Published on Jan 19, 1999
When I heard that Incubus was slated to be the opening act for
Black Sabbath, I have to admit that I finally became curious in
this band I had never heard before. What kind of music style were
they, and how would they fit with the “gloom-and-doom” style that
their tourmates had embodied?
After one listen to their 1997 debut
S.C.I.E.N.C.E., the answers weren’t terribly clear, but one
thing was – this was a decent album that might be unfairly called a
Korn clone (something it is anything but). Brandon Boyd and crew
take the listener on a very interesting (and sometimes too
self-indulgent) trip.
The band — vocalist/percussionist Boyd, guitarist Mike
Einziger, bassist Alex Katunich, drummer Jose Pasillas and DJ
Kilmore — do have a funk/metal style similar to that of Korn, but
unlike their labelmates, Incubus have a style and a groove all
their own. There seems to be more of a tongue-in-cheek sense of
humor laced into their music (“I dreamt I went potty, then woke up
drenched in me” — from “Calgone”). Plus, Incubus seem to have a
healthy respect for all the forms of music whose influence they
draw upon – no knock against Korn intended.
It takes a few minutes for the audio whiplash to set in and
allow you to really appreciate what is blaring through your
speakers. Tracks like “Idiot Box,” “Glass,” “Summer Romance
(Anti-Gravity Love Song)” and “A Certain Shade Of Green” are both
intense experiences as well as fun tracks to listen to. And, if
anything is going to win over the crowds who go to the shows to see
Black Sabbath, it’s going to be the notion that Incubus is really
having fun with the music they’re creating.
S.C.I.E.N.C.E. is also interesting in that the album never
seems to lag – that is, until you get to the “hidden” track just a
few seconds after “Calgone” – over ten minutes of anything and
everything you could imagine in a song, from recitation of what
sounds like an autopsy to the sound of an arcade machine (video or
pinball, I couldn’t tell — anyone wanna enlighten me?) to
off-the-cuff remarks from people. While there are moments that this
is interesting, after a while, you almost wish for the end to come
— plus, I’ve never seen the sense behind these “bonus” tracks.
But for the most part, Incubus succeeds on all levels with
S.C.I.E.N.C.E. – and it makes me wonder why we haven’t heard
more from this band in the nearly two years since this album was
first released. It’s got the potential, but has anyone given it a
fair chance, or have people written it off due to the weird cover?
(Okay, I have to ask: Who
is
that on the cover? Looks like Mark Spitz to me, but I’m no
expert.)
S.C.I.E.N.C.E. is a definite candidate for an album that
unfairly slipped through the cracks. Hopefully their stint on the
Black Sabbath tour will spark some interest in them – and build
them a seriously big fan base.