Zappa groove of "Fightin' Stance." The vibe is that of a satanic truck driver threatening to kick your best friend's skinny ass. It's pretty damn funny. Less interesting are the silly death metal comedy jams where Borland sings with the patented death-ian growl and the guitars are detuned to the point of dissonant madness. The opener, "Burgalveist," is certainly heavy as all hell, but kinda pointless, same with "Blood Red Head On Fire." All in all though, this album doesn't take itself too seriously, so the missteps can be forgiven for the sake of pure experimentation. The production is killer throughout and Borland is certainly one hell of a musician. With the exception of some guest spots here and there by some his less famous pals, Borland plays every instrument and the songs are pretty complicated. Fans of Mr. Bungle, Primus and, of course, the master of this genre, Frank Zappa, might really dig this album…or at least some of it. Fans of Bizkit will be baffled and confused, while the average rocker will blow it off as some crazy bullshit from a guy with too much money and time on his hands. I, however, was pleasantly surprised. *** Visit www.knac.com for more information.
Copyright 2001 Enigma Digital
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