Dislocated Styles plays by the numbers

After five years and an independently released EP and LP, crossover outfit Dislocated Styles recently got its big break – a record contract with the infamous Roadrunner Records, home of such metal heroes as Fear Factory and Sepultura. Starting its music career in Phoenix, Ariz., was not an easy task for the septet, but the band slowly paved its way into California opening for such artistic horror-shows as Snot, Papa Roach and Kid Rock. It was not long before the band signed a contract and recording sessions began for the 2001 release of Pin the Tail on the Honkey (Roadrunner Records).

Roadrunner Records creates a pleasant disturbance in the music industry with its popular heavy-metal artists. Unfortunately, Dislocated Styles lacks something critical that older Roadrunner acts possess: originality. Pin the Tail on the Honkey could easily be a feeble follow-up to Tommy Lee1s laughable Methods of Mayhem (MCA Records).

Rage Against the Machine first popularized merging hip-hop with metal, and the fusion hit the mainstream, MTV “Total Request Live” limelight with the likes of Limp Bizkit. Even though the hip-hop horse has long been dead, the beat goes on for Dislocated Styles. Sadly enough, Dislocated Styles does a mediocre job of imitating the trite technique.

One attribute of the album is consistent energy exhibited from start to finish. The listener may presume that the band is quite intense and filled with an unscrupulous raw vigor when it plays live.

The album1s second track, “Fire in the Hole,” starts with a simple beat coupled with a sweet, synthesized melody. Suddenly, heavy guitars and intense drumming make a short appearance, quickly morphing into a groovy rap session only to leap back into traditional heavy metal. Two songs later, the CD1s single, “Liquefied,” glorifies a night of disorderly conduct consisting of the usual alcohol and marijuana binge.

The very beginning of track eight, “Riders of the Silence,” is reminiscent of Bon Jovi1s “I1ll Be There For You.” As the album progresses, the interest level slowly decreases until the last tracks become a blur of adolescent posing. During track 12, “Criminal Typewriters,” the band takes a musical trip south, incorporating the use of a steel drum. Steel drums could be used for a necessary change in pace, but here the use is just simply out of place.

What is most bothersome about Dislocated Styles is the band1s name, which seems to connote such a mixture of diverse styles that there is no real category for them. But no amount of assurance from the band can make the listener believe there is a single new musical trick on Pin the Tail on the Honkey.

Pin the Tail on the Honkey is in stores Tuesday

The Hatchet has disabled comments on our website. Learn more.