M.O.D. - The Rebel You Love To Hate
2003 - Nuclear Blast Records
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the
Nuclear Blast website.
You've got to admire Billy Milano. However worthless you may think his musical output since the dissolution of S.O.D., he's been able to keep himself in the public eye ever since, whether through his mediocre hardcore/thrash crossover leftovers with M.O.D., or his hilarious internet mudslinging antics with Anthrax members over whose idea it was for members of the latter wearing shorts onstage (nice to know that the important issues are the ones that get him riled, eh?). He considers himself worthy of listening to, and despite the fact that he has nothing in particular to say and no really intelligent way of saying it, we, the record-buying public, seem incapable of proving him wrong.
So, here he goes again - The Rebel You Love To Hate is a more comedy-styled effort than previous M.O.D. discs (which raises the frightening question about whether Milano may be planning a stand-up career...), where he manages to find the time to wax lyrical about white rappers ('Wigga'), rich boys with political agendas('Rage Against The Mac Machine'), religious fundamentalists and radicals ('Ass-Ghanistan'), and even to pay a cringe-worthy homage to Kiss ('Get Ready).
To be fair, the music is more promising than M.O.D's usual fare - although that's mainly because they're stealing tricks from the bands they're ripping in to. Notice the chorus-effected Morello-esque guitar tones in 'Rage Against The Mac Machine', the Middle-Eastern flavoured intro to 'Ass-Ghanistan', or the vaguely smirk-inducing 'almost live' version of 'Get Ready' which features an extended 'we love you... does everyone love rock and roll... thank you...' outro complete with synchronised stabs of chord and drums.
Shamefully, however, the punchy production and admittedly catchy songs are ruined by their supposedly satirical intent. The lyrics are absolutely moronic, failing to be as insightful or incisive as true satire, instead settling for the level of witless mockery. Perhaps the funniest thing about the record is that for all Milano's apparent hatred of Rage, Rammstein and the like, the best music he's produced in a long time is directly derivate of and in purposeful mockery of those bands - or, put another way, he writes better tunes when he's trying to take the piss out of someone else's style than when he writes seriously in his own.
So, with all this in mind, I would urge everyone reading this - don't encourage him anymore. The music isn't worth the support, and if you want satire and humour, there are people out there who are much better at it.
3/10
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