Class of 2008: Part Deux

And without further ado, here’s presenting my four comebacks that bombed:

Filter (Anthems For The Damned): When a band puts out a miserably poor record with a name like that, opportunities for terrible jokes galore. But I won’t indulge myself. Rather, let’s look at WHY this comeback went so bad.  First off, anti-Iraq war album themes have become fashionable over the last two years. Protest albums on this subject seemed more genuine back when you’d get burnt at stake, rather than sell more records. But even musically, this album falls well below expectations. ‘Anthems For The Damned’ believes that putting out a political statement can in some way atone for a complete lack of ideas. The band has almost entirely lost their industrial edge over the last ten years. So what you have really, is just another watered-down Adidas rock, nu-metal album. Ironically, it’s those very bands that claim to have been ‘inspired by Filter.’ Their first single, ‘Soldiers of Misfortune’ is devoid of anything even remotely in the vicinity of  ‘Hey man, Nice shot.’ Oh, and it comes with remixes of three tracks from the album, if you’re interested.

The Offspring (Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace): Having listened to this seminal punk act for a better part of my (irrational) angst-ridden high teenage years, I couldn’t wait for their latest release. The last offering from Dexter Holland and Co. was a ‘Greatest Hits’ album. On first listen, ‘Rise and Fall…’ is no different from that compilation. The entire album is just a re-hash of old Offspring riffs with insipid lyrics. The only saving grace is the presence of Josh Freese (Vandals, A Perfect Circle), who sessions on drums for the entire record. The whole D-I-Y, punk ethic just doesn’t seem to jump out at you, like it did on 1994’s ‘Smash’.

Scott Weiland (Happy in Galoshes): Ever since 1995, we’ve watched this Stone temple Pilot crash and burn in slow motion. His ‘will-they-won’t-they’ relationship with STP coupled with a rather demeaning heroin addiction crippled his career. And then, we thought he’d redeem himself with Velvet Revolver. But despite a pretty successful debut, the band’s sophomore record did miserably. In 2008, Scott Weiland released his second solo album in ten years—a personal come back of sorts. And boy, is it disappointing! He has shed every last vestige of his ‘Core’ days, adopting the vocal style from his Velvet Revolver experience. If you’re a big STP fan, chances are you’ll bin this album on first listen. Expect run-of-the-mill vocal melodies and an overall mediocrity from this comeback record. You’re better off sticking the ‘Purple’ album on and re-living the artist that was. We only hope that his grunge peer Chris Cornell’s third solo album, slated for a 2009 release, doesn’t follow suit.

Kid Rock (Rock N Roll Jesus): I certainly hope this Detroit rapper wasn’t making any allusions to himself with the title of his comeback album. Kid Rock’s first studio album in five years is far from being even remotely messianic. Rather, he’s just another male chauvinist artist with a large sized ego/bank balance. How does this translate musically? Tunes tailor-made for a drunken sing-a-long party that has run out of songs. The album did do a couple of things for his career though, undeserving as they are. His ‘tribute’ to Sweet Home Alabama resulted in him inducting Bob Seger (Lynyrd Skynyrd) into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. Why, this waste of Vinyl even garnered a Grammy Nomination, giving it ‘critical acclaim’. This only further undermines the credibility of these Awards in the recent past.

And of course, 2008 saw the return of two of the biggest bands, whose prolific influence transcends geography, language and genre battles. The first was Metallica’s ‘Death Magnetic’ with yet another war-themed video for the first single. It also had the much-discussed finale to the ‘Unforgiven’ trilogy. The other album was the long awaited ‘Chinese Democracy’ by Guns ‘N’ Roses (read: Axl Rose and friends). Finally, the moody front man managed to hold in a hissy fit long enough to actually put out an album. The jury will forever be out on these comebacks. There are those who will cling onto these bands’ previous offerings and set the bar impossibly high. This isn’t very fair. Then there are those that will lap up anything that these bands put out because of their unshakeable belief in the infallibility of their heroes. This isn’t very fair either. It is interesting to note that both schools of fan following describe themselves as ‘true’ or ‘hardcore’ fans. Personally, I think both albums belong in the same category of comebacks. But I’ll let the ensuing fight threads/pub debates decide the fate of these records.