REBELS WITHOUT APPLAUSE – Low End Head Stomp

Rebels Without Applause. They come from the windy city of Chicago, Illinois with an album called, Low End Head Stomp. Despite being together for over a decade, these guys are just now releasing their first full length. As for the name of this group, it probably couldn’t fit much better.

They could be considered rebels because they insist on clinging to a brand of music that just doesn’t work. Their sound is rooted in the Nu and Rap Metal of years past. That said, there’s nothing at all “nu” about this band. As for going “without applause”, you only have to play this one a few times to realize why they fail to garner praise.

RWA do little more than follow in the footsteps of Limp Bizkit and others of their ilk. More so than any other band however, Sevendust comes to mind. Greg Fulton is very much a copycat of Lajon Witherspoon. There simply isn’t much on Low End Head Stomp that succeeds in being likeable. Some tracks stand out, but for the wrong reasons. One such example is a song that’s aptly called, “Weak”. In it, Fulton, seems like he’s determined to throw the word “shit” around as much as possible.

“I Don’t Wanna Know” is loosely based on a well-known Fleetwood Mac song. Clearly, not a surefire way to convey the sense that you’re a Metal band. Then there’s the last track, “Shout Outs”. It’s not really a song; it’s an opportunity for each of the band members to thank friends and family for support. Which begs the question, isn’t that what the insert of a CD or a MySpace page is for? Sure, it’s a nice gesture and all, but it comes off being way too sappy and seeming like filler on an album that’s less than 40 minutes long.

In short, Low End Head Stomp is an album to avoid at all costs. There’s nothing new or different here. In fact, it’s all old and bland. Rebels Without Applause is no different from other bands that have come and gone since the inception of Nu-Metal. If they can throw a little originality into the mix, these rebels may actually start to get a little applause, but they seem to be a very long way away from it.