The Crystal Method - Legion of Boom

Whether you know it or not, 95% of you have heard a song from The Crystal Method at some point in your life. You may have heard one of their earlier albums or one of their remixes in a club one night, but it is more likely that you heard one of their songs playing during a commercial advertising some silly product on TV. The band has made a name for themselves by writing catchy dance tunes that sound just as good hawking major brand products as they do keeping ravers up all night in the dance clubs. With their latest release, Legion of Boom, The Crystal Method strive to reach in a new direction while still maintaining their thick electronic beats and relaxed recording style that has come to define the band. The Crystal Method's last release, Tweekend, seemed to be a step towards something new for the band. While their major label debut, Vegas, was a classic electronic album, Tweekend consisted of the same great electronic beats and hooks but added guest spots from the likes of Scott Weiland and Tom Morello to create more of a rock feel. While Legion of Boom also has its share of guests, including Wes Borland, John Garcia (formerly of Kyuss), and Rahzel (The Roots), it just doesn't come across as strong as the band's previous releases. The guest vocals seem weak, the guitar parts by Wes Borland fail to impress, and even the duo's beats seem to be disjointed. The problem with electronic music has always been that without careful attention, an entire record of songs can start to become repetitive and fail to keep the listener interested. For an electronic band to move from being a band that makes great dance singles to a band that makes great albums, they have to somehow differentiate their songs so that they all sound different yet all have a hook to pull the listener in. From their past albums, it seemed that The Crystal Methdod was well on their way to becoming this kind of band. However, with Tweekend, they same to have taken a step back and the result is a rather generic sounding electronic album. It isn't that Legion of Boom is bad; it just isn't all that good. [www.thecrystalmethod.com]