S.C.I.E.N.C.E.

The Faith No Nu Peppers.

Mike Patton meets RHCP-esque funk rock put through the lense of nu metal sounds like a catastrophe in the making, but it actually uses its influence to its benefit and crafts something wholly original. The oddball experimentalist vocal acrobatics clearly indebted to Patton gel really well with the funk laden groove of the chili peppers and the heavy bounciness of nu metal, and it’s clear that they have a lot of their own ideas of which all turn out to be surprisingly fruitful.

Singer (and rhymer in some cases) Brandon Boyd has a knack for writing very colorful and transportive lyrics that feel like a tidal wave of subtlety and nuance in an ocean of misguided anger and whinyness. It’s a good fit for the tracks as pretty much all of these songs have a cartoon-y level of energy and charisma to them, further complimented by the genre-hopping instrumentation and the light-on-his-feet vocal performances of Brandon (who always truly sounds in his own lane, and despite some influence, really doesn’t resemble Patton all that much on here).

There’s a level of experienced talent here at play from dudes barely able to drink at the time, which in a way makes it a record cemented in its own lightning trapped bottle, as as the band went on they’d never return to this style. They found it too crude and amateur, and while they did go on to carve another unique lane into the more alternative rock side of the fence, it’s a huge shame. This is up there with its influences asa classic 90’s alt metal album, and if you’re a fan of RHCP, Faith No More, Mr Bungle, Primus or any sort of envelope-pushing 90’s acts like them then you’d love this album I’m sure. The outside influence of electronics, drum and bass, hip hop and trip hop add a ton of depth to an already layered and thick cake.

What a cover, too. My god.