This debut release by French rap-metal six-piece
Pleymo
earned them quite a following in their native country and helped to put them on the map of European extreme music. It wasn't really their breakthrough to the big time, though, and it is easy to see why --
Keckispasse
just isn't that strong. In fact, if there ever were a competition for the title of most generic rap-metal album,
could have a serious chance to win. At this stage
sounded like the least imaginative mash-up of
Limp Bizkit
and
Rage Against the Machine
, minus both the frat-boy goofiness of the former and the righteous activist fury of the latter. However, it would be unfair to say that
is without any redeeming qualities entirely.
originally earned their reputation as a monster live band, and producer
Stephen Kremer
does an excellent job of capturing their wild reckless vibe on tape. Although the material on this record is altogether unremarkable,
don't as much play it as rip through it, and the resulting record feels like a never-ending adrenaline rush. It's a perfect soundtrack for a wide variety of physical activities, whether skateboarding, pumping iron, or merely jumping around your room screaming your head off to your favorite metal CD, but if one is seeking any sort of musical inventiveness it would probably be a good idea to look elsewhere. As an example of modest beginnings for a talented band with better things to come, however,
stands up just fine. ~ Sergey Mesenov