I'll admit I had a soft spot for nü metal in the mid-90's. Korn's Life Is Peachy was a benchmark release in heavy music, followed by Deftones Around The Fur and going full circle with Slipknot's self-titled album in '99. And, like most musical styles that eventually collapse under their own popularity, the saturation in the genre overshadowed a lot of bands bringing something new to the scene... a case of being too little a fish in a big pond. San Jose's Insolence had been bouncing around California since the early 90's and had cut a few local albums mixing up the nü metal groove with a refreshing reggae vibe. Thanks to the popularity of the genre they secured a record deal with Maverick Records (home of the Deftones) and spit out 2001's Revolution, a somewhat less-reggae, more-raprock statement which probably would have gone platinum had it come out a few years earlier. Instead it faded into obscurity after the endless radio play of semi-ska bands like Crazy Town and Papa Roach dealt the nü metal genre its final fatal blow. But in all honesty, Revolution fucking rocks. While there are a couple tunes I'm not so into (not surprisingly they happen to be the more mellow ones) once you make it to "1-2, 1-2" the rest of the album is a fucking rage. "Sick" is easily the best track - the breakdown at the end seriously makes me want to go punch a brick wall just to wallow in the pain. Insolence followed up with Stand Strong in '03 and I seriously thought this would be the album of the year after hearing the amazing opener "Operation Irie," but sadly the CD grows stale after that and never recaptures the same energy as the opener. Most bands would have faded into obscurity after losing their major record deal (and genre) but Insolence pulled a Spinal Tap and resurfaced as a massive hit in Japan, continuing to be huge there up 'til today. Good for them - enjoy their essential release Revolution - an album that will never get the recognition it deserves on this side of the Pacific. I also tacked on Stand Strong so everyone can get a taste of their (d)evolution within an extinct mini-genre. Those who love Stand Strong will probably hate the songs I love on Revolution and vice versa. Enjoy.
Currently watching: Welcome To The Jungle
Currently listening to: Ice-T Original Gangster
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