The effect is streamlined on tracks like “Privilege,” where underlying hip-hop beats and scratching never permeate the band’s instrumentation.īut that’s not to say Boyd’s concepts have no significance or depth of their own.

Unlike Limp Bizkit or Korn, Incubus’s fine-tuned application of hip-hop and metal isn’t gratuitous or abrasive. Lead singer Brandon Boyd’s vocals have a timeless quality, but his lyrics take a backseat to the rhythmic bass, tight percussion and vocal effects of tracks like “Stellar” and “Nowhere Fast.” The latter displays flawless mood-shifts that will no doubt become one of the band’s trademarks. A superb blend of metal guitar riffs, classic punk-rock mentality, and subtle hip-hop and electronic elements, Incubus doesn’t just imitate these genres, but rather, redefines them in an otherwise non-revolutionary rock landscape.

Incubus, however, sets themselves apart with their second full-length release Make Yourself. Whether it’s rehashed hard rock or a non-enterprising rap-metal hybrid, there isn’t much to differentiate between most rock bands these days.

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