Incubus- S.C.I.E.N.C.E
Incubus was one of the first bands to break the ice between different genres of music and succeeded at it with aplomb. They combined metal with funk, jazz, and rap and it shows on this amazing album. I am a bassist and Dirk Lance has recently been a huge influence on my style with his fast slap technique and galloping funky grooves. This album is groundbreaking with its combination of distorted guitars, funky grooves, and crazy turntable scratches.
The band-
Brandon Boyd- Vocals
Mike Eizinger- Guitar
Dirk Lance- Bass
Jose Pasillas- Drums
DJ Lyfe- Turntables
The Album:
1) Redefine- Holy crap what an awesome song. Starts out with some hectic, fast paced scratching from Lyfe and some weird synthesized sounds. When the guitar comes in it gets pretty heavy with more spotlight on Lyfe. Brandon comes in with Dirk and Jose playing one hell of a funky groove. The bass weaves in and out as Brandon rhymes some metaphors with some hip-hop qualities. The choruses are pretty heavy with thrashing guitar and some cool lyrics (Sick of painting in black and white, my pen is dry now I’m uptight). After the second chorus, the pace changes and Jose hammers away at lightning speed and Dirk slaps a crazy muted riff that wants me to keep hitting the repeat button. Then it goes back to the verses and chorus. This is easily one of the best on the album. [5/5]
2) Vitamin- Starts out with some cool synth and Brandon whispering some dark lyrics and the heaviness kicks in. The guitar drops out and the drums play a solid beat to back up Brandon’s slow vocals. The chorus picks up with a much faster tempo. The synth is still playing that little line during the verses and everyone fades out for some cool little bongo salvos. Gets heavy again and the song goes on to finish strong almost leading into the next song. [4/5]
3) New Skin- Ahh, yes. My favorite song on the album. Bongos in the beginning blended in the mix with Mike’s guitar. Jumps into a crazy, fast paced riff that sets the stage for a funky slap bass line that jumps around Brandon’s angry rapping while the guitar screams a slower, but deadly riff. The guitar joins the bass and vocals for a quick, heavy chorus with a pile-driving riff which leads into another grooving verse and then another chorus with some turntables mixed in. The instruments slow and fade as a mans voice comes in talking about some creepy stuff and how reality is nothing that people make it out to be and humans experience less than one-millionth of what the world has to offer as the voice slows down and speeds up while changing pitches. After, the bass joins the vocals for some unaccompanied funkiness. The song ends after the chorus and fades out with a turntable. [5/5]
4) Idiot Box- Starts with a basic drum groove which is soon joined by some distorted guitar and Brandon holding out ‘hey’ which is fronted by some scratches courtesy of Lyfe. The verses are a basic drum/bass groove in the pocket of Brandon’s rant about the TV brainwashing people. The choruses are a tad heavier but the bridge is my cup of tea with a slightly funkier bass groove and some heavy rapping by Brandon which slows down and picks back up quickly and then starts the outro chorus with some crazy turntables. [4.5/5]
5) Glass- Starts out with some synth lines and voices. Drums and bass kick in with the vocals that builds up from mellow and relaxing to total funk metal madness and melodic vocal lines. The bridge is scratch- crazy with a big Primus-ish feel which weaves in to some heavy metal licks and back out to some bass licks which gives way to more vocals. The lyrics are pretty cool and in your face just sending a message that basically says deal with it, accept it, and just move on already. Very cool song. [4/5]
6) Magic Medicine- Weird song. Not really a song, but more of an instrumental and synthesized jam session. Starts off with a weird voice saying ‘On this page, you see a little girl giggling at a hippopotamus. I wonder why.’ That gives a clue as to what the band was thinking when they made this. Still it’s one hell of a jam, with some weird noises and some kick arse drums that are grooving and pretty damn complex. The bass line while being repetitive, is quite cool. The voices change throughout and the synthesized noises get even weirder. Still a cool little tune. [3.5/5]
7) Certain Shade of Green- Heavy from the start and is one of the best songs on the album. The guitar is distorted beyond belief. The verses are a rhythmically complex groove with a fast slap riff and crazy beat that is the perfect to Brandon’s calm/heavy vocal combination are perfect in context with the song. The choruses are much heavier than the verses with some metal qualities and darker lyrics about procrastination and whatnot. The turntables give the music a very eerie, creepier feel to the music. The bass is so frickin cool in the song, with Dirk funky all throughout. The bridge is a combination of the rhythm section and vocals and undergoes some drastic tempo changes with some fast synthesizers. Chorus fades out to end the song. Simply amazing. [5/5]
8) Favorite Things- Good song, but not a favorite. The intro is awesome with some rocking riffs and the first verse is yet again, grooving with some hip hop qualities, but showcases funk, but uses it tastefully without too much bass. The chorus is the intro lick with some kinda weak vocals. The second verse isn’t as grooving, because the turntables are too overused and drowns the roots of the song out. While this isn’t a personal favorite, it is still a good song compared to the standards of that time. [3/5]
9) Summer Romance (Anti Gravity Love Song) - Much needed change of pace from the funk metal madness going on in the rest on the album. The mellow guitar riff gives way to a simple, steady and mellow melody with some highlighted rhythmic accents such as light drum fills and bass licks that would make James Jamerson proud. I envy that rhythm section. The vocals are soothing and beautiful while the jazzy chorus sings with brilliant melodies. The breakdown is smooth which gives way to a Latin bongo beat and a jazzy tenor saxophone solo that is stunningly gorgeous. I love this song. [5/5]
10) Nebula- I hope you enjoyed that blissful romantic mellowness because it’s back to a funky, chaotic whirlwind of heaviness. At least they picked the mood back up with a good song. Starts with some high pitched screeches and weird drums which give into the craziness of Brandon’s vocals. The verse groove transforms into a rap frenzy and hard hitting riffs. The post-chorus is a little disco synthesized melody with Brandon going insane. The second verse is a littler bassier with a better groove that locks in. The song is filled with surprises such as disco lines, strange alien sounds, random screams and laughs and tempo changes. The bridge is much like the chorus with chaotic rapping which is soon followed by that synthesized disco which leads into a wall of strange sounds that end this four minute epileptic fit. [4.5/5]
11) Deep Inside- Another one of my favorites, with a mellower, brighter feel to the tune. Starts out with a solo bass lick which feeds this monster groove’s hunger for in-the-pocket bliss. The groove officially starts and you think ‘ holy crap, what an amazing mellow song’. The quiet doesn’t last too long because some 5 second heavy rapping dominates the chorus. But it again mellows out to that ‘hell-yeah’ groove. Some pretty little synth solos and clean guitar licks duel before the lyrics about trips and hangovers come in. This chorus is a tad longer and then the music fades and picks up again after Brandon says ‘Where the **** are we?’ The guitar solos beautifully for a while which fades into a subtle outro. Amazing song. [5/5]
12) Calgone- This track is a little out there and pretty chaotic too. Starts very slow with lyrics about Triple A which leads into a heavy riff fest which gives into a funky metal chorus talking about a bad day. The verses slow down again but pick back up for a partial chorus but slow down to the synthesizers again. After a while, chaos strikes again with Brandon screaming and then going into an insane rap at a galloping pace and giving into that awesome catchy little chorus. The song stops and if you keep it rolling your in for a few surprises with the band just randomly messing around with some funky grooves. A very strange, but interesting choice for a closing song. [4/5]
Overall: Just an amazing album all together. When I first listened to this CD straight through, I sat for about 15 minutes wondering how the hell music could be that cool. They are the epitome of good music to me. It’s a shame Dirk left. I urge you to spend the $10.99 on this CD because trust me, it’s worth it. [4.5/5]
