| Dope Felons And Revolutionaries |
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 | Tracklist:
1. Pig Society
2. Debonaire
3. Everything Sucks
4. Sick
5. Kimberly's Ghost
6. Spine For You
7. One Fix
8. F*ck tha Police
9. Intervention
10. America The Pitiful
11. Sh*t Life
12. Wake Up
13. I Am Nothing
14. You Spin Me Around (Like A Record)
Release Date: 1999 | |
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| Summary: Everything sucks!... |
2 of 2 thought this review was well written
...or at least that's how Edsel Dope yells in the successful, amply titled single "Everything Sucks". Well, luckily, at least this album doesn't. Even though Dope, over the time, has been described as "soulless nu metal garbage" or "casual mainstream nu metal", I'd like to dispute that. Sure, the frontman and main lyricist, Edsel Dope, doesn't exactly write heart-warming and thoughtful lyrics and the whole attitude of the band is the somewhat stereotypically angsty "*** you, punk!", Dope is still a fair amount different from your casual nu metal band, with both musical quality and overall style.
One thing that catches the ear right away on this debut is that Felons And Revolutionaries isn't very nu metal at all (like Dope's too following records would turn out to be). Lot of turntable effects are used prominently throughout the album, the guitars sound muffled and dumbed down on some of the songs, and the whole cd has a "cold" atmosphere. Altogether, Felons And Revolutionaries sounds more like industrial rock with a slight nu metal influence. The only songs that could really be considered nu metal are "Everything Sucks", and the N.W.A cover, "*** The Police". Another thing this album has, that is completely against nu metal standards, is the extremely fuzzy production which also enhances the cold atmosphere Felons… has got. Songs like "Intervention" and "Wake Up" are fun fuzzball-blazers.
While nothing spectacular by any means, Felons And Revolutionaries does exactly what it should do - it either gets the party going or just provides an easy listening experience. The songs [excluding "Intervention", "Pig Society" and the unexpectedly well-executed cover "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)"] are mostly slow-paced and the focus point is definitely on Edsel's vocals. That's not to say the vox completely overshadow the rest of the band. While the drumming and bass are kept in the background, turntable effects and guitars are always solidly audible, even if the spotlight doesn't aim for them.
If one is questioning about the album really being for him, the best songs to check out would be "Everything Sucks", "Sick", Kimberly's Ghost", and "America The Pitiful". And I didn't choose these songs just like that, they all exhibit different qualities this album has. "Everything Sucks", like already previously mentioned, is this album's nu metal bomb, delivering angsty lyrics, and a solid nu metal sound in an industrial rock wrapper. "Sick" exhibits Dope's ability to fuse slow verses with a speedy chorus. "Kimberly's Ghost" is a great representative of the cold nature of this album – down-tuned, uncharitable guitars playing over Edsel's lingering vocals. It also has the most mesmerizing chorus on the whole album. Finally, "America The Pitiful" is a good representative of the slow songs on this album. "Crunchy guitars" and "slow-tempo" are the keywords for this song.
What Dope has created here is a (lack of a better word) nice industrial rock album. So why only a 3 rating? Well, first of all, while this album is interesting, and even a bit original, it does start to drag at the end, after "America The Pitiful". "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" is a great closer, but the others between the two songs could have easily been left out. Also, it must be noted, that as a whole, Felons And Revolutionaries doesn't have the best replay value, especially compared to Dope's other albums. Maybe it's because of the overall repetitive nature of industrial rock, or maybe it's once again due to the album being a tad too long, but the replay value could be better.
Still, despite the few negative factors, Felons And Revolutionaries is a solid industrial rock album, and is definitely recommended for any fan of the genre. Sure, Dope did go on to bigger and better things from here (overall quality wise), initially converting to nu metal and after that turning into a really solid alternative metal band, but that doesn't make this album any less enjoyable.
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
Album Rating: 3
don't worry Willie, I'll still do The Shizit during this week. This right here was just a quick write-up, something to turn me away from my exhaustive studies for a bit.
Digging: Dark Age - Acedia | | |
People still care about this band?
Digging: Loma Prieta - Dark Mountain
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their 2005 studio cover of Fuck the Police is sweet.
Digging: The Arusha Accord - The Echo Verse
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good lord
Digging: The Red Chord - Fed Through the Teeth Machine
| | | Album Rating: 3
it is. The "Fuck The Police" version here is much weaker
also, lol at Waior haha
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well that was quick, nice review dood
Digging: The Swell Season - Strict Joy
| | | Album Rating: 3
thanks Irad
| | | Album Rating: 3
Nice review, good to see someone wrote one for this. This is their weakest album next to "American Apathy", "Life" is much superior....but there is a heavy Industrial influence on this one which makes it stand out imo.
Digging: Fear Factory - Obsolete | | | Album Rating: 3
agreed that American Apathy is their weakest by far and, like described in the review, this even sounds more industrial rock than nu metal. Life is supperior to this but I also covered all that in my final paragraph.
| | | Album Rating: 3
Yeah, they really made a mess of an album on that one. No Regrets is awesome though. I enjoy the first 4 tracks on here a lot, they are very catchy. The bass line in Sick is awesome.
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haha I used to love Everything Sucks, I even bought the album a million years ago only to be utterly disappointed with almost every aspect of it... 3, no
Digging: Every Time I Die - New Junk Aesthetic
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That cover is dope, psh lol
Digging: PJ Harvey - Dry
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Nice review as usual man. Never heard of these guys so I cant say much about the music.
Digging: Will Smith - Willenium
| | | Album Rating: 3
why thank you mate. I don't know how you take nu metal influenced alternative metal, but if you like it, you definitely need to check out Dope's last effort NO Regrets
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They're pretty bad, sorry METALSTYLES
| | | Album Rating: 3
haha no problem, to each his own, I for one like them.
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